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History  of  Radio
&  Television  Page
Page One

Current Filmmakers XXth Century Directors Early Filmmakers Foreign Cinema Favorite Films (and Why) Film Genres Actors: Stars & Unknowns Movies: Great & Unsung Film Festivals & Orgns Reference & Technical Film Businesses Page

on this page: pioneers of radio & TV early TV programs links important dates old time radio fiction books music on page two: videos & DVDs non-fiction books

"When television is bad, nothing is worse. You will observe a vast wasteland." —  Newton N. Minow  (9 May 1961) "There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon of television could be useful. Stonewall Jackson, who knew something about the use of weapons, is reported to have said, 'When war comes, you must draw the sword and throw away the scabbard.' The trouble with television is that it is rusting in the scabbard during a battle for survival.” —  journalist Edward R. Murrow [1908-65] "Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television." —  Woody Allen "Time has convinced me of one thing: Television is for appearing on – not for looking at." —   Noël Coward [1899-1973]

History of Cinema Page
Books About Hollywood & Cinema History

Old Time Radio Page at Spirit of America Bookstore

Air America Radio Network Page at Working Minds

Radio  &  Television  Pioneers

"Pioneers of Television" [P.B.S. Jan 2008] 4-episode mini-series: Late Night, Sitcoms, Game Shows, Variety Directed by Steve Boettcher; written by Mike Trinklein P.B.S. Paramount widescreen color DVD [1/2008] for $22.49 full credits from IMDb official P.B.S. program site

Abbott & Costello

see Abbott & Costello on the Movie Series & Comedy Teams Page

browse Bud Abbott on DVD
browse Lou Costello on DVD

Milton Berle  [1908-2002]
browse Milton Berle on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

"The Milton Berle Collection" [2004] from the 'Milton Berle Buick Show' [1953-55] Passport b&w DVD [2/2004] 5 disks for $26.99

Walter Cronkite  [1916-2009]
browse Walter Cronkite on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

"A Reporter's Life" [1996] by Walter Cronkite Ballantine Books 8¼x5½ pb [10/97] for $12.44 Knopf 9½x6½ hardcover [11/96] for $19.80

Philo T. Farnsworth  [1906-71]
The Inventor of Modern Television

Ernie Kovacs  [1919-62]
browse Ernie Kovacs on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

"Ernie Kovacs: Between The Laughter" [1984 TV movie] starring Jeff Goldblum
"The Ernie Kovacs Phile" [Simon & Schuster 1987] by David Walley
"Kovacsland: A Biography of Ernie Kovacs" [HB&J 1990] by Diana Rico
"The Importance of Being Ernie" stage play [2004] by Sean Sanczel

"The Best of Ernie Kovacs" [1977 P.B.S. series] White Star b&w DVD [11/2000] 2 disks for $44.99

Groucho Marx [1890-1977]

Groucho Marx Section on Magic Lantern's Marx Brothers Page

browse Groucho Marx on DVD at Amazon

Edward R. Murrow  [1908-65]  Page

Edward R. Murrow Quotations Page at Working Minds Philosophy website

Jack Paar  [1918-2004]
IMDb listing • Wikipedia

"The Jack Paar Collection" [2004] Shout Factory color DVD [3/2004] 3 disks for $26.99 includes the documentary "Smart Television: The Best of Jack Paar" [P.B.S. 2003] and 3 episodes of the prime-time "The Jack Paar Program" [1962-65]

Nikola Tesla  [1856-1943]
The Inventor of Radio

Early  Television  Programs

"Amos 'n' Andy"
Bob Clampett's "Time For Beany"
"Engineer Bill"
"Howdy Doodie & Buffalo Bob"
"Kukla, Fran & Ollie"
Laurel & Hardy
"Little Rascals" {syndication of 'Our Gang' shorts}
"Perry Mason" tv series [1957-66]
"Sheriff John"
'The Three Stooges' {syndication from 1958}
"The Twilight Zone"
"Watching Mr. Wizard" [1951-65]
"Webster Webfoot"

at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Western Bookstore
Elfego Baca [Disney TV series 1958-60]
Cisco Kid & Pancho Page
Hopalong Cassidy Page
"The Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp" TV series [1955-61]
The Lone Ranger Page

	"1950s TV's Greatest Westerns" [2002] indep 5-hour DVD set [7/2002] 3 disks for $24.99 contains 12 TV episodes, 1949-1960: "The Adventures of Jim Bowie (1956 episode) starring Scott Forbes; "Annie Oakley" (1956 episode) starring Gail Davis; "Bat Masterson" (1958 episode) starring Gene Barry; "The Cisco Kid" (1951 color episode) starring Duncan Renaldo & Leo Carillo; "Death Valley Days" (1953 episode) hosted by Stanley Andrews; "Fury" (1956 episode) starring Peter Graves; "Judge Roy Bean" (1955 episode) starring Edgar Buchanan; "The Lone Ranger" (1949 episode) starring Clayton Moore & Jay Silverheels; "The Roy Rogers Show" (1955 episode) starring Roy Roger & Dale Evans; "Sergeant Preston of The Yukon" (1957 episode) starring Richard Simmons; "Sky King" (1958 episode) starring Kirby Grant; and "Tate" (1960 pilot) starring David McLean
	"1950s TV's Greatest Detectives" [2002] remastered b&w DVD [7/2002] 3 disks for $24.99 includes 12 TV episodes, 1951-1959: "Martin Kane, Private Eye" (1951) with William Gargan; "Dick Tracy" (1952) with Ralph Byrd; "Dragnet" (1952) with Jack Webb; "Man Against Crime" (1952) with Ralph Bellamy; "Mr. & Mrs. North" (1952) with Richard Denning & Barbara Britton; "Mystery Theatre Presents" (1952) with Tom Conway; "I Am The Law" (1953) with George Raft; "The Lone Wolf" (1954) with Louis Hayward; "Sherlock Holmes" (1954) with Ronald Howard; "Gangbusters" (1955) with Myron Healey; "Treasury Men In Action" (1955) with Charles Bronson; and "Peter Gunn" (1959) with Craig Stevens
	"Best of TV Detectives" 150-episode DVD Box Set [2007] Mill Creek Ent. b&w/color DVD [6/2007] 12 disks for $19.99 includes 150 episodes from: "The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu" [1956]; "The Adventures of Ellery Queen" [1950]; "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" [1955] hosted by Alfred Hitchcock; "Bulldog Drummond" [1957 pilot]; "Burke's Law" [1963] starring Gene Barry; "The Cases of Eddie Drake" [1952]; "Checkmate" [1960]; "Code 3" [1957] hosted by Richard Travis; "Colonel March of Scotland Yard" [1956] starring Boris Karloff; "The Court of Last Resort" [1957] created by Erle Stanley Gardner; "Decoy" [1957] starring Beverly Garland; "Dick Tracy" [1950] 6 episodes starring Ralph Byrd; "Dragnet" [1951-59] 25 episodes starring Jack Webb; "Federal Men" [1950] 5 epiosdes; "Follow That Man" [1949-54] 6 episodes starring Ralph Bellamy; "Front Page Detective"

[1951] starring Edmund Lowe; "Gang Busters" [1951]; "I'm The Law" [1953] starring George Raft; "The Lawless Years" [1959] 6 episodes; "Lock Up" [1959] 8 episodes starring Macdonald Carey; "Lone Wolf" [1955] starring Louis Hayward; "The Man Behind the Badge" [1953] 6 episodes; "Man With A Camera" [1958] starring Charles Bronson; "Mannix" [1967-75] starring Mike Connors; "Martin Kane, Private Eye" [1949] 6 episodes; "Miami Undercover" [1961]; "Michael Shayne" [1960] starring Richard Denning; "Mr. & Mrs. North" [1952] 16 episodes starring Richard Denning & Barbara Britton; "The Public Defender" [1954-56] starring Reed Hadley; "Racket Squad" [1951] 7 episodes starring Reed Hadley; "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" [1957-60] starring David Janssen; "The Shadow" [1954 pilot]; "Sheriff of Cochise" [1956-58] starring John Bromfield; and "U.S. Marshal" [1958-60] starring John Bromfield

Television  &  Radio  Links

Museum of Broadcast Communications [est. 1987] in Chicago, IL
"TV History: The First 75 Years" website
Early Television Museum/Foundation in Hilliard, OH
F.C.C. History of Television pages
ArtLinksList.com - arts directory / TV
Television Station Index
Radio Locator station listings website
50 Years of Western Australia TV
National Media Museum [est. 1983] in Bradford, West Yorkshire, U.K.

Air America Radio Network Page at Working Minds

Important  Dates  in  the  History of  Radio  &  Television 1877 June 4: Patent application for the variable resistence carbon microphone filed by Emile Berliner. 1893 Feb: Genius inventor Nikola Tesla lectured on the principles of 'wireless telegraphy' [broadcast radio] at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA. 1896: Genius inventor Nikola Tesla built his first working radio transmitter & receiver devices (five years before Marconi). 1900 Dec 23: Reginald A. Fessenden of Canada broadcast the first known transmission of the human voice over the radio, for a distance of about one mile. 1901 Dec 12: First transmission of a radio signal across the Atlantic, sent from Poldhu, Cornwall, U.K. and received by Guglielmo Marconi at St. John's, Newfoundland. 1902 Dec 17: First eastward transmission of a radio signal across the Atlantic, sent from Marconi's transmitter station at Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada. 1906 Dec 24: Canadian physicist Reginald A. Fessenden made the first trans- mission of pre-recorded music over the radio, from Brant Rock, MA – the potential audience was radio-telegraph operators aboard ship in the Atlantic Ocean – and is considered the first 'disk jockey'. 1911 March 24: Birthday of animator Joseph Barbera. 1919 Oct 17: Creation of the Radio Corporation of America. 1921 Oct 5: First broadcast of baseball's World Series on radio. 1922 June 14: Warren G. Harding became the first U.S. President heard on radio, as Baltimore station WEAR aired his speech dedicating the Francis Scott Key Memorial at Fort McHenry. 1923 Dec 6: The first radio broadcast of a presidential address, of President Coolidge speaking to a joint session of Congress. 1924 Feb 8: First coast-to-coast radio broadcast. 1924 Feb 12: The first radio speech broadcast by a U.S. presidant, by President Coolidge. 1924 Feb 22: President Coolidge delivered the first radio speech broadcast from the White House. 1926 Sept 9: The National Broadcasting Company was founded by Radio Corporation of America. 1926 Nov 15: Debut of the National Broadcasting Company, with a network of 24 radio stations. 1926 Dec 25: Prof. Kenjiro Takayanagi of Japan displayed a rough image transmitted electronically on a cathode ray tube. 1927 April 7: First successful public transmission of a long-distance television image, that of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover. 1927 Sept 18: Debut of the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System [later CBS] with a network of 16 radio stations. 1927 Sept 23: Invention of electronic scanning devices for television broadcast and receiving by Philo T. Farnsworth. 1928 Dec 23: National Broadcasting Company set up a permanent coast-to-coast radio network. 1932 Dec 25: The British Broadcasting Company inaugurated the Empire Service {forerunner of B.B.C. World Service). King George V gave the first royal broadcast to the Empire, written by the author Rudyard Kipling. 1933 Jan 30: First broadcast of the "Lone Ranger" radio program, over station WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan; the radio series ended 3 September 1954. 1934 June 19: The Federal Communications Commission was created, replacing the Federal Radio Commission. 1934 Aug 25: First public demonstration of electronic scanning television by Philo T. Farnsworth at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA. 1935 Dec 19: First public demonstration of F.M. radio, by American inventor Edwin Howard Armstrong. 1936 Nov 2: The British Broadcasting Corp. began 'high definition' television service from Alexandra Palace in London. 1938 Oct 30: Orson Welles's notorious "War of the Worlds" radio hoax, aired over the C.B.S. Network. 1939 July 18: First broadcast from a commercial FM radio station, in Alpine N.J. 1939 Aug 16: First major league baseball games shown on television, over experimental station W2XBS – a double header between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers. 1941 July 1: First ever TV ad, for Bulova Watches, on W.N.B.T. New York City. 1943: The U.S. Supreme Court found that Nikola Tesla was the inventor of wireless radio, based on the 1893 publication of his lecture at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA. 1943 Oct 14: Radio Corporation of America completed sale of its NBC Blue Network for $8 million to businessman Edward J. Noble; soon renamed the American Broadcasting Company. 1946 Oct 30: R.C.A. publicly demonstrated an all-electronic system of color TV, on a 15x20-inch screen. 1947 Jan 22: Station W6XYZ in Los Angeles, CA changed call letters to KTLA-TV 5, the first commercial TV west of Chicago. 1947 Oct 5: President Truman delivered the first televised White House address. 1948 Feb 16: First nightly television news broadcast, "The Camel Newsreel Theatre" on NBC-TV, showing Fox-MovieTone newsreels narrated by John Cameron Swayze. 1948 June 8: Debut of "Texaco Star Theater" on NBC-TV starring Milton Berle. 1949 Jan 31: Debut of the first network daytime 'soap opera' television program "These Are My Children" from the N.B.C. afffiliate station in Chicago, which lasted only four weeks. 1949 Sept 15: First broadcast of the "Lone Ranger" television program, over the A.B.C. network; the last new episode of the TV series aired 6 June 1957. 1951 June 25: First commercial color television broadcast - CBS transmitted a one-hour special program from New York City to four other cities. 1951 Sept 4: First live, coast-to-coast television transmission – President Truman addressed a peace conference in San Francisco, CA. 1952 Sept 6: Canadian television broadcasting began in Montreal, PQ. 1953 March 19: Academy Awards ceremony televised for the first time. 1953 Dec 17: First national broadcasts of R.C.A./N.T.S.C. color television, on C.B.S. at 6:15 pm and on N.B.C. at 6:30 pm. 1954 Jan 1: N.B.C. broadcast the Pasadena Rose Parade in color on 21 stations. 1954 April 6: Four weeks after Edward R. Murrow's on-air exposé, Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy delivered a filmed response on "See It Now" (CBS News) charging that Murrow had in the past "engaged in propoganda for Communist causes". 1954 Sept 27: Debut of NBC's 'Tonight!' show, hosted by Steve Allen. 1954 Nov 25: First coast-to-coast live broadcast of a comedy/drama – and it was in color! A 1-hour live episode of Lux Video Theatre, "A Medal For Benny", adapted by S.H. Barnett from the 1945 movie co-written by John Steinbeck & Jack Wagner; directed by Buzz Kulik; starring Rick Jason, Anne Bancroft & J. Carrol Naish 1955: First nationally-televised Emmy Awards Show, hosted by Steve Allen. Fall 1956: First wireless remote control for televison sets introduced - the "Zenith Space Command". 1956 Oct 29: "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" news program premiered as NBC's nightly tv news broadcast, replacing "The Camel News Caravan" (which began in Feb 1948). 1959: With only three national TV networks in the U.S., there were 48 primetime Western series on the air. 1961 May 9: Television programming condemned as a 'vast wasteland' by F.C.C. Commissioner Newton N. Minow in a speech at the National Association of Broadcasters. 1962 April 24: Massachusetts Institute of Technology achieved the first satellite relay of a television signal, between Camp Parks, CA and Westford, MA. 1970 Sept 21: "NFL Monday Night Football" debuted on ABC-TV. 1976 Dec: Media mogul Ted Turner originated the 'superstation' cable channel concept by transmitting by satelite from WTCG-TV in Atlanta, Georgia; Turner Broadcasting later sold to Time Warner. 1980 June 1: Debut of C.N.N. {Cable News Network}. 1991 Dec: Ted Turner named Time Magazine's Person of The Year (first such for a media figure). 1996 Oct 10: Time Warner purchased and merged with Turner Broadcasting. 1996 Oct 17: Launch of the Fox News Channel. 2000 Jan: A.O.L. {America Online} purchased and merged with Time Warner (announced January 10, filed Fabruary 11); company name was changed to AOL Time Warner 2003: Drastic changes in internet business created gigantic loss in A.O.L.'s value; power shift at AOL Time Warner included dropping AOL from company name. 2009 June 12: The end of analog television broadcasting in the U.S., the final switch-over to digital broadcast TV. 2009 Dec 2: Cable giant Comcast announced its offer for 51% ownership of NBC-Universal broadcast TV network. NBC Universal is valued at $30 billion; Comcast offered parent General Electric $6.5 billion in cash and $7.25 billion in assets to offset $9.1 billion in debt to third party lenders. 2010 Jan 22: Progressive radio network Air America [est. March 2004] ceased operations and filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, due to incompetent management. JM's detailed chronology of U.S. television history

Fiction  About  Radio  &  TV

	"Zoomar: A Sophisticated Novel About Love and TV" [1957] by Ernie Kovacs A comic romp, (loosely) based on the life & career of television pioneer Pat Weaver Bantam mass pb [1959] out of print/scarce Doubleday hardcover [1957] out of print/scarce Doubleday hardcover [1957] out of print/used
	"The 21" Screen" [1958] by Edwin Fadiman, Jr. "On television, Rex Lundy was the idol of millions, off-camera he was a cheating husband, an indifferent father, and a ruthless lover." Signet/NAL mass pb [1959] out of print/used Signet/NAL mass pb [1959] out of print/used Doubleday hardcover [1958] out of print/used
	"WLT: A Radio Romance" [1991 bestseller] by Garrison Keillor Two brothers set up radio station WLT ('With Lettuce and Tomato') in Minneapolis in 1926 to draw crowds to their wilting sandwich restaurant. The station is a success, and they are soon hiring local talent whose on-air personalities are not exactly the same as in real life: winsome child star Little Becky is a chain-smoking practical joker, the sports announcer is blind, and the always-cheerful songstress is confined to her wheelchair by polio and fat. The novel's hero is young straight man Francis White, who comes of age at the station and, as the station's success fades, goes on to greater things in television. Penguin 7½x5 pb [11/92] for $10.20 Viking 8½x5¼ hardcover [11/91] out of print/many, many used Highbridge ABR auduio CD [10/2006] for $20.48

New York TV exec Matt Cobb mystery series [1978-96] by William L. DeAndrea [1952-96] "Killed In The Ratings" [HBJ 1978] hardcover out of print/many used • pb out of print/used "Killed In The Act" [Doubleday 1981] hardcover out of print/used • pb out of print/used "Killed With A Passion" [Doubleday 1983] hardcover out of print/used "Killed On The Ice" [Doubleday 1984] hardcover out of print/used • pb out of print/used "Killed In Paradise" [Mysterious Press 1988] hardcover out of print/used • pb out of print/used "Killed On The Rocks" [Mysterious Press 1990] hardcover out of print/many used • pb out of print/many used "Killed In Fringe Time" [S&S 1995] hardcover out of print/used "Killed In the Fog" [S&S 1996] hardcover out of print/used

Old  Time  Radio

Old Time Radio Page at Spirit of America Bookstore

Old Radio Programs Dept.
on Old Time Radio Page at Spirit of America Bookstore

Nikola Tesla  [1856-1943] - The Inventor of Radio

browse Old Time Radio books & audio & CDs at Amazon
radio drama shows {some modern} on audio CD at Amazon

"Listening In: Radio and The American Imagination - From Amos 'n' Andy & Edward R. Murrow To Wolfman Jack & Howard Stern" [1999] by Susan J. Douglas Univ MN Press 9x6 pb [2/2004] for $13.57 Crown 9½x6¾ hardcover [4/99] out of print/used

Music

"All-Time Top 100 TV Themes" [2005] includes themes from current/recent shows all the way back to the "Leave It To Beaver", "Gilligan's Island", "Dragnet", "The Twilight Zone" & "I Love Lucy" era T.V.T. audio CD [8/2005] 2 disks for $18.99

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Magic Lantern's History of TV Pages

here on page one: pioneers of radio & TV • early TV programs •
links • important dates • old time radio • fiction books • music

on page two: videos & DVDs • non-fiction books

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