April 6
LOWELL THOMAS DAY
He signed on this day in 1892 with a cry. And then, beginning in 1930 and for fifty more years, he would sign off with, “So long until tomorrow.”
Lowell Thomas, one of America’s most respected newscasters was born in Woodington, Ohio and grew up in Colorado. With degrees from the University of Colorado, New York University, and Columbia University, he became one of the best educated newsmen in the business. And he started in the business at the age of 19 as a reporter for the New York Daily News. Thomas gained notoriety when -- as cameraman Harry Chase filmed -- he reported his eye witness account of author T.E. Lawrence’s 1917 escapades. Lawrence was the British military liaison to the Arabs in their revolt against the Turks. Lowell Thomas’ romantic and adventurous tales of the Brit he referred to as “Lawrence of Arabia,” played to audiences throughout the world, making Lawrence a movie star and Thomas a millionaire.
Lowell Thomas began his long broadcasting career in 1930, as a replacement for NBC’s Floyd Gibbons. His career spanned over five decades and three networks. The first sixteen years were spent at NBC where his broadcasts became so important that the network placed two microphones in front of him -- just in case one failed. Thomas would scoop the other networks and the newspapers wielding a clout and influence never before heard on the airwaves.
After NBC, Thomas moved to CBS, where he stayed for thirty years. His travel adventures made for good news stories and he incorporated them into his nightly news program in a feature called the Tall Tale Club.
Then, in his last years (Thomas died Aug. 29, 1981), he hosted Lowell Thomas Remembers, a series on National Public Radio.
We remember Lowell Thomas as the consummate news broadcaster, and the first to broadcast at one time or another from a ship, an airplane, a submarine and a coal mine.
So long, until tomorrow.
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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