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"Sarnoff" redirects here. For the company, see Sarnoff Corporation. Sarnoff Corporation, with headquarters in West Windsor New Jersey, is the former RCA Laboratories
David Sarnoff

David Sarnoff, 1922
Born February 27, 1891(1891-02-27)
near Minsk, Russian Empire (now Belarus)
Died December 12, 1971 (aged 80)
New York City, New York, USA
Burial place Kensico Cemetery Valhalla, New York, USA
Nationality American
Other names "The General"
Known for Longtime executive of RCA, Founder of NBC
Religious beliefs Judaism
Spouse Lizette Hermant
Children Robert W. Events 1560 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation Year 1891 ( MDCCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Minsk (Мінск mʲinsk Минск mʲinsk is the Capital and largest city in Belarus, situated on the Svislach and Niamiha rivers The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. The City of New York New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Towerkensicojpg|thumb|The Tower at the upper entrance to Kensico Cemetery]] Kensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, Westchester County New York, was founded Valhalla is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP located in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County New York, New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986 The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut , Edward, and Thomas W.
Parents Abraham and Leah Sarnoff

David Sarnoff (February 27, 1891 – December 12, 1971) was a Belarusian-born American businessman and pioneer of American commercial radio and television. Events 1560 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation Year 1891 ( MDCCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east The United States of America —commonly referred to as the This article is about radio broadcasting for other uses see Radio (disambiguation. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic He founded the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and throughout most of his career he led the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in various capacities from shortly after its founding in 1919 until his retirement in 1970. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986 He ruled over an ever-growing telecommunications and consumer electronics empire to include both RCA and NBC, which became one of the largest companies in the world. Consumer electronics include electronic equipment intended for everyday use Named a Reserve Brigadier General of the Signal Corps in 1945, Sarnoff thereafter was widely known as "The General. "[1] Sarnoff is credited with Sarnoff's law, which states that the value of a broadcast network is proportional to the number of viewers. Sarnoff's law states that the value of a broadcast network is proportional to the number of viewers

Contents

Early years

David Sarnoff was born in Uzlian, a small Jewish village near the city of Minsk , Russian Empire (now in Belarus), to a poor Jewish family, the eldest son of Abraham and Leah Sarnoff. Minsk (Мінск mʲinsk Минск mʲinsk is the Capital and largest city in Belarus, situated on the Svislach and Niamiha rivers The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Given the limited opportunities for Jews in Russia at that time, Sarnoff's future as a bright young boy seemed assured as a rabbi. Until his father emigrated to the United States and raised funds to bring the family, Sarnoff spent much of his early childhood in a cheder studying and memorizing the Torah. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A Cheder (alternatively Cheider, in Hebrew חדר, meaning "room" is a traditional elementary school teaching the basics of Judaism term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to He emigrated with his mother and three brothers and one sister to New York City in 1900, where he helped support his family by selling newspapers for a penny before and after his classes at the Educational Alliance. The City of New York In 1906 his father became incapacitated by tuberculosis; and at age 15, David was forced to work to feed his mother, ailing father, and siblings. Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for tubercle bacillus or T u' b' erculosis Bacillus --> is a common [2] He had planned to pursue a full-time career in the newspaper business, but a chance encounter led to a position as an office boy at the Commercial Cable Company. The Commercial Cable Company was founded in the United States in 1884 by John William Mackay and James Gordon Bennett Jr When his superior refused him unpaid leave for Rosh Hashanah, he joined the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America on September 30, 1906, and thus started a career of over sixty years in electronic communications. Rosh Hashanah (ראש השנה literally "head of the year" Biblical: ˈɾoʃ haʃːɔˈnɔh Israeli haʃaˈna Yiddish: hɑˈʃɔnə is a Jewish The Marconi Company Ltd was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company (sometimes presented as Wireless Events 1399 - Henry IV is proclaimed King of England. 1744 - France and Spain defeat the Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting

Over the next thirteen years Sarnoff rose from office boy to commercial manager of the company, learning about the technology and the business of electronic communications on the job and in various libraries. He also served at Marconi stations on ships and posts on Siasconset, Nantucket and the New York Wanamaker Department Store. Wanamaker's Department store was the first department store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the first department stores in the United States In 1911 he installed and operated the wireless equipment on a ship hunting seals off Newfoundland and Labrador, and used the technology to relay the first remote medical diagnosis from the ship's doctor to a radio operator at Belle Isle with an infected tooth. Newfoundland and Labrador (ˈnuːfɨn(dlənd ən(d ˈlæbrəˌdɔr (Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador is a province of Canada, the tenth and latest to join the Confederation Belle Isle (Old french for 'Beautiful Island' is an uninhabited island just off the coast of Labrador and north of the island of Newfoundland at the Atlantic The following year, he led two other operators at the Wanamaker station in an effort to confirm the fate of the Titanic. Construction The Titanic was a White Star Line ocean liner built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland [3] Learning early the value of self-promotion and publicity, Sarnoff falsely advanced himself both as the sole hero who stayed by his telegraph key for three days to receive information on the Titanic's survivors and as the prescient prophet of broadcasting who predicted the medium's rise in 1916. [2]

Regarding the Titanic story, some modern media historians question whether Sarnoff was even at the telegraph key at all. As the profile done for the Museum of Broadcast Communications correctly points out, by the time of the Titanic in 1912, Sarnoff was in management, and no longer a telegrapher; plus, the event occurred on a Sunday, when the store would have been closed. The Museum of Broadcast Communications (or MBC) is located in Chicago Illinois. (see footnote 2) Regarding the "radio music box" prediction, the memo he allegedly wrote making that claim has never been found, but Louise Benjamin, the author of the 1993 article which expressed skepticism about it has since back-tracked somewhat. She and the curator of Sarnoff's papers found a previously mis-filed 1916 memo that did mention Sarnoff and a "radio music box scheme" (the word "scheme" in 1916 usually meant a plan); Benjamin wrote a follow-up article about Sarnoff and the radio music box in 2002. (See Louise Benjamin articles in References, below)

Over the next two years Sarnoff earned promotions to chief inspector and contracts manager for a company whose revenues swelled after Congress passed legislation mandating 24-7 staffing of commercial shipboard radio stations. That same year Marconi won a patent a suit that gave it the coastal stations of the United Wireless Telegraph Company. Sarnoff also demonstrated the first use of radio on a railroad line, the Lackawanna Railroad Company's link between Binghamton, New York, and Scranton, Pennsylvania; and permitted and observed Edwin Armstrong's demonstration of his regenerative receiver at the Marconi station at Belmar, New Jersey. The Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company ( DL&W or Lackawanna) was a Railroad connecting Pennsylvania 's Lackawanna Valley Binghamton, known as The Parlor City is a City located in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. Sarnoff used H. J. Round's hydrogen arc transmitter to demonstrate the broadcast of music from the New York Wanamaker station. Captain Henry Joseph Round ( 2 June 1881, Kingswinford, Staffordshire, England &ndash 17 August 1966, Bognor

This demonstration and the AT&T demonstrations in 1915 of long-distance wireless telephony inspired the first of many memos to his superiors on applications of current and future radio technologies. Before proposing a merge request please see Talk and see if the merger you propose has recently been made and Sometime late in 1915 or in 1916 he proposed to the company's president, Edward J. Nally, that the company develop a "Radio Music Box" for the "amateur" market of radio enthusiasts. Edward Julian Nally (1859 - 1953 was a US Radio industrialist. Nally deferred on the proposal because of the expanded volume of business during World War I. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Thoughtout the war years, Sarnoff remained Marconi's Commercial Manager,[1] including oversight of the company's factory in Roselle Park, New Jersey. Roselle Park is a borough in Union County, New Jersey, United States.

RCA

When Owen D. Young of the General Electric Company arranged the purchase of American Marconi and turned it into the Radio Corporation of America, a radio patent monopoly, Sarnoff realized his dream and revived his proposal in a lengthy memo on the company's business and prospects. Owen D Young ( October 27 1874 - July 11 1962) was an American Industrialist, businessman lawyer and diplomat at the Second RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986 In Economics, a monopoly (from Greek monos, alone or single + polein, to sell exists when a specific individual or enterprise has sufficient His superiors again ignored him but he contributed to the rising postwar radio boom by helping arrange for the broadcast of a heavyweight boxing match between Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpentier in July 1921. Boxing (sometimes also known as English boxing or pugilism) is a Combat sport in which two participants generally of similar weight, Jack "Manassa Mauler" Dempsey ( June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983) was an American boxer who held the world Georges Carpentier (pronouced car-pun-tee-eh)( January 12, 1894 – October 28, 1975) was a French boxer Up to 300,000 people heard the fight, and demand for home radio equipment bloomed that winter. [4]-- Public Broadcasting By the spring of 1922 Sarnoff's prediction of popular demand for broadcasting had come true, and over the next eighteen months, he gained in stature and influence.

In 1926, RCA purchased its first radio station (WEAF/New York); and RCA and launched the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), the first radio network in America. Four years later, Sarnoff had become president of RCA and NBC had split into two networks, the Red and the Blue. The Blue Network later became ABC Radio. [3] Sarnoff would be later described by others as the founder of both RCA and NBC, but he was neither. These misconceptions were perpetuated because Sarnoff's later accomplishments were so plentiful that any myth was believable. [2]

Sarnoff was instrumental in building and established the AM broadcasting radio business which became the preeminent public radio standard for the majority of the 20th century. This was until FM broadcasting radio re-emerged in the 1960s (following FM's initial appearance and disappearance during the 1930s and 1940's - see Yankee Network for more details on early FM broadcasting and a tragic legacy to the Sarnoff story). See also Frequency modulation, FM band FM broadcasting is a broadcast Technology invented by Edwin Howard Armstrong that The Yankee Network was an American Radio network. It was founded in 1930 by John Shepard III; in 1943 a controlling interest in the network was purchased by See also Frequency modulation, FM band FM broadcasting is a broadcast Technology invented by Edwin Howard Armstrong that

RKO

Sarnoff negotiated successful contracts to form Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO), a film production and distribution company. [2] Essential elements in that new company were RCA and the former Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO) theater chains. The Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation was the owner of a chain of Vaudeville and motion picture theatres [5]

Early history of television

When Sarnoff was put in charge of radio broadcasting at RCA, he soon recognized the potential for television. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic He was determined for his company to pioneer the medium and so he organized to meet with Westinghouse engineer Vladimir Zworykin in 1928, who at the time was developing an all-electronic television system in his spare time on the company premises. Founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. Vladimir Kozmich Zworykin (Владимир Козьмич Зворыкин ( July 30, 1889 - July 29, 1982) was a Russian-American Zworykin told Sarnoff he could build a viable television system in two years with a mere $100,000 grant. Sarnoff decided to fund his research, but the estimate was off by several orders of magnitude and several years. RCA demonstrated a working iconoscope camera tube and kinescope receiver tube to the press on April 24, 1936. The Iconoscope was the name given to an early television camera tube in which a beam of high-velocity Electrons scans a photoemissive Mosaic. Kinescope (ˈkɪnɨskoʊp originally referred to the Cathode ray tube used in Television receivers as named by inventor Vladimir Zworykin in 1929 Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

The final cost of the enterprise was closer to $50 million. On the road to success they also encountered a battle with the young inventor Philo T. Farnsworth, who had been granted patents in 1930 for his solution to broadcasting moving pictures. Philo Taylor Farnsworth ( August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an American inventor A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an For the band see Broadcast (band Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or Video signals which transmit Eventually Sarnoff was ordered to pay him $1,000,000 in royalties. In The Farnsworth Invention, the Broadway play based on this patent fight, playwright Aaron Sorkin's Sarnoff is revealed as a multi-faceted character. The Farnsworth Invention is a Stage play by Aaron Sorkin adapted from a Screenplay for a film that was never produced Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9 1961 is an American Screenwriter, producer and Playwright. In a crucial moment, Sarnoff explains in an aside to the audience that he doesn't dispute the notion that "the ends justify the means" because, he argues -- "that's what means are for. " Subsequent history necessarily informs any evaluation of this attributed point-of-view. This dramatic character is also heard to ask rhetorically, "Did I do anything illegal?"[6]

In 1929, Sarnoff engineered the purchase of the Victor Talking Machine Company, the nation's largest manufacturer of records and phonographs, merging radio-phonograph production at Victor's large manufacturing facility in Camden, New Jersey. Victrola redirects here For other uses see Victrola (disambiguation The Victor Talking Machine Company ( 1901 – 1929 A gramophone The phonograph, or gramophone, was the most common device for playing recorded Sound from the 1870s through the 1980s The City of Camden is the County seat of Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States.

Sarnoff became president of RCA on January 3, 1930, succeeding General James Harbord. Events 1431 - Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. James Guthrie Harbord ( March 21, 1866 – August 20, 1947) was a Lieutenant General in the United States Army and President On May 30 the company was involved in an antitrust case concerning the original radio patent pool. Events 1416 - The Council of Constance, called by the Emperor Sigismund a supporter of Antipope John XXIII burns Jerome of Prague following Sarnoff's tenacity and intelligence were able to negotiate an outcome where RCA was no longer partly owned by Westinghouse and General Electric, giving him final say in the company's affairs.

Initially, the Great Depression caused RCA to cut costs, but Zworykin's project was protected. After nine years of Zworykin's hard work, Sarnoff's determination, and legal battles with Farnsworth (in which Farnsworth was proved in the right), they had a commercial system ready to launch. Finally, in 1939 Television in America was born under the name of the National Broadcast Corporation. The first television show aired at the New York World's Fair and was introduced by the General himself.

The standard approved by the National Television System Committee (the NTSC} in 1941 differed from RCA's standard, but RCA quickly became the market leader of manufactured sets and NBC became the first Television network in the United States. NTSC ( National Television System Committee) is the Analog television system used in the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico NTSC ( National Television System Committee) is the Analog television system used in the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico

There are those who say that Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to be shown on TV (at the 1939 New York World's Fair). The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by The 1939-40 New York World's Fair, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (also the location of the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair) was one of the largest Meanwhile, a system developed by EMI based on Zworykin's work was adopted in Britain and used by the BBC in 1936. The EMI Group is a British music company comprising the major record company EMI Music – which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located However, World War II put a halt to a dynamic growth of the early television development stages. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

World War II

At the onset of World War II, Sarnoff served on Eisenhower's communications staff, arranging expanded radio circuits for NBC to transmit news from the invasion of France in June 1944. Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general D-Day may also refer to Decimal Day in the United Kingdom. D-Day is a term often used in Military parlance to denote In France, Sarnoff arranged for the restoration of the Radio France station in Paris that the Germans destroyed and oversaw the construction of a radio transmitter powerful enough to reach all of the allied forces in Europe, called Radio Free Europe. Radio France is the French radio broadcaster. Mission Radio France's two principal missions are To create and expand the programming Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city This article is about the radio broadcast service For the REM Thanks to his communications skills and support he received the Brigadier General's star in December of 1945, and thereafter was known as "General Sarnoff. Brigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General. " The star, which he proudly and frequently wore, was buried with him.

Sarnoff's anticipated that post-war America would need an international radio voice explaining its policies and positions. In 1943, he tried to influence Secretary of State Cordell Hull to include radio broadcasting in post-war planning. In 1947, he lobbied Secretary of State George Marshall to expand the roles of Radio Free Europe and Voice of America. This article is about the radio broadcast service For the REM Voice of America ( VOA) is the official external radio and Television broadcasting service of the United States federal government. His concerns and proposed solutions were eventually seen as prescient. [7]

Post-war expansion

After the war, monochrome television production began in earnest. Color television was the next major development and NBC once again won the battle. CBS also had their electro-mechanical color television system approved by the FCC on October 10, 1950 however, Sarnoff filed an unsuccessful suit in the United States district court to suspend that ruling. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. Events 680 - Battle of Karbala: Shia Imam Husayn bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is decapitated Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States district courts are the general Trial courts of the United States federal court system. Subsequently he made an appeal to the Supreme court which eventually upheld the FCC decision. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. Sarnoff's tenacity and determination to win the "Color War" pushed his engineers to perfect an all-electronic color television system that used a signal that could be received on existing monochrome sets that finally won the day. CBS was now unable to take advantage of the color market, due to lack of manufacturing capability and sets that were triple the cost of monochrome sets. A few days after CBS had its color premiere on June 14, 1951, RCA demonstrated a fully functional all-electronic color television system and became the leading manufacturer of color Television sets in the United States. Events 1276 - While taking exile in Fuzhou in southern China, away from the advancing Mongol invaders, the remnants of the Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January

Color television production was suspended in October 1951 for the duration of the Korean War. The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the As more people bought monochrome sets, it was increasingly unlikely that CBS could achieve any success with its incompatible system. The NTSC was reformed and recommended a system virtually identical to RCA's in August 1952. On December 17, 1953 the FCC approved RCA's system as the new standard. Events 546 - Gothic War (535–554: The Ostrogoths of King Totila Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Later years

In 1955, General Sarnoff received The Hundred Year Association of New York's Gold Medal Award "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York. Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) The Hundred Year Association of New York, founded in 1927 is a Non-profit organization in New York City aimed at recognizing and rewarding dedication and service "

In 1959 Sarnoff was a member of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund panel to report on U. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF ( Philanthropy for an Interdependent World) is an international philanthropic organisation created and run by members of the Rockefeller S. foreign policy. As a member of that panel and in a subsequent essay published in Life as part of its "The National Purpose" series, he was critical of the tentative stand being taken by the United States in fighting the political and psychological warfare being waged by Soviet-led international Communism against the West. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based The term " first world " refers to countries that are capitalist, which are technologically advanced and whose He strongly advocated an aggressive, multi-faceted fight in the ideological and political realms with a determination to decisively win the Cold War. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the [8]

Although a cousin's sympathetic biography earned Sarnoff's approval, there is not yet an objective, scholarly biography -- one which documents its sources and draws on multiple archives.

Sarnoff retired in 1970, at the age of 79, and died the following year, aged 80. He is interred in a mausoleum featuring a stained-glass vacuum tube in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York. Towerkensicojpg|thumb|The Tower at the upper entrance to Kensico Cemetery]] Kensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, Westchester County New York, was founded Valhalla is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP located in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County New York,

Family Life

On July 4, 1917, Sarnoff married Lizette Hermant, the daughter of a French immigrant family who settled in the Bronx. It was Sarnoff's good luck that the Hermants just happened to become one of his mother's neighbors. [1] This 54-year marriage is said to have been the bedrock of his life. [2] Mrs. Sarnoff soon learned that, in addition to a wife's more conventional roles, she also became the first person to hear her husband's new ideas as radio and television became integral to American home life. [1]

The couple had three sons: Robert W. Sarnoff,[9] Edward Sarnoff, and Thomas W. Sarnoff. Robert succeeded his father as RCA's Chairman in 1971; and the youngest of these sons, Thomas, became NBC West Coast President.

Each of Sarnoff's sons had three children. David and Lizette Sarnoff's nine grandchildren were: Robert's daughters -- Rosita Sarnoff, Serena Benenson, and Claudia Parrot;[9] Edward's sons -- James, Russell and John; and Thomas' children -- Daniel J. , Timothy and Cynthia.

Today, the Sarnoff clan continues to expand. David Sarnoff's third-generation great-grandchildren include: David and Alexander (James' children), Sabrina and Andrew (Russell's children); Cristina and Nicholas (Daniel's children with his first wife): Aaron, Anna and Aria (Timothy's children); Isabella and Lily (Daniel's daughter's by his second marriage); Abigail (Cynthia's daughter); and Adam, Toby and Felicia (Serena's children).

Sarnoff was the maternal uncle of screen and scriptwriter, Richard Baer. Screenwriters or scenarists are Scriptwriters who write the Screenplays from which Films and Television programs are made Richard Baer ( April 28, 1928 - February 22, 2008) was a American Writer and Screenwriter. [10] Sarnoff is credited with sparking Baer's interest in television, as well as kick starting his career. [10] According to Baer's 2005 autobiography, Sarnoff called a vice president at NBC at 6 A. An autobiography, from the Greek αὐτός autos "self" βίος bios "life" and γράφειν graphein "to write" __FORCETOC__ For the Vice President of the United States, their roles and other information see Vice President of the United States. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's M. and ordered him to find Baer "a job by 9 o'clock" that same morning. [10] The NBC vice president complied with Sarnoff's request. Baer was hired as an assistant on the William Bendix sitcom, The Life of Riley, in 1953. William Bendix ( January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an Academy Award -nominated American film Actor. The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role was a popular Radio Situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 [10][11] Baer went of to write for more than 56 television series during his career. A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U [10][11]

Honors

Sarnoff museum

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Mrs. David Sarnoff dies at 79; Widow of Broadcasting Pioneer," New York Times, January 10, 1974.
  2. ^ a b c d e Museum of Broadcast Communications web site
  3. ^ a b c Radio Hall of Fame web site
  4. ^ "Big Dream, Small Screen," The American Experience television series. (1997)]
  5. ^ RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. -- retrieved February 4, 2006.
  6. ^ Paraphrase of lines spoken by Hank Azaria playing Sarnoff in The Farnsworth Invention at the Music Box Theater in New York (February 2, 2008); compare Fact-checking: scene-by-scene analysis of Sorkin's play.
  7. ^ "Sarnoff Revives Pleas for U.S. Radio; 1943 Letter to Hull, Now Sent to Marshall, Bids Nation Set Up a 'Voice of America'," New York Times. May 16, 1947.
  8. ^ Sarnoff, David. "National Purpose: Sarnoff Program; Renewed Dedication of Traditions Urged in Fighting Communism," New York Times. June 2, 1960; Sarnoff, David. "Turn the Cold War Tide in America's Favor", Life. June 6, 1960.
  9. ^ a b Kleinfeld, N.R. "Robert Sarnoff, 78, RCA Chairman, Dies," New York Times. February 24, 1997.
  10. ^ a b c d e Nelson, Valerie J. . "Richard Baer, 79; wrote for many popular sitcoms", Los Angeles Times, 2008-02-26. The Los Angeles Times (also known as the LA Times) is a daily Newspaper published in Los Angeles California and distributed 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 747 BC - Epoch (origin of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Retrieved on 2008-03-22. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 238 - Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperor.  
  11. ^ a b "Writer Richard Baer dies at 79", Variety Magazine, 2008-02-25. Variety is a weekly entertainment trade newspaper founded in New York in 1905 by Sime Silverman 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 138 - The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor Retrieved on 2008-03-22. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 238 - Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperor.  
  12. ^ "NAB Hall of Fame", National Association of Broadcasters. Retrieved on 2008-05-03. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João  

Further reading

See also

External links

WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Arturo Toscanini (ɑrˈturɔ ˌtɔskɑˈnini (March 25 1867 &ndash January The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a Radio orchestra established by David Sarnoff of the National Broadcasting Company especially for conductor Arturo Philo Taylor Farnsworth ( August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an American inventor
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