July 12 Radio History

Howard Duff

➦In 1946…"The Adventures of Sam Spade," starring Howard Duff, debuted on ABC Radio. The show ran for 13 episodes on ABC in 1946, for 157 episodes on CBS in 1946-1949, and finally for 51 episodes on NBC in 1949-1951. Steve Dunne played the title role during the show's last two seasons.

➦In 1957…DJ Alan Freed - the man who coined the term "Rock and Roll" - started a Rock and Roll program on ABC-TV.  "The Big Beat" with guest performers Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers, the Everly Brothers and Connie Francis. The series was cancelled after the fourth show in which Frankie Lymon was seen dancing with a white girl, something that reportedly offended the management of the network's affiliate stations in southern states. Freed hosted a local version of "The Big Beat" on WNEW-TV New York until late 1959 when he was fired due to payola allegations.

➦In 1976…Radio-TV host (Ted Mack & The Original Amateur Hour, Ted Mack Family Hour) Ted Mack – died of complications from cancer at 72.



➦In 1979…In Chicago, WLUP-FM personalities Gerry Meier and Steve Dahl staged a "disco demolition" night at Comiskey Park with a public bonfire of disco vinyl records between games of a White Sox-Detroit Tigers doubleheader. Fans began tossing the records around like frisbees during the first game, and by the time of the bonfire, mini-riots and other fires had broken out in the stadium, forcing the White Sox to forfeit the second game.

➦In 1996...NBC correspondent/anchor John Chancellor, who succeeded Dave Garroway as host of Today, and who anchored, then did commentaries for NBC Nightly News, succumbed to stomach cancer at age 68.

➦In 2000…USA Digital Radio and Lucent Digital Radio merge to form Ibiquity Digital.

➦In  2008… Former White House press secretary/columnist//radio-TV newsman/program host (Fox News, CNN, NPR) Tony Snow died of colon cancer at 53.


➦In 2008… New York Yankees outfielder-turned baseball broadcaster Bobby Murcer died of brain cancer at age 62.