Biography:

When Charlie Scarbrough spoke, people listened.

Those who knew and loved Charlie are familiar with his trademark baritone, and they’ll tell you that he was never at a loss for words. For more than 50 years, he was also one of the most widely heard Arkansans to legions of TV and radio audiences across middle America and beyond who probably never knew his name, but nonetheless enjoyed the soothing timbre of his voice on countless commercials.

Charlie’s life ended peacefully on Saturday, June 1, at a Little Rock inpatient hospice facility following a recent decline in his health. He was 81.

Charles Wade Scarbrough, Jr., was born October 28, 1942, in Pine Bluff, the son of Charles and Doris Scarbrough. He graduated from Pine Bluff High School and went on to study accounting at the University of Arkansas, where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He proudly recalled marching in two Sugar Bowls playing snare drum with the Razorback Marching Band, which sealed a lifelong devotion to Razorback athletics.

After revealing a secret desire to be on the air, Charlie left the university to enroll at the Keegan School of Broadcasting in Memphis, which offered “complete courses in radio and television theory, radio writing, and radio announcing.” In October 1963, Charlie’s on-air career began as a disc jockey at WTUP in Tupelo, MS before returning to Arkansas in 1964 for on-air roles at Little Rock’s KALO, KMYO, KARN, and the far-reaching KAAY, earning years of successful ratings. During his late-night slot at KAAY, listeners from as far away as England, South America, Latin America, and Canada knew him by his on-air name “Charlie King.”

In the mid-70s, Charlie was an industry pioneer when he transitioned to freelance voice work for TV and radio commercials, the first Arkansan to do so full-time. His experience, ingenuity, and vision helped to grow a burgeoning media production scene in Little Rock through his work with several recording studios, where he was known and admired for his professionalism, a sometimes cantankerous nature, and offbeat sense of humor.

In 1974, he teamed with KARK reporter Bob Joblin to create a report for the April Fools’ Day newscast in which Charlie posed as Thurwood Crediscraw, third-generation marshmallow farmer. During an interview in a marshmallow field, the farmer lamented the harmful effects of wet weather and government action on that year’s crop. Plucking one off the vine for a taste test, Crediscraw reported, “It’s a little ripe, they’ll be all right tomorrow.” Viewers flooded the station with calls seeking more information on how to grow their own marshmallows.

His talent, marketing abilities, and professionalism drew respect and recognition from peers, national advertising accounts, plus numerous industry accolades culminating in an American Advertising Federation Lifetime Achievement Award. If you listened to television or radio in the U.S. from the mid-60s and through the late 2010s, you’ve heard Charlie Scarbrough a lot more than you know.

Charlie was a fan of anything involving transportation. He would occasionally take in the American landscape on a train ride from Little Rock to Los Angeles, taxi from the train station directly to the airport in LA, then fly back to Little Rock. He was an avid follower of the Clan MacDuff Society and traveled to Scotland many times to attend society events.

Charlie is survived by his nephew James Randolph Zook, Jr., his wife Frances, and their children Jack and Will of Oxford, MS; niece Catherine Zook Baker, her husband Michael, and their children John Riley, Thomas, and Elizabeth of Fayetteville; and nephew Charles Scarbrough Zook, and his wife Kelly Simon; and several close cousins and a great community of friends. Charlie is preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Susan Scarbrough Zook of Little Rock.

Charlie’s family is grateful for the love and support from family and friends in recent weeks. In particular, the family would like to thank the staff at The Manor Assisted Living Facility as well as the staff at the Arkansas Home Hospice Comfort Care Center in Little Rock. Memorials may be made to Arkansas PBS, 350 S. Donaghey, Conway, AR 72034 or call (800) 662-2386.

The family will host a visitation Wednesday, June 12, at 10 AM at Ruebel Funeral Home in Little Rock with a memorial service to follow in the same location beginning at 11 AM. There will be a private interment. Arrangements under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com