Garcia of The Grateful Dead to be the anchor for their New Year's Eve radio broadcast from Oakland, California. For the broadcast he recorded some improvisations with Garcia, drummer Mickey Hart and Egyptian musician Hamza El-Din. This subsequently led to an album Devout Catalyst, released on the Grateful Dead's own label in 1991 and Upper Limbo in 1993 and an appearance with the band live at a show at Rosemont, Illinois, in March 1993. In 2007, he was a performer at the High Line Festival in New York, curated by David Bowie. With his wife, the former Beryl Vaughn, an actress whom he married in 1945, he had three sons. Beryl died April 26, 2016. Ken Nordine died February 16, 2019. Films and television Nordine appeared as the narrator, credited as "The Stranger", in Philip Kaufman's 1967 underground comedy Fearless Frank. He was also Linda Blair's vocal coach for her role in the 1973 film The Exorcist. Subsequently, Nordine filed a lawsuit, saying he was not properly compensated for his work, eventually settling in 1979. Nordine narrated several films for classroom use, made by Coronet Instructional Films in the 1950s. In at least one, Developing Your Character, he appears on screen. On television, Nordine did a series of readings on a show titled Faces in the Window on WNBQ, and Fred Astaire danced to Nordine's "My Baby" on a TV special. Nordine's past radio series were Now Nordine and Word Jazz. He also provided the opening narration for the music video of "Can You Feel It" by the Jacksons. Nordine worked with author Maurice Sendak on Sesame Street, providing the narration for the animated segments "Bumble Ardy" and "Seven Monsters". Nordine provided the voiceover for NewTek's Video Toaster demo reels, such as the 1991 "Revolution". Selected discography 1955 – Passion in the Desert (FM) 1957 – Word Jazz (Dot) 1958 – Son of Word Jazz (Dot) 1958 – Love Words (Dot) 1959 – Next! (Dot) 1960 – Word Jazz Vol. II (Dot) 1967 – Colors (Philips) 1967 – Ken Nordine Does Robert Shure: Twink (Philips) 1979 – Stare with Your Ears (Snail) 1984 – Triple Talk (Snail) 1986 – Grandson of Word Jazz (Snail) 1991 – Devout Catalyst (Grateful Dead) 1993 – Upper Limbo (Grateful Dead) 2001 – Transparent Mask (Asphodel) 2007 – The Eye Is Never Filled (DVD, Snail) References Bibliography Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: