[BC] FM History

[Leon D. Zetekoff]

On 11/24/2010 4:08 PM, Donna Halper wrote:
> 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.
>
As I remember it, Armstrong got Sarnoff after his death; Armstrongs wife 
fought the legal battle for years and eventually won.

Leon

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