Harold Arlin

Not to be confused with Harold Arlen.
Harold Arlin
Harold Arlin when he was announcing for KDKA, from Radio Age magazine
Born
Harold Wampler Arlin

(1895-12-08)December 8, 1895
La Harpe, Illinois, U.S.
DiedMarch 14, 1986(1986-03-14) (aged 90)
Bakersfield, California, U.S.
Spouses
  • Emily Pace
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1920; died 1954)​
  • Ida Lee Dean
Children3
Career
Show
Station(s)KDKA, Pittsburgh
CountryUnited States

Harold Wampler Arlin (December 8, 1895[1] – March 14, 1986) was an American engineer and foreman and was arguably the world's first full-time and salaried announcer in broadcast radio.[2][3]

Arlin originally worked as an engineer and later foreman for the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company when he was hired as a part-time announcer by KDKA, the nation's first commercially licensed radio station, in Pittsburgh in 1920. On November 2, 1920, Arlin made history as the radio's first announcer when he read over-the-air the returns to the 1920 presidential election between Senator Warren G. Harding and Governor James M. Cox.

Arlin was soon hired full-time at KDKA. During his tenure at KDKA, Arlin became the first to announce radio broadcasts of a baseball game (August 5, 1921), tennis match (August 6, 1921), football game (October 8, 1921), and a boxing match (September 14, 1923).[4]

Arlin also interviewed many celebrities on the air, including Babe Ruth, Will Rogers, Lillian Gish and William Jennings Bryan. He spent five years at KDKA, where he was nicknamed the "Voice of America". Listeners on several continents could hear KDKA and Arlin's broadcasts, and The London Times called him "the best known American voice in Europe".[5]

  1. ^ Sterling, Christopher H. (2004). Encyclopedia of Radio 3-Volume Set. Routledge. p. 2182. ISBN 978-1-135-45649-8. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  2. ^ Swartz, Jon D.; Reinehr, Robert C. (2010). The A to Z of Old Time Radio. Scarecrow Press. p. 243. ISBN 978-1-4616-7207-4. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  3. ^ Swartz, Jon D.; Reinehr, Robert C. (2007). Historical Dictionary of Old Time Radio. Scarecrow Press. p. 243. ISBN 978-0-8108-6422-1.
  4. ^ United Press International (March 17, 1986). "Harold Arlin, Radio's 'Voice Of America'". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  5. ^ "Harold W. Arlin Dead; An Early Radio Figure". The New York Times. Associated Press. March 18, 1986. Retrieved January 13, 2016.