Mary Moore (Time Lady)



In the United States of America, Mary Moore was the first national voice of the Bell System's standardized speaking clock and also provided the voice behind many telephone company recordings on equipment manufactured by Audichron.

Moore's voice was often recognized for the distinctive two-syllable pronunciations of 9 ("NY-un") and 5 ("Fy-uv"). This was a required of telephone operators at the time, due to the fact that "nine" and "five" can sound very similar on a poor-quality line.

Prior to Moore's recordings and Audichron equipment, an operator would sit in a room and read the time every 10 seconds. Callers reaching a disconnected number would be informed by the operator personally. Moore had one of these reading jobs herself before she was formally recorded.