Alex Cameron (academic)

Alex J. Cameron (1937 – February 24, 2003) was an English professor at the University of Dayton and the official pronouncer of the Scripps National Spelling Bee from 1981 to 2002.

Cameron grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, and attended the University of Notre Dame. He taught American literature and the history of the English language at the University of Dayton[1] from 1964 until his death in 2003. In 1978, he began accompanying fellow Dayton professor Richard R. Baker to the National Spelling Bee, where Baker had served as official pronouncer since 1960. After Baker retired, spelling bee officials asked Cameron to take his place.[2][3]

Cameron, who had begun reading the dictionary as a third-grader,[2] annually prepared for the spelling bee at his sister's house in Dearborn, where he would pronounce words six hours a day for two weeks in May. National Spelling Bee director Paige Kimble said that Cameron had "a rich voice" and "could relate genuinely and positively with children of all different backgrounds and demeanors."[1]

In February 2003, Cameron died at age 65 in his Kettering, Ohio, home, of what appeared to be a heart attack suffered while he was rereading a book by William Faulkner. His death left his siblings, nieces, nephew, and even his great-nieces and great-nephews in great despair. His only great-niece Adalyn at the time missed his jokes and his kind heart the most. Jacques Bailly succeeded him as the National Spelling Bee's pronouncer.[4]

References
  1. Dennis McLellan. "Alex Cameron, 65; Baronial Voice of Annual Spelling Bee". Los Angeles Times. February 28, 2003. Retrieved on May 29, 2009.
  2. "Spelling Bee Pronouncer Carries on a Four-Decade Tradition". catholicexchange.com. May 12, 2002. Retrieved on May 29, 2009.
  3. Grant, Alison (9 May 1989). Spelling bee pronouncer says winners are well read, UPI
  4. James Maguire. American Bee: the National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds. Rodale, 2006. 124.
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