Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991) - full transcript

[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 BLUE PLAYING]

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 GIANTS
WIN THE PENNANT!

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 LIFE HIMSELF,

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,

AND ON 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 SYNE PLAYING]

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 BOSUN'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 A SHTETL

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 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 LINER TITANIC

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.

"THE TITANIC DISASTER
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

WAS BROADCASTING.

♪ 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!

[INDISTINCT]

TUNNEY IS DOWN!

TUNNEY IS DOWN!

♪ TURN YOUR RADIO ON ♪

♪ TURN YOUR RADIO ON ♪

♪ AND LISTEN TO THE MUSIC
IN THE AIR ♪

♪ TURN YOUR RADIO ON ♪

♪ TURN YOUR RADIO ON ♪

♪ HEAVEN'S GLORY SHARE ♪

♪ HEAVEN'S GLORY SHARE ♪

♪ TURN THE LIGHTS DOWN LOW ♪

♪ TURN THE LIGHTS DOWN LOW ♪

♪ AND LISTEN TO
THE MASTER'S RADIO ♪

♪ GET IN TOUCH
WITH GOD ♪

♪ GET IN TOUCH
WITH GOD ♪

♪ TURN YOUR RADIO ON ♪

♪ 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.

STANDING UP,

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, BOY!
WHOA!

WHOA!
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
MACBETH TO 45 MINUTES.

I THINK HAMLET
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

WAS AMOS '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 TO MELODY 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
GENERAL SARNOFF.

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 ♪

♪ 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--

LIKE AMOS '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

AND 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

CALLED FATHER 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 GENTLEMEN,
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]

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...

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

JUST WHAT TO, UH--

WHAT TO TALK ABOUT
OVER THE RADIO...

YOU KNOW, YOU FOLKS
YOU TALK TO...

TODAY IS
NATIONAL DEFENSE
TEST DAY...

YES, HERE IS RADIO'S
RICHEST VOICE SINCE 1926,

THE SPARTAN.

SPARTAN OFFERS YOU BEAUTY
INSIDE AND OUT.

AND THE NATIONAL
BROADCASTING COMPANY
WILL NOW ATTEMPT TO PRESENT

AN EXCLUSIVE
SHORTWAVE BROADCAST,

BRINGING YOU A TALK
BY MARTHA GELLHORN

WHO WILL DISCUSS
THE AMERICAN BATTALION
IN SPAIN.

RIGHT AND LEFT
TO THE HEAD.

A LEFT TO THE JAW.
A RIGHT TO THE HEAD

AND DONOVAN IS
WATCHING CAREFULLY.

LOUIS MEASURES HIM.

RIGHT TO THE BODY.

A LEFT
UP TO THE JAW,

AND SCHMELING
IS DOWN!

HENRY!

HENRY ALDRICH!

COMING, MOTHER!

I'LL KNOCK
AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

[KNOCKING]

SOMEBODY--I SAY,
SOMEBODY KNOCKED.

YES, I KNOCKED.

CLEGHORN'S THE NAME,
SENATOR CLEGHORN,
THAT IS.

I KNOW
YOU'RE FROM THE SOUTH.

WHEN I'M IN NEW YORK,

I'LL NEVER GO
TO THE YANKEE STADIUM.

NOW, WAIT A MINUTE.

♪ WON'T YOU TRY WHEATIES? ♪

♪ FOR WHEAT IS
THE BEST FOOD OF MAN... ♪

[FIDDLE PLAYS OUT OF TUNE]

♪ 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]