The Wizards Behind The Curtain Of Radio Sound Effects

In the movies the art of creating sound effects is called foley named after the man, Jack Foley, who created the means of adding sound effects to film back in 1927.

For movie goers sound helps create the overall presentation of a film but when it comes to radio, sound effects help assist listeners and "the theater of the mind". Otherwise radio listeners would just hear actors reading lines from a script which without sound effects would become pretty dull and boring.

In the summer of 1972 and prior to attending the RCA Television Studio School in Times Square that fall, myself and family took the NBC Studio Tour in New York City. Some forty plus years later I don't remember too much of the tour except for the group we were in standing in a darkened hallway with curtains about waist level and up toward the ceiling. When the curtains opened we realized we were looking through darkened windows behind the studio audience looking down at the studio stage of the Johnny Carson Show.

The other thing, and which stands out the most was at the beginning of the tour we were taken into an example of an old radio studio complete with showing us how sound effects were created for live radio programs. Of course during the Golden Age of Radio all programs aired live, gaffs and all, often with a studio audience either in the same studio or on the other side of windows with mics overhead to capture audience reaction. What amazed me and in a way spoiled the illusion as showing how magicians do their tricks, was how the simplest of things were used to create sound effects totally different from what the item(s) actually were. I found this webpage that goes into the detail of how sound effects evolved in radio, the best part of the page is you can click on several sound effects that had been used in those days.

Below is an excellent short film showing radio sound effects artists creating the all important something extra to complete the entertainment of sitting around the radio listening to a show.

Edward R. Murrow Set The Standard For Journalists

To feature the end of Edward R. Murrow goes against the norm of presenting things in chronological order but to remember the man better allows for the understanding of his contributions to news and as presented here on this blog about radio. There will be other postings about Murrow in the future.

Murrow was one of those fortunate ones who only had one employer for his life long career as a journalist and that was CBS.

He joined CBS in 1935 as director of talks and education and amazingly enough CBS did not have a news department except for staff announcer Robert Trout. Murrow's job then was what today would be termed as an assistant to the producer who would schedule people to appear on programs. It was a far cry from what Murrow would become, perhaps the greatest broadcast journalist this country will ever know. Many past, present and future news broadcasters, whether free-lance, local or network, radio or TV, use Murrow as the high bar of accomplishment.

Some who have reached that high bar standard have been honored with the Edward R. Murrow Award.

Murrow as he moved on to television and into further journalistic greatness on occasion butted heads with CBS owner William S. Paley over what Murrow considered unwanted, unneeded and unnecessary interference with Murrow's programs particularly the hit news program See It Now which often took on controversial subjects of the time.

Murrow left CBS and the turmoil and interference of Paley in 1961 to become the head of the government body the United States Information Agency which oversaw the Voice of America broadcast service. Then President John F. Kennedy offered the position to Murrow. He left just a few short years later when health problems due to lung cancer began to take its toll. He died on April 27, 1965 at his country home in Pawling, NY after just turning the young age of 57.

There is so much history about the man, much more than this simple blog will allow space for. To learn more about Murrow and the sources used for this posting go HERE and HERE .

Below is a tribute to Edward R. Murrow which was presented by WNEW-AM in New York on May 2, 1965. It should be noted that someone had the foresight to save the tape as it would have otherwise ended up in the garbage when in 1991 WNEW-AM moved from its 3rd Avenue offices in New York City.

Whoever that person was, we the fans of Edward R. Murrow and those of us who have and do work in broadcasting owe a debt of undying gratitude as he was remembered as he should be, on the radio.