 He started with the Mutual Broadcasting System in the mid-1940s as an announcer via its New York City outlet, WOR radio, announcing on such shows as "Passport to Romance", "The Mysterious Traveler", "High Adventure" and "Quiet, Please".After WOR ended its long-time affiliation with Mutual in 1959, Tonken was among many New York-based Mutual staff announcers (also including Carl Warren, Russ Dunbar, Frank McCarthy and Ted Mallie) who stayed on with the station.For a few years, he hosted a Sunday morning program on WOR, "Hyacinths and Biscuits", which featured poetry readings and little vignettes.