Les Crane

Biography & Overview

Les Crane (born Lesley Gary Stein; December 3, 1933 – July 13, 2008) was an American radio announcer, television host, and actor. A pioneer in interactive broadcasting, he is also known for his 1971 spoken-word recording of the poem Desiderata; he won a "Best Spoken Word" Grammy for it the following year. Crane was the first network television personality to compete head-on with host Johnny Carson after Carson became a fixture of late-night television.