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Thursday, September 12, 2024

Radio History: Sep 12


➦In 1932...Edgar Rice Burroughs’ 'Tarzan of the Apes' began as a 15-minute show on WOR NYC and several other stations.  The series had Burroughs' daughter, Joan, in the role of Jane.

H.V. Kaltenborn

➦In 1938...While with CBS Radio, commentator H.V. Kaltenborn made broadcasting history on this day.  Kaltenborn was one of the first news readers to provide analysis and insight into current news stories. His vast knowledge of foreign affairs and international politics amply equipped him for covering crises in Europe and the Far East in the 1930s.

His vivid reporting of the Spanish Civil War and the Czech crisis of 1938 helped establish the credibility of radio news in the public mind. Kaltenborn reported on the Spanish Civil War "while hiding in a haystack between the two armies. Listeners in America could hear bullets hitting the hay above him while he spoke."  He was so devoted to his work that he slept in the studio for 18 days while bringing broadcasting updates.

➦ In 1958...electrical engineer Jack S. Kilby was a newly employed engineer at Texas Instruments (TI). Lacking vacation time off, he spent the summer working on the problem in circuit design that was commonly called the "tyranny of numbers", and he finally came to the conclusion that the manufacturing of circuit components en masse in a single piece of semiconductor material could provide a solution.

On September 12, he presented his findings to company's management. He showed them a piece of germanium with an oscilloscope attached, pressed a switch, and the oscilloscope showed a continuous sine wave, proving that his integrated circuit worked, and hence he had solved the problem. U.S. Patent 3,138,743 was granted for a"Miniaturized Electronic Circuits", the first integrated micro-chip circuit, was granted the next year.  Along with Robert Noyce (who independently made a similar circuit a few months later), Kilby is generally credited as co-inventor of the integrated circuit.

➦In 2001... XM Satellite Radio was scheduled to start service on this date.  But because of the terrorist attacks of the previous day XM’s debut was postponed to Sept. 25th.

The company had its origins in the 1988 formation of the American Mobile Satellite Corporation (AMSC), a consortium of several organizations originally dedicated to satellite broadcasting of telephone, fax, and data signals. In 1992, AMSC established a unit called the American Mobile Radio Corporation dedicated to developing a satellite-based digital radio service; this was spun off as XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. in 1999.

On July 29, 2008, XM and former competitor Sirius Satellite Radio formally completed their merger, following FCC approval, forming SiriusXM Radio, Inc. with XM Satellite Radio, Inc. as its subsidiary. On November 12, 2008, Sirius and XM began broadcasting with their new, combined channel lineups. On January 13, 2011, XM Satellite Radio, Inc. was dissolved as a separate entity and merged into Sirius XM Radio, Inc.  Prior to its merger with Sirius, XM was the largest satellite radio company in the United States.

➦In 2013…Inventor Ray Dolby, who took the hiss out of the soundtrack of our lives, died in San Francisco. He was 80 and had been living with Alzheimer's disease, compounded by a diagnosis of leukemia in July.


The name Dolby first became common decades ago when the sound wizard developed a system for eliminating the static noise on cassette tapes used for copying music from vinyl albums. The "Dolby" button on a cassette deck was a requirement for every college stereo. His influence also extended to film, where he helped bring "Star Wars" to life and created an entire industry devoted to the sound experience.

➦In 2014...CBS CEO Les Moonves stated they might "trim down radio". He added, "We still believe in radio. It is a slow growth radio. We like it."  CBS Eventually 'merged' with Entercom in 2017.

Gerry Beckley is 72
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

  • Actor Linda Gray (“Dallas”) is 84. 
  • Singer Maria Muldaur is 82. 
  • Actor Joe Pantoliano (“The Sopranos”) is 73. 
  • Singer-guitarist Gerry Beckley of America is 72. 
  • Original MTV VJ Nina Blackwood is 72. 
  • Actor Rachel Ward is 67. 
  • Actor Amy Yasbeck (“Wings,” ″Life on a Stick”) is 62. 
  • Bassist Norwood Fisher of Fishbone is 59. 
  • Actor Darren E. Burrows (“Northern Exposure”) is 58. 
  • Singer Ben Folds (Ben Folds Five) is 58. 
  • Comedian Louis C.K. is 57. 
  • Guitarist Larry LaLonde of Primus is 56. 
  • Actor Will Chase (“Nashville”) is 54. 
  • Actor Josh Hopkins (“Cougar Town,” “Quantico”) is 54. 
  • Country singer Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland is 50. 
  • Actor Lauren Stamile (“Complications,” “Grey’s Anatomy”) is 48. 
  • Rapper 2 Chainz is 47. 
  • Actor Kelly Jenrette (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) is 46. 
  • Actor Ben McKenzie (“Gotham,” “The O.C.”) is 46. 
  • Singer Ruben Studdard (“American Idol”) is 46. 
  • Singer-actor Jennifer Hudson is 43. 
  • Actor Alfie Allen (“Game of Thrones”) is 38. 
  • Actor Emmy Rossum (“Phantom of the Opera”) is 38. 
  • Country singer Kelsea Ballerini is 31. 
  • Actor Colin Ford (“Under the Dome”) is 28.

✞REMEMBRANCES
  • In 1986..Frank Nelson, American comedic radio and screen actor (The Jack Benny Show; I Love Lucy), dies of cancer at 75
  • In 1992..Anthony Perkins, Actor (Psycho; Friendly Persuasion; Fear Strikes Out; Pretty Poison), and singer, dies from AIDS-related pneumonia at 60
  • In 1993..Raymond Burr, Canadian-American actor (Perry Mason, Ironsides, Godzilla), dies of liver cancer at 76
  • In 1994..Major Bill Smith, record producer, dies at 72
  • In 1994..Tom Ewell [Sam Yewell Tompkins], American actor (Tom Ewell Show, The Seven Year Itch), dies at 85
  • In 1995..Geoffrey Stokes, rock & roll writer, dies at 55
  • In 2003..Johnny Cash, American country singer ("I Walk the Line"; "Ring of Fire"; "A Boy Named Sue"), dies at 71
  • In 2004..Kenny Buttrey, American session drummer based in Nashville (Bob Dylan; Neil Young; Elvis Presley; Joan Baez, Jimmy Buffett), dies of cancer at 59
  • In 2013..Ray Dolby, American engineer, sound expert, and inventor (Dolby noise reduction system), dies of leukemia at 80
  • In 2022..Ramsey Lewis, American Grammy Award-winning jazz-pop pianist ("The In Crowd"; "Wade in the Water"), dies at 87 

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