The History Of Radio Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pittsburgh

Still operating in the new millenium, KDKA in Pittsburgh is the acknowledged grandfather of commercial radio, although earlier broadcasts have been documented in San Diego, CA and Madison, WI as far back as 1909. By 1932, there was at least one radio station in every state.

Answer: AT and T

AT and T began broadcasting July 1, 1923. It was here that the first commercial network program, 'The Eveready Hour', was broadcast. When AT and T decided not to remain in the broadcasting business, the network was sold to NBC in 1926. RCA formed in December, 1923, CBS in 1927 and NBC in 1929.

Answer: Green

NBC-Orange was a west coast leg of NBC's national service, beginning in 1931. The main colors were NBC-Red and NBC-Blue. The FCC forced NBC to sell 'Blue' in 1943, which became ABC. Other NBC colors were 'Gold' which merged with Orange after two years, and 'White', a religious branch which operated in the late '20s and '30s.

Answer: CBS

CBS earned the nickname from the color coding on the AT and T telephone diagrams. Originally called United Independent Broadcasters, the company was bought out by the Columbia Phonogragh Co. in 1927.

Answer: Maj. Edwin Howard Armstrong

Armstrong, a holder of 42 patents and a professorship at Columbia University, also invented the superheterodyne circuit, allowing for automatic tuning of a radio signal, while a Captain in the US Signal Corps in World War I. This invention helped get him promoted to Major in 1919.

The technology for FM (static free) broadcasting was a success in 1933, but would be years before its feasibility was recognized (it wan't till 1978 that FM stations outnumbered AM). By that time, Armstrong was divorced and broke from losing a long-running patent feud with DeForest.

He committed suicide in 1954.

Answer: East of the Mississippi River

Beginning in 1913, the original policy was that radio stations in the west normally got K-- call letters, while W-- calls were issued to stations along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic seaboard. The original K-W boundary ran north from the Texas-New Mexico border.

However, in late January, 1923, the K-W boundary was shifted east to the Mississippi River, with 'W' on the east side and 'K' on the west.

Answer: Warren G. Harding

Republican candidate Harding defeated Democrat James M. Cox. The results were broadcast on KDKA on Nov. 2, 1920.

Answer: Sherlock Holmes

Oct. 20, 1930. The detective story format is ideally-suited for radio, and the program proves to be one of the most successful dramas of the Depression era. Gillette's Holmes will eventually be overshadowed by the better known Basil Rathbone.

Answer: Walter Winchell

Winchell was the most influential newspaperman in the country at the dawn of the forties, plus his Sunday night news-and-comment program was by far the most popular news program on the air in the last months before US involvement in World War 2. Early TV viewers will recognize his voice as the narrator of 'The Untouchables'.

Answer: Real Estate

The ad was for Hawthorne Court in Jackson Heights, NY in 1921.

Answer: The Happiness Boys

The Happiness Boys sang the praises of Interwoven Socks in the first commercial jingle.

Answer: The Shadow

First portrayed on radio by 22-year-old Orson Welles in September, 1937.

Answer: Lights Out

Truly one of the more creepy programs to reach the airwaves. Bill Cosby tells a great childhood story in his famous 'Chicken Heart' from an episode of 'Lights Out' that results in his spreading Jell-O on the floor to stop the monster and winds up breaking his father's arm.

Answer: The Lone Ranger

Moving after a year to the Don Lee Network (later called Mutual), the Masked Rider of the Plains, his faithful Indian companian Tonto and the fiery steed Silver go on to become one of radio's most enduring contributions to American popular culture, and one of the best-known fictional characters of all time.

Answer: The 'Three Chimes' ID

The 'Chimes' (G-E-C) were the first audible sound combination to be registered with a patent. During World War II, war bulletins on NBC were preceded and followed by four tones (G-E-C-C).

Answer: Kingfish

Sen. Claghorn was the inspiration for creation of the cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn. Kingfish was a member of the 'Amos and Andy' cast.

Answer: The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

'Gillis' with Dwayne Hickman, Bob Denver, Tuesday Weld and Warren Beatty debuted on TV in 1959.

Answer: The War Of The Worlds

Written by H.G. Wells, adapted for radio by Howard Koch and presented by Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre on the Air. The story was altered to be presented as a regular broadcast of dance music, which was interrupted by fake news bulletins to follow the storyline of a Martian invasion.

Answer: Lum N' Abner

Lum Eddards (Chet Lauck) and Abner Peabody (Norris Goff) began as local 'Amos and Andy' imitators who changed their characters to old-time philosophers at the last minute. The show lasted from 1931 to 1953, including seven motion pictures.

Answer: William Conrad

Debuting on CBS on April 26, 1952, the 'adult western' is introduced with, 'Around Dodge City and territories on west, there was just one way to handle the killers and spoilers - that's with a U.S. Marshal and the smell of gunsmoke'. The radio series ended in June, 1961, six years after the TV series began with James Arness as Matt Dillon.