Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991)

Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991)

All the adventure a man can live, he lives. 1991-10-01 United States of America 113 Min. PG-13
7.5 8 votes
Documentary, History

Overview

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of Lee de Forest, a clergyman’s flamboyant son, who invented the audion tube; Edwin Howard Armstrong, a brilliant, withdrawn inventor who pioneered FM technology; and David Sarnoff, a hard-driving Russian immigrant who created the most powerful communications company on earth.

Cast

Jason Robards is Narrator (voice)
Narrator (voice)
Red Barber is Self - Radio Announcer
Self - Radio Announcer
Erik Barnouw is Self - Historian
Self - Historian
Ken Bilby is Self - Biographer of David Sarnoff
Self - Biographer of David Sarnoff
Norman Corwin is Self - Writer
Self - Writer
Susan Douglas is Self - Historian
Self - Historian
Frank Günther is Self - Engineer
Self - Engineer
Jeanne Hammond is Self - Niece of Edwin H. Armstrong
Self - Niece of Edwin H. Armstrong
Loren Jones is Self - Engineer
Self - Engineer
Garrison Keillor is Self - Writer
Self - Writer
Helen Kelley is Self - Radio Broadcaster
Self - Radio Broadcaster
Robert Morris is Self - Engineer
Self - Engineer
Dana Raymond is Self - Friend of Edwin H. Armstrong
Self - Friend of Edwin H. Armstrong
Gertrude Tyne is Self - Engineer
Self - Engineer
Fred Allen is Self - Predicts Demise of Radio (archive footage)
Self - Predicts Demise of Radio (archive footage)
Gene Autry is Self - Sings (archive sound)
Self - Sings (archive sound)
John Barrymore is Hamlet (archive sound)
Hamlet (archive sound)
Winston Churchill is Self - Finest Hour Speech (archive sound)
Self - Finest Hour Speech (archive sound)
Charles J. Correll is Self - Prepares for Amos 'n' Andy Broadcast (archive footage)
Self - Prepares for Amos 'n' Andy Broadcast (archive footage)
Lee De Forest is Self - Objects to Quality of Radio Programming (archive footage)
Self - Objects to Quality of Radio Programming (archive footage)
Ralph Edwards is Self - Host of 'This Is Your Life' (archive footage)
Self - Host of 'This Is Your Life' (archive footage)
Dwight D. Eisenhower is Self - Announces Landing in Normandy (archive footage)
Self - Announces Landing in Normandy (archive footage)
Eugenia Farrar is Self (with Lee De Forest) (archive footage)
Self (with Lee De Forest) (archive footage)
Freeman F. Gosden is Self - Prepares for Amos 'n' Andy Broadcast (archive footage)
Self - Prepares for Amos 'n' Andy Broadcast (archive footage)
Guglielmo Marconi is Self - Visits Sarnoff at RCA (archive footage)
Self - Visits Sarnoff at RCA (archive footage)
Marie Mosquini is Self - with Lee De Forest (archive footage)
Self - with Lee De Forest (archive footage)
Nelson Rockefeller is Self - Eulogizes Sarnoff (archive footage)
Self - Eulogizes Sarnoff (archive footage)
Franklin D. Roosevelt is Self - Makes Broadcast About Banking Reform (archive footage)
Self - Makes Broadcast About Banking Reform (archive footage)
David Sarnoff is Self - with Marconi at RCA (archive footage)
Self - with Marconi at RCA (archive footage)
Frank Sinatra is Self - Serenades Sarnoff (archive footage)
Self - Serenades Sarnoff (archive footage)
Arturo Toscanini is Self - Conducts NBC Symphony (archive footage)
Self - Conducts NBC Symphony (archive footage)
Harry S. Truman is Self - Announces Bombing of Hiroshima (archive sound)
Self - Announces Bombing of Hiroshima (archive sound)
Bob Warren is Self - This is Your Life Announcer (archive footage)
Self - This is Your Life Announcer (archive footage)
Orson Welles is Self - Professor in War of the Worlds Broadcast (archive sound)
Self - Professor in War of the Worlds Broadcast (archive sound)

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