[Deathwatch] Jane Barbe, 'The Telephone Lady', 74

[Deathwatch Central]

Thanks to another reader from bringing this one to my attention!  And,
my apologies for taking so long to send it.

In Memoriam: Jane Barbe
By Jason Ankeny

Jane Barbe--whose voice was instantly recognizable to every telephone
user who ever dialed a wrong number, called a number no longer in
service or simply sought to find out the current time and
temperature--died July 18 in Roswell, Ga., of complications from
cancer. She was 74 years old.

Known unofficially as “The Telephone Lady,” Barbe’s voice was once
heard an estimated 40 million times per day on telco networks across
the globe, with her distinctive and friendly voice gracing some 90% of
intercept messages and 60% of automated time and temperature calling
programs. “I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in
service” and “Please press ‘1’ for more options” were just two of
Barbe’s most commonly replayed messages.

Barbe was born in Florida and raised in Atlanta, studying drama at the
University of Georgia. After graduation she was hired as a vocalist
with the Buddy Morrow Orchestra, meeting future husband John Barbe, the
band's musical arranger, while on tour. The Barbes later went into
business for themselves, creating and producing music for radio and
television commercials and industrial films.

Barbe began her telecom career in 1963 with Atlanta-based voicemail
pioneer Audichron (which was acquired by Electronic Tele-Communications
in 1989), announcing time, temperature and weather information in
addition to recording personalized announcements for financial
institutions and other sponsors. Over the ensuing decades, as more and
more carriers licensed her recordings for use on their networks, Barbe
earned enough international fame that she appeared on television’s
“Mike Douglas Show,” “I've Got a Secret” and “Real People” as “The Time
Lady.” She even starred in a commercial for Shake 'n Bake.

Although Barbe spoke with a Southern twang in everyday conversation,
she developed an unaccented American voice for her voiceover work. Each
new job brought with it specific demands, however--when telephone
officials Down Under requested she adopt an Australian accent to record
their time and temperature messages, she spent weeks in preparation,
listening to recordings of Australian conversation.

Barbe also understood that her ubiquitous presence was sometimes a
source of hostility: “I know people get frustrated sometimes at the
sound of my voice,” she told the Chicago Sun-Times in 1992. “One day I
heard my own mother in the other room bang down the phone and say, ‘Oh,
shut up, Jane!’”

After 40 years as the voice of ETC’s time-weather-temperature services,
Barbe retired in February 2003. Real Audio clips of her vintage
intercept message recordings are available on the Web at
www.dmine.com/phworld/sounds/misc.htm. 



Voice Of Phone Messages Silenced
July 27, 2003

One of the most recognizable voices in the country was silenced
Tuesday. Jane Barbe, who recorded messages used by telephone companies
across the country, died of complications from cancer at the age of 74.


Over the past 40 years, if you didn't get through to the party you
wanted, you probably still got through to Barbe.

She was the "telephone lady" that delivered the message, "We're sorry,
your call cannot be completed as dialed."

A drama major at the University of Georgia, Barbe started recording the
announcements in 1963.

Twenty years later, she was making even the most disjointed of messages
sound smooth as silk.

Messages such as, "The number you have reached has been changed. The
new number is …"

Although she largely masked her Georgia accent on her recordings, in
person she was the model of Southern hospitality, taking her odd brand
of anonymous fame in stride.

"I don't think anybody even knows who I am until somebody says I'm the
lady on the phone," she said in a past interview. "Then the others say,
'Oh, really?'"

Barbe said she always did her best not to sound like a machine.
Instead, she tried to address her telephone audience one caller at a
time.

She said it could be overwhelming if she started to think she was
talking to 22 million people a day.

Trouble on the line is never fun, but for most of us Barbe's soothing
telephone manner made it just a little bit easier to bear.