November 16 Radio History

➦In 1896...Jim Jordan, the man behind the iconic radio sitcom Fibber McGee & Molly, was born.

Jim and his wife Marian Jordan got their major break in radio while performing in Chicago in 1924; Jim said he could give a better performance than the singers they were listening to on the radio, and his brother Byron bet $10 that Jim couldn't do it. By the end of the evening, Jim and Marian had their first radio contract, at $10 per show for 26 weeks as The O'Henry Twins, sponsored by Oh Henry! candy.

He died at the age of 91 in 1988 in Beverly Hills from a blood clot in his brain, caused by a fall.

Mary Margaret McBride

➦In 1899...Mary Margaret McBride was born in Paris, Missouri. She started an advice program on NYC's 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... John Ambrose Fleming patented the thermionic tube (diode tube) the “kenotron,” a key to developing radio broadcasting.  He was acting as scientific advisor to the Marconi company.

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...Newly inducted National Radio Hall of Famer Harry Harrison debuted on WMCA570 AM, New York. Here's Harry on WMCA from 1965...



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

➦In 1967...Jonathan Schwartz started at WNEW 102.7 FM NYC. Schwartz worked at New York's WNEW-FM from 1967 to 1976, followed by stints at WNEW, WQEW and, between 1999 and 2017, WNYC-FM. Schwartz also served as programming director for XM Satellite Radio Frank’s Place, named in honor of Frank Sinatra. Following XM’s merger with Sirius, the name was changed to High Standards channel from 2001 to 2008, and appeared on SiriusXM's Siriusly Sinatra and '40s on 4 channels from 2008 to 2013.

Schwartz is best known for The Jonathan Schwartz Show, which aired Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons on WNYC-FM, and was about half talk and half an eclectic mix of music.

➦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 1990...Stan Z. Burns 1010 WINS NYC died from cancer at age 63.



Burns, whose clear voice was instantly recognizable to thousands of New Yorkers as a radio anchorman at the all-news station WINS-AM. Burns began working at the station in 1944. During his 40-year career, Burns covered major news events, including the New York blackouts and transit strikes.

He went to work for WINS as a staff announcer in May 1944, when the station was known for its music and was one of the first disc jockeys in the United States to play a Beatles record when WINS was a Top40 station.

Ralph Edwards

➦In 2005...“This Is Your Life” TV host & producer Ralph Edwards died of heart failure in West Hollywood, at age 92. Edwards also hosted the venerable radio game show ‘Truth or Consequences,’ and created TV’s long-running ‘The People’s Court.’





➦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…WWJ-Radio, WWJ-TV personality Sonny Eliot died at age 91.  He was a broadcaster in Detroit for 63 years and one of the first TV weathermen to combine meteorology and humor.

➦In 2015…Chicago radio veteran Bernie Allen died at age 86. Working at WLS-AM 890 in the 1960s, Bernie Allen played the hits during the golden era of the then-powerhouse rock-and-pop music station known as "The Bright Sound of Chicago Radio."

Allen was part of the WLS crew at Comiskey Park in August 1965 as The Beatles performed before thousands of screaming fans.

Over the course of the next few decades, Allen could be heard on numerous other Chicago radio stations, including WJJD-AM, WCLR-FM, WLAK-FM and WCFL-AM.

 ➦In 2017...the FCC voted 3-2 to loosen the US limits on local ownership of TV stations, radio stations and newspapers, reversing what FCC Chairman Ajit Pai described as one of its stalest rules.