Glenn Ryle

Glenn Ryle Schnitker (1927-1993) was a long-time television personality in

Following his discharge, Ryle was a civilian advisor for the Israeli military in the Middle East during the time when this territory was being created. In June 1950 Ryle was recalled to active duty with the start of hostilities in the Korean War. He served in Korea just over a year.

Radio & Television Career

On advice from a friend in

At WKRC Ryle reprised most of the duties he had at WCPO—staff announcing and hosting a movie matinee show. A year after hiring on at WKRC he co-created and hosted The Skipper Ryle Show and in the 70s hosted the local weeknight version of Bowling for Dollars. Early in his career Ryle was one of six staff announcers at Channel 12, but ultimately it was Ryle's voice that became synonymous with WKRC, especially its Station IDs and promos; Ryle remained at WKRC for 35 years.

Skipper Ryle

In the late winter-early spring of 1956, Ryle was chosen by WKRC executives to host a children's show consisting mostly of cartoons; the show was initially going to be called Hi, Kids!, but then Ryle's military experience asserted itself, and when he started adding messages about river and boat safety, the producers decided to go with a riverboat setting which, with Cincinnati being right on the Ohio River, was a perfect fit. Then someone suggested the nickname "Skipper", which Ryle liked, and thus the name of the show was changed.

In the show's earlier years, Ryle donned a Naval

The Ryles lived in the western Cincinnati suburb of Cheviot. Ryle's wife, Jacqueline, was a Cincinnati native; they had two children, Steve and Cheri Schnickter. Ryle maintained a low profile after his retirement in the late 80s. His final public appearance was an interview by colleague and long-time friend Nick Clooney at WCET in the fall of 1990. He died in 1993 and was buried in Bridgetown Cemetery in Cheviot.^[2]

References