1935 in radio explained

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.
• 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.^[6]
• 17 April – House of Glass debuts on the Blue Network.
• 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.
• 30 June – Uncle Charlie's Tent Showdebuts on NBC.
• 14 July – America's Hour debuts on CBS.
• 22 July – A Voz do Brasil debuts on Brazil's Programa Nacional (and will still be running more than 80 years later).^[7]
• 5 August – Backstage Wife debuts on Mutual.^[8]
• 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.^[8]
• 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.^[8]

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]
• 23 June – The Gibson Family ends its run on network radio (NBC).^[8]
• 28 June – The Beatrice Lillie Show ends its run on network radio (NBC).^[8]
• 8 September – Uncle Charlie's Tent Showends its run on network radio (NBC).^[8]
• 22 September – America's Hour ends its run on network radio (CBS).^[8]
• 25 December – House of Glass ends its run on the Blue Network.^[8]

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]

Notes and References

1. http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/broadcasting-and-television/4 An Encyclopedia of New Zealand 1966
2. News: Kid Canfield, Noted Reformed Gambler, Dies at Microphone. 2021-05-11. Bluefield Daily Telegraph. 1935-03-13. 1.
3. Book: Paolo Bertella Farnetti. Cecilia Dau Novelli. Images of Colonialism and Decolonisation in the Italian Media. 6 November 2017. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 978-1-5275-0414-1. 47.
4. Book: Yahya Abu Bakr. Saʻad Labib. Hamdy Kandil. Development of communication in the Arab states: needs and priorities. 1985. Unesco. 978-92-3-102082-7. 14.
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. .
6. Book: Thomas Hajkowski. The BBC and National Identity in Britain, 1922-53. 21 February 2017. Oxford University Press. 978-1-5261-1884-4. 180.
7. Web site: Programa surgiu em 1935, durante o governo de Getúlio Vargas. 22 August 2010. Correio do Estado. 2 June 2017.
8. Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. .
9. Book: María Elena de las Carreras. Jan-Christopher Horak. Hollywood Goes Latin: Spanish-Language Cinema in Los Angeles. 1 May 2019. Indiana University Press. 978-2-9600296-8-0. 91.
10. Web site: The Jumbo Fire-Chief Program – The Digital Deli Online. digitaldeliftp.com. 10 May 2015.
11. Book: John Edwards Memorial Foundation. JEMF Quarterly. 1982. John Edwards Memorial Foundation. 110.
12. News: WLEU Opens at Erie. 24 October 2014. Broadcasting. 1 May 1935.
13. News: New California Outlet. 4 November 2014. Broadcasting. 1 October 1935.
14. News: WTMV, at East St. Louis, New 100-Watter, on Air. 24 October 2014.
15. News: 15-Watter Gives Up. 24 October 2014. Broadcasting. 15 April 1935.
16. Book: Asa Briggs. The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom: Volume I: The Birth of Broadcasting. 23 March 1995. OUP Oxford. 978-0-19-212926-0. 358.
17. News: Will Rogers' Burial. 19 September 1936. The Philadelphia Inquirer. 2017-03-08. 6. en. Newspapers.com.