August, 26
This is "Radio" Day!
Lee DeForest was born on this day in 1873 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. We're sure his parents had big plans for him; but they could never have realized how their son, Lee, would change the world.
DeForest seemed to be a born inventor. He held patents for hundreds of different items including the photoelectric cell and the surgical radio knife. But none had as much impact on the world as his invention of the electron tube -- specifically the triode, a three element vacuum tube -- which later became the audion tube -- possibly the most significant invention that made radio possible.
Wireless radio broadcasting was unthinkable in the early 1900s and DeForest was considered a fraud. He was arrested for selling stock to underwrite the development of his invention, which no one believed would work. He was forced into selling the rights to his patent to American Telephone and Telegraph for $500,000; considered by most to be foolish of AT&T. The rest is history.
We can all read Lee DeForest's version in his 1950 autobiography, "Father of Radio".
August, 27
This is "It's Oil" Day!
Titusville, PA. August 27, 1859. A shaft was being sunk deep in the ground -- the drill had reached 69 feet and 6 inches. W.A. Smith, better known to the drillers and other folk in the small town in Western Pennsylvania, as Uncle Billy, saw a dark film floating on the water. The water was below the derrick floor.
Colonel Edwin Drake kept drilling - because what Uncle Billy saw was oil. Soon, the first commercial oil well was pumping out 20 barrels of crude oil a day.
This wasn't Texas crude. It wasn't Oklahoma gold. This was Pennsylvania oil, folks; Titusville, PA, home of the first oil well.
August, 28
This is "Radio Commercial" Day!
The first commercial to be broadcast on radio was heard on this day in 1922 -- on WEAF Radio in New York City. Announcer H.M. Blackwell spoke about Hawthorne Court, a group of apartment buildings in Queens, New York. The Queensboro Realty Company, of Jackson Heights, bought what was called "Toll Broadcasting".
WEAF, owned by AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph, in those days) sold their block programming, five one-minute programs, one a day for five days, for $50 plus long-distance toll fees. The Queensboro Realty Company paid $100 for 10 minutes of commercial airtime.
They bought not only the first radio commercial, but also, the first infomercial. We're sure they had no idea what they started...
August, 29
This is "King of Pop" Day!
A star was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana. Singer, songwriter, dancer, actor, Michael Joe Jackson, started on the road to stardom while at Garnett Elementary School in Gary. Michael performed for his class by singing "Climb Every Mountain". Within just a few years, he took his act to the stage joining his brothers as The Jackson Five. They were entertaining at Mr. Lucky's, also in Gary, Indiana. Michael was only 8. By the time he was 11, Michael, the youngest of the five brothers was the lead singer of the group.
And their hits were hitting the top of the charts: "I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", "I'll Be There". Then young Michael started recording solo hits like "Ben", also #1.
And the hits just kept on coming ... and the awards came with them: A Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal in 1979 for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", 5 Grammy Awards in 1983 -- Best Male Pop Vocal and Album of the Year ("Thriller"), Best Male R & B vocal and Best R & B song ("Billie Jean"), and Best Recording for Children: "E.T., the Extraterrestrial"; 2 in 1984 -- Record of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal ("Beat It"); another in 1985 with Lionel Richie for Song of the Year ("We are the World"); a Best Music Video/Short Form Grammy in 1989 for "Leave Me Alone"; and finally, The Legend Award Grammy -- for the living legend in the music industry, Michael Jackson.
Whether Michael sings with his brothers, his sisters, alone or in duets with fellow performers, the results are hit, after hit, after hit ... "The Girl is Mine" and "Stay, Stay, Stay" with Paul McCartney; "I Can't Stop Loving You" with Siedah Garrett; "Rock with You", "Bad", "Smooth Criminal" ... "Ease on Down the Road" with Diana Ross (from Broadway's "The Wiz" in which Michael played the scarecrow). Michael, the actor, was also seen as a hologram, "Captain Eo" of Epcot Center's multimedia show.
A celebrity for most of his life, he is both magic and tragic ... the gloved one's fame and infamy well-known throughout the world: he made $70 million from "Thriller"; he paid $50 million for the rights to the Beatles' 251 songs; his "Bad" album was number one in 23 countries; he has an amusement park and zoo at his California estate; he married Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of the King of Rock.
And the rest of the story is still being written .... To date, Michael Jackson remains the King of Pop.
August, 30
This is "Frankenstein" Day!
What would we do without the legendary monster, created by Dr. Frankenstein! Thanks to author, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, born on this day in 1797, we have been frighteningly entertained for almost two centuries. In 1818, Ms. Shelley wrote the Gothic, horror novel about Dr. Henry "Frankenstein", the scientist who created the terrifying, yet loveable, monster.
Then Hollywood took over in 1931 with an adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel directed by Great Britain's James Whale. Boris Karloff was the monster, a role that led to a monster career for Karloff. From then on, Frankenstein lived in sequel after sequel and adaptation after adaptation. Karloff reprised his role in two such films -- "The Bride of Frankenstein" in 1935 and "Son of Frankenstein" in 1939.
The opening scene in "The Bride of Frankenstein" film features the author, Mary Shelley. Ms. Shelley is played by Elsa Lanchester. Lon Chaney picked up the monster role following in the difficult, huge footsteps of Karloff. Mary Shelley and Dr. Frankenstein really were on to something. The movie and TV industries are still creating Frankenstein spin-offs.
August, 31
This is "Dinner, News and Walter" Day!
Walter Cronkite started showing up in living rooms during the dinner hour, starting this night in 1963, as anchor of the "CBS Evening News", a job he took over from Douglas Edwards on April 16, 1962. Previous to this night, "CBS Evening News" had been shown from 7:30-7:45 p.m. and 7:15-7:30 p.m.
A familiar face to TV audiences, Walter Cronkite had been the host of "You are There", a CBS Sunday night program that ran from 1953 through 1957. CBS news correspondent, Walter Cronkite, served as reporter, host and anchorman as major events in history were reenacted. Those who were viewers of "You are There" can probably still recite Walter's closing lines: "What sort of a day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times ... and you were there." Walter can probably still say this in his sleep.
Seven days after "You are There" ended, the sincere face and friendly, yet authoritative voice of Walter Cronkite showed up in our living rooms again. This time he was narrator and host of "The 20th Century", a program that presented filmed reports of major events and personalities that had shaped modern history. In January of 1967, the show changed its name and format. "The 21st Century" looked into the future rather than the past. Walter Cronkite remained at the helm. This was double duty for the consummate journalist as he continued to anchor the "CBS Evening News".
While Mr. Cronkite was busy narrating, and reporting and anchoring, he was also the moderator in 1951 for "The Facts We Face" (which became "Open Hearing"); for the interview show, "Man of the Week" (1952-53); of the quiz show, "It's News to Me" in 1954; narrator of "Air Power" a documentary series (1956-58); host of "Pick the Winner", a series of political telecasts in 1952 and again in 1956; anchor of the 1960 presidential campaign conclusion, "Presidential Countdown"; the 1980 CBS wrap-up of political news, "Campaign Countdown", and the CBS news analysis program, "Eyewitness to History", from 1961 to 1962. Cronkite was also the anchor and chief correspondent for "Universe", a CBS science magazine-type program, in the summers of 1980, '81 and '82.
His "CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite" won a multitude of Emmy Awards. Walter, himself, took home several individual Emmys for Outstanding Achievement Within Regularly Scheduled News Programs; specifically, for "The Watergate Affair" and "Coverage of the Shooting of Governor Wallace" in 1972-73; "Solzhenitsyn, a CBS News Special" in 1974. When the Emmy Awards were presented on September 9, 1979, Walter Cronkite received the coveted ATAS Governor's Award.
Cronkite, voted the "most trusted man in America", left "CBS Evening News" on March 6, 1981. However, if he's on TV doing a special, we'll still be there in the audience ... "And that's the way it is..."
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