Magic Lantern Video & Book Store

History  of  Radio
&  Television  Page

Current Filmmakers
Latter XXth Century Directors
Early Filmmakers
Foreign Auteurs
Favorite Films (and Why)
Film Genres
Actors: Stars & Unknowns
Movies: Great & Unsung
Film Festivals & Orgns
Reference & Technical
Film Businesses Page
       classic test pattern for black & white TV        on this page:
Links
Pioneers of Radio & TV
Videos & DVDs
Important Dates
Old Time Radio
Early TV Programs
Non-Fiction Books
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]


History of Cinema Page
Books About Hollywood & Cinema History

Old Time Radio at Spirit of America Bookstore

Air America Radio Network Page at Working Minds



Radio  &  Television  Pioneers

Pioneers of Television PBS miniseries   "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  [1890-1977]

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


Milton  Berle  [1908-2002]
explore videos/DVDsIMDb listingWikipedia
Milton Berle Collection  
"The Milton Berle Collection" [2004]
from the 'Milton Berle Buick Show' [1953-55]

Passport b&w DVD [2/2004] 5 disks for $26.99


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


Ernie Kovacs  [1919-62]
explore videos/DVDsIMDb listingWikipedia
Best of Ernie Kovacs DVD  
"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]

see The Marx Brothers on the Movie Series & Comedy Teams Page


Edward  R.  Murrow  [1908-65]
explore videos/DVDsIMDb listingWikipedia

Edward R. Murrow Collection  
"The Edward R. Murrow Collection" [2005]
New Video Group b&w DVD [5/2005] 4 disks for $53.99

includes "This Reporter" [1990 TV special], "The Best of See It Now" [1951-58], "The McCarthy Years" [1991], and "Harvest of Shame" 1960], plus extras

Murrow / McCarthy Years   "Edward R. Murrow: The McCarthy Years" [1991]
from the archives of C.B.S. News
New Video Group b&w DVD [5/2005] for $21.99
Murrow / Harvest of Shame   "Harvest of Shame" [CBS News special Nov 1960]
TV journalist Edward R. Murrow describes the harsh living conditions, endless travel & low wages of migrant farm workers in America. Co-produced & directed by Fred W. Friendly; co-produced and hosted by Edward R. Murrow
New Video Group b&w DVD [5/2005] for $21.99
full credits from IMDb

see also "Good Night, and, Good Luck" 2005 feature film below


Jack  Paar  [1918-2004]
explore videos/DVDsIMDb listingWikipedia
Jack Paar Collection DVD  
"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] & 3 episodes of the prime-time "The Jack Paar Program" [1962-65]


Nikola Tesla  [1856-1943]
The Inventor of Radio



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

Museum of TV & Radio TVLand Store: 'I Love Lucy', 'Brady Bunch', 'The Honeymooners', 'Three Stooges', 'I Dream of Jeannie', 'Andy Griffith', 'Get Smart', 'Munsters' and more...



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).
  • 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 transmission of the human voice as well as music over the radio, from Brant Rock, MA. (The potential audience was radio-telegraph operators aboard ship in the Atlantic Ocean.)
  • 1911 March 24: Birthday of animator Joseph Barbera.
  • 1919 Oct 17: Creation of the Radio Corporation of America.
  • 1921 Oct 5: First radio broadcast of baseball's World Series.
  • 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 television 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, MI.
  • 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 for $8 million to businessman Edward J. Noble of its NBC Blue Network, 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 changes 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.
  • 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 on-air expose by Edward R. Murrow, 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.
  • 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).
  • 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.
  • 1996 Oct 17: Launch of the Fox News Channel.
  • 2009 Feb 19: The end of analog television broadcasting in the U.S., the final switch-over to digital broadcast TV.

JM's detailed chronology of U.S. television history



Non-Fiction  Books

TV Wonderland / Early Television  "TV Wonderland: The Enchantment of Early Television"
[2006] by Brad & Debra Schepp

Collectors Press 6½x5½ pb [1/2006] for $11.66
Forgotten DuMont Network   "The Forgotten Network: DuMont & The Birth of American Television" [2004]
by David Weinstein

Temple Univ Press pb [3/2006] for $19.95
Temple Univ Press 9x6¼ hardcover [5/2004] for $37.49
Television History Book   "The Television History Book" [2004]
by Michele Hilmes

British Film Institute 9½x7¼ pb [3/2004] for $27.95
British Film Institute 10x7½ hardcover [3/2004] out of print/rare
Television, McCarthyism & American Culture   "Cold War, Cool Medium: Television, McCarthyism & American Culture" [2003]
by Thomas Doherty

Columbia Univ Press 8¾x5¾ pb [2/2005] for $23.00
Columbia Univ Press 9x6¼ hardcover [10/2003] for $71.00
Encyclopedia of American Television   "The Encyclopedia of American Television: Broadcast Programming Post World War II to 2000" [2002]
by Ronald W. Lackmann

Checkmark Books pb [10/2002] for $21.95
Facts On File {4.2 pounds} hardcover [10/2002] for $75.00
Age of Broadcasting / Television  
"The Age of Broadcasting: Television" [1997]
Edited by Wim Coleman

Tandem Library 7½x5¼ econoclad [3/97] for $15.25
Discovery Enterprises 7¾x5¼ pb [9/98] out of print/used
Encyclopedia of Television   "Encyclopedia of Television" [1997]
Edited by Horace Newcomb

Taylor & Francis {17 pounds!} 2nd edition
hardcover 4-volume set [10/2004] for $620.00

online 1st edition at Museum of Broadcast Communications

Invention of Television   "Tube: The Invention of Television" [1996]
by David E. Fisher & Marshall Jon Fisher

Harvest Books 9x6 pb [11/97] out of print/used
Counterpoint hardcover [9/96] out of print/many used
As Seen On TV   "As Seen On TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life In The 1950s" [1994]
by Karal Ann Marling

Harvard Univ Press 9¼x6 pb [3/96] for $20.50
Harvard Univ Press 9½x6.4 hardcover [9/94] for $27.50
Please Stand By   "Please Stand By: A Prehistory of Television" [1994]
by Michael Ritchie

Overlook 9¼x7 pb [9/95] for $15.95
Overlook hardcover [9/94] out of print/many used
Broadcast Century & Beyond   "The Broadcast Century and Beyond: A Biography of American Broadcasting" [orig 1992]
by Robert L Hilliard & Michael C. Keith

Focal Press 4th edition 10¼x7¼ pb [10/2004] for $39.56
Unsilent Revolution   "Unsilent Revolution: Television News & American Public Life,
1948-1991" [1992]
by Robert J. Donovan

Cambridge Univ Press pb [3/92] for $28.99
Cambridge Univ Press 9¼x6½ hardcover [3/92] out of print/used
Great Television Race   "The Great Television Race: A History of The American Television Industry, 1925-1941" [1982]
by Joseph H. Udelson

Univ AL Press 9¼x6 pb [11/90] for $18.95
Univ AL Press 9¼x6 pb [6/89] for $35.00
Total Television   "Total Television: Revised Edition" [orig 1980]
by Alex McNeil

Penguin {2.63 pound} 4th edition pb [9/96] for $20.70
Penguin 4th edition book & CD [10/97] out of prodn/used
Complete Directory / Brooks & Marsh   "The Complete Directory To Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present" [1979]
by Tim Brooks & Earle F. Marsh

Ballantine 8th edition pb [10/2003] for $18.45
New York Times Encyclopedia of Television   "The New York Times Encyclopedia of Television" [orig 1977]
by Les Brown

Visible Ink Press 3rd edition 9x7¼ pb [2/92] out of print/used
Gale Group 3rd edition 9¾x7¾ hardcover [2/92] out of print/used
Random House hardcover [11/77] out of print/many used
Stay Tuned / Sterling & Kittross   "Stay Tuned: A History of American Broadcasting" [1978]
by Christopher H. Sterling & John M. Kittross

L.E.A. 3rd edition hardcover [11/2001] for $64.35
Tube of Plenty   "Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television" [1975]
by Erik Barnouw

Oxford Univ Press 8x5¼ pb [5/90] for $19.95
Oxford Univ Press hardcover 10/75] out of print/used
History of Broadcasting In The U.S.   "A History of Broadcasting In The United States"
by Erik Barnouw

Vol. 1: "A Tower In Babel, To 1933"
Oxford Univ Press hardcover [12/66] for $60.00
Vol. 2: "The Golden Web, 1933-1953"
Oxford Univ Press hardcover [12/68] for $60.00
Vol. 3: "The Image Empire, From 1953"
Oxford Univ Press hardcover [11/70] for $60.00

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

Radio & the American Imagination  
"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



Early  Television  Programs

Bob Clampett's "Time For Beany"
"Engineer Bill"
"Howdy Doodie & Buffalo Bob"
"Kukla, Fran & Ollie"
"Perry Mason" tv series [1957-66]
"Sheriff John"
"Watching Mr. Wizard" [1951-65]
"Webster Webfoot"

at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Western Bookstore
Cisco Kid & Pancho Page
Hopalong Cassidy Page
The Lone Ranger Page



Historical  Fiction
About  Radio  &  TV

"Zoomar" by Ernie Kovacs



Videos  &  DVDs

"Broadcast  News"  [Gracie/Fox Dec 1987]
Broadcast News   A love triangle – between a female news producer who falls for the new pretty-boy anchor and the plain-looking news reporter who loves her – parallels the network's move from substance toward style. Co-produced, written & directed by James L. Brooks; starring William Hurt, Albert Brooks, Holly Hunter, Robert Prosky, Lois Chiles, Joan Cusack, Peter Hackes, Christian Clemenson, Jack Nicholson, Robert Katims, Ed Wheeler & Stephen Mendillo; Oscar nomina- tions for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (Hurt), Best Actress (HH), Best Supporting Actor (AB), Best Cinematography & Best Editing; noms for DGA & WGA Awards
Fox widescreen color DVD [10/99] for $9.98
Fox color VHS [1/96] out of prodn/many used
full credits from IMDb
Oscar-nominated movie script by James L. Brooks
Vintage pb [2/89] out of print/used

"Good  Night,  And,  Good  Luck"
[Warner Independent Oct 2005]
Good Night, and Good Luck poster   TV newsman Edward R. Murrow airs a story about a man discharged from the Navy without a trial. Murrow is accused of being a 'Communist sympathizer', and the C.B.S. news team goes on the offensive. "See It Now" airs a series of shows detailing the lies and un-Constitutional tactics of Senator Joe McCarthy, leading to McCarthy's censure by the U.S. Senate.
Co-written & directed by & co-starring George Clooney; starring David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow, Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr., Frank Langella, with Joseph McCarthy via archive footage; Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Script, Best Actor {DS, of course), Best Cinematograpy & Best Art Direction
Warner widescreen b&w DVD [3/2006] for $14.99
full credits from IMDb; official moviesite

"The  Man  In  The  Gray  Flannel  Suit"
[Fox April 1956]
Man In The Gray Flannel Suit movie   A WWII veteran takes a temporary job at a New York tv network for the increase in pay, but is soon miserable. Adapted & directed by Nunnally Johnson, from the 1955 novel; music by Bernard Hermann; starring Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Fredric March, Marisa Pavan, Lee J. Cobb, Ann Harding, Keenan Wynn, Gene Lockhart, Gigi Perreau & Portland Mason
Fox widescreen color DVD [8/2005] for $10.99
Fox color VHS [10/97] for $18.98
Bernard Hermann soundtrack CD [9/99] for $17.98
full credits at IMDb
Man In The Gray Flannel Suit novel  
classic novel [1955] by Sloan Wilson [1920-2003]
Four Walls Eight Windows 8¼x5½ pb [9/2002] for $11.58
Buccaneer Books hardcover [12/91] out of print/used
"The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit II" [1984 sequel]
Arbor House hardcover [3/84] out of print/used

"Modern Marvels: Television - Window To The World"
[History Channel undated]
History Channel / Modern Marvels / Television  
A&E Home Video b&w/color DVD [4/2005] for $21.99
not listed at IMDb

"Network"  [M.G.M. Nov 1976]
Network 1976 movie poster   An aging network news anchor is fired, and his on-air tirade – "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" – causes a sensation among his viewers, so he is rehired and given his own show. Directed by Sidney Lumet; written by Paddy Chayefsky; starring Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Duvall & Ned Beatty; won Oscars for Best Script, Best Actor [Finch], Best Actress [FD], Best Supporting Actress [BS], nominated for Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Actor [WH], Best Supporting Actor [NB], Best Cinematography, Best Editing; won BAFTA for Best Actor [Finch], nominated for 8 more; won W.G.A. Award for Best Original Script
Warner widescreen color DVD [2/2006] 2 disks for $23.99
M.G.M. color VHS [5/96] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb
novelization by Sam Hedrin
Penguin movie tie-in mass pb [11/76] out of print/used

"Television: The First 50 Years"
Television / First 50 Years   Passport Video 100-min. b&w/color DVD [4/2003] for $12.99
not listed on IMDb

"The  TV  Set"  [ThinkFilm April 2007]
The TV Set poster   A comedy about the stressful process of getting a television series sold and aired.
Written & directed by Jake Kasdan; starring David Duchovny, Sigourney Weaver, Ioan Gruffudd, Judy Greer, Fran Kranz, Lindsay Sloane, Justine Bateman & Lucy Davis
Fox widescreen color DVD [DUE Sept 2007] for $19.99  
full credits from IMDb



Powered by WebRing.


Book & tape sales in Association with  cinema history & criticism at Amazon.com

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

History of Cinema Page
Books About Hollywood & Cinema History

top of this page  ¸  back to Magic Lantern homepage