| July 30 |
1889 -- Vladimir Zworykin, called the "Father of Television" was born at Mouron, in Russia. He invented the iconoscope in 1931 while in the employ of RCA, the parent company of NBC. Vladimir also used the cathode-ray tube invented in 1897 by Karl Ferdinand Braun to produce an image in a receiver that he called a kinescope. He died in Princeton, New Jersey, on July 29, 1982, the night before his 93rd birthday. 1934 -- Benito D. ('Ben') Piazza is born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Princeton-trained, he went to Hollywood on the strength of his performance in the Canadian-filmed 'A Dangerous Age.' Although he had a featured role in Gary Cooper's western 'The Hanging Tree, most of his career was spent in steady, if under-appreciated, roles on both film ('Bad News Bears') and television (along with many one-shot guest appearances, he had recurring roles on 'Love of Life,' 'Dallas' and 'Dynasty') He died on September 7, 1991, at the age of 57. 1937 -- The American Federation of Radio Artists (AFRA) is organized as part of the American Federation of Labor. The union later became The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) to include TV performers as well. 1952 -- The already-popular radio soap 'The Guiding Light' appears on television for the first time. Following the lives of the Bauer family and the many other residents of Springfield, the serial concludes its run on CBS in 2009. Counting its radio days, 'The Guiding Light' will have been on the air an incredible 72 years. 1962 -- actor Myron McCormick dies of cancer. He's 54 years old. 1980 -- In the ruse of 'good cop, bad cop,' he was the rare character actor who could play both -- at the same time! Rugged Charles McGraw, who was the Las Vegas Police Chief when reporter Carl Kolchak found a vampire on the loose in the original 'The Night Stalker,' dies this date after falling through a glass shower door. McGraw, who was born Charles Butters in Iowa City, Iowa, was just as likely to be a bad guy, too, as evidenced by his spin as four different gangsters on 'The Untouchables.' The only definable characteristic his characters needed was to be gritty. 1984 -- 'Santa Barbara,' the soap opera, debuts today on NBC. Santa Barbara, California, officially debuted on April 9, 1850. NBC TV. See what's happening right now on the Santa Barbara Sea Center webcam. 1987 -- NBC's 'L.A. Law' is nominated for 20 Emmy Awards, one shy of the record set six years earlier by another Steven Bochco series, 'Hill Street Blues.' 1998 -- Richard Schmidt, who was born, appropriately enough, in Buffalo, New York, died today of cancer. As 'Buffalo Bob' Smith, Richard created one of the most-beloved children's shows of all time in 'The Howdy Doody Show,' which ran from 1947 - 1960.' (Imdb.com reports he suffered a near-fatal heart attack in 1954, causing him to miss nearly a year from the show.) He later became a smash on the college lecture circuit by reminiscing about the show. 'Buffalo Bob' was 80 years old when he died. |
| 1930 -- Oh great, now everybody knows -- even 'The Shadow.' The classic radio crime drama airs for the first time on CBS. Lamont Cranston will haunt the airwaves for the next 24 years. |
Ben Piazza (L) was also a talented writer. His novel The Exact and Very Strange Truth was published in 1964, and he co-wrote the 1969 play 'Khaki Blue.' |
| Will the last well-dressed person leaving Springfield please turn out the lighthouse? |
| Read more about this legendary tough guy in the excellent 2007 biography Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy by Alan K. Rode. Also check out his excellent 2008 biography George Raft: The Man Who Would Be Bogart. You can access his books here. |
| Charles McGraw died in a household accident. Here's a great article about how to accident-proof you home! |
Bob died just three months shy of his and wife Mildred's 58th wedding anniversary. They had three sons: Ronald, Robin and Christopher. |