Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio's primary photo
  • Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991)
  • TV-G
    113 min | Documentary, History
Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991)
TV-G
113 min | Documentary, History

For 50 years, radio dominated the airwaves as the first mass medium. Ken Burns examines the lives of three men who shared the responsibility for its invention and early success.
Read more: Plot summary
Director
Writers
Ken Burns (additional) | Tom Lewis (book "Empire of the Air") | Geoffrey C. Ward
Editor
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Status
Edit Released
Updated Oct 31, 1991

Release date
Oct 1991 (United States)

Contacts

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Cast

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34 cast members
Name Known for
Jason Robards
Narrator (voice) Narrator (voice)   See fewer
Red Barber
Self - Radio Announcer Self - Radio Announcer   See fewer
Erik Barnouw
Self - Historian Self - Historian   See fewer
Ken Bilby
Self - Biographer of David Sarnoff Self - Biographer of David Sarnoff   See fewer
Norman Corwin
Self - Writer Self - Writer   See fewer
Susan Douglas
Self - Historian Self - Historian   See fewer
Frank Günther
Self (engineer) Self (engineer)   See fewer
Jeanne Hammond
Self - Niece of Edwin H. Armstrong Self - Niece of Edwin H. Armstrong   See fewer
Loren Jones
Self - Engineer Self - Engineer   See fewer
Garrison Keillor
Self - Writer Self - Writer   See fewer
Helen Kelley
Self - Radio Broadcaster Self - Radio Broadcaster   See fewer
Robert Morris
Self - Engineer Self - Engineer   See fewer
Dana Raymond
Self - Friend of Edwin H. Armstrong Self - Friend of Edwin H. Armstrong   See fewer
Gertrude Tyne
Self - Engineer Self - Engineer   See fewer
Fred Allen
Self - Predicts Demise of Radio (archive footage) (uncredited) Self - Predicts Demise of Radio (archive footage) (uncredited)   See fewer
Gene Autry
Self - Sings (archive sound) (uncredited) Self - Sings (archive sound) (uncredited)   See fewer
John Barrymore
Hamlet (archive sound) (uncredited) Hamlet (archive sound) (uncredited)   See fewer
Winston Churchill
Self - Finest Hour Speech (archive sound) (uncredited) Self - Finest Hour Speech (archive sound) (uncredited)   See fewer
Charles J. Correll
Self - Prepares for Amos 'n' Andy Broadcast (archive footage) (uncredited) Self - Prepares for Amos 'n' Andy Broadcast (archive footage) (uncredited)   See fewer
Lee De Forest
Self - Objects to Quality of Radio Programming (archive footage) (uncredited) Self - Objects to Quality of Radio Programming (archive footage) (uncredited)   See fewer
Ralph Edwards
Self - Host of 'This Is Your Life' (archive footage) (uncredited) Self - Host of 'This Is Your Life' (archive footage) (uncredited)   See fewer
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Self - Announces Landing in Normandy (archive sound) (uncredited) Self - Announces Landing in Normandy (archive sound) (uncredited)   See fewer
Eugenia Farrar
Self (with Lee De Forest) (unconfirmed) (archive footage) (uncredited) Self (with Lee De Forest) (unconfirmed) (archive footage) (uncredited)   See fewer
Freeman F. Gosden
Self - Prepares for Amos 'n' Andy Broadcast (archive footage) (uncredited) Self - Prepares for Amos 'n' Andy Broadcast (archive footage) (uncredited)   See fewer
Guglielmo Marconi
Self - Visits Sarnoff at RCA (archive footage) (uncredited) Self - Visits Sarnoff at RCA (archive footage) (uncredited)   See fewer
Marie Mosquini
Self - with Lee De Forest (archive footage) (uncredited) Self - with Lee De Forest (archive footage) (uncredited)   See fewer
Nelson Rockefeller
Self - Eulogizes Sarnoff (archive footage) (uncredited) Self - Eulogizes Sarnoff (archive footage) (uncredited)   See fewer
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Self - Makes Broadcast About Banking Reform (archive footage) (uncredited) Self - Makes Broadcast About Banking Reform (archive footage) (uncredited)   See fewer
David Sarnoff
Self - with Marconi at RCA (archive footage) (uncredited) Self - with Marconi at RCA (archive footage) (uncredited)   See fewer
Frank Sinatra
Self - Serenades Sarnoff (archive footage) (uncredited) Self - Serenades Sarnoff (archive footage) (uncredited)   See fewer
Arturo Toscanini
Self - Conducts NBC Symphony (archive footage) (uncredited) Self - Conducts NBC Symphony (archive footage) (uncredited)   See fewer
Harry S. Truman
Self - Announces Bombing of Hiroshima (archive sound) (uncredited) Self - Announces Bombing of Hiroshima (archive sound) (uncredited)   See fewer
Bob Warren
This is Your Life Announcer Dr. Lee DeForrest episode (uncredited) This is Your Life Announcer Dr. Lee DeForrest episode (uncredited)   See fewer
Orson Welles
Professor in War of the Worlds Broadcast (archive sound) (uncredited) Professor in War of the Worlds Broadcast (archive sound) (uncredited)   See fewer
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