This collection, like most of radio, is a collaborative effort. I couldn't have done it alone.
It is dedicated to the memory of my parents, Buddy and Alberta Goldin, who with love and understanding endured a son interested in radio and recordings to the exclusion of much else. They seldom said “make it lower”... except when it really was too loud. It is also dedicated with all my love to my daughter Rachel Goldin and to my beautiful and loving wife Joyce, who carry on a tradition of putting up with a guy whose passion for radio extends to having over 1,105 of them around the house. Doesn't everyone have 1,105 radios at home? I dedicate this effort as well to my fellow broadcasters, who made it all happen.
I'd like to thank Blaine Kruger, the Art Director of Radio Yesteryear and Dorothy Hill-Barnes and Victoria Drought of the Radio Yesteryear art department for taking my rough sketches, trying to teach me what good design was all about, and putting my scribbled notes into readable form. I owe much to Craig Gallichotte and all the other Radio Yesteryear employees who kept the place in business while I was off remembering “the good old days.”
My thanks are also for John Gallichotte of the TLC Lotus Company for writing, re-writing and re-re-writing the custom software programs that brought the Radio Yesteryear archive out of the carbon-paper-and-index-card era and into the 20th century. Without John's software, this book would have taken not years, but decades.
I am especially obligated to Professor Eli Segal who was kind enough to write a flattering (if somewhat embellished) foreword to this book. His knowledge and proof-reading of proper names is as encyclopedic as is his ability to identify radio actors by their voices alone. He is also the world's second best tape editor. By the way Eli, ABC Radio offered me a job twice, but I was happily employed elsewhere both times.
Those who have written histories of various aspects of our business have also contributed much. Erik Barnouw, Frank Buxton, Tom DeLong, John Dunning, Ron Lackmann, Bill Owen, B. Eric Rhoads, Milo Ryan, Irving Settel, Harrison Summers, Vincent Terrace and many others.
And last, but not least, a tip of the Rophone windscreen to the many amateur audio archeologists who actually do this kind of research for the fun of it. I'm delighted to take advantage of their efforts and organize the fruits of their labors. The following people, some of whom I've never met, some now deceased, are from a list that's far from comprehensive. My apologies to those omitted. I thank you all and invite those readers who can point out the many errors in this volume to join this list of immortals in future editions:
Jerry Appleman
Richard Arnold
Don Aston
Jerry Austin
Dick Ayers
Bob Axley
John Barker
Ron Barnett
Marvin Bensman
Frank Bequaert
Peter Bernstock
Bill Blalock
Andy Blatt
Jim Blythe
Frank Bresee
Josh Bray
Bill Bright
Dr. Barry Brooks
Bill Brooks
Gerida Brown
Bob Burnham
Don Brush
Dominick Cancilla
Hugh Carlson
Ed Carr
Jerry Chapman
Phil Chavin
Trent Clifton
Barbara Davies
Gerida Brown
Digital Deli
Tom DeLong
Fred E. Dickey
Gary Dudash
Doug Due
John Eccles
Phil Esser
Gene Ewan
John Edwards
Randy Eidemiller
Phil Evans
Mel Fischer
Robert Flatter
Phineas Gage
John Gassman
Larry Gassman
Vic Gerard
Gerald Gibson
Frank Gilmore
Ken Greenwald
Chuck Haddix
Miller Hahn
Martin Halperin
Donald Hansen
Richard Hayes
Henry Hinkel
Richard Hill
Roger Hill
Roy Hooper
Robert Imes
Chuck Juzek
Walter Keepers
Jr., Steve Kelez
Gordon Kelley
Rodney Kennedy
Larry Kiner
Fred King
Roger Kobzina
Doug Kosmonek
Nat Kruskol
Ron Lackmann
Steve Lewis
Bob Marquette
Jon Maslanski
Pat McCoy
John McDonough
Louis McMahon
Marc Michaud
Aaron Mintz
Gerry Monaghan
Tom Monroe
Lee Munsick
Ken Neal
Todd Nebel
Mike Ogden
John Olsen, Jr.
Cortlandt Parent
Don Pellow
Buddy Pennington
Jerry Perchesky
E. M. Pienkos
Richard Pirodsky
Michael Pitts
Bonnie Postlethwaite
Tom Price
Bruce Ruggles
Joseph Russell
Bill Sabis
Tom Salome
Terry Salomonson
Ted Serrill
Dejay Shriner
Dave Siegel
Al Sikora
Walter Smith
Steven Smolian
Eugene Soucek
Ray Stanich
Andrew Steinberg
Frank Swayze
Virtual Vinny
Tom van der Voort
Les Waffen
George Wagner
Joe Webb
Harold Widdison
Les Zeiger