Peace!

Since it’s Easter Sunday, what better time to explore the beautiful word that was Dave Garroway’s benediction?

NBC photo
Three things come to mind when you mention Dave Garroway: those horn-rimmed glasses; that bow tie; and his sign-off, an upheld hand, palm facing out, accompanied by the spoken word “peace.” Where did that come from? Thanks to the Archive of American Television and an old TV Guide article, we know enough to do a little digging and come up with the likely answer.

Charlie Andrews, who was Dave’s favorite writer and best friend, told the Archive in his lengthy interview that “peace” came from a preacher out of Philadelphia that Garroway took to listening to. This preacher would give these energetic sermons and would use the benediction, “Peace! It’s wonderful.” Garroway took a liking to “peace!” and adopted it as his own.1

But who was that preacher? The second clue comes from Richard Gehman’s 1961 TV Guide profile of Garroway2, which cites the benediction’s origin as borrowed from “Father Divine.” A little search engine magic does the rest, and you soon learn of the Reverend Major Jealous Divine, who indeed ran his ministry from Philadelphia starting in 1942 and employed the exhortation “Peace! It’s wonderful.” His story is much too interesting and wide-ranging for me to try to encapsulate here, so maybe it’s better if you consult this rundown of Father Divine’s life and times. Don’t miss his many interesting connections to other cultural phenomena, including a famous Johnny Mercer composition inspired by one of Father Divine’s sermons.

  1. Although in his post-Today years Garroway replaced “peace” with “courage,” from a poem by Amelia Earhart that included the line “Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace.” Garroway maintained that saying “peace” was supplicating for peace while “courage” was a way to find it. Be that as it may, Garroway brought “peace” back for the Today anniversary programs, and officially it was the last word he spoke on national television, when he gave the sign-off at the end of the 1982 anniversary show.
  2. A very interesting piece we’ll cover in a post coming next weekend.