[THUNDER]
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[RADIO STATIC]
[MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO]
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, HERE IS THE LATEST BULLETIN
FROM THE INTERCONTINENTAL RADIO NEWS,
AND WE'LL HAVE OUR COMMENTATOR
GIVE YOU A WORD PICTURE OF THE SCENE
AS SOON AS HE CAN REACH THERE FROM PRINCETON.
LISTEN AT 6:00 TONIGHT OVER THIS STATION, WEAF,
NBC IN NEW YORK.
[RHAPSODY IN BLUEPLAYING]
THIS IS COMING ALL THE WAY FROM 2LO LONDON.
[BELL RINGS]
[INDISTINCT VOICE]
[FOOTSTEPS]
[FOGHORN BLOWING]
OUT OF THE FOG, OUT OF THE NIGHT,
AND INTO HIS AMERICAN ADVENTURES
COMES BULLDOG DRUMMOND.
[GUNSHOTS]
[WHISTLING]
[RUNNING FOOTSTEPS]
Man: SOUND ITSELF ATTRACTS.
ASK ANY EAVESDROPPER.
SOUND IS THE FIRST STIRRING OF THE INFANT.
HE HEARS SOUNDS, HE PUTS THEM TOGETHER,
AND THEY COHERE.
SOUNDS HAVE A ROMANCE.
THE SOUND OF A CRICKET AT NIGHT
TO ESTABLISH MOOD IN A RADIO DRAMA.
VERY SIMPLE EFFECT.
THE SOUND OF THUNDER,
THE SOUND OF RAIN.
[RAIN FALLING]
THERE IS NO SOUND ON THE MOON
BECAUSE IT TAKES AIR TO SUPPORT IT.
THE VIBRATIONS OF AIR CREATE THE SOUND,
AND RADIO WAS A MEDIUM WHICH EMPLOYED THAT MAGIC.
COME ON, MEN. WE'RE GAINING ON THEM.
THEY'VE SEEN US, TOM.
RIDE, FELLAS.
TELL ME, MR. MOODY,
WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THE RADIO?
I DON'T HOLD WITH IT, BOB.
IT DISPLEASES YOU?
I DON'T HOLD WITH FURNITURE THAT TALKS.
♪ THERE'S A GREAT SENSATIONAL WONDER TODAY, WE KNOW ♪
♪ EVERYONE IS TALKING AND FOOLING WITH RADIO ♪
♪ IT'S A WIRELESS TELEPHONE ♪
♪ I JUST BOUGHT ONE OF MY OWN ♪
♪ NOW I SIT AT HOME ALONE AND HEAR THEM DISH THE DIRT ♪
♪ BUT ALL THAT I CAN HEAR IS...[STATIC] ♪
Narrator: RADIO MADE AMERICA A LAND OF LISTENERS.
♪ SOUNDS LIKE WILDCAT HISSES, BUT IT'S BOYS AND MISSES ♪
♪ MAKING SILLY WISHES... ♪
IT ENTERTAINED AND EDUCATED, ANGERED AND DELIGHTED
AMERICANS OF EVERY KIND AND AGE AND CLASS.
♪ BUZZING IN MY EAR IS ♪
♪ TRAVELING MEN AND FEMALES ♪
♪ LONESOME WIVES AND HE-MALES ♪
♪ SPOON BY DOTS AND DASHES ♪
♪ MAKING WIRELESS MATCHES... ♪
IT TAUGHT THEM NEW WAYS TO DANCE AND TALK AND THINK.
♪ FILLED WITH LOVE TALES BY THE SCORE... ♪
IT BROUGHT THE WORLD INTO THEIR LIVING ROOMS
AND SOLD THEM THINGS THEY HADN'T KNOWN THEY WANTED.
STATION L-O-V-E SIGNING OFF. GOOD NIGHT.
[BUZZING]
[MORSE CODE]
AN ITALIAN-BORN INVENTOR, GUGLIELMO MARCONI,
IS REMEMBERED AS THE FATHER OF RADIO,
BUT THREE VERY DIFFERENT AMERICANS
WITH STORIES AS IMPROBABLE AS ANY RADIO DRAMA
WERE MOST RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS ASTONISHING SUCCESS.
LEE DE FOREST,
A POOR CLERGYMAN'S FLAMBOYANT SON
WHO LIKED TO CALL HIMSELF THE FATHER OF RADIO,
ALTHOUGH HIS ENEMIES SAID MOST OF HIS DISCOVERIES
HAD ALREADY BEEN DISCOVERED BY OTHERS.
EDWIN HOWARD ARMSTRONG,
A BRILLIANT, WITHDRAWN INVENTOR
WITH A FONDNESS FOR FAST CARS
AND A PASSION FOR GREAT HEIGHTS
WHO WANTED HIS INVENTIONS TO ENRICH PEOPLE'S LIVES,
BUT WHO WOULD SPEND A LIFETIME DEFENDING HIS WORK
AGAINST THE FALSE CLAIMS OF OTHERS.
AND DAVID SARNOFF,
THE HARD-DRIVING IMMIGRANT FROM RUSSIA
WHO SAW INFINITE POSSIBILITIES IN A HOBBYIST'S TOY,
CREATED THE MOST POWERFUL COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY ON EARTH,
AND LET NOTHING AND NO ONE STAND IN HIS WAY.
WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM
TO BRING YOU A SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN.
THE JAPANESE HAVE ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII, BY AIR,
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT HAS JUST ANNOUNCED.
THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!
THE WORLD THESE THREE MEN HELPED TO MAKE
WAS ALTOGETHER NEW...
BUT THEY WERE DRIVEN TO CREATE IT
BY ANCIENT QUALITIES--
IDEALISM AND IMAGINATION...
GREED AND ENVY...
AMBITION AND DETERMINATION...
AND GENIUS.
ONLY ONE WOULD SUCCEED ON HIS OWN TERMS.
LET ME ASSERT MY FIRM BELIEF
THAT THE ONLY THING WE HAVE TO FEAR
IS FEAR ITSELF.
CROSSING BROOKLYN BRIDGE
THAT MORNING IN THE RAIN,
I SAW A MAN LEANING AGAINST THE CABLES.
HE SEEMED TO BE WAITING FOR A LIFT.
THERE WERE SPOTS OF FRESH RAIN ON HIS SHOULDERS.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE STORY YOU ARE ABOUT TO HEAR IS TRUE.
THE NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT.
[EVIL LAUGHTER]
WHO KNOWS WHAT EVIL LURKS IN THE HEARTS OF MEN?
[EVIL LAUGHTER]
THE SHADOW KNOWS.
THIS IS YOUR LIFE-- A PROGRAM FOR ALL AMERICA!
AND NOW HERE HE IS, MR.THIS IS YOUR LIFEHIMSELF,
RALPH EDWARDS!
HERE IN MY HAND IS THE FIRST RADIO TUBE,
THE MIRACLE SEED FROM WHICH SPRANG
THE ENTIRE MIGHTY STRUCTURE OF RADIO AND TELEVISION--
SONAR, RADAR, TALKING PICTURES, GUIDED MISSILES, AUTOMATION,
THE ELECTRIC BRAIN COMPUTER,
AND LONG-DISTANCE TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION.
THIS TUBE WAS THE CREATION OF ONE GREAT MAN
WHO AT THIS MOMENT IS SEATED ON OUR STAGE,
SO PLEASE CUE BOB WARREN.
YOU STAY SEATED.
WELL, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE TELEVISION AUDIENCE,
I'M HAPPY TO INTRODUCE
ONE OF THE GREATEST INVENTORS WHO EVER LIVED--
DR. LEE DE FOREST.
[APPLAUSE]
Edwards: NOW, DR. LEE DE FOREST
OF COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA,
FATHER OF RADIO, GRANDFATHER OF TELEVISION...
LET'S FOLLOW YOUR STAR OF DESTINY, SIR,
BACK TO ITS FIRST LIGHT, SHALL WE?
YES.
THIS IS YOUR LIFE.
WONDERFUL.
Woman: OH, LEE DE FOREST.
LEE DE FOREST IS A WONDERFUL CHARACTER--
A CHURL, A ROUE, A CAD, A THIEF,
A ROMANTIC,
AND YET, PROBABLY THE MAN MOST RESPONSIBLE
FOR BRINGING RADIO BROADCASTING TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.
Narrator: BORN IN COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA, IN 1873,
THE SON OF A CONGREGATIONAL MINISTER,
LEE DE FOREST GREW UP IN TALLADEGA, ALABAMA,
WHERE HIS FATHER SERVED AS PRESIDENT
OF A SMALL, STRUGGLING COLLEGE FOR FREED BLACKS.
HE WAS A LONELY BOY,
DISCOURAGED FROM ASSOCIATING WITH BLACK CHILDREN
AND SHUNNED BY WHITES AS A HATED YANKEE.
HE LOST HIMSELF IN THE SCHOOL LIBRARY,
READING PATENT OFFICE REPORTS--
THEIR PAGES FILLED WITH NEW DISCOVERIES.
INVENTORS WERE AMERICA'S GREATEST HEROES,
AND LEE DE FOREST RESOLVED TO BE ONE OF THEM.
NOT EVEN HIS FATHER'S FERVENT WISH
THAT HE BECOME A CLERGYMAN COULD DISSUADE HIM.
"I AM DIFFERENT," HE SAID,
AND HE DISMISSED HIS CLASSMATES
AT THE MOUNT HERMON SCHOOL IN NORTHFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS,
AS HAYSEEDS, FARMERS,
IGNORANT, UNCOUTH, ROUGH FELLOWS.
THEY CALLED HIM MONKEY FACE.
Man: HE WAS AN OUTSIDER WHEREVER HE WENT.
HE CONSTANTLY HAD THE FEELING, ALSO,
THAT HE HAD A MISSION TO PERFORM,
AND HE WROTE A DIARY,
WHICH WAS IN A VERY BIBLICAL LANGUAGE,
AND HE WOULD URGE HIMSELF ON.
HE WOULD SAY THINGS LIKE, "THE WHOLE MORNING WASTED,
THREE HOURS THAT WILL NEVER RETURN,"
THAT SORT OF THING.
AND HE SAW HIMSELF AS A PILGRIM
STRUGGLING TOWARD SOME GREAT GOAL.
Narrator: AT THE SHEFFIELD SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL
AT YALE UNIVERSITY, HE WROTE,
"I NEVER DOUBT FOR A MOMENT MY GENIUS."
AND HE DEMONSTRATED IT DAILY,
NEVER SPENDING MORE THAN 15 CENTS A MEAL,
MOWING LAWNS AT 4 A.M. TO PAY HIS BILLS,
KEEPING UP HIS GRADES
WHILE POURING FORTH A HOST OF INVENTIONS
WHICH HE HOPED WOULD MAKE HIM RICH AND FAMOUS--
A STAGE ILLUSION,
A CHAINLESS BICYCLE,
A PANTS PRESSER,
AN EAR CLEANER.
ALL WERE REJECTED BY MANUFACTURERS,
BUT HE WAS NOT DAUNTED.
HE WOULD ONE DAY HOLD MORE THAN 300 PATENTS.
HE WAS VOTED BOTH THE NERVIEST AND THE HOMELIEST
MEMBER OF HIS CLASS
AND RECEIVED JUST ONE VOTE AS "MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED"--
HIS OWN.
HE PROFESSED NOT TO CARE.
RADIO WAVES HAD BEEN DISCOVERED IN 1887,
AND THEY HAD COME TO OBSESS HIM
BECAUSE THEY HELD THE PROMISE
OF SENDING MESSAGES THROUGH THE AIR WITHOUT WIRES.
[BUZZING AND BEEPING]
IN 1896,
GUGLIELMO MARCONI SENT A WIRELESS DOT AND DASH SIGNAL
9 MILES ACROSS SALISBURY PLAIN IN ENGLAND.
IT WOULD SPARK A REVOLUTION.
THREE YEARS LATER, HIS MARCONI WIRELESS COMPANY
HAD SPREAD TO AMERICA, WHERE HE MADE A FORTUNE
OUTFITTING SHIPS AND SHORE STATIONS
WITH WIRELESS EQUIPMENT
AND MEN TRAINED TO SEND AND RECEIVE "MARCONIGRAMS."
LEE DE FOREST WROTE TO MARCONI, ASKING FOR A JOB.
THE FAMOUS MAN DID NOT EVEN BOTHER TO RESPOND.
DE FOREST DETERMINED TO OUTDO HIM.
"I WANT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS," HE SAID.
"I WANT TO EXCEL."
IN 1900, DE FOREST PATENTED A DEVICE
THAT IMPROVED RECEPTION OF WEAK SIGNALS,
THEN CHALLENGED MARCONI
TO SEE WHO COULD BEST PROVIDE
UP-TO-THE-MINUTE COVERAGE
OF THE INTERNATIONAL YACHT RACES OFF NEW YORK.
THE TEST PROVED NOTHING.
THE RIVALS' TRANSMITTERS JAMMED EACH OTHER,
AND REPORTERS AT SEA FOUND THEMSELVES
FLASHING THE NEWS TO SHORE JUST AS THEY ALWAYS HAD--
BY SEMAPHORE.
FRUSTRATED, DE FOREST DUMPED HIS TRANSMITTER OVERBOARD.
MARCONI SOON SURGED AHEAD AGAIN,
SUCCESSFULLY SENDING THE SINGLE LETTER "S"
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.
"SIGNOR MARCONI HAS PLAYED A SHREWD COUP D'ETAT,"
DE FOREST ADMITTED,
"BUT I SHALL YET SUCCEED. IT IS NOT TOO LATE."
MEANWHILE, ABRAHAM WHITE,
A GLIB TEXAS SPECULATOR WITH A SHADY PAST,
SAW BIG MONEY TO BE MADE IN WIRELESS
AND TALKED DE FOREST INTO BECOMING SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR
FOR A NEW DE FOREST WIRELESS TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
HE SPREAD STORIES OF A GLOBAL CHAIN
OF WIRELESS STATIONS ABOUT TO BE BUILT
AND FLOATED $1 MILLION IN STOCK.
"SOON WE BELIEVE THE SUCKERS WILL BEGIN TO BITE,"
DE FOREST WROTE.
THEY DID BITE.
STATIONS WERE INSTALLED ON THE GREAT LAKES,
ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST, IN THE CARIBBEAN.
CAPITALIZATION ROSE TO $15 MILLION.
Douglas: WHAT THEY WOULD DO
IS SET UP VERY FANCY DEMONSTRATIONS
IN GLASS-WALLED STATIONS
SHOWING PEOPLE HOW FABULOUS WIRELESS WAS,
SELL STOCK CERTIFICATES,
AND THEN HEAD FOR THE HILLS
BEFORE THE STATION WAS FINISHED.
Narrator: DE FOREST SPENT THE SUMMER OF 1904
HAPPILY ATOP A 300-FOOT TOWER
ABOVE THE ST. LOUIS WORLD'S FAIR,
WHERE HE WON THE GRAND PRIZE AND A GOLD MEDAL
FOR HIS LATEST WIRELESS INVENTION--
A RECEIVER HE CALLED THE SPADE DETECTOR.
HE REMEMBERED THAT "THE STACCATO CRACKLE OF OUR SPARK
BROUGHT THE CROWDS SWARMING."
[MORSE CODE]
SOON THE DE FOREST STATION AT CONEY ISLAND
SUCCESSFULLY RELAYED 572 WORDS TO IRELAND--
AN ASTOUNDING TRIUMPH FOR DE FOREST AND HIS EQUIPMENT.
IN 1906,
HE SOUGHT AND WON THE HAND OF MISS LUCILLE SHEARDOWN
AFTER INSTALLING A WIRELESS SET IN HER HOME
SO THAT HE COULD SEND HER MESSAGES OF LOVE.
HE CALLED HER HIS GOLDEN GIRL,
AND NEWSPAPERS HAILED HER AS THE FIRST BRIDE
EVER "WOOED AND WON BY WIRELESS."
THEN EVERYTHING WENT SOUR.
HIS WIFE SHOWED NO INTEREST IN HIS EXPERIMENTS,
REFUSED TO CONSUMMATE THEIR MARRIAGE,
AND WAS SEEN WITH A WEALTHY BREWER.
HUMILIATED AND CONVINCED SHE HAD BEEN INTERESTED
ONLY IN HIS NEWLY WON FORTUNE,
DE FOREST DIVORCED HER.
MEANWHILE, THE WORLD WAS BEGINNING TO LEARN
THAT DE FOREST HAD BASED HIS GREAT SUCCESS
ON SOMEONE ELSE'S INVENTION.
BACK IN 1903,
HE HAD VISITED THE LABORATORY
OF THE CANADIAN INVENTOR REGINALD FESSENDEN,
WHO SHOWED HIM WHAT FESSENDEN CALLED
HIS NEW ELECTROLYTIC DETECTOR.
DE FOREST AND ONE OF FESSENDEN'S FORMER EMPLOYEES
LATER REWORKED THE DEVICE INTO THE SPADE DETECTOR
THAT HAD BROUGHT DE FOREST SO MUCH ACCLAIM.
FESSENDEN SUED AND WON.
RATHER THAN PAY A STIFF FINE,
ABRAHAM WHITE FORMED A NEW FIRM,
TAKING WITH HIM ALL THE OLD COMPANY'S ASSETS
AND LEAVING DE FOREST ONLY THE LIABILITIES.
HE WAS BROKE AND ALONE AGAIN.
ALL HE HAD LEFT WAS $1,000 AND A SMALL INVENTION
HIS EX-PARTNER THOUGHT WORTHLESS.
IT WAS THE AUDION TUBE.
FOR HIS AUDION,
DE FOREST HAD BORROWED AN ENGLISH INVENTION--
THE FLEMING VALVE,
A GLASS DEVICE RESEMBLING A LIGHT BULB
THAT DETECTED RADIO SIGNALS
WHEN THEY WERE FED INTO THE BULB'S FILAMENT
AND PASSED TO A METAL PLATE.
DE FOREST ADDED A BENT PIECE OF WIRE,
WHICH HE CALLED A GRID,
BETWEEN THE FILAMENT AND THE PLATE
THAT REGULATED THE SIGNALS.
HE HAD MADE THE FIRST RADIO TUBE,
THE FOUNDATION OF ALL RADIOS
THAT WOULD MAKE RECEPTION OF THE HUMAN VOICE PRACTICAL.
DE FOREST WAS SURE HIS AUDION WAS A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT,
EVEN IF HE DID NOT QUITE UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKED.
Woman: I DON'T THINK HE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN ANYPLACE
WITHOUT OTHER INVENTORS.
HE WAS ALWAYS LOOKING OVER SOMEBODY ELSE'S SHOULDER
AND APPROPRIATING WHAT HE COULD.
YOU KNOW, IT'S A LITTLE HARD TO DESCRIBE,
BUT AS WE DOODLE, FOR INSTANCE, WITH A PAD,
HE DOODLED WITH ANYTHING ON HIS LABORATORY TABLE
OR ON A DESK IN FRONT OF HIM,
AND HE WOULD MAKE COMBINATIONS AND APPLY FOR A PATENT.
WHAT IT WAS GOING TO DO, THAT WASN'T IMPORTANT.
IMMEDIATELY THINK IN TERMS OF A PATENT.
"THE AUDION WAS," DE FOREST SAID,
"MY GREATEST INVENTION,"
ADDING, "I HAVE HAD ONE AIM IN VIEW--
TO MAKE MY NAME AT LEAST RANK WITH THAT OF MARCONI."
IT DID...
FOR A WHILE.
ARMED WITH HIS NEW DEVICE,
HE NOW RESOLVED TO CARVE OUT FOR HIMSELF
WHAT HE CALLED AN INVISIBLE EMPIRE OF THE AIR,
SENDING OUT MUSIC AND THE HUMAN VOICE
TO EAGER LISTENERS.
Edwards: GENIUS, THEY SAY, IS 90% HARD WORK.
HERE IN 1906 AND 1907, AS ALWAYS,
YOU'RE WORKING DAY AND NIGHT,
CARING LITTLE HOW YOU LIVE OR EAT,
YOUR MIND AFLAME WITH YOUR IDEA
THAT WIRELESS WAVES CAN BE MADE TO CARRY THE HUMAN VOICE.
YOU DESIGN AND BUILD YOUR FIRST CRUDE CARBON ARC TRANSMITTER,
ANDON A NEVER-TO-BE-FORGOTTEN DAY OF OCTOBER 1907,
YOU ASK A YOUNG SINGER TO COME TO YOUR TINY LABORATORY.
IN GREAT EXCITEMENT, YOU SHOW HER A VOICE PICKUP PHONE,
AND YOU SAY, "PLEASE TRY TO SING THROUGH THAT."
♪ I LOVE YOU TRULY... ♪
YES, WE FOUND HER,
THE FIRST PERSON IN THE WORLD
TO HAVE HER VOICE BROADCAST BY RADIO.
FROM NEW YORK CITY, HERE IS MADAME EUGENIA FARRAR!
[APPLAUSE]
THERE'S YOUR PAL.
I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU HERE.
YOU MADE THE FIRST BROADCAST IN HISTORY, MRS. FARRAR,
AND WHO WAS THE FIRST RADIO ANNOUNCER IN HISTORY?
DR. DE FOREST. HE ASKED ME TO SING.
AND MR. EDWARDS...
IN ANNOUNCING YOU TO SING,
HE WAS THE FIRST ANNOUNCER.
THAT'S RIGHT. HE WAS, WASN'T HE?
AND THEN A LITTLE WHILE AFTER THAT,
HE PLAYED THE, UH, RECORDS.
YES.
SO HE ALSO BECAME THE FIRST DISC JOCKEY.
Douglas: DE FOREST THOUGHT EARLY ON IN 1906
OF USING RADIO TO BRING VOICE AND MUSIC
INTO PEOPLE'S HOMES.
MARCONI DID NOT CONCEIVE OF BROADCASTING.
DE FOREST COMPLETELY TURNED AROUND
MARCONI'S INVENTION
AND THOUGHT OF IT, NOT AS POINT TO POINT,
BUT AS A TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD TRANSMIT
SOMETHING FROM A PARTICULAR POINT
TO MANY OTHER POINTS OF RECEPTION.
Tyne: HE SAID THAT HE KNEW THERE WERE SOUND WAVES OUT THERE,
AND HE WANTED TO DIRECT THEM TO THESE LITTLE BOXES
TO BRING OPERA INTO EVERY HOME IN AMERICA,
AND THAT WAS HIS AMBITION,
AND ALONG THE WAY, HE WANTED TO BECOME RICH AND FAMOUS,
AND IT WAS ALL AS SIMPLE AS THAT.
Narrator: BUT FESSENDEN WAS ALREADY AHEAD OF HIM AGAIN.
[VIOLIN PLAYING HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING]
ALMOST A YEAR EARLIER, ON CHRISTMAS EVE,
SHIP OPERATORS OFF THE MASSACHUSETTS COAST
WERE STARTLED TO HEAR THROUGH THEIR HEADPHONES,
NOT THE FAMILIAR DOTS AND DASHES,
BUT THE FAINT SOUND OF A VIOLIN,
FOLLOWED BY A HOLIDAY GREETING
FROM THE CANADIAN INVENTOR, SAFELY BACK ON SHORE.
[HONKING]
DE FOREST PRETENDED IT HAD NEVER HAPPENED.
HE FORMED A NEW FIRM
AND FELL IN LOVE WITH A NEW GOLDEN GIRL--
A TRAINED CIVIL ENGINEER NAMED NORA STANTON BLATCH,
GRANDDAUGHTER OF THE PIONEER FEMINIST
ELIZABETH CADY STANTON.
THEY WERE MARRIED IN 1908.
DE FOREST GRABBED HEADLINES EVEN ON HIS HONEYMOON
BY TRANSMITTING RECORDED MUSIC FROM THE EIFFEL TOWER
TO LISTENERS 400 MILES AWAY...
[WOMAN SINGING]
[MAN SINGING]
AND LATER DID IT AGAIN BACK IN NEW YORK,
PRESENTING ENRICO CARUSO
LIVE FROM THE STAGE OF THE METROPOLITAN OPERA
SO PLAINLY THAT HE COULD BE HEARD IN NEWARK.
DE FOREST BUILT HIS NEW WIFE
A PALATIAL HUDSON RIVER HOME HE CALLED
"RIVERLURE-- WHERE DREAMS COME TRUE,"
BUT COULD NOT PERSUADE NORA TO STAY IN IT.
SHE WANTED TO WORK ALONGSIDE HIM IN THE LABORATORY
AND WAS DEEPLY SUSPICIOUS OF HIS BUSINESS PARTNERS.
AFTER THE BIRTH OF THEIR DAUGHTER HARRIET IN 1909,
THE DE FORESTS WERE DIVORCED.
NOT LONG AFTERWARDS, DE FOREST'S NEW COMPANY COLLAPSED
AMID CHARGES OF STOCK FRAUD.
AT HIS TRIAL, 100 WITNESSES TESTIFIED AGAINST HIM.
ONE MIDWESTERNER CHARGED THAT A SIGNAL
SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN SENT ALL THE WAY FROM PARIS
HAD ACTUALLY COME FROM A HIDDEN TRANSMITTER
JUST FOUR BLOCKS AWAY.
[AULD LANG SYNEPLAYING]
Douglas: THE TRIAL WENT THROUGH TO NEW YEAR'S EVE.
IT WAS DECEMBER 31, 1913,
AND WHILE PEOPLE WERE OUT ON THE STREETS OF NEW YORK PARTYING,
DE FOREST WAS PACING THE HALLS, WAITING FOR THE VERDICT.
AT 1 A.M. NEW YEAR'S DAY, THE JURY COMES OUT.
WHEN IT IS ANNOUNCED THAT THE JURY HAS ARRIVED,
DE FOREST COLLAPSES IN HIS ATTORNEY'S ARMS.
WHEN HE IS REVIVED, THE VERDICT IS READ,
AND DE FOREST IS FOUND NOT GUILTY ON THREE COUNTS OF FRAUD,
AND THEY'VE DISAGREED ON THE FOURTH,
SO HE IS A FREE MAN,
AND HE IS ABLE TO AGAIN START YET A FOURTH RADIO COMPANY,
WHICH HE DOES,
AND THIS ONE IS ACTUALLY LEGIT,
AND DE FOREST BEGINS BROADCASTING FROM A RADIO STATION
ON THE NORTHERN PORTION OF NEW YORK CITY,
AND HERE BEGINS SOME OF HIS MAJOR FIGHTS
WITH EDWIN HOWARD ARMSTRONG.
Woman: IT MAKES ME VERY SAD THAT HIS NAME ISN'T BETTER KNOWN.
I REMEMBER AS A CHILD TALKING ABOUT HIM AND SAYING,
"MY UNCLE INVENTED RADIO."
AND PEOPLE-- I COULDN'T PUT IT ANY BETTER THAN THAT.
I DIDN'T REALLY KNOW QUITE WHAT HE HAD INVENTED,
BUT NOBODY'D EVER--
THEY'D SAY, "WHO IS YOUR UNCLE?"
AND I'D SAY, "EDWIN HOWARD ARMSTRONG."
"WHO?"
AND EVEN TODAY, PEOPLE SAY, "EDWIN HOWARD ARMSTRONG WHO?"
I BELIEVE THAT WHEN HISTORY IS WRITTEN--
ALL THE HISTORY ON THIS--
THAT HOWARD ARMSTRONG SHOULD BE REMEMBERED
AS THE GREATEST INVENTOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.
HE WAS THE BEST DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER I EVER KNEW.
HE HAD THE PATIENCE, THE PERSEVERANCE,
THE KNOWLEDGE, THE INTUITION THAT IT TOOK
TO MAKE THINGS COME OUT THE WAY HE WANTED THEM.
HE WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY PERSON.
HE EXUDED INTEGRITY
AND CARRIED A SORT OF AN AURA OF INVENTION.
HE WAS A TRUE GENIUS,
AND THERE AREN'T VERY MANY IN THE WORLD TODAY.
Narrator: EDWIN HOWARD ARMSTRONG'S BOYHOOD
WAS OUTWARDLY AS PLACID AND COMFORTABLE
AS DE FOREST'S HAD BEEN DEPRIVED AND DIFFICULT.
THE PAMPERED SON OF A PUBLISHING EXECUTIVE,
HE SPENT MUCH OF HIS YOUTH SURROUNDED BY DOTING RELATIVES
IN A BIG SOLID HOUSE OVERLOOKING THE HUDSON
AT YONKERS, NEW YORK.
AN INVOLUNTARY TIC,
A LEGACY OF RHEUMATIC FEVER THAT NEVER LEFT HIM
AND WORSENED UNDER STRESS,
MAY HAVE ENCOURAGED HIM TO KEEP TO HIMSELF.
AT 13, JUST AS LEE DE FOREST WAS PROMOTING HIS SPADE DETECTOR
AT THE ST. LOUIS WORLD'S FAIR,
ARMSTRONG READ THE BOY'S BOOK OF INVENTIONS
THAT CHRONICLED THE EXPLOITS
OF MEN LIKE EDISON, MORSE, AND MARCONI.
AFTER THAT, A FRIEND SAID,
HE WAS ALL FOCUSED IN ONE DIRECTION...
WIRELESS.
HE WAS NOT ALONE.
THERE WERE ALREADY NEARLY 100 AMATEUR WIRELESS CLUBS
IN THE COUNTRY BY THEN,
AND EAGER ENTHUSIASTS SAT UP FAR INTO THE NIGHT,
LISTENING FOR FAINT SIGNALS FROM FAR AWAY.
Corwin: I PUT ON A PAIR OF EARPHONES,
AND WHAT CAME OVER WAS MORSE CODE,
AND I WAS THRILLED!
MY GOD! THIS IS COMING THROUGH THE AIR!
THERE'S NOTHING AROUND HERE MAKING THAT NOISE.
THIS IS COMING THROUGH THE AIR--
BEE-BE-BEE- BEE-BE-BEE-BEEP--
AND FROM THAT MOMENT, I WAS HOOKED ON RADIO.
Narrator: ARMSTRONG'S INTEREST BORDERED ON THE OBSESSIVE.
HE FILLED HIS TOWER ROOM WITH EQUIPMENT
AND WORKED DAY AND NIGHT
BUILDING MORE AND MORE POWERFUL SYSTEMS,
HANGING 500-FOOT WIRES OVER THE NEW JERSEY PALISADES,
THEN BUILDING HIMSELF A 125-FOOT AERIAL,
TALL ENOUGH TO PICK UP MESSAGES FROM FLORIDA AND NEWFOUNDLAND.
EXHILARATED BY THE HEIGHT,
HE WOULD OFTEN HOIST HIMSELF UP
IN A BOATSWAIN'S CHAIR TO THE TOP,
JUST TO ENJOY THE VIEW.
RATHER THAN ABANDON HIS TURRET LABORATORY
WHEN THE TIME CAME FOR COLLEGE,
HE COMMUTED TO AND FROM COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
ON A RED MOTORCYCLE.
THE ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAM AT COLUMBIA
WAS DIFFICULT.
OF 28 FRESHMEN, JUST 15 WOULD GRADUATE.
MOST OF HIS PROFESSORS FOUND HIM ALOOF, SARCASTIC,
ALTOGETHER TOO WILLING TO QUESTION BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
IN FRONT OF HIS FELLOW STUDENTS,
BUT MICHAEL PUPIN,
A PIONEER IN THE NEW SCIENCE OF ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES,
SAW IN ARMSTRONG A KINDRED SPIRIT
AND ENCOURAGED HIS EXPERIMENTS.
ARMSTRONG SET OUT TO DISCOVER
PRECISELY HOW THE DE FOREST AUDION TUBE WORKED--
SOMETHING ITS INVENTOR HAD NEVER REALLY UNDERSTOOD--
SO THAT HE COULD INCREASE ITS POWER TO AMPLIFY.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT ON SEPTEMBER 22, 1912,
HE SUCCEEDED.
IT WAS HIS FIRST GREAT DISCOVERY.
HE WOKE UP HIS YOUNGER SISTER ETHEL
AND FORCED HER TO LISTEN TO THE DEAFENING SOUNDS
POURING THROUGH HIS HEADPHONES.
SUDDENLY THE DOOR TO MY MOTHER'S ROOM WAS THROWN OPEN,
AND UNCLE HOWARD BURST INTO THE ROOM,
WAKING MY MOTHER UP,
AND HE WAS DANCING ROUND AND ROUND THE ROOM WITH THIS BOX,
AND HE WAS SAYING,
"I'VE DONE IT! I'VE DONE IT! I'VE DONE IT!"
Narrator: "GREAT AMPLIFICATION OBTAINED AT ONCE,"
ARMSTRONG NOTED IN AN ACCOUNT OF HIS ELEGANT INVENTION.
IT WAS A SIMPLE IDEA.
HE CALLED IT REGENERATION.
[BUZZING]
ARMSTRONG'S CIRCUIT FED THE SIGNAL
THAT CAME FROM A RADIO TUBE
BACK THROUGH IT AGAIN AND AGAIN,
EACH TIME INCREASING ITS POWER.
HE FOUND HE COULD DO THIS
AS MANY AS 20,000 TIMES A SECOND.
REGENERATION WAS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ADVANCE
IN THE HISTORY OF RADIO.
HE PATENTED HIS AUDION RECEIVING SYSTEM IN 1913.
WHILE LEE DE FOREST WAS TRYING TO STAY OUT OF JAIL,
ARMSTRONG HAD PUT HIS AUDION TO WORK,
AND HE MADE ANOTHER DISCOVERY.
WHEN THE FEEDBACK WAS INCREASED BEYOND A CRITICAL LEVEL,
THE TUBE OSCILLATED, CREATING ITS OWN RADIO WAVES.
ARMSTRONG HAD MADE IT POSSIBLE
FOR DE FOREST'S TUBE TO TRANSMIT, AS WELL AS RECEIVE,
AND IT WAS NOW PERFECTLY SUITED FOR VOICE AND MUSIC,
AS WELL AS CODE.
ALL OF A SUDDEN, EVERYBODY COULD HEAR THESE SIGNALS
VERY, VERY MUCH MORE EASILY AND AT MUCH GREATER DISTANCES,
AND OF COURSE, THAT BROUGHT
THE EXPLOSION OF BROADCASTING.
[MORSE CODE]
Narrator: ON THE LAST NIGHT OF JANUARY 1914,
IN A WIRELESS SHACK NEAR BELLMAWR, NEW JERSEY,
ARMSTRONG DEMONSTRATED HIS RECEIVER
FOR THE CHIEF INSPECTOR OF THE MARCONI WIRELESS COMPANY.
SIGNALS FROM IRELAND AND HAWAII, SAN FRANCISCO AND NOVA SCOTIA
ALL CAME THROUGH LOUD AND CLEAR.
THE CHIEF INSPECTOR PRONOUNCED IT
THE MOST REMARKABLE RECEIVING SYSTEM IN EXISTENCE
AND RECOMMENDED THAT THE YOUNG INVENTOR'S DISCOVERY
BE LICENSED TO HIS COMPANY.
THE INSPECTOR'S NAME WAS DAVID SARNOFF.
♪ TELEGRAPHY SHOWED THE GENERAL THE WAY ♪
♪ TOOK INFANT RADIO AND TAUGHT IT TO PAY ♪
♪ AND HE BEGAN WHAT IS NOW RCA ♪
♪ THAT'S WHY THE GENTLEMAN IS A CHAMP ♪
♪ TO RADIO WHAT EDISON WAS TO LAMP ♪
♪ THAT'S WHY THE GENTLEMAN IS A CHAMP ♪
WHO WAS THIS MAN?
WHAT WAS HE?
OTHERS LOOKED AT RADIO AND SAW A GADGET.
DAVID SARNOFF LOOKED AT RADIO
AND SAW A HOUSEHOLD POSSESSION
CAPABLE OF ENRICHING THE LIVES OF MILLIONS.
DAVID SARNOFF WAS SO THOROUGHLY AMERICAN,
NO FICTION CELEBRATING THE AMERICAN DREAM
COULD BEGIN TO APPROACH HIS LIFE.
STATION EAQ, MADRID.
Man: UNLIKE DE FOREST AND ARMSTRONG,
HE WAS NOT AN INVENTOR.
HE WAS, MORE THAN ANY MAN OF HIS TIME,
A CORPORATE EXECUTIVE WHO UNDERSTOOD
THE MEANING AND THE IMPACT OF SCIENCE
UPON THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY.
NO ONE HAS EVER STARTED FROM A LOWER PANE OF LIFE
AND GONE FURTHER, IN MY JUDGMENT, THAN SARNOFF DID.
HE REACHED THIS COUNTRY WHEN HE WAS 9 YEARS OLD--
AN IMMIGRANT BOY WHO DIDN'T SPEAK A WORD OF ENGLISH.
WITHIN 30 YEARS, HE WAS PRESIDENT
OF ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL COMPANIES IN AMERICA--RCA.
DAVID SARNOFF WAS BORN IN ASHTETL
IN THE RUSSIAN PROVINCE OF MINSK,
THE SON OF A JEWISH HOUSE PAINTER.
HIS FAMILY HOPED THE BOY WOULD BECOME A RABBI,
BUT HE HAD OTHER IDEAS.
AND WHEN HIS FAMILY ARRIVED IN NEW YORK IN 1900,
HE WENT TO WORK AT 9:00, PEDDLING YIDDISH NEWSPAPERS,
WHILE STRUGGLING TO MASTER ENGLISH
FROM PAPERS PULLED FROM TRASH CANS.
Bilby: IT WAS POVERTY AS INTENSE
AS ANY DICKENS EVER PORTRAYED IN THE WORST DAYS IN LONDON.
HE WOULD BE WAKENED UP
BY THE SOUND OF THE EL, THE ELEVATED TRAIN, COMING DOWN,
AND AS HE HEARD THE DISTANT RUMBLE, HE'D JUMP OUT OF BED,
THROW ON HIS SHOES AND HIS PANTS, AND RUN DOWNSTAIRS,
AND THE BUNDLES WOULD BE THROWN FROM THE EL WITHOUT STOPPING,
AND HE'D PICK UP HIS BUNDLES AND RACE OUT
TO BE THE FIRST NEWSBOY TO GET THEM TO THE NEWSSTANDS.
Narrator: BY THE AGE OF 14,
HE HAD BOUGHT HIS OWN NEWSSTAND
AND PUT HIS YOUNGER BROTHERS AND EVEN HIS FATHER TO WORK.
[MORSE CODE]
HOPING TO BECOME A REPORTER,
HE SETTLED FOR A JOB DELIVERING TELEGRAMS,
THEN BECAME AN OFFICE BOY AT THE AMERICAN MARCONI COMPANY,
WHERE HE IGNORED FREQUENT TAUNTS OF "JEW BOY,"
READ EVERY LETTER HE WAS ASKED TO FILE,
AND PRACTICED SENDING AND RECEIVING TELEGRAPH MESSAGES
IN HIS SPARE TIME UNTIL HE WAS SAID TO HAVE
"ONE OF THE BEST FISTS IN THE BUSINESS."
[MORSE CODE]
Barnouw: THEY USED TO PLAY TRICKS ON HIM.
LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, SOME LUMBER WOULD ARRIVE,
AND THEY WOULD SAY,
"OH, YES, DAVIE SARNOFF TAKES CARE OF THAT,"
AND SO THEY WOULD REFER ALL SORTS OF THINGS TO HIM,
BUT HE ALWAYS TOOK CARE OF THEM.
BUT, UH--SO HE WAS A FIGURE OF RIDICULE AT FIRST,
BUT HE TOOK HIMSELF SERIOUSLY
AND GRADUALLY GOT OTHER PEOPLE TO TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY.
[BICYCLE BELL RINGING]
Narrator: WHEN MARCONI HIMSELF VISITED THE OFFICE,
THE 16-YEAR-OLD SARNOFF
MADE A POINT OF INTRODUCING HIMSELF
AS THE FIRM'S NEWEST EMPLOYEE.
"WE WERE ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH," HE SAID LATER.
SOON HE BECAME MARCONI'S PERSONAL MESSENGER,
GIVEN THE DELICATE TASK OF DELIVERING FLOWERS
TO THE INVENTOR'S MANY MISTRESSES
SCATTERED ABOUT THE CITY.
[BICYCLE BELL RINGING]
ON SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 1912, THE BRITISH LINERTITANIC
STRUCK AN ICEBERG IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC.
HER DISTRESS SIGNALS WERE HEARD
BY A MARCONI OPERATOR ABOARD A NEARBY SHIP,
ALLOWING THOSE PASSENGERS WHO MADE IT INTO LIFEBOATS
TO BE RESCUED.
MARCONI AND HIS INVENTION WERE WIDELY PRAISED
IN THE DAYS THAT FOLLOWED,
AND FEDERAL LAW SOON REQUIRED
THAT ALL LARGE, OCEAN-GOING VESSELS
BE EQUIPPED WITH WIRELESS.
SARNOFF HAD STAYED AT HIS KEY DURING THE CRISIS,
PASSING ON DETAILS OF THE TRAGEDY AS THEY RATTLED IN
TO WAITING RELATIVES.
TO ENHANCE HIS OWN MYTH,
HE WOULD LATER FALSELY CLAIM TO HAVE BEEN THE ONLY OPERATOR
AT WORK DURING THOSE ANXIOUS HOURS.
NEWSPAPERS HAILED HIM AS THE BOY WONDER OF RADIO.
"THETITANICDISASTER BROUGHT RADIO TO THE FRONT,"
HE WROTE LATER,
"AND INCIDENTALLY, ME."
DAVID SARNOFF WOULD FIGHT TO STAY UP FRONT
FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.
Bilby: WHEN HE WAS A VERY YOUNG MAN
WORKING FOR THE MARCONI COMPANY,
SARNOFF SAW WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS
AS MARCONI HAD SEEN THEM--
COMMUNICATION FROM ONE POINT OR ONE PERSON
TO ANOTHER POINT OR ANOTHER PERSON.
WHAT SARNOFF EVOLVED
WAS THE IDEA OF TAKING COMMUNICATIONS FROM ONE POINT
AND TRANSMITTING IT TO MANY POINTS.
IN OTHER WORDS, FROM POINT TO MASS.
AND THAT WAS THE ORIGIN OF RADIO,
OF MASS BROADCASTING,
OF ONE PERSON TALKING TO MILLIONS.
HE FORESAW THAT CLEARLY.
Narrator: AT JUST 21, HE WAS GIVEN A NEW OFFICE
IN THE WOOLWORTH BUILDING OVERLOOKING ALL OF MANHATTAN
AND PUT IN CHARGE OF PROCURING
NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR THE FIRM.
"I HAVE IN MIND A PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT,"
HE WROTE HIS BOSS IN 1916,
"WHICH WOULD MAKE RADIO A HOUSEHOLD UTILITY
IN THE SAME SENSE AS THE PIANO OR THE PHONOGRAPH."
THANKS TO THE WORK OF DE FOREST AND ARMSTRONG,
SARNOFF BELIEVED IT WAS NOW ENTIRELY FEASIBLE
TO BRING MUSIC INTO AMERICAN HOMES.
[RAGTIME MUSIC PLAYING]
"THE RECEIVER CAN BE DESIGNED
IN THE FORM OF A SIMPLE RADIO MUSIC BOX,"
THE MEMO CONTINUED.
"AMPLIFYING TUBES AND A LOUDSPEAKING TELEPHONE
WOULD ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR HEADPHONES."
"THE WHOLE THING COULD BE MADE TO SELL FOR $75,"
SARNOFF PROMISED,
"AND 100,000 RADIO MUSIC BOXES COULD BE SOLD IN A SINGLE YEAR."
SARNOFF'S BOSS DID NOT EVEN BOTHER TO RESPOND,
BUT HE WAS NOT DISCOURAGED.
HERE WE GO ON ANOTHER ADVENTURE WITH JACK ARMSTRONG,
THE ALL-AMERICAN BOY!
Corwin: WHEN I WAS A KID, SOMEBODY ON THE BLOCK SAID,
"HAVE YOU HEARD THERE'S A THING CALLED RADIO,
AND YOU HEAR THINGS THROUGH THE AIR?"
AND I SAID--
I LISTENED TO THIS WITH INCREDULITY.
"HOW COULD THAT BE?"
AND HE SAID, "HAROLD MERCHANT DOWN THE BLOCK
HAS A CRYSTAL SET. COME!"
OH, BOY, DID YOU SEE WHAT I SAW?
A HUGE AFRICAN LION JUMPED INTO THE TRUCK
WHERE JACK ARMSTRONG, VIC, AND BILLY ARE SLEEPING!
AND THERE WAS A QUAKER OATS BOX
WITH COILS OF WIRE AROUND IT,
AND IT WAS WIRED UP TO A LITTLE GALENA,
AND THIS GALENA WAS ALADDIN'S LAMP.
YOU RUBBED IT OR YOU TICKLED IT WITH A CAT'S WHISKER,
AND IN CAME THE WORLD.
BELIEVE YOU ME, I WANT TO KNOW
HOW JACK AND HIS FRIENDS GET OUT OF THIS ONE.
YOU DO, TOO.
AND I REMEMBER TUNING IN--
I LIVED IN BOSTON--
TUNING IN, MY GOD, SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK!
WHAT A THRILL THAT WAS!
WEAF, NEW YORK.
[WOMAN SINGING]
Narrator: DAVID SARNOFF WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME,
BUT BARELY.
LEE DE FOREST WAS ALREADY TRANSMITTING
MUSIC AND NEWS BULLETINS EVERY EVENING
FROM HIS NEW YORK STUDIO.
AND THE NEWS OF HOWARD ARMSTRONG'S REGENERATIVE RECEIVER
HAD ENRAGED HIM.
ARMSTRONG WAS FRESH OUT OF COLLEGE
AND 14 YEARS DE FOREST'S JUNIOR,
YET CLAIMED TO UNDERSTAND HIS DISCOVERY
BETTER THAN DE FOREST HIMSELF DID,
AND HE HAD ACCOMPLISHED MORE WITH IT IN TWO YEARS
THAN DE FOREST HAD IN EIGHT.
TO ADD TO HIS EMBARRASSMENT,
DE FOREST TRIED TWICE TO OBTAIN A PATENT
ON AN "ULTRA-AUDION" OF HIS OWN,
ONLY TO BE REJECTED FOR DUPLICATING ARMSTRONG'S WORK.
HE NOW PERSUADED HIMSELF THAT THE NEW CIRCUIT
THAT HAD SUDDENLY MADE BROADCASTING PRACTICAL
AND ARMSTRONG FAMOUS
HAD REALLY BEEN HIS ALL ALONG.
HE HAD JUST NEVER GOT AROUND TO APPLYING FOR A PATENT.
Tyne: DE FOREST REALLY THRIVED ON THESE BATTLES,
AND THEY GOT PRETTY VICIOUS.
HE WAS LIKE TWO PEOPLE.
HE HAD ONE SIDE WHICH WAS ALL POETRY,
DESIRE TO BE A GOOD HOST AND A GOOD GUEST,
AND THE OTHER SIDE WAS ALL LITIGATION,
AND HE COULD TURN OFF ONE SIDE AND BE THE OTHER SIDE
AT THE DROP OF A HAT.
Narrator: IN 1915, DE FOREST TOOK ARMSTRONG TO COURT,
LAUNCHING WHAT WOULD BECOME
THE LONGEST PATENT SUIT IN HISTORY.
FEW THOUGHT HE HAD A CHANCE OF WINNING.
THEN WORLD WAR I INTERVENED.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FROZE ALL PATENT SUITS FOR THE DURATION
AND COMMANDEERED ALL WIRELESS TRANSMITTERS.
THE NAVY TRAINED AS MANY AS 400 NEW OPERATORS EACH WEEK,
AND ITS DEMAND FOR EQUIPMENT SEEMED INSATIABLE.
DAVID SARNOFF AND LEE DE FOREST
DID THEIR BEST TO SATISFY THAT DEMAND.
ANTI-SEMITISM KEPT DAVID SARNOFF
FROM GETTING A COMMISSION IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY,
SO THE CHIEF INSPECTOR REMAINED WITH THE MARCONI COMPANY,
LOBBYING FOR WAR CONTRACTS,
TAKING OUT JUST ENOUGH TIME TO MARRY A FRENCH WOMAN,
LIZETTE HERMANT,
IN A MARRIAGE ARRANGED BY THEIR MOTHERS.
"I COULD SPEAK NO FRENCH," HE LIKED TO SAY,
"AND LIZETTE COULD SPEAK NO ENGLISH,
SO WHAT ELSE COULD WE DO?"
SARNOFF WAS SO SUCCESSFUL DURING THE WAR
THAT WHEN THE NEW RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA, RCA,
ABSORBED AMERICAN MARCONI,
SARNOFF BECAME ITS GENERAL MANAGER.
LEE DE FOREST HAD SCORNED THE VERY IDEA OF GOING TO WAR
TO DEFEND WHAT HE CALLED
"THE CHARACTERLESS, INCOHESIVE GOULASH"
THAT WAS THE AMERICAN PEOPLE,
BUT HE PROFITED HANDSOMELY FROM IT,
SELLING RADIO TUBES AND RADIO SETS TO THE NAVY,
THEN FOUND HE COULD DO STILL BETTER
BY SELLING EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO ALL HIS PATENTS
TO THE AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
"NOW, AT LAST, I CAN LIVE A LITTLE," HE SAID,
"BEAUTIFY MY HOME, ADORN MY PRETTY WIFE."
HE HAD MARRIED AGAIN-- THIS TIME TO A CHORUS GIRL
WITH EXPENSIVE TASTES AND OPERATIC ASPIRATIONS,
WHO WAS ALREADY LAPSING INTO THE ALCOHOLISM
THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY LEAD TO HIS THIRD DIVORCE.
DE FOREST HAD ORGANIZED SOME 20 COMPANIES OF HIS OWN
AND DRIVEN ALMOST ALL OF THEM INTO BANKRUPTCY.
NOW REFUSING TO SUBMIT WHAT HE CALLED "MY GENIUS"
TO ANY BIG CORPORATION,
HE VOWED TO CONTINUE HIS WORK ALONE,
BUT THE DAY OF THE LONE INVENTOR
WAS ALREADY COMING TO AN END,
OVERTAKEN BY TEAMS OF SCIENTISTS
WHOSE FIRST LOYALTY WAS TO THE CORPORATION.
LEE DE FOREST REFUSED TO SEE IT.
HOWARD ARMSTRONG WOULDN'T SEE IT EITHER.
HE JOINED THE ARMY SIGNAL CORPS AND WENT TO PARIS.
THERE HE DESIGNED WIRELESS RECEIVERS FOR AIRPLANES
AND INSISTED UPON TESTING THEM HIMSELF.
[AIRPLANE ENGINE ROARING]
HE EARNED A REPUTATION FOR A POWERFUL TEMPER,
ONCE FLOORING A FELLOW SOLDIER WITH A SINGLE BLOW.
IN THE SIGNAL CORPS, HE MADE HIS SECOND GREAT DISCOVERY--
THE SUPERHETERODYNE.
[BUZZING]
ARMSTRONG'S SUPERHETERODYNE
CAPTURED RADIO WAVES OF VERY HIGH FREQUENCY
AND COMBINED THEM WITH WAVES OF A LOWER FREQUENCY
TO PRODUCE AN ENTIRELY NEW WAVE.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
THIS NEW WAVE WAS THEN AMPLIFIED SEVERAL THOUSAND TIMES...
VASTLY INCREASING THE SENSITIVITY
OF ALL RECEIVERS.
DAVID SARNOFF IMMEDIATELY SAW THE COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL
OF HIS YOUNG FRIEND'S DISCOVERY.
ARMSTRONG'S SUPERHETERODYNE RADIO SETS
WOULD BE RCA's BIGGEST SUCCESS
AND WOULD PROPEL THE COMPANY TO PREEMINENCE
IN THE NEW FIELD OF ELECTRONICS.
FOR HIS REMARKABLE INVENTION,
ARMSTRONG WAS PROMOTED TO MAJOR.
"HOWARD ARMSTRONG FOUND THE RADIO TELEPHONE
"TALKING LIKE A HARELIPPED MAN
AND LEFT IT SINGING LIKE A NIGHTINGALE,"
A NEWSPAPERMAN WROTE,
AND HE PREDICTED THAT ARMSTRONG'S NAME
WOULD ONE DAY BE AS SYNONYMOUS WITH RADIO
AS EDISON'S WAS WITH THE LIGHT BULB.
THAT WAS JUST WHAT ARMSTRONG HAD IN MIND,
AND HE RETURNED FROM FRANCE IN 1919,
EAGER TO DEFEND HIMSELF
AGAINST DE FOREST'S CLAIMS TO HIS EARLIER INVENTION.
HE WON EASILY IN 1921,
AND WHEN DE FOREST APPEALED,
WON AGAIN IN 1923.
ARMSTRONG CELEBRATED HIS VICTORY BY FLYING A FLAG
WITH HIS PATENT NUMBER ON IT, KNOWING THAT ON A CLEAR DAY,
DE FOREST WOULD BE ABLE TO SEE IT
FROM THE PORCH OF RIVERLURE IN THE BRONX.
IT SEEMED CLEAR NOT ONLY
THAT ARMSTRONG HAD BUILT THE FIRST REGENERATION CIRCUIT,
BUT THAT DE FOREST HAD NOT EVEN UNDERSTOOD
HOW HIS OWN AUDION WORKED
UNTIL ARMSTRONG PUBLISHED A PAPER EXPLAINING IT.
Gunther: I ONLY MET DR. DE FOREST ONCE
IN A FEDERAL COURT IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.
AND AT THAT TIME, DR. DE FOREST WAS ON THE STAND
FOR SOME THREE AND A HALF HOURS ONE DAY
AND ABSOLUTELY, COMPLETELY FAILED TO DESCRIBE
HOW THE AUDION OSCILLATED,
AND I'VE ALWAYS CARRIED THAT IN MY MEMORY
BECAUSE I COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND
HOW THIS INVENTOR-- SO-CALLED INVENTOR
OF THE REGENERATIVE CIRCUIT--
COULDN'T EXPLAIN TO ANYBODY-- LAYMEN OR TECHNICAL PEOPLE--
HOW THE AUDION OSCILLATED.
Narrator: SIZABLE DAMAGES WERE ASSESSED,
BUT DE FOREST WAS AGAIN NEARLY BANKRUPT
AND UNABLE TO PAY.
ARMSTRONG'S LAWYERS TOLD HIM THE SENSIBLE THING TO DO
WAS WAIVE DAMAGES AND LICENSE DE FOREST TO USE THE CIRCUIT,
BUT ARMSTRONG REFUSED.
HE WOULD SIGN NO AGREEMENT WITH A MAN WHOM HE BELIEVED
TO BE A BOASTFUL, IGNORANT THIEF.
Morris: THE ONE PROBLEM THAT I WOULD POINT TO
WITH RESPECT TO HOWARD ARMSTRONG
WAS THE FACT THAT THE WORD "COMPROMISE"
WAS NOT IN HIS DICTIONARY.
HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANT.
HE WAS A MAN OF PRINCIPLE,
AND SOMETIMES, THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE TABLE
DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT PRINCIPLE MEANS--
THE REAL WORLD, IN OTHER WORDS,
AND HE GOT IN TROUBLE,
I GUESS, A FEW TIMES OVER THAT,
WHICH IT USED AN AWFUL LOT OF ENERGY AND TIME IN HIS LIFETIME.
Narrator: FOR THE TIME BEING,
EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE GOING ARMSTRONG'S WAY.
SALE TO RCA OF A BRAND-NEW DISCOVERY,
THE SUPER-REGENERATIVE CIRCUIT,
HAD MADE THE INVENTOR
THE SINGLE LARGEST STOCKHOLDER IN THE COMPANY,
AND HE WAS EAGERLY COURTING DAVID SARNOFF'S SECRETARY,
MARION MACINNIS,
HURTLING DOWN LONG ISLAND HIGHWAYS WITH HER
AT 75 MILES AN HOUR
IN HIS FAWN-COLORED HISPANO SUIZA
AND CLAMBERING UP THE RCA TRANSMITTING TOWER,
450 FEET ABOVE 42nd STREET,
TO IMPRESS HER WITH HIS DARING.
Hammond: HE'D ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED BY HEIGHTS.
THERE WAS A CEREMONY GOING ON DOWNSTAIRS
THAT DAVID SARNOFF WAS OFFICIATING AT,
AND UNCLE HOWARD, TO IMPRESS MY AUNT MARION,
TO WHOM HE WAS NOT MARRIED AT THAT POINT,
CLIMBED UP TO THE TOP OF THIS VERY, VERY HIGH TOWER,
HAD HIS FRIEND THERE WITH A CAMERA
TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS WAS RECORDED,
AND BALANCED AT THE TOP OF THIS INCREDIBLY HIGH TOWER.
ARMSTRONG HAD A QUALITY OF CONFIDENT FLAMBOYANCE
THAT FASCINATED ME.
HE WAS ALWAYS WANTING TO CLIMB TO HIGH PLACES.
HE FRIGHTENED HIS NEIGHBORS IN YONKERS
BY CLIMBING UP THESE POLES FOR HIS ANTENNA,
AND THEN LATER ON, WHEN RCA WAS BEING ORGANIZED,
HE CLIMBED ONTO THE TOP OF THE GLOBE
OF THE AEOLIAN BUILDING ON 42nd STREET,
WHICH WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY THING TO DO,
AND APPARENTLY, SARNOFF WAS FURIOUS AT HIM FOR DOING THAT
AND ORDERED HIM TO STAY AWAY FROM THERE.
SO THERE WAS A LITTLE TENSION BETWEEN THEM.
HE WAS OFTEN SORT OF DEFYING SARNOFF IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
Narrator: SARNOFF WAS SO HORRIFIED,
HE BARRED HIM FROM THE RCA OFFICES
FOR A TIME,
BUT MARION AGREED TO MARRY HIM.
♪ IN GRANDPA'S DAY, THE ONLY WAY THEY HAD
♪ OF MAKING LOVE... ♪
ARMSTRONG'S WEDDING PRESENT TO HIS BRIDE
WAS THE WORLD'S FIRST PORTABLE SUPERHETERODYNE RADIO,
AND THE SUPERHETERODYNE WOULD CHANGE THE WORLD.
♪ ...LOVE BY RADIO ♪
♪ LOVE HER BY RADIO ♪
♪ YOU WILL FIND IT'S RADIO ♪
♪ IF YOU WANT TO REACH YOUR HEART'S DESIRE ♪
♪ YOU WON'T HAVE TO SEND HER WORD BY WIRE ♪
♪ YOU'D NEVER BUY HER ♪
♪ LOVE HER BY RADIO ♪
♪ EVEN WHEN YOU'RE ALL ALONE ♪
♪ THINK OF ALL THE FUN ♪
♪ THAT THEY CAN HAVE BOTH NIGHT AND DAY ♪
♪ LISTENING IN TO WHAT THE LOVEY-DOVEYS HAVE TO SAY ♪
♪ I'LL BET THE THINGS THEY'D HEAR ♪
♪ WOULD MAKE A BACHELOR'S HAIR TURN GRAY ♪
♪ WHEN YOU LOVE HER BY THE RADIOPHONE ♪
♪ LOVE HER BY RADIO ♪
♪ YOU WILL FIND IT'S RADIO ♪
♪ IF YOU WANT TO REACH YOUR HEART'S DESIRE ♪
♪ YOU WON'T HAVE TO SEND HER WORD BY WIRE ♪
♪ YOU'D NEVER BUY HER ♪
♪ LOVE HER BY RADIO ♪
♪ EVEN WHEN YOU'RE ALL ALONE... ♪
GRADUALLY, INVENTORS AND AMATEURS
WERE CREATING A NEW INDUSTRY.
WHAT HAD STARTED OUT AS A MEANS OF WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY
HAD BECOME RADIO.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY,
ONE PERSON WITH A MICROPHONE COULD SPEAK TO MANY--
INFLUENCE THEM, PERHAPS CHANGE THEIR LIVES.
THE CONCEPT BORROWED THE METAPHOR
OF A FARMER SCATTERING SEEDS ACROSS A FIELD.
NOW A SINGLE SPEAKER COULD SCATTER SEEDS OF INFORMATION,
PROPAGANDA, ENTERTAINMENT,
POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS FERVOR,
CULTURE, AND EVEN HATRED ACROSS THE LAND.
THE FARMER'S PHRASE, THE NEW METAPHOR FOR RADIO,
THE METAPHOR THAT CHANGED THE NATION
WASBROADCASTING.
♪ BUT FIRST OF ALL, MAKE UP YOUR MIND ♪
♪ YOUR HEARTS ARE OPEN, TOO ♪
♪ WHEN YOU LOVE HER BY THE RADIOPHONE ♪
WAIT FOR ME, SLIM!
O.K., PATSY!
♪ I'M BACK IN THE SADDLE ♪
♪ HERDING LONGHORN CATTLE ♪
♪ I'M HAPPY IN THE SADDLE AGAIN ♪
♪ MY SPURS TURNED ALL RUSTY ♪
♪ STILL THEY'RE ALWAYS TRUSTY ♪
♪ AND I'M HAPPY IN THE SADDLE AGAIN ♪
I'M SPEAKING FOR AMERICA'S
NUMBER ONE SINGING COWGIRL, PATSY MONTANA.
WE'RE SAYING SO LONG, EVERYBODY.
GOOD LUCK TO YOU, FRIENDS,
AND ABOVE ALL, WE DO WISH YOU GOOD HEALTH.
NOW STAY TUNED FOR JUST PLAIN BILL.
♪ KEEP ON THE SUNNY SIDE ♪
♪ ALWAYS ON THE SUNNY SIDE ♪
♪ KEEP ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF LIFE ♪
Man: I THINK THAT THE WORLD--
THE AMERICA THAT RADIO LEAPED INTO AND FASCINATED
WAS REALLY A QUIETER...
LIFE THAN WHAT WE KNOW.
WLAG, MINNEAPOLIS.
MY FIRST RECOLLECTION OF RADIO
IS SITTING ON MY UNCLE'S LAP
AND PUTTING MY HEAD UP NEXT TO HIS,
AND HE HAD HIS ARM AROUND ME,
AND THE HEADPHONES WENT ACROSS BOTH OF OUR HEADS.
I REMEMBER HAVING A PIECE IN MY EAR
AND PUTTING MY HEAD NEXT TO HIS
AND HEARING BANDS PLAY FROM FAR AWAY
DANCE MUSIC THAT WAS NOT ALLOWED IN OUR FAMILY.
[DANCE MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO]
Man: IT WAS JUST ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE.
YOU COULD SIT IN YOUR LIVING ROOM IN FLORIDA
AND HEAR A MAN SPEAKING IN NEW YORK,
AND, AFTER A WHILE, IN LOS ANGELES.
YOU HEARD PEOPLE SINGING, YOU HEARD MUSIC,
YOU HEARD EVENTS,
YOU HEARD A FOOTBALL GAME IN THE ROSE BOWL
THAT WAS BEING PLAYED RIGHT NOW.
AND DEMPSEY COMES BACK WITH A HARD RIGHT
TO TUNNEY'S FACE!
OH! DEMPSEY COMES ON GOOD WITH A TERRIFIC RIGHT.
HE'S GOT TUNNEY AGAINST THE ROPES!
THERE'S ANOTHER RIGHT LANDING ON THE CHAMPION'S JAW!
A BARRAGE OF LEFT AND RIGHT HANDS!
TUNNEY IS DOWN!
♪ TURN YOUR RADIO ON ♪
♪ AND LISTEN TO THE MUSIC IN THE AIR ♪
♪ TURN YOUR RADIO ON ♪
♪ HEAVEN'S GLORY SHARE ♪
♪ TURN THE LIGHTS DOWN LOW ♪
♪ AND LISTEN TO THE MASTER'S RADIO ♪
♪ GET IN TOUCH WITH GOD ♪
♪ TURN YOUR RADIO ON ♪
AND YOU MEN, YOU KNOW YOU'RE SICK.
YOU KNOW YOUR PROSTATE'S INFECTED AND DISEASED,
AND YOU KNOW THAT UNLESS SOME RELIEF COMES TO YOU,
THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE
IN THE UNDERTAKER'S PARLOR
ON THE OLD COLD SLAB,
BEING EMBALMED FOR A FUNERAL.
HELLO, RALPHIE BOY.
HELLO, MONA GIRL. I UNDERSTAND YOU GOT MARRIED.
YES, I MARRIED AN X-RAY SPECIALIST.
AN X-RAY SPECIALIST? HOW COME?
HE WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT COULD SEE ANYTHING IN ME.
[LAUGHTER]
IN JUST ONE MOMENT NOW,
KDKA, IN COOPERATION WITH THE PITTSBURGH POST AND SUN,
WILL PRESENT THE LATEST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RETURNS.
Narrator: ONE OF THE FIRST STATIONS
TO BROADCAST REGULARLY WAS KDKA IN PITTSBURGH.
IT WENT ON THE AIR IN 1920,
REPORTING THE VICTORY OF WARREN G. HARDING AND CALVIN COOLIDGE
OVER JAMES M. COX
AND A YOUNG FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.
AT THE PRESENT TIME,
HARDING HAS COLLECTED MORE THAN 16 MILLION VOTES
AGAINST SOME 9 MILLION FOR THE DEMOCRAT.
WE'LL GIVE YOU THE STATE VOTE IN JUST A MOMENT,
BUT FIRST WE'D LIKE TO ASK YOU TO LET US KNOW
IF THIS BROADCAST IS REACHING YOU.
PLEASE DROP US A CARD,
ADDRESSED STATION KDKA, WESTINGHOUSE,
EAST PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.
Narrator: BUT IT WAS NOT LONG BEFORE EVERYONE
SEEMED TO BE GOING INTO BROADCASTING.
THIS IS STATION WCAP, WASHINGTON...
UNIVERSITIES, NEWSPAPERS,
BANKS, DEPARTMENT STORES.
WJAR, PROVIDENCE,
WNAC, BOSTON...
IN DAVENPORT, IOWA,
THE PALMER SCHOOL OF CHIROPRACTIC HAD A STATION.
SO DID THE JOHN FINK JEWELRY COMPANY
IN FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS,
AND IN MILFORD, KANSAS, OVER STATION KFKB--
"KANSAS FOLKS KNOW BEST--"
DR. JOHN ROMULUS BRINKLEY LECTURED THREE TIMES A DAY
ON THE APHRODISIAC POWERS OF IMPLANTED GOAT GLANDS.
A GOOD LOVE STORY IS ALWAYS TENDER AND BEAUTIFUL.
BUT REALLY TO WARM THE COCKLES OF THE HEART,
IT SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST A HINT OF THE UNBELIEVABLE.
♪ FOLKS, I HAVE FOUND MYSELF A BRAND-NEW HONEY ♪
♪ BRIGHT AND SUNNY ♪
♪ DON'T CARE FOR MONEY ♪
♪ WE'VE GOT A SYSTEM OF LOVING ♪
♪ PROUD TO SAY IT'S ALL OUR OWN ♪
NOW, THE SCENE IS IN THE HOME OF MARSHA
AS SHE AND ARMAND ARE SECRETLY TALKING TOGETHER.
LISTEN.
♪ SINCE ALL THE WORLD GOT ONTO THAT NEW RADIO CRAZE ♪
BY 1924, WHILE LEE DE FOREST AND HOWARD ARMSTRONG
WERE STILL BATTLING IN THE COURTS
AND DAVID SARNOFF WAS CEMENTING HIS POSITION AT RCA,
THERE WERE 1,400 STATIONS,
AND ONE THIRD OF THE MONEY SPENT ON FURNITURE
IN THE COUNTRY
WENT FOR RADIO RECEIVERS--
$350 MILLION.
BETWEEN MAY AND DECEMBER OF 1923,
RCA's WJZ IN NEW YORK
OFFERED 340 SOPRANO RECITALS
AND 98 BARITONE SOLOS,
SIX BASEBALL GAMES, FIVE BOXING MATCHES,
67 CHURCH SERVICES,
SEVEN FOOTBALL GAMES,
10 HARMONICA SOLOS,
74 ORGAN CONCERTS,
40 PLAYS,
723 TALKS AND LECTURES,
AND 205 BEDTIME STORIES.
RADIO ATE UP MATERIAL FASTER THAN IT COULD BE PRODUCED.
ONE DESPERATE ANNOUNCER JUST STUCK HIS MICROPHONE
OUT THE STUDIO WINDOW AND SAID,
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE BRING YOU
THE SOUNDS OF NEW YORK CITY."
LISTENERS LOVED IT.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Kelley: FOR ONE THING,
THERE WAS THIS CONSTANT COMPANION IN THE HOUSE.
IF YOU WERE ALONE,
YOU COULD TURN THE RADIO ON,
AND THERE WOULD ALWAYS BE SOMETHING TO LISTEN TO.
ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS OPEN THOSE CABINET DOORS
AND TURN THAT DIAL,
AND THERE YOU WERE--
YOU COULD BE IN NEW YORK OR CHICAGO,
LISTENING TO SOME WONDERFUL MUSIC, PERHAPS.
ONE THING...
I PROBABLY GAVE UP PRACTICING THE PIANO
BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE TO MAKE MY OWN MUSIC ANYMORE.
[CAR HORN HONKS]
Man: WELCOME, MEMPHIS.
NOW LINED UP...
Narrator: IN 1926,
DAVID SARNOFF HELPED FORGE THE FIRST RADIO NETWORK.
HE CALLED IT THE NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMPANY--NBC.
AWAITING LINDBERGH!
LINDBERGH IS COMING DOWN THE GANGPLANK.
IN JUNE OF 1927,
WHEN CHARLES LINDBERGH RETURNED TO AMERICA
AFTER HIS HISTORIC FLIGHT TO PARIS,
NBC MANAGED TO LINK TOGETHER 50 STATIONS IN 24 STATES.
WALKING SLOWLY,
HIS HAT IN HIS HANDS,
A DARN NICE BOY.
NEARLY 30 MILLION PEOPLE ACROSS AMERICA
LISTENED IN TOGETHER
ON THE HOMECOMING OF THEIR GREATEST HERO...LIVE.
RECEIVING WITH HIS USUAL MODEST DEMEANOR
THE PLAUDITS OF THIS HUGE CROWD.
NOW LISTEN TO THIS CHEERING.
[CHEERING]
MEANWHILE, THE COURT BATTLE
BETWEEN THE STRANGE, GIFTED MEN
WHOSE INVENTIONS HAD MADE IT ALL POSSIBLE
CONTINUED TO RAGE.
LEE DE FOREST HAD EXHAUSTED THE APPEALS
IN HIS CASE AGAINST HOWARD ARMSTRONG,
BUT WITH LITTLE LEFT TO LOSE,
WENT BACK TO COURT,
THIS TIME TO CHALLENGE THE EARLIER ADVERSE DECISIONS
OF THE PATENT OFFICE.
AND IN AN ASTONISHING REVERSAL,
HE WON,
NOT ON THE MERITS OF HIS CASE,
BUT ON AN ARCANE QUESTION
OF LEGAL LANGUAGE--
A DECISION
WHICH SUBSEQUENT COURTS UPHELD
AND WHICH THE SUPREME COURT
REFUSED TO RECONSIDER.
THE ENGINEERING WORLD
WAS SHOCKED.
ARMSTRONG'S UNWILLINGNESS TO LICENSE
THE REGENERATIVE CIRCUIT TO DE FOREST
HAD NOW COST HIM HIS FIRST GREAT INVENTION.
HE FOUGHT BACK
BY BECOMING A PARTY TO STILL ANOTHER SUIT,
ONLY TO LOSE AGAIN IN THE SUPREME COURT.
THE COURTS HAD NOW SPOKEN 13 TIMES.
THE TWO MEN HAD BEEN WAGING WAR UPON ONE ANOTHER
FOR 20 YEARS.
STUNNED AND EMBITTERED,
ARMSTRONG RETURNED TO HIS LABORATORY,
DENOUNCING A LEGAL SYSTEM
IN WHICH "MEN SUBSTITUTE WORDS FOR REALITIES
AND THEN TALK ABOUT THE WORDS."
ON MAY 29, 1934,
BEFORE THE ANNUAL MEETING
OF THE INSTITUTE OF RADIO ENGINEERS IN PHILADELPHIA,
HE TRIED TO RETURN THE MEDAL OF HONOR
THE INSTITUTE HAD AWARDED HIM 16 YEARS EARLIER.
THE PRESIDENT AND THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
REFUSED TO ACCEPT IT,
AND THE ASSEMBLED ENGINEERS ROSE AND CHEERED
AS TEARS FILLED ARMSTRONG'S EYES.
HIS FELLOW SCIENTISTS BELIEVED HE HAD BEEN ROBBED.
FOR DE FOREST,
VICTORY OVER THE UPSTART HE CALLED "THE RUDE EGOIST"
HAD COME IN THE NICK OF TIME.
HIS LATEST VENTURE WAS COLLAPSING.
HE MOVED TO HOLLYWOOD,
AND AT 57,
GOT MARRIED FOR A FOURTH AND FINAL TIME,
TO A 21-YEAR-OLD STARLET--
MARIE MOSCINI.
ALL YOUR LIFE YOU HAD WRITTEN POETRY.
IT SEEMS THAT THAT GOES WITH GREAT INVENTORS.
AND TO THIS LOVELY LADY YOU WROTE THESE LINES--
"YOUR LOVELINESS DEFIES MY PEN.
"YOUR FACE SO FAIR, YOUR VOICE SO SWEET,
YOUR EYES AS FULL OF LOVE AS WHEN..."
"YOU KISSED ME ON A STREET
"IN HAPPY SUN-KISSED AVALON.
"'TIS POEM ENOUGH TO KNOW
"THAT NOW AND THEN
"YOU ARE MY POEM...
AND MY SONG."
YES, YOUR BRIDE THEN, YOUR BRIDE NOW,
MRS. DE FOREST.
[APPLAUSE]
Barnouw: IT ISN'T THAT DE FOREST ULTIMATELY WON OUT OVER ARMSTRONG.
ALL THESE INVENTORS,
THEIR PATENTS ALL BECAME THE PROPERTY OF CORPORATIONS.
THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THESE INDIVIDUALS
BECOMES A STRUGGLE BETWEEN CORPORATIONS
WHO HAVE ACQUIRED THEIR PATENTS.
THE STRUGGLE GETS LARGER ALL THE TIME,
AND THEN IT ALSO BECOMES A STRUGGLE BETWEEN NATIONS
BECAUSE THESE INVENTIONS,
WHILE THEY START OUT BEING TOYS
AND HOBBY THINGS,
SOON BECOME IMPORTANT CORPORATE ASSETS,
AND THEN PRETTY SOON,
THEY BECOME ASSETS TO MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEXES.
AND THESE--THESE--
THESE SMALL THINGS GET SWALLOWED UP,
NOT ONLY IN CORPORATE AFFAIRS,
BUT IN NATIONAL AFFAIRS.
Narrator: AS THE INVENTORS BATTLED,
THE MAN WHO KNEW
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THEIR INVENTIONS
HAD MOVED STEADILY FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH.
NOT EVEN THE GREAT DEPRESSION COULD STOP HIM.
IN 1930, DAVID SARNOFF BECAME PRESIDENT OF RCA
AND SOON MOVED INTO HIS 53rd-FLOOR OFFICE
IN RADIO CITY,
PART OF THE BRAND-NEW ROCKEFELLER CENTER.
HE RAN HIS GROWING EMPIRE
WITH THE SAME RELENTLESS ENERGY
WITH WHICH HE HAD PEDDLED PAPERS AS A BOY,
RARELY SMILING,
SCRAWLING "YES," "NO," AND "PLEASE SEE ME"
ON MEMOS SENT IN TO HIM BY ANXIOUS SUBORDINATES.
"I DON'T GET ULCERS," SARNOFF LIKED TO SAY,
"I GIVE THEM."
THE FIRST COMMERCIAL WIRELESS STATION
IN THE UNITED STATES, BUILT IN 1901.
SIGNOR MARCONI, FATHER OF RADIO COMMUNICATION,
INSPECTS THE HISTORIC BUILDING WITH DAVID SARNOFF,
PRESIDENT OF THE RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA.
THEN, HAVING COMPLETED THEIR PILGRIMAGE,
THE TWO LEADERS OF RADIO LOOK OVER THE NERVE CENTER
OF RCA COMMUNICATIONS IN NEW YORK.
Barnouw: LATER ON, WHEN THE GREAT MAN
COMES FROM ITALY TO PAY A VISIT,
THERE THEY ARE STANDING, EACH WITH A CANE,
AND IT'S AS THOUGH SARNOFF IS PLAYING MARCONI--
THE GREAT MARCONI--
AND THEIR ABSOLUTELY IDENTICAL ATTITUDES.
IT'S A WONDERFUL PAIR.
WELL, I THINK THAT EXPRESSES SARNOFF--
AND GRADUALLY ACHIEVES CONTROL OF HIS EMPIRE
AND THEN IS VERY RUTHLESS IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY,
BUT BRILLIANT IN ORGANIZING FORCES
AND MAKING SURE THAT HE DISPOSES OF ANY OBSTACLES
TO WHAT HE WANTS TO DO.
...TIME AND SPACE.
Narrator: BUT THE COUNTRY THAT NOW LISTENED TO HIS BROADCASTS
WAS IN TROUBLE.
"IF YOU CAN SING A SONG
"THAT WOULD MAKE PEOPLE FORGET THEIR TROUBLES
IN THE DEPRESSION,"
PRESIDENT HERBERT HOOVER TOLD THE RADIO CROONER RUDY VALLEE,
"I'LL GIVE YOU A MEDAL."
♪ SEEN IN THE JUNE LIGHT AND IN THE MOONLIGHT ♪
♪ FRAGRANT ROSES IN BLOOM ♪
♪ GONNA DANCE WITH JUST THE MOON FOR TWO ♪
♪ WITH YOUR PERMISSION ♪
♪ NO INTERMISSION ♪
♪ THERE'S SO MUCH IN MY HEART ♪
Narrator: THE PANIC DEEPENED.
BY MARCH 1933,
WHEN FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT WAS INAUGURATED AS PRESIDENT,
THE BANKING SYSTEM ITSELF SEEMED ABOUT TO GO UNDER,
AS FRIGHTENED DEPOSITORS
THREATENED TO WITHDRAW THEIR SAVINGS.
ROOSEVELT CLOSED THE BANKS,
THEN ASKED FOR RADIO TIME
ON SUNDAY EVENING, MARCH 12,
TO TELL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HOW HE AND THEY TOGETHER
WOULD MEET THE CRISIS.
WE ARE SPEAKING TO YOU AT THIS TIME
FROM THE OVAL ROOM OF THE WHITE HOUSE
IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
THE NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMPANY IS ABOUT TO BRING YOU
AN ADDRESS BY THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE NATION.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
MY FRIENDS,
I WANT TO TALK FOR A FEW MINUTES
WITH THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES
ABOUT BANKING,
TO TALK WITH THE COMPARATIVELY FEW
WHO UNDERSTAND THE MECHANICS OF BANKING.
I WANT TO TELL YOU WHAT HAS BEEN DONE
IN THE LAST FEW DAYS.
Narrator: "OUR PRESIDENT TOOK SUCH A DRY SUBJECT AS BANKING,"
WILL ROGERS SAID,
"AND MADE EVERYBODY UNDERSTAND IT,
EVEN THE BANKERS."
Roosevelt: IT IS YOUR PROBLEM, MY FRIENDS,
YOUR PROBLEM NO LESS THAN IT IS MINE.
TOGETHER, WE CANNOT FAIL.
LET US UNITE IN BANISHING FEAR.
Narrator: ROOSEVELT'S FIRESIDE CHATS PROVED SO EFFECTIVE
THAT, IN MANY HOMES,
FDR's PICTURE WAS PLACED NEXT TO THE RECEIVER
SO THAT HIS LISTENERS COULD SEE
AS WELL AS HEAR THEIR PRESIDENT.
Roosevelt: THIS GENERATION OF AMERICANS
HAS A RENDEZVOUS WITH DESTINY!
Narrator: AMERICAN POLITICS WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.
Roosevelt: THIS GREAT NATION WILL ENDURE.
Man: TURN A KNOB.
PUSH A BUTTON.
TWIST A DIAL.
Narrator: BUT IT WAS ESCAPE
THAT MOST AMERICANS CONTINUED TO SEEK,
AND RADIO EAGERLY DELIVERED.
AS THE STORM BREAKS AROUND THEM,
THE SHERIFF'S POSSE GATHERS AT PINE CREEK FORTS,
PREPARED FOR ACTION.
ALL RIGHT, BOYS. LET'S HEAD OUT!
[IMITATING HORSES GALLOPING]
[IMITATING THUNDER]
HOLD UP HERE!
WE'LL SET FIRE TO THE GAP AND STOP--
WHOA, BOY!
WHOA!
SLIM, YOU TEAR UP
A COUPLE OF THEM SMALL TREES. RIGHT.
AND WE'LL SPREAD A FIRE THEY CAN'T GET THROUGH.
THESE ARE PRETTY GREEN FOR BURNING, SAM.
THE GRASS IS DRY AS TINDER HERE.
THE MATCH IS CATCHING ON. IT'S DRY, ALL RIGHT.
HOW ABOUT THE TREE, SLIM?
MOVE BACK! SHE'S COMING NOW!
TIMBER!
Corwin: THEY LISTENED TO IT PAYS TO BE IGNORANT.
THEY LISTENED TO GANGBUSTERS.
THEY LISTENED TO SOAP OPERAS.
THEY LISTENED TO SHAKESPEARE.
INDEED, NBC, AT THE TIME I CAME ALONG,
WAS DOING AN ABRIDGED SERIES OF SHAKESPEAREAN PLAYS
IN WHICH THEY CONDENSED MACBETHTO 45 MINUTES.
I THINKHAMLET RAN A LITTLE LONGER.
THE PLAY'S THE THING
WHEREIN I'LL CATCH THE CONSCIENCE OF THE KING.
Announcer: THE VOICE OF JOHN BARRYMORE.
THEY LISTENED TO IT WITH A KIND OF TRUST AND AVIDITY,
WHICH MADE FANS OF THE SOAP OPERA, FOR EXAMPLE,
TERRIBLY EXCITED ABOUT THE LIVES OF THESE PEOPLE,
AND THEY WOULD-- THEY'D START--
WHEN--WHEN A CHARACTER IN A SOAP OPERA HAD A BABY,
THERE WERE ALL KINDS OF GIFTS.
AND NOW FUNNY GIRL MARRIES,
THE STORY OF JOAN AND HARRY DAVIS.
SUDDENLY, THE COOL BEAUTY OF A SUMMER DAY IS GONE,
THE HAPPINESS OF A MOMENT HAS PASSED,
AND THE SHEER REALITY OF SUFFERING IN A MAN'S FACE
HAS TOPPED A WORLD...
JUST A MOMENT AGO
WHEN KATHY, HELPING HER MOTHER HOUSECLEAN THE KITCHEN,
UPSET A BUCKET OF WATER
RATHER THAN FACE STEVE SKIDMORE COMING UP THE ROAD.
[APPLAUSE]
[ORCHESTRA PLAYS]
Narrator: RADIO HELPED REFINE AMERICA'S TASTE.
SARNOFF IMPORTED ARTURO TOSCANINI FROM ITALY,
HIRED SOME OF THE BEST MUSICIANS IN THE WORLD,
AND FORMED THE NBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.
IT PREMIERED CHRISTMAS NIGHT, 1937,
AND WAS A STAPLE ON NBC FOR 17 YEARS.
ALL READY, GENTLEMEN.
MAY I HAVE A LEVEL NOW, PLEASE?
O.K., MIKE.
ANDY'S RIGHT HERE LIKE THIS.
ANDY SAY, UH... "WHO'S SCARED? ME?
"HA HA HA!"
AND THEN WE HAVE AMOS.
AMOS IS ABOUT HERE, UH, MIKE.
HOW'S THE BALANCE ON AMOS?
Narrator: BUT RADIO ALSO REINFORCED AMERICA'S PREJUDICES.
ANDY, EXPLAIN THIS CONTRACT TO FLUKEY.
FLUKEY, GET THIS IN YOUR HEAD NOW.
YES, SIR. I'S LISTENING
WITH BOTH EARS FLAPPING.
THIS CONTRACT IS IRON-BOUND, IRON-CLAD,
AND IRON EVERYTHING ELSE.
Narrator: THE MOST POPULAR RADIO PROGRAM IN AMERICA
WASAMOS 'N' ANDY.
DON'T FORGET, THE BIG TYKE GIVES IT TO YOU,
AND THE LITTLE TYKE TAKES IT AWAY.
[INDISTINCT]
Narrator: SOCIAL WORKERS FOUND THAT AMERICANS
WOULD SOONER SELL THEIR REFRIGERATORS,
BATHTUBS, TELEPHONES, AND BEDS
THAN PART WITH THE BOX
THAT CONNECTED THEM TO THE WORLD.
Woman: ♪ IN OLDEN DAYS ♪
♪ A GLIMPSE OF STOCKING ♪
♪ WAS LOOKED ON AS SOMETHING SHOCKING ♪
♪ BUT NOW, GOD KNOWS ♪
♪ ANYTHING GOES ♪
♪ JUST THINK OF THOSE SHOCKS YOU'VE GOT ♪
♪ AND THOSE KNOCKS YOU'VE GOT ♪
♪ AND THOSE BLUES YOU'VE GOT ♪
♪ FROM THOSE NEWS YOU'VE GOT ♪
♪ AND THOSE PAINS YOU'VE GOT ♪
♪ IF ANY BRAINS YOU'VE GOT ♪
♪ FROM THOSE LITTLE RADIOS ♪
♪ SO MISSUS "R" WITH ALL HER TRIMMIN'S ♪
♪ CAN BROADCAST A BED FROM SIMMONS ♪
♪ 'CAUSE FRANKLIN KNOWS ♪
♪ ANYTHING GOES ♪
Man: GOOD EVENING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
OF THE RADIO AUDIENCE.
Man: WELL, HOWDY THERE, FOLKS,
AND WELCOME TOMELODY RANCH WITH GENE AUTRY.
Autry: ♪ I'M BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN... ♪
Keillor: WE GOT A RADIO THEN...
IT WAS A BIG FLOOR MODEL ZENITH RADIO.
IT WAS REALLY A PIECE OF ARCHITECTURE.
IT HAD COLUMNS, AND IT HAD GRILL WORK,
AND IT HAD TREMENDOUS BASE SPEAKERS
THAT MUST HAVE SAT RIGHT ON THE FLOOR
OR ON THE FRAME
BECAUSE IF YOU-- IF YOU...
YOU LAY ON THE FLOOR, AS WE DID,
IF YOU LAY ON THE FLOOR ON YOUR BELLY,
YOU COULD FEEL THE SOUND COME UP THROUGH YOUR--
THROUGH YOUR STOMACH,
AND SOME MEN'S VOICES ON THE RADIO
WOULD, UH, MAKE YOUR WHOLE BODY TREMBLE.
WE USED TO LIE THERE
AND LISTEN TO IT LATE AT NIGHT,
LISTEN TO SHOWS STARTING ABOUT 6:30 IN THE EVENING
UNTIL WE WERE PACKED OFF TO BED--
JUST LIE THERE IN THE DARK ON THE FLOOR
CURLED UP, LISTENING TO THIS IMMENSE RADIO.
IT HAD A TUNING KNOB THAT WAS ABOUT AS BIG AS MY FIST,
AND YOU HAD TO SPIN IT A LONG TIME
TO GET IT FROM ONE END OF THE DIAL TO THE OTHER.
WE LIVED IN MINNESOTA,
AND IT BROUGHT IN STATIONS IN SALT LAKE CITY,
PITTSBURGH, KDKA,
AND SOMETIMES DURING THE WINTER, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.
Narrator: THE 3 MEN MOST RESPONSIBLE FOR RADIO'S POPULARITY
RARELY LISTENED TO IT.
DAVID SARNOFF WAS TOO BUSY
BUILDING HIS BROADCASTING EMPIRE.
LEE DE FOREST COULD NOT ENDURE THE COMMERCIALS.
TO THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS,
NEW YORK CITY.
GENTLEMEN,
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY CHILD,
THE RADIO BROADCAST?
YOU HAVE DEBASED THIS CHILD,
DRESSED HIM IN RAGS OF RAGTIME,
TATTERS OF JIVE AND BOOGIE-WOOGIE.
Narrator: HOWARD ARMSTRONG DIDN'T LISTEN TO THE RADIO EITHER
BECAUSE HE WAS SO ANNOYED BY THE STATIC,
AND WORKING 17-HOUR DAYS, 7 DAYS A WEEK
FOR A DOLLAR A YEAR AT COLUMBIA,
HE STRUGGLED TO WORK OUT A WAY TO ELIMINATE IT.
Barnouw: SARNOFF HAD ONCE SAID TO HIM,
"WHY DON'T YOU COME UP WITH A LITTLE BLACK BOX
TO ELIMINATE STATIC?"
HE'D ALREADY BECOME A MILLIONAIRE
FROM PATENTS HE HAD SOLD TO RCA,
AND HE GOT BUSY IN THE BASEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY HALL
TO WORK ON THIS THING.
AND FINALLY, AFTER SEVERAL YEARS' WORK,
HE SAID TO SARNOFF IT WAS READY.
Narrator: HE HAD PERFECTED HIS THIRD GREAT DISCOVERY--
FREQUENCY MODULATION.
Men and women: ♪ SWEET LAND OF LIBERTY ♪
♪ OF THEE I SING ♪
Man: HOW DO YOU DO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN?
Narrator: UNTIL THEN,
ALL RADIOS OPERATED ON A PRINCIPLE
KNOWN AS AMPLITUDE MODULATION, OR AM.
AM COULD NOT BROADCAST THE FULL RANGE OF SOUNDS
HUMANS COULD HEAR,
AND IN THUNDERSTORMS,
IT CRACKLED WITH STATIC.
BROADCASTERS HAD LONG RESIGNED THEMSELVES TO AM.
"STATIC, LIKE THE POOR," SAID ONE ENGINEER,
"WILL ALWAYS BE WITH US."
THE BEST WAY TO LIMIT IT, THEY THOUGHT,
WAS TO NARROW THE BAND OF THE AM WAVE.
ARMSTRONG DISAGREED.
HE SUSPECTED THAT BY WIDENING THE BAND
AND CHANGING THE WAVE'S FREQUENCY,
HE COULD ELIMINATE STATIC.
AFTER DOZENS OF EXPERIMENTS
INVOLVING SETS BUILT WITH HUNDREDS OF TUBES,
ARMSTRONG DISCOVERED WIDE BAND FREQUENCY MODULATION.
LISTENERS WOULD CALL IT FM.
"AN ERA AS NEW AND DISTINCT IN THE RADIO ART
AS THAT OF REGENERATION IS NOW UPON US,"
ARMSTRONG WROTE.
"AFTER 10 YEARS OF ECLIPSE, MY STAR IS AGAIN RISING."
HE EAGERLY LOOKED TO HIS OLD FRIEND DAVID SARNOFF
FOR BACKING,
AND SARNOFF GAVE ARMSTRONG SPACE
AT THE TOP OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
TO CONTINUE HIS EXPERIMENTS AND TEST HIS NEW SYSTEM.
Jones: SARNOFF HAD ASKED 3 OF US
TO WITNESS THE DEMONSTRATION AND EXPLAIN IT,
SO WE WENT TO ARMSTRONG'S LABORATORY,
AND...WELL, THE DEMONSTRATION WAS QUITE SIMPLE.
WHEN HE TURNED ON THE AM TRANSMITTED RECEIVER,
THE MUSIC CAME THROUGH LOUD AND CLEAR.
WHEN HE TURNED ON THE INTERFERENCE DEVICE,
THE MUSIC WAS HARDLY ACCEPTABLE; IT WAS FULL OF NOISE.
THEN HE TURNED ON THE FM TRANSMITTED RECEIVER.
THE MUSIC CAME THROUGH LOUD AND CLEAR.
AND WHEN HE TURNED ON THE INTERFERENCE DEVICE,
THE MUSIC STILL CAME THROUGH LOUD AND CLEAR,
AND WE WERE, FRANKLY, FLABBERGASTED.
THE QUALITY WAS SO DISTINCT AND SO GOOD
THAT YOU COULD TELL IF THE SAW
WAS A CROSSCUT SAW OR A RIP SAW.
STRIKING OF A MATCH--
YOU COULD TELL IF A MATCH WAS A PAPER MATCH
OR A WOODEN MATCH.
NOW, THESE WERE UNHEARD-OF THINGS IN BROADCASTING.
Narrator: SARNOFF HAD ALWAYS HOPED
SOMEONE WOULD COME UP WITH A WAY
TO CLEAN UP RADIO SIGNALS, HE TOLD ARMSTRONG,
BUT FM WAS SOMETHING ELSE AGAIN.
"IT IS A REVOLUTION," HE SAID,
AND REQUIRED AN ENTIRELY NEW SYSTEM OF BROADCASTING.
BUT THAT WOULD MEAN SCRAPPING MILLIONS
OF EXISTING AM SETS.
SARNOFF WAS NOT INTERESTED.
HE EVEN ASKED ARMSTRONG TO REMOVE HIS APPARATUS
FROM THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING.
HE NEEDED THE ROOM, HE SAID,
TO CONTINUE WORK ON ANOTHER, STILL MORE STARTLING INVENTION.
AND NOW WE ADD RADIO SIGHT TO SOUND.
AT THE 1939 WORLD'S FAIR,
IN FRONT OF AN RCA PAVILION SHAPED LIKE A RADIO TUBE,
SARNOFF MADE AN ANNOUNCEMENT
THAT WOULD CHANGE BROADCASTING FOREVER.
IT WAS TELEVISION.
FOR A DECADE,
DAVID SARNOFF HAD DIRECTED A TEAM OF ENGINEERS
WORKING IN HIS LABORATORIES
TO MAKE THE DREAM OF VISIONARIES AND INVENTORS
A REALITY.
BACKED BY $50 MILLION OF RCA MONEY,
THEY SUCCEEDED.
BUT OTHERS WOULD LATER CLAIM
THAT RCA HAD STOLEN SOME OF THE CRITICAL INVENTIONS
THAT MADE TELEVISION WORK.
AND LEE DE FOREST, REMINDING PEOPLE
THAT HIS AUDION HAD MADE THE NEW MEDIUM POSSIBLE,
PROCLAIMED HIMSELF TO BE THE GRANDFATHER OF TELEVISION.
Barnouw: SARNOFF WAS RELYING ON THE HUGE INCOME FROM RADIO
TO FINANCE HIS PLANS FOR TELEVISION,
AND IT WAS GOING TO TAKE ITS PLACE AS RADIO HAD DONE.
SO SARNOFF SAW FM NOT ONLY AS A THREAT
TO HIS TECHNICAL PLANS,
BUT AS A THREAT TO HIS ECONOMIC PLANS.
Narrator: HURT BY HIS OLD FRIEND'S REJECTION
AND ANGERED BY HIS EVICTION FROM THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING,
ARMSTRONG DECIDED TO DEVELOP FM ALONE.
ON THE PALISADES AT ALPINE, NEW JERSEY,
500 FEET ABOVE THE HUDSON RIVER,
HE BUILT A 425-FOOT RADIO TOWER.
IT COULD BE SEEN FROM DAVID SARNOFF'S OFFICE
IN THE RCA BUILDING.
THESE ARE FM STATIONS W2XMN AND W2XEA
LOCATED AT ALPINE, NEW JERSEY.
ARMSTRONG BEGAN BROADCASTING
AND LICENSING COMPANIES TO MAKE FM RECEIVERS.
LISTENERS NOW HEARD
HOW CLEAR THE FM SIGNAL REALLY WAS.
FM CAUGHT ON,
AND ARMSTRONG EXUBERANTLY THREW HIMSELF INTO THE WORK.
BY FREQUENCY MODULATION,
THESE RELAYED PROGRAMS ARE TRANSMITTED
FROM STATION TO STATION, FROM CITY TO CITY,
AND FROM MOUNTAINTOP TO MOUNTAINTOP,
WITHOUT TELEPHONE CONNECTIONS,
BY MEANS OF CRYSTAL-CLEAR FM BROADCASTING.
TONIGHT, THE UNITED STATES...
WHEN SARNOFF BELATEDLY OFFERED ARMSTRONG A MILLION DOLLARS
FOR THE RIGHTS TO MANUFACTURE FM,
THE INVENTOR REFUSED.
RCA COULD PAY A FEE FOR EACH RADIO IT MADE,
JUST AS OTHER COMPANIES DID.
SOON THERE WERE HALF A MILLION FM RADIOS
RECEIVING HIS BROADCASTS
ALL ACROSS THE NORTHEAST,
ALONG THE YANKEE NETWORK.
FROM WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS,
TO THE TOP OF MOUNT WASHINGTON IN NEW HAMPSHIRE,
FM SIGNALS WERE RELAYED ABOUT NEW ENGLAND.
THE YANKEE NETWORK, ARMSTRONG HOPED,
WOULD SOON RIVAL NBC.
BUT DAVID SARNOFF DID HIS BEST TO SUPPRESS FM,
KEEPING IT FROM THE INDUSTRY AND THE WORLD SO EFFECTIVELY
THAT, YEARS AFTER ITS INVENTION,
EVEN SOME RADIO ENGINEERS DIDN'T UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKED
AND HOW REVOLUTIONARY IT WAS.
THE OLD FRIENDS WERE BECOMING BITTER ENEMIES.
Morris: THERE WAS NO QUESTION THAT THE FM SYSTEM WAS SUPERIOR.
AND HIS ANSWER TO THAT WAS,
"THEN, IF THAT IS THE CASE,
WHY DO YOU NOT GET RID OF AM AND PUT IN FM?"
WELL, NO ONE COULD DO THAT.
AM WAS TOO WELL-ESTABLISHED.
THERE WERE TOO MANY MILLION PEOPLE
USING TOO MANY MILLION RECEIVERS,
AND WITH--GENERALLY WITH GOOD SATISFACTION.
ARMSTRONG'S, UH, DOWNFALL, I'M AFRAID,
CAME AS A RESULT OF HIS INABILITY TO COMPROMISE.
WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM
TO BRING YOU A SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN.
THE JAPANESE HAVE ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII, BY AIR,
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT HAS JUST ANNOUNCED.
Narrator: IN 1941, JAPANESE FIGHTER PLANES,
HOMING IN ON STATION KGMB IN HONOLULU,
DESTROYED MOST OF THE PACIFIC FLEET
AT PEARL HARBOR,
PUTTING ASIDE, AT LEAST FOR A WHILE,
THE OLD ANIMOSITIES BETWEEN THE MEN WHO HAD MADE RADIO.
I REGRET TO TELL YOU
THAT VERY MANY AMERICAN LIVES HAVE BEEN LOST.
IN ADDITION, AMERICAN SHIPS HAVE BEEN...
FOR MOST CIVILIANS,
WORLD WAR II WOULD BE A WAR OF RADIO VOICES.
Man: ...BETWEEN SAN FRANCISCO AND HONOLULU.
Different man: YOU PROBABLY HEAR, THERE'S GUNFIRE GOING ON ALL AROUND US.
NOW WE ARE NOW INSIDE THE SCREEN OF WARSHIPS.
THERE'S NO MORE WARSHIPS BETWEEN US AND THE BEACH.
Churchill: SAIL ON, O SHIP OF STATE!
SAIL ON, O UNION, STRONG AND GREAT!
HUMANITY WITH ALL ITS FEARS,
WITH ALL THE HOPES OF FUTURE YEARS,
IS HANGING BREATHLESS ON THY FATE!
[MORSE CODE]
Man: ENEMY, HEAVY CROSS-SHELLING AND BOMBING.
THEY HAVE BEEN SHELLING US FASTER THAN YOU CAN COUNT.
ARMS WEAK FROM POUNDING KEY LONG HOURS.
NO REST.
SHORT RATIONS.
DAMAGE, TERRIFIC.
TOO MUCH FOR GUYS TO TAKE.
CORREGIDOR USED TO BE A NICE PLACE.
IT'S HAUNTED NOW.
THEY HAVE GOT US ALL AROUND AND FROM SKIES.
MY NAME...IRVING STROBIC.
GET THIS TO MY MOTHER,
AND TELL MY MOTHER HOW YOU HEARD FROM ME.
STAND BY.
[MORSE CODE]
Man: NOTHING FURTHER HAS BEEN HEARD FROM CORREGIDOR.
Narrator: LEE DE FOREST WAS 68 WHEN THE WAR BEGAN,
DISAPPOINTED TO DISCOVER THAT
"THE WAR WOULD BE WON EVEN WITHOUT MY HELP"
AND EMBARRASSED WHEN ONE OF HIS NEW INVENTIONS,
A SELF-DIRECTING BOMB,
NARROWLY MISSED THE GENERALS WHO HAD GATHERED WITH HIM
TO SEE IT TESTED.
[EXPLOSION]
JUST AS HE HAD DURING WORLD WAR I,
HOWARD ARMSTRONG OFFERED HIS SERVICES TO THE COUNTRY.
Gunther: HE WAS AN EXTREMELY GREAT PATRIOT.
WORLD WAR II REALLY PROVED THAT MORE THAN WORLD WAR I
BY THE SIMPLE FACT THAT HE IMMEDIATELY--
AND HE WASN'T ASKED TO DO THIS;
HE DID THIS ON HIS OWN VERY QUICKLY--
TURNED ALL HIS PATENTS OVER TO THE U.S. GOVERNMENT FOR FREE.
[MORSE CODE]
Narrator: THIS TIME DAVID SARNOFF WENT TO WAR,
SUPERVISING THE DESIGN OF THE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
THAT HELPED MAKE POSSIBLE THE INVASION OF NORMANDY.
THAT APPEARS TO BE THE ONLY FIRING SO FAR.
IT IS PERHAPS THE INITIAL WARNING
TO THE NAZIS ON THE BEACH.
Announcer: GENERAL DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER.
Eisenhower: PEOPLE OF WESTERN EUROPE,
A LANDING WAS MADE THIS MORNING ON THE COAST OF FRANCE
BY TROOPS OF THE ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE.
WHEN DAVID SARNOFF RETURNED TO RCA
IN JANUARY OF 1945,
WORD SPREAD THROUGH THE CORRIDORS
AT ROCKEFELLER CENTER,
THE LABORATORIES IN NEW JERSEY,
AND THE FACTORIES IN PENNSYLVANIA,
CALIFORNIA, AND INDIANA
THAT HENCEFORTH, THE PRESIDENT OF RCA
WAS TO BE CALLED GENERALSARNOFF.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
THE WORLD WILL NOTE
THAT THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMB WAS DROPPED ON HIROSHIMA,
A MILITARY BASE.
Man: 7 P.M., EASTERN WAR TIME, BOB TROUT REPORTING.
THE JAPANESE HAVE ACCEPTED OUR TERMS FULLY.
THIS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
IS THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
THAT'S THE WORD WE'VE JUST RECEIVED
FROM THE WHITE HOUSE IN WASHINGTON.
BUT THE WAR'S END BROUGHT NO PEACE
IN THE BATTLE OVER FM.
I CAN'T ACCOUNT FOR THE ANTIPATHY, THE ENMITY,
THE FEELING THAT--
THAT BUILT UP IN LATER YEARS
BETWEEN SARNOFF AND ARMSTRONG.
I--I DON'T KNOW WHOSE FAULT IT WAS.
I--I NEVER SAW THE NEED OR THE REASON FOR IT.
I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS MOST UNFORTUNATE,
BECAUSE TO THE EXTENT THAT IT LEAD TO ARMSTRONG'S DEATH,
IT WAS A TERRIBLE WASTE OF EXTREMELY VALUABLE TALENT.
I MEAN, WHO KNOWS WHAT ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
COULD HAVE COME FROM ARMSTRONG IN HIS LATER YEARS.
AND OF COURSE, WE--WE'LL NEVER KNOW.
PRESENTING THE BIG CHANGE IN TELEVISION STYLING.
"PEACE WILL FIND THE WORLD
ON THE THRESHOLD OF TELEVISION,"
DAVID SARNOFF SAID.
AND HE MADE SURE RCA WAS READY.
♪ THE BIG CHANGE ♪
♪ COMPLETE RESTYLING ♪
♪ THE BIG CHANGE... ♪
Bilby: I THINK THE THING THAT SURPRISED US
WAS HOW QUICKLY IT CAME,
HOW QUICKLY WE GOT TO THE CRITICAL MASS
WHERE ADVERTISERS WERE INTERESTED
IN GOING IN AND SPENDING SUBSTANTIAL SUMS OF MONEY.
♪ AND YOU'LL FLIP, YES, SIREE ♪
♪ ABOUT THE BIG CHANGE ♪
♪ IN RCA VICTOR TELEVISION HISTORY ♪
♪ THE BIG CHANGE ♪
Bilby: BY 1954, '55,
PEOPLE NO LONGER TALKED ABOUT RADIO.
THE OLD DAYS, THE OLD PROGRAMS
WERE EITHER TRANSFERRED TO TELEVISION BY THAT TIME--
LIKEAMOS 'N' ANDY, FRED ALLEN,AND SO FORTH--
OR THEY WERE GONE ALTOGETHER.
I THINK, REALLY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
TELEVISION IS GOING TO BE THE UNDOING OF RADIO EVENTUALLY.
BECAUSE-- I'LL TELL YOU WHY--
IN THE OLD DAYS, AN ACTOR IN RADIO
COULD GO UP TO AN EMPTY RADIO STUDIO,
DO A TERRIBLE PROGRAM, AND GO HOME WITHOUT WORRYING.
NOBODY KNEW WHAT HE LOOKED LIKE.
BUT WITH TELEVISION, IF YOU DO A BAD PROGRAM,
EVERYBODY CAN SEE YOU,
AND SOMEBODY, SURE AS FATE, AS YOU'RE WALKING HOME,
IS GONNA GET YOU AND BEAT YOUR BRAINS OUT ON THE WAY HOME.
BUT THAT'S ALL WE HAVE TIME FOR.
THAT'S RIGHT. WE'RE GOING TO-
HAVE THE SAME TROUBLE IN TELEVISION I HAD IN RADIO.
THAT'S RIGHT.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]
WE'LL BE BACK IN JUST A MOMENT.
Corwin: WHEN PEOPLE SPEAK OF THE GOLDEN AGE OF RADIO,
THEY'RE SPEAKING OF THE SHORTEST GOLDEN AGE IN HISTORY.
ITS GOLDEN YEARS PERHAPS COVERED A DECADE--
A LITTLE MORE THAN THAT, MAYBE 15 YEARS--
AND IT WAS CUT SHORT BY THE RELEASE OF TELEVISION.
TONIGHT YOU ARE ENJOYING THE MIRACLE OF RADIO...
RADIO AT ITS FINEST, OVER FREQUENCY MODULATION.
Narrator: BUT HOWARD ARMSTRONG WAS STILL STUBBORNLY DETERMINED
TO STICK WITH FM.
MEANWHILE, THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
HAD DECLARED THAT ALL SOUND FOR TELEVISION
WOULD BE CARRIED OVER FM,
WHICH MEANT MILLIONS IN ROYALTIES FOR ARMSTRONG.
BUT RCA REFUSED TO PAY ROYALTIES,
ENCOURAGED OTHER MANUFACTURERS NOT TO PAY THEM EITHER,
AND DEVELOPED CIRCUITS WHICH IT CLAIMED WERE DIFFERENT.
AND IN AN ATTEMPT TO PUT ARMSTRONG OUT OF BUSINESS
ONCE AND FOR ALL,
SARNOFF SUCCESSFULLY LOBBIED THE FCC
TO CHANGE FM's FREQUENCY,
MAKING OBSOLETE EVERY ONE OF THE RADIOS
ARMSTRONG HAD LICENSED.
ARMSTRONG FOUGHT BACK AS BEST HE COULD,
LAUNCHING A SERIES OF SUITS AGAINST RCA
AND OTHER GIANT CORPORATIONS AS WELL,
WHOSE BIG PROFITS WERE BUILT ON HIS INVENTIONS.
HE CHARGED INFRINGEMENTS OF HIS PATENTS
IN VIOLATION OF THE ANTITRUST LAWS.
THIS WENT ON FOR MANY, MANY YEARS,
AND IT WAS A REPETITIVE TYPE OF A BATTLE.
HE'D PROVE IT
AND THEN HAVE TO PROVE IT OVER AGAIN AND OVER AGAIN.
AND THE LAWSUITS AND THE DOLLARS AND THE TIME
JUST MUST HAVE DONE SOMETHING.
Narrator: HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS UP AGAINST.
"THEY WILL STALL THIS THING
UNTIL I'M DEAD OR BROKE," HE SAID,
AFTER PAYING HIS FIRST MILLION DOLLARS IN LEGAL FEES.
ROYALTY INCOME DWINDLED.
HIS PATENTS WERE EXPIRING;
HIS HEALTH DETERIORATED;
BUT HE COULD NOT HELP HIMSELF.
Man: IT'S A KIND OF AN IRONY THAT THOSE QUALITIES
THAT RESULTED IN HIS GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN RADIO,
THE ABILITY TO GO THROUGH A BRICK WALL ON RADIO THEORY,
WERE THE VERY QUALITIES, UM...
WHICH BROKE HIM DOWN.
Narrator: BY 1953, ARMSTRONG HAD SPENT ANOTHER MILLION DOLLARS
FIGHTING HIS CASE.
HIS ATTORNEY PREDICTED THAT HE WOULD WIN IN THE END,
BUT IT WOULD TAKE ANOTHER 9 YEARS.
THAT THANKSGIVING,
ALL THE INTENSITY AND FRUSTRATION
OF ARMSTRONG'S OBSESSIVE BATTLE WITH RCA
SUDDENLY EXPLODED IN A GREAT RAGE UPON HIS WIFE.
ARMSTRONG SWUNG WITH A FIRE POKER.
THE BLOW LANDED ON MARION'S RIGHT ARM.
IN A PANIC, SHE FLED.
THEIR MARRIAGE WAS OVER.
Bilby: ARMSTRONG KEPT DRIVING HIMSELF,
KEPT GETTING MORE AND MORE IN DEBT.
HE'D, AT ONE TIME, BEEN THE LARGEST SHAREHOLDER OF RCA.
HE SOLD MOST OF HIS STOCK,
AND HE WAS FIGHTING THIS GIANT CORPORATION
WITH ALL THE RESOURCES THAT IT HAD.
HE HAD BEEN A MAN OF ENORMOUS DRIVE, TENSION,
AND HE'D DRIVEN HIMSELF TO THE BREAKING POINT
AND FINALLY SNAPPED.
Narrator: SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, 1954 MARKED THE 40th ANNIVERSARY
OF HOWARD ARMSTRONG'S DEMONSTRATION
OF HIS FIRST GREAT INVENTION, THE REGENERATIVE CIRCUIT,
TO THE CHIEF INSPECTOR OF THE OLD MARCONI COMPANY,
DAVID SARNOFF.
IN OTHER YEARS, THEY HAD MARKED
THE ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR FRIENDSHIP
WITH A TELEGRAM OR LETTER.
"FIX YOUR GAZE AND ENERGIES ON THE NEXT 20 YEARS,"
SARNOFF HAD TOLD ARMSTRONG
ON THE 20th ANNIVERSARY IN 1934,
SO THAT THE TELEGRAMS AND LETTERS
THEY WOULD EXCHANGE AT THE END OF THE NEXT GENERATION
WOULD MAKE THEM FEEL STILL YOUNG, EVEN THEN.
THE 20 YEARS HAD PASSED.
THEY WERE ENEMIES NOW,
AND ARMSTRONG HAD BEEN DEFEATED.
IN HIS BEDROOM THAT EVENING,
HE WROTE A LETTER TO MARION,
FILLED WITH REGRET FOR THE WAY THEIR LIVES HAD TURNED OUT.
"GOD KEEP YOU," HE ADDED AT THE END,
"AND MAY THE LORD HAVE MERCY ON MY SOUL."
EDWIN HOWARD ARMSTRONG HAD ALWAYS LOVED HIGH PLACES--
THE 125-FOOT TOWER BEHIND HIS HOUSE IN YONKERS;
THE NEW JERSEY PALISADES HE CLIMBED AS A YOUTH;
THE WJZ TOWER,
WITH ITS GREAT STRAP IRON BALL,
400 FEET ABOVE 42nd STREET;
AND HIS OWN FM TOWER ACROSS THE HUDSON IN NEW JERSEY.
NOW HE REMOVED THE AIR CONDITIONER
FROM HIS BEDROOM WINDOW.
HE PUT ON HIS HAT, SCARF, OVERCOAT, AND GLOVES,
OPENED THE WINDOW, AND STEPPED OUT
13 STORIES ABOVE THE STREET.
A MAINTENANCE MAN FOUND HIS BODY
ON A THIRD-FLOOR TERRACE THE NEXT MORNING.
Hammond: MY FATHER CALLED ME AT WORK, WHICH WAS VERY UNUSUAL,
AND SAID THAT MY UNCLE WAS SICK AND THAT MY MOTHER NEEDED ME,
AND COULD I PLEASE COME HOME?
AND I WENT IN TO TELL MY ROOMMATE THAT I WAS GONNA BE LEAVING EARLY,
I WOULD NOT BE GOING HOME WITH HER,
AND SHE WAS HOLDING A COPY OF THE AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER,
WHICH SHE SUDDENLY PUT BEHIND HER BACK.
AND SHE SAID, "OH, YES, I KNOW."
AND I SAID, "WHAT'S--LET ME-- WHAT'S THE NEWSPAPER?
WHY ARE YOU HIDING THAT FROM ME?"
AND SHE WOULDN'T GIVE IT TO ME AT FIRST,
AND FINALLY, SHE LET ME SEE IT,
AND THERE, ON THE FIRST PAGE,
WAS THE NEWS REPORT OF MY UNCLE'S SUICIDE.
ON THE RIDE HOME I REMEMBER THINKING ALMOST, "OF COURSE,"
ALMOST, REALLY, "I SHOULDN'T BE SURPRISED
"THAT THIS SORT OF WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.
THERE REALLY WASN'T A HAPPY ENDING TO THIS STORY."
Raymond: HE DIED THINKING HE WAS A FAILURE.
HE DIDN'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND, AS I LOOK AT IT,
THAT HE--HE WAS MORE OF A SUCCESS
THAN MANY OF THESE PEOPLE
THAT HE THOUGHT HE WAS FIGHTING AGAINST.
FOR--FOR EXAMPLE, I WOULD SAY THAT, UH, 300 YEARS FROM NOW,
THERE WILL BE PEOPLE-- STUDENTS, AT LEAST--
WHO WILL READ HIS CLASSIC PAPER ON FM
AND KNOW ABOUT HIS WORK,
AND THEY'LL NEVER HAVE HEARD OF SARNOFF...
UM, OR DE FOREST.
Narrator: "I DID NOT KILL ARMSTRONG,"
A STUNNED DAVID SARNOFF QUICKLY DECLARED,
AND THEN LED A DELEGATION OF MOURNERS
FROM RCA TO THE FUNERAL.
LEE DE FOREST HAD NO PUBLIC COMMENT
BUT, IN PRIVATE, BEGGED FOR DETAILS
ABOUT HIS HATED RIVAL'S DEATH.
"WELL, ARMSTRONG IS GONE, AND I AM ALIVE," HE SAID,
"AND HOPE TO LIVE FOR MANY YEARS MORE.
WHAT A CONTRAST."
WELL, NOW, WE'VE DONE OUR BEST, SIR, IN 30 MINUTES,
TO JUST TOUCH THE HIGH SPOTS, DR. DE FOREST.
MERELY TO HINT AT THE VASTNESS
OF YOUR GIFT TO THE WORLD,
WE'D HAVE TO MEASURE THE LAUGHTER OF EVERY MOTION PICTURE;
THE PLEASURE AND EDUCATION OF ALL TELEVISION AND RADIO,
NOW AND FOREVER;
THE WAGES EARNED BY MILLIONS IN THE ELECTRONIC INDUSTRY;
AND ALL THE LIVES SPARED IN PEACE AND WAR
BECAUSE OF YOU.
THAT IS BUT A FRACTION OF OUR DEBT TO YOU.
THIS IS YOUR LIFE, DR. LEE DE FOREST.
[APPLAUSE]
IN A MOMENT, A WORD ABOUT YOUR FUTURE, SIR.
MEANWHILE, HERE IS EXCITING NEWS
FOR ALL YOU LADIES OUT THERE.
Narrator: DE FOREST WROTE A BOASTFUL AUTOBIOGRAPHY
CALLEDFATHER OF RADIO
AND TRIED TO PERSUADE HIS WIFE TO WRITE ONE OF HER OWN,
TO BE CALLED I MARRIED A GENIUS.
THROUGH FRIENDS,
HE TRIED TO SELL HIS STORY TO HOLLYWOOD,
LOBBIED FOR A NOBEL PRIZE,
EVEN HIRED A PUBLIC RELATIONS MAN
TO KEEP HIS NAME IN THE PAPERS.
IT DIDN'T WORK.
AS A PUBLICITY GIMMICK,
HIS PUBLISHER SENT HIM A LETTER ADDRESSED ONLY TO
"THE FATHER OF RADIO, HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA."
IF IT WAS DELIVERED,
DE FOREST WAS TO TELL THE PRESS OF HIS FAME,
BUT THE POST OFFICE RETURNED THE ENVELOPE,
MARKED, "ADDRESSEE UNKNOWN."
IN 1957, DE FOREST SUFFERED A SERIOUS HEART ATTACK
AND SPENT THE LAST YEARS OF HIS LIFE
CONFINED TO HIS BED.
WITH HIS FOURTH WIFE AT HIS SIDE,
HE DIED QUIETLY IN HIS HOUSE IN HOLLYWOOD
ON THE LAST DAY OF JUNE, 1961.
AT THE END, HE HAD JUST $1,250 IN THE BANK.
Tyne: I THINK THE WORLD SHOULD REMEMBER LEE DE FOREST
AS THE ONE WHO PUT THE THIRD ELEMENT IN THE AUDION,
THE BASIS OF A SCIENCE THAT GREW OUT OF THAT--RADIO.
BUT THE WORK WAS DONE BY OTHERS.
Narrator: DAVID SARNOFF COMMISSIONED A FLATTERING BIOGRAPHY OF HIMSELF
AND WHEN ITS AUTHOR PROVED INSUFFICIENTLY WORSHIPFUL,
WROTE SEVERAL ADMIRING PASSAGES ON HIS OWN.
HE SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED COLOR TELEVISION,
SET THE STAGE FOR SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS,
AND PREDICTED THAT BY 1990,
EVERY HOME WOULD HAVE ITS OWN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN THE BASEMENT.
Bilby: I THINK AS HIS FAME GREW AND AS HIS SUCCESS GREW,
SARNOFF BECAME ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED
WITH THE IDEA OF ESTABLISHING HIS PLACE
AS A UNIQUE AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL LEADER IN HISTORY,
AND TO A DEGREE THAT I HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE,
HE INSISTED THAT EVERYTHING CONCERNING HIS LIFE--
HIS PUBLIC LIFE-- BE DOCUMENTED.
Narrator: HE BUILT A LIBRARY
DEDICATED LARGELY TO DISPLAYING ARTIFACTS FROM HIS OWN LIFE,
THEN INSISTED ON PASSING HIS COMPANY ON TO HIS SON.
ULTIMATELY, RCA WOULD PASS INTO THE HANDS OF OUTSIDERS.
[APPLAUSE]
AND HE BASKED IN THE ADMIRATION OF THE RICH AND POWERFUL.
Sinatra: ♪ HIS KIND OF VISION WAS ALWAYS SO CLEAR ♪
♪ THE KIND OF SPIRIT THAT MUST PERSEVERE ♪
♪ WITHOUT HIS TALENTS, I MIGHT NOT BE HERE ♪
[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]
♪ THAT'S WHY THE GENTLEMAN, HE'S A CHAMP ♪
[APPLAUSE]
[MEN AND WOMEN SINGING]
Narrator: DAVID SARNOFF DIED IN 1971.
HIS FUNERAL WAS TESTIMONY
TO HOW FAR THE RUSSIAN IMMIGRANT HAD COME.
Man: DAVID SARNOFF'S LIFE EXEMPLIFIES
THE GREATEST PRODUCT OF THE AMERICAN CIVILIZATION...
THE FREE INDIVIDUAL.
HIS LIFE TELLS US THAT ONE MAN,
RAISED IN A NATION THAT REVERES THE INDIVIDUAL,
CAN LIFT THE HORIZONS OF ALL MANKIND
TO SHAPE A BETTER WORLD.
SUCH A MAN WAS GENERAL DAVID SARNOFF.
Narrator: HOWARD ARMSTRONG'S WIDOW MARION
TOOK UP HER HUSBAND'S CAUSE
AND WON EVERY ONE OF HIS PATENT SUITS,
THOUGH IT TOOK HER 15 YEARS TO DO SO.
SHE LIVED OUT HER LIFE
IN THE HOME HE HAD BOUGHT FOR HER
AT RYE BEACH, NEW HAMPSHIRE,
DRIVING OUT IN THE HISPANO SUIZA
IN WHICH HE HAD COURTED HER 40 YEARS BEFORE.
[CAR ENGINE SPUTTERS]
IT HAD NO RADIO.
Barnouw: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT INTERESTS ME
ABOUT THESE 3 MEN IS,
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THEIR LIVES,
THEY LIVED IN WORLDS THAT ARE NO MORE,
AND THEY LIVE IN A VERY DIFFERENT WORLD THAN WHAT WE LIVE IN TODAY,
AND THEY SEEMED OBLIVIOUS TO THE FACT
THAT THEY WERE CHANGING THE WORLD IN WHICH THEY LIVED
AND THAT--AND THAT THEY WERE CHANGING IT
IN DIRECTIONS THAT THEY COULD NOT ANTICIPATE.
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN IS ABOUT TO BEGIN.
UPON THIS BATTLE DEPENDS THE SURVIVAL OF CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION...
YESTERDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1941,
A DATE WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY.
DEUTSCHLAND SIEG HEIL!
[CHEERING]
MEN WILL STILL SAY,
THIS WAS THEIR FINEST HOUR.
WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM
TO BRING YOU A SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN FROM CBS WORLD NEWS.
A PRESS ASSOCIATION HAS JUST ANNOUNCED
THAT PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT IS DEAD.
THE PRESIDENT DIED OF A CEREBRAL HEMORRHAGE.
[MORSE CODE]
A CHILD WHO WAS ASKED
WHETHER HE PREFERRED RADIO TO TELEVISION,
AND HE SAID "RADIO."
AND THE FATHER SAID, "WHY?"
AND THE CHILD ANSWERED,
"BECAUSE THE PICTURES ARE BETTER."
PRESENTING MR. KEANE, TRACER OF LOST PERSONS.
THE QUAKER OATS COMPANY,
MAKERS OF QUAKER POPPED WHEAT...
[POP]
AND QUAKER POPPED RICE,
THE DELICIOUS CEREAL SHOT FROM GUNS...
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
ONCE AGAIN WE PRESENT MR. KEANE,
TRACER OF LOST PERSONS.
YOU KNOW, IT'S-- IT'S HARD TO TELL
Announcer: TO FURTHER EXPLORE THIS AMERICAN STORY
AND OTHER FILMS BY KEN BURNS,
VISIT PBS ONLINE AT...
EMPIRE OF THE AIRIS AVAILABLE ON VIDEOCASSETTE OR DVD.
THE COMPANION BOOK IS ALSO AVAILABLE.
TO ORDER, CALL PBS HOME VIDEO AT...
♪THEY'RE CRISPY AND CRUNCHY ♪
[LAUGHTER]
WAIT! HOLD IT!
JUST--JUST A MINUTE.
IT APPEARS THE FORCES OF LIVE RADIO
HAVE DROPPED A VIPER INTO THE FIDDLE SECTION.
LET ME ALONE! I'LL GET IT! I'LL GET IT!
ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT.
TAKE THE EXERCISES ONCE MORE.
YES, SIR.
[FIDDLE PLAYING]
♪ PLAY IT SOFTLY, PLAY IT TENDER ♪
♪ WHERE CAN I GO TO SURRENDER? ♪
[LAUGHTER]
IT IS REPORTED THAT AT 8:50 PM,
A HUGE FLAMING OBJECT BELIEVED TO BE A METEORITE
FELL ON A FARM IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF GROVERS MILL, NEW JERSEY,
22 MILES FROM TRENTON.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY, PROFESSOR?
WHAT'S THAT?
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY-- WHAT'S THE DIAMETER OF THIS?
ABOUT 30 YARDS. ABOUT 30 YARDS.
THE METAL ON THE SHEET IS--
SOMETHING'S HAPPENING.
IT WAS LIKE LOOKING OVER THE RIM
OF A VOLCANO IN THE PROCESS OF ERUPTING.
EVEN THOUGH 12 HOURS AFTER THE BOMB HAD BEEN DROPPED,
NAGASAKI IS A MASS OF ANGRY FLAMES AND SMOKE NOW,
A BLAZING AREA EXTENDING AT LEAST 10 SQUARE MILES.
[MORSE CODE]
[THUNDER]
FOR OVER A DECADE,