Jess Cain
Encyclopedia
Jess Daniel Dennis Cain III (June 17, 1926 – February 14, 2008) was an American
radio personality
. For 34 years, from 1957–91, Cain was the morning drive personality on WHDH-AM
in Boston. Cain also was a professional actor and appeared in numerous theater and musical theater productions, and appeared in early television on the Sergeant Bilko {a.k.a "Phil Silvers"] Show. In the Boston area, he was known especially for playing Ebenezer Scrooge
in Charles Dickens
' A Christmas Carol
. A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, he was a graduate of the University of Notre Dame
.
Cain's song about Carl Yastrzemski
— which he adapted from an old ragtime
tune called "Shoutin' Liza Trombone" — appeared on "The Impossible Dream," a WHDH-produced album commemorating the 1967 Boston Red Sox season
and later as part of the soundtrack of the 2005 movie Fever Pitch
.
He was a World War II
veteran, serving under Audie Murphy
at the Battle of the Bulge
and earning the Silver Star
.
CAIN, JESSE D.
Citation:
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star Medal to Jesse D. Cain (33813241), Private First Class [then Private], U.S. Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with Company A, 275th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division. On 16 March 1945, at 1500 Hours, near Saarbrücken, Germany, Private Cain was the only one of a group of fifteen men sent to obtain information and determine enemy strength in the Siegfried Line, who was not a casualty in the machine-gun trap sprung on them. Crawling, creeping, and finally running, while enemy machine-gun and burp guns blazed away at him, Private Cain made his way back to his Battalion Command Post to report the situation. He then directed the laying of a smoke screen by the mortars, and then led a second group to the scene. Seven painfully wounded men were evacuated while streams of enemy fire probed the smoke-covered field in an attempt to hamper the movement and escape. Private Cain's actions, without regard for his own safety, reflect great credit on himself and the Armed Forces of the United States.
Headquarters, 3d Infantry Division, General Orders No. 394 (December 15, 1945)
Home Town: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cain died from prostate cancer
in his Beacon Hill home at the age of 81. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in November 2008.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio personality
Radio personality
A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...
. For 34 years, from 1957–91, Cain was the morning drive personality on WHDH-AM
WEEI
WEEI is a sports radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, that broadcasts on 850 kHz from a transmitter in Needham, Massachusetts, and is owned by Entercom Communications. The station is one of the top-rated sports talk radio stations in the nation. Studios are located in Brighton, Massachusetts...
in Boston. Cain also was a professional actor and appeared in numerous theater and musical theater productions, and appeared in early television on the Sergeant Bilko {a.k.a "Phil Silvers"] Show. In the Boston area, he was known especially for playing Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight-fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which give people happiness...
in Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
. A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, he was a graduate of the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
.
Cain's song about Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Michael Yastrzemski is a former American Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Yastrzemski played his entire 23-year baseball career with the Boston Red Sox . He was primarily a left fielder, with part of his later career...
— which he adapted from an old ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
tune called "Shoutin' Liza Trombone" — appeared on "The Impossible Dream," a WHDH-produced album commemorating the 1967 Boston Red Sox season
1967 Boston Red Sox season
The Boston Red Sox season, often referred to as The Impossible Dream, consisted of the Red Sox shocking New England and the rest of the baseball world by winning the American League Championship and reaching the World Series for the first time since 1946...
and later as part of the soundtrack of the 2005 movie Fever Pitch
Fever Pitch (2005 film)
Fever Pitch, which was released as The Perfect Catch outside of the United States and Canada, is a 2005 Farrelly brothers romantic comedy film. It is a remake of a 1997 British film of the same name. Both films are loosely based on the Nick Hornby book of the same name, a best-selling memoir in...
.
He was a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veteran, serving under Audie Murphy
Audie Murphy
Audie Leon Murphy was a highly decorated and famous soldier. Through LIFE magazine's July 16, 1945 issue , he became one the most famous soldiers of World War II and widely regarded as the most decorated American soldier of the war...
at the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
and earning the Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
.
CAIN, JESSE D.
Citation:
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star Medal to Jesse D. Cain (33813241), Private First Class [then Private], U.S. Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with Company A, 275th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division. On 16 March 1945, at 1500 Hours, near Saarbrücken, Germany, Private Cain was the only one of a group of fifteen men sent to obtain information and determine enemy strength in the Siegfried Line, who was not a casualty in the machine-gun trap sprung on them. Crawling, creeping, and finally running, while enemy machine-gun and burp guns blazed away at him, Private Cain made his way back to his Battalion Command Post to report the situation. He then directed the laying of a smoke screen by the mortars, and then led a second group to the scene. Seven painfully wounded men were evacuated while streams of enemy fire probed the smoke-covered field in an attempt to hamper the movement and escape. Private Cain's actions, without regard for his own safety, reflect great credit on himself and the Armed Forces of the United States.
Headquarters, 3d Infantry Division, General Orders No. 394 (December 15, 1945)
Home Town: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cain died from prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
in his Beacon Hill home at the age of 81. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in November 2008.