Although Rick Kogan was no stranger to sitting in front of a microphone after years as host of a WGN radio show, he discovered that narrating a TV series was another world.
A veteran Tribune ace writer and columnist for the Trib’s Sunday magazine, Kogan had been recruited to narrate Kurtis Productions’ new hourlong, 10-episode “Escaped!” series, and discovered voiceover narration “is a real art form.”
“Escaped!,” an hourlong series of true life escapes from terrifying situations, was produced for the Discovery Channel’s Investigation Discover Channel, a tailor-made outlet for Kurtis Productions’ decades-long expertise in producing gripping investigative reports.
Kogan was tapped for narrator by Kurtis executive producer Sharon Barrett, the former executive producer of the Siskel and Ebert “At the Movies” series and a friend of Kogan’s from her early newspaper days.
Barrett had a dilemma: Kurtis was unable available due to his exclusive A&E contract and the DC producer had rejected some 20 submitted demo tapes as not being suited for the gritty new series.
Barrett felt Kogan’s deep voice and style was a perfect match. “Would you do me a favor and be willing to try?” she asked her friend. “Why not,” Kogan replied, after Barrett said Kurtis would coach him for the demo.
