[BC] FM History

[Donna Halper]

At 12:24 PM 11/24/2010, you wrote:
>We were always taught that Sarnoff had him thrown out the window.
>While the world could certainly do with a few well-placed
>defenestrations, this one was a big loss in my opinion.

We may never know if in fact Sarnoff was directly responsible for 
Armstrong's suicide but it's certainly safe to say that being 
constantly hauled into court and stymied by RCA at every turn 
contributed to how helpless & depressed Armstrong felt.  Btw, there 
were other figures from the formative years of broadcasting who later 
took their own life (Irving Vermilya comes to mind; local 
broadcasters in New England, as well as ham radio fans, might recall 
his name).  Often the suicide was because of depression at the fact 
that the industry had passed them by, or they were replaced by 
someone younger (cheaper) without so much as a thank you.  We all do 
love radio, but it could sometimes be a truly brutal business.