December 11 In Radio History

In 1936...One day after officially abdicating the British throne to marry American divorcée Wallis Warfield Simpson, the former King Edward VIII said in a radio broadcast, "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility, and to discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do, without the help and support of the woman I love."

In 1944..."The Chesterfield Supper Club," a 15-minute weekday program airing at 7:00 p.m. (ET), debuted on NBC Radio. Initially, Perry Como hosted all the shows. Beginning with the second season, he reduced his schedule to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while Jo Stafford hosted Tuesdays and Thursdays. In 1948, Peggy Lee took over the Thursday broadcast. In 1949, the program began its final two years on radio as a weekly 30-minute show.

In 1964...Soul and gospel singer Sam Cooke was shot to death. He was 33. The manager of a Los Angeles motel claimed she shot Cooke in self-defense after he turned on her when she tried to help a young woman who said Cooke had tried to rape her

In 1985...GE, General Electric, bought RCA Corporation for $6.3 billion. NBC Radio and Television was also included in the purchase.


In 1991...Robert Q. Lewis, personality for  WNEW 1130 AM , WNBC 660 AM, KHJ, 1961-62; KFI, 1972-75; KRLA, 1975 in Los Angelesm  died at 71 years-of-age.

Robert Q Lewis - 1956

Lewis made his radio debut in 1931, at age 11, on a local radio show, "Dr. Posner's Kiddie Hour". He enrolled in the University of Michigan in 1938, where he was a member of the Phi Sigma Delta fraternity. He left to enlist in the U.S. Army in 1942 and became a radio operator in the Signal Corps.

After the war, he became an announcer and disc jockey.  Among those who served as writers on Lewis's radio programs were playwright Neil Simon, author and dramatist Paddy Chayevsky, and radio comedy writer Goodman Ace,  who headed a CBS team of comedy writers, including Simon, that acted largely as "script doctors" for existing shows in need of fixing. Ace was frustrated over CBS's revamp of the show he assembled for Lewis, The Little Show: "I give them a good, tight, fifteen-minute comedy show," Ace told Time, "and what do they do? Expand it to half an hour and throw in an orchestra and an audience. Who the hell said a comedy show had to be half an hour, Marconi? Ida Cantor?"

Future talk-show host and producer Merv Griffin often sang on Lewis's show. Lewis began appearing on television, but he continued on radio, first for the CBS and later as a disc jockey in Los Angeles. One of his radio series, Robert Q.'s Waxworks, was devoted to old records, setting the pattern that later radio personalities like Dr. Demento would follow.  His interview-based program was heard locally on KFI, Los Angeles, in 1972.




In 1992...WNEW 1130 AM, New York City ended broadcasting after 58 years.
WNEW ended live programming on December 11, 1992 at 8pm; they then ran their regularly scheduled talk shows.

During overnights and on the weekend, WNEW simulcasted Country WYNY, except for Giants games and the evening talk shows.

December 15, 1992 marked the end of WNEW programming.

At 4pm that day, WNEW ran the Perry Como Christmas Show, then the talk shows from 7 to midnight.

At 11:59pm, they cut in to Larry King, did an ID and signed off forever.