Lou Steele

By VARIETY STAFF

Lou Steele, the former actor whose voice later became familiar to New Yorkers as the announcer who first introduced Channel 5 News with, "It's 10 p.m., do you know where your children are?" died Feb. 25 of a heart attack at St. Joseph's Hospital in Paterson, N.J. He was 72.

Steele started his radio career in his teens before heading to Hollywood at age 21. As a contract actor, he appeared in several films, including "The Furies" and "September Affair."

He was called into the Army during the Korean War and was assigned to Armed Forces Radio in Japan. Steele's was the voice that announced to the U.S. Army in Korea the removal of their commander, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, by President Truman in November 1950.

Steele went back into radio after the war and moonlighted as a soap opera star on both "Guiding Light" and "Secret Storm." He was also well known for his role at Channel 5 as "The Creep," the host of the station's regular horror movie series, "Chiller Theater."

Steele is survived by his wife, Laura Steele (whose radio and TV psychic career he helped develop), a son and a brother.