Well, we’ll tell you.
In September, the Library of American Broadcasting will celebrate the grand opening of its new quarters at the University of Maryland. The fundraiser and luncheon takes place in New York City.
The event commemorates the First Fifty Giants of Broadcasting, “men and women who pioneered the first generation of radio and television and on whose shoulders those media now stand.”
Library officials said the list “should not be considered historically definitive, but rather as a starting point for the recognition of industry greatness.” They expect to add additional names into their “Giants of Broadcasting” project.
The library seeks to be a national resource on broadcast pioneers. Available materials on the 50, including papers, books and oral histories, are being assembled at the site, which occupies 25,000 square feet at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md.
For information about sponsorships or to purchase a table at the event, call Jessica Chaikin at (212) 685-4233.
The First Fifty Giants of Broadcasting:
Fred Allen
Edwin H. Armstrong
Lucille Ball
Jack Benny
Gertrude Berg
Edgar Bergen
Milton Berle
George Burns & Gracie Allen
Sid Caesar & Imogene Coca
Frank Conrad
Joan Ganz Cooney
Bill Cosby
Walter Cronkite
Bing Crosby
Powel Crosley Jr.
Lee DeForest
Allen B. DuMont
Philo Farnsworth
Pauline Frederick
Dorothy Fuldheim
Jackie Gleason
Arthur Godfrey
Leonard H. Goldenson
Freeman Gosden & Charles Correll (Amos’n’Andy)
Jack Harris
Paul Harvey
Ragan Henry
Bob Hope
Stanley E. and Stanley S. Hubbard
Chet Huntley & David Brinkley
Jim and Marian Jordan (Fibber McGee & Molly)
H. V. Kaltenborn
John Kluge
Guglielmo Marconi
Donald H. McGannon
Gordon McLendon
Tom Murphy
Edward R. Murrow
William S. Paley
Irna Phillips
Ward Quaal
J. Leonard Reinsch
David Sarnoff
Eric Sevareid
Frank Stanton
George Storer
Ed Sullivan
Sol Taishoff
Lowell Thomas
Vladimir Zworykin
