Old Radio

March 4, 1877: The microphone was created for telephone communications by inventor Emile Berliner.  Bell telephone later purchased the patent from Berliner for $50,000. Berliner was awarded his patent for his " gramophone " which recorded sound on cylinders .  This same method was used by Edison .  Berliner later invented a method to record sound on discs which he marketed to toy companies.

  March 1, 1941: When station W47NV in Nashville, TN started its operations on this particular day, it highlighted the start of Commercial FM broadcasting in the U.S. Since Armstrong developed the FM Radio in the 1930’s, it focused mainly on broadcasting program services. However, this trend shifted during  World War II when the FCC, a US government independent agency with regulatory authority, moved the FM frequencies. Basically, such a step made the FM radios in the pre-war era worthless. The movement to higher frequencies also cost much more for the stations, causing some to simply close their doors. This affected public confidence in FM and FM radio’s development. Though the radio station did not completely recover from this setback, the FCC’s grant for the first commercial operation helped the radio station to align itself with development again. One of the first commercials was bought by Socony Vacuum Oil Company, now known as Mobil.

On this day in 1949, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar premiered on CBS . This show lasted over 12 years with many actors taking on the starring role.

On this day in 1903, Edgar Bergen was born.

On this day in 1893, Jimmy Durante was born. Jimmy is known for his New York accent, and jazz influenced songs, He started his radio career on "The Great Shnozzola" on the Chase and Sanborn Hour .

On this day in 1950, Night Beat made its radio debut. Frank Lovejoy starred as a journalist named Randy Stone and works for the Chicago Tribune.

On this day in 1950, Night Beat made its radio debut.

On this day in 1939,  Challenge of the Yukon (aka Sgt. Preston of the Yukon) made its radio debut!

On this day in 1892, Eddie Cantor was born.

On this day in 1930, Conrad Binyon was born.

On this day in 1905, Howard McNear was born.

On this day in 1956, Fort Laramie made its radio debut.

On this day in 1897, J. Carrol Naish was born.

On this day in 1927, Jack Benny and Sadye Marks (aka Mary Livingstone) were married.

On this day in 1949, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was born.

   On this day in 1918, Steve Dunne was born. He was the voice behind Private Eye Sam Spade between 1950-1951.

The Screen Directors' Playhouse premiered on this day in 1949. This anthology series broadcast adaptations of Hollywood movies.

On this day in 1939, The Screen Guild Theater premiered on radio. This long-running CBS anthology series featured leading Hollywood stars preforming adaptations of major motion pictures.

On this day in 1945, The Saint made its radio debut.

On this day in 1945, The Saint premiered on NBC (with Edgar Barrier in the starring role). Subsequent versions of the program starred Brian Aherne, Vincent Price , Barry Sullivan and Tom Conway as Simon Templar .

On this day in 1935, Bob Hope show premiered on radio. Hope was known for his topical one liners, his rapid fire delivery, and for entertaining the troops all over the world.