Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio

Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio

7.4 | 1991-10-01 | Documentary History

For 50 years radio dominated the airwaves and the American consciousness as the first “mass medium.” In Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio, Ken Burns examines the lives of three extraordinary men who shared the primary responsibility for this invention and its early success, and whose genius, friendship, rivalry and enmity interacted in tragic ways. This is the story of Lee de Forest, a clergyman’s flamboyant son, who invented the audion tube; Edwin Howard Armstrong, a brilliant, withdrawn inventor who pioneered FM technology; and David Sarnoff, a hard-driving Russian immigrant who created the most powerful communications company on earth.

Featured Crew

Tom Lewis Producer
Ken Burns Director
Morgan Wesson Producer
Ken Burns Producer
Geoffrey C. Ward Writer
Yaffa Lerea Associate Editor
Camilla Rockwell Associate Producer
Morgan Wesson Sound
Yaffa Lerea Sound Editor
Lee Dichter Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Cast

Jason Robards
Jason Robards
Narrator (voice)
Red Barber
Red Barber
Self - Radio Announcer
Erik Barnouw
Erik Barnouw
Self - Historian
Ken Bilby
Ken Bilby
Self - Biographer of David Sarnoff
Norman Corwin
Norman Corwin
Self - Writer
Susan Douglas
Susan Douglas
Self - Historian
Frank Günther
Frank Günther
Self - Engineer
Jeanne Hammond
Jeanne Hammond
Self - Niece of Edwin H. Armstrong
Loren Jones
Loren Jones
Self - Engineer
Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor
Self - Writer

Images

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