November 16 Radio History

 In 1896...Jim Jordan, the man behind the iconic radio sitcom Fibber McGee & Molly, was born.
Together with wife Marian & writer Don Quinn, in the mid 1930’s he created the form of most broadcast comedies that followed, with regular characters and running gags.  Fibber McGee’s overstuffed closet, created only through sound effects, is one of the great memories of ‘old-time’ radio.  The show ran for 25 years, until the latter-most stages of radio’s “golden age.”  Jordan died Apr 1, 1988 at age 91, due to a blood clot to the brain.

Mary Margaret McBride

In 1899...Mary Margaret McBride was born in Paris Missouri. She started an advice program on WOR radio in 1934, and took it national with first CBS in 1937, NBC in 1941, ABC in 1950,and back to NBC 1954-60.  Along the way she mixed in her own unique style interviews with figures well known in arts, entertainment and politics.

She died Apr 7, 1976 at age 76.


In 1904...Fleming patents thermionic tube (diode tube)

Stan Freberg, Daws Butler

In 1916...radio & cartoon voice actor Daws Butler was born in Toledo. He worked on Stan Freberg’s 1957 radio show & his many comedy creations for Capitol records.  On TV he helped voice Beany & Cecil, Woody Woodpecker, Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, The Jetsons, Fred Flinstone & Friends, the Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show, and many others.  He died May 18 1988 at age 71, following a heart attack.


In 1940...In Atlanta, the "hillbilly music" show "The WSB Barn Dance" began its 9½-year run.

In 1959...Harry Harrison debuted on WMCA, New York. Here's Harry on WMCA from 1965...





In 1963...The touch-tone telephone was introduced


In 1967...Jonathan Schwartz starts at WNEW 102.7 FM NYC


In 1979...Paul McCartney released the holiday single "Wonderful Christmastime." Because he wrote, published, and played all the instruments on this recording, McCartney's royalties add up. Including royalties from cover versions, it is estimated that Paul McCartney makes $400,000 per year from this song, which puts its cumulative earnings in excess of $16 million.




In 2012…Radio personality (WBZ-Boston, WKBW-Buffalo, WBEN-Buffalo)/program director Jefferson Kaye, for many years the voice of NFL Films, died of cancer at 75.

Born Martin Krimski, Kaye served in the US Air Force during the Korean War and was stationed in Morocco where he met his bride. Jeff began his broadcast career in Providence, RI and then moved on to WBZ Radio in Boston. From there he went to WKBW Radio in Buffalo and then became the morning man on WBEN Radio. After leaving Buffalo, Jeff began his Emmy winning career with NFL Films.

For more on Kaye: Click Here.



In 2012…Radio/television personality (WWJ-Radio, WWJ-TV) Sonny Eliot, a broadcaster in Detroit for 63 years and one of the first TV weathermen to combine meteorology and humor, died at age 91.


In 2015…Chicago radio veteran (WIND, WLS, WCLR, WLAK, WCFL, WJJD)/former AFTRA Board Member Bernie Allen died at age 86