1935 in radio

The year 1935 saw a number of significant happenings in radio broadcasting history.

Events

• 23 January – Station 1YA Auckland moves into the first purpose-built broadcasting premises in New Zealand. ^[1]
• 25 January – Tsar Boris III signs a decree making all broadcasting in Bulgaria a state-organized activity.
• 17 February – The Droitwich medium-wave transmitter begins service in England, broadcasting the Midland Regional Programme of the BBC on a frequency of 1013 kHz.
• 28 April – Fireside chat by the President of the United States: On the Works Relief Program.
• 12 March – Reformed American gambler Kid Canfield becomes the first person to die live on radio, while making a promotional broadcast on WHIS in Bluefield, West Virginia. ^[2]
• 24 March – The Major Bowes Amateur Hour is broadcast nationally for the first time on NBC, after having been on the New York City radio station WHN.
• 1 June – In Japan, NHK begins its international service, Radio Japan, with a daily one-hour programme in English and Japanese beamed towards North America.
• 29 July – Lux Radio Theater has its first show on CBS, after having been on NBC Blue for a year.
• 4 August – In Portugal, the Emissora Nacional de Radiodifusão, forerunner of today's RDP – Radiodifusão Portuguesa, is officially inaugurated.
• 10 December – The first broadcast commentary on a snooker match (Joe Davis v. Horace Lindrum) is given in the BBC Regional Programme.
• date unknown
  • In preparation for the Italian invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), "Radio Marina" is taken under government control. ^[3]
  • Radio is introduced into Tunisia. ^[4]

Debuts

Programs

• 1 January – The Story of Mary Marlin debuts on NBC after having been on WMAQ in Chicago. ^[5]
• 4 January – Bob Hope has his network radio debut on the variety show The Intimate Revue . ^[5]
• 4 January – The Beatrice Lillie Show debuts on NBC. ^[6]
• 4 February – Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch debuts on CBS.
• April – A deputation from the University of Wales a pproaches John Reith, head of the BBC, who agrees to Wales becoming a BBC region. ^[7]
• 17 April – House of Glass debuts on the Blue Network. ^[6]
• 20 April – Your Hit Parade (first known as just The Hit Parade or Lucky Strike Hit Parade) debuts on NBC.
• 27 April – Flash Gordon , a popular comic strip, debuts as a radio serial on the Mutual Broadcasting System
• 30 May – America's Town Meeting of the Air debuts on the Blue Network. ^[6]
• 30 June – Uncle Charlie's Tent Show debuts on NBC. ^[6]
• 14 July – America's Hour debuts on CBS. ^[6]
• 22 July – A Voz do Brasil debuts on Brazil's Programa Nacional (and will still be running more than 80 years later). ^[8]
• 5 August – Backstage Wife debuts on Mutual. ^[6]
• September – Jaime Yankelevich, owner of several Argentine radio stations, contracts with Radio Belgrano to produce a weekly programme of Hollywood gossip. ^[9]
• 9 October – Cavalcade of America debuts on CBS. ^[6]
• 29 October – The Jumbo Fire Chief Program starring Jimmy Durante debuts on NBC. ^[10]
• 5 December
  • Bing Crosby becomes guest host of the Kraft Music Hall (and the following month becomes full-time host, after Paul Whiteman).
  • Liberty Life Insurance sells WNOX AM of Knoxville to Continental Radio Co. ^[11]
• UNDATED – The Jack Berch Show debuts on the Blue Network. ^[6]

Stations

• 20 April – WLEU, Erie, Pennsylvania, begins broadcasting on 1420 kHz with 250 W power (daytime) and 100 W (night). ^[12]
• 1 October – KDON, Del Monte, California, begins broadcasting on 1210 kHz with 100 W power. ^[13]
• UNDATED – WTMV, East St. Louis, Illinois, begins broadcasting on 1500 kHz with 100 W power. ^[14]

Endings

• 2 April – KFPM, Greenville, Texas, ends broadcast operations. The station had 15 W power, and its operator said it was "losing money every day." ^[15]
• 4 June - The Fire Chief ends its run on network radio (NBC). ^{[6] : 218-220}
• 23 June – The Gibson Family ends its run on network radio (NBC). ^[6]
• 28 June – The Beatrice Lillie Show ends its run on network radio (NBC). ^[6]
• 8 September – Uncle Charlie's Tent Show ends its run on network radio (NBC). ^[6]
• 22 September – America's Hour ends its run on network radio (CBS). ^[6]
• 25 December – House of Glass ends its run on the Blue Network. ^[6]

Births

• 23 March – Barry Cryer (died 2022), English comedy scriptwriter and performer.
• 15 May – Tony Butler, English radio sports presenter in the west midlands.
• 26 May – Sheila Steafel (died 2019), South-African born British actress.
• 28 July – Simon Dee, born Cyril Henty-Dodd (died 2009), English DJ.
• 13 October – Bruce Morrow ("Cousin Brucie"), American radio presenter.
• 15 November – Gillian Reynolds, English radio critic.
• 18 December – Rosemary Leach (died 2017), English actress.
• Gary Dee (died 1995), pioneer in controversial talk radio, mostly in Cleveland, Ohio.

Deaths

• 6 June – George Grossmith Jr., 61, actor, theatre producer and manager, director, playwright and songwriter, Programme Advisor to BBC ^[16]
• 15 August – Will Rogers, 55, US actor, humorist and radio personality (air crash) ^[17]

References

1. An Encyclopedia of New Zealand 1966
2. "Kid Canfield, Noted Reformed Gambler, Dies at Microphone". Bluefield Daily Telegraph . 13 March 1935. p. 1. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
3. Paolo Bertella Farnetti; Cecilia Dau Novelli (6 November 2017). Images of Colonialism and Decolonisation in the Italian Media. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 47. ISBN   978-1-5275-0414-1.
4. Yahya Abu Bakr; Saʻad Labib; Hamdy Kandil (1985). Development of communication in the Arab states: needs and priorities. Unesco. p. 14. ISBN   978-92-3-102082-7.
5. Cox, Jim (2008). This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN   978-0-7864-3848-8.
6. Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-507678-3.
7. Thomas Hajkowski (21 February 2017). The BBC and National Identity in Britain, 1922-53. Oxford University Press. p. 180. ISBN   978-1-5261-1884-4.
8. "Programa surgiu em 1935, durante o governo de Getúlio Vargas". Correio do Estado. 22 August 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
9. María Elena de las Carreras; Jan-Christopher Horak (1 May 2019). Hollywood Goes Latin: Spanish-Language Cinema in Los Angeles. Indiana University Press. p. 91. ISBN   978-2-9600296-8-0.
10. "The Jumbo Fire-Chief Program – The Digital Deli Online". digitaldeliftp.com. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
11. John Edwards Memorial Foundation (1982). JEMF Quarterly. John Edwards Memorial Foundation. p. 110.
12. "WLEU Opens at Erie" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1 May 1935. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
13. "New California Outlet" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1 October 1935. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
14. "WTMV, at East St. Louis, New 100-Watter, on Air" (PDF). Retrieved 24 October 2014.
15. "15-Watter Gives Up" (PDF). Broadcasting. 15 April 1935. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
16. Asa Briggs (23 March 1995). The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom: Volume I: The Birth of Broadcasting. OUP Oxford. p. 358. ISBN   978-0-19-212926-0.
17. "Will Rogers' Burial". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 19 September 1936. p. 6. Retrieved 8 March 2017– via Newspapers.com.