Himan Brown
Encyclopedia
Himan Brown also known as Hi Brown and Mende Brown, was an American producer of radio programs. Producing for the major radio networks and also for syndication, Brown worked with such actors as Helen Hayes
, Boris Karloff
, Peter Lorre
, Gregory Peck
, Frank Sinatra
and Orson Welles
while creating thousands of radio programs.
. At the age of 18, he began broadcasting on New York's WEAF
, reading newspapers with a Yiddish dialect. One of his listeners was Gertrude Berg
who wanted him to play Jake, her husband on The Goldbergs
, which he did for six months. He continued as a radio actor but soon began to pitch shows directly to advertising agencies. While at Brooklyn College
, he recruited fellow student Irwin Shaw
to write scripts, giving the author his first paid writing job. Shaw later based a character on Brown in his 1951 novel about the radio industry, The Troubled Air.
, The Affairs of Peter Salem, Bulldog Drummond
, CBS Radio Mystery Theater
, City Desk, Dick Tracy
, Flash Gordon
, The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater
, Grand Central Station
, Green Valley, USA, The Gumps
, Inner Sanctum Mysteries
, Joyce Jordan, M.D., Marie, the Little French Princess, The NBC Radio Theater, The Private Files of Rex Saunders, Terry and the Pirates
and numerous daytime soap operas. In 1951-55 he directed the NBC detective drama, Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator
, and he directed many episodes of shows he produced.
) to produce his shows.
When television arrived, Brown produced 26 episodes of the syndicated Inner Sanctum TV series, plus a daytime show, Morning Matinee. Realizing that "all these guys making TV, they have to have a set," he profited by acquiring the studios in Chelsea; they were used for 35 years by New York TV production firms.
Through his non-profit educational foundation, Brown produced They Were Giants, radio programs dramatizing the lives of such literary figures as Walt Whitman
and H. G. Wells
. We, The Living, fact-based dramas about the lives of senior citizens.
Brown died peacefully on June 4, 2010, in New York.
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
, Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
, Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
, Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
while creating thousands of radio programs.
Early life
The son of a tailor from a shtetl near the Ukrainian seaport of Odessa, Brown first learned about radio from a shop teacher at Brooklyn's Boys High SchoolBoys High School
Boys High School is an historic and architecturally notable public school building in the Bedford–Stuyvesant, neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. It is regarded as "one of Brooklyn's finest buildings.-Architecture:...
. At the age of 18, he began broadcasting on New York's WEAF
WNBC (AM)
WNBC was a radio station that operated in New York City from 1922 to 1988. For most of its history, it was the flagship station of the NBC Radio Network...
, reading newspapers with a Yiddish dialect. One of his listeners was Gertrude Berg
Gertrude Berg
Gertrude Berg was an American actress and screenwriter. A pioneer of classic radio, she was one of the first women to create, write, produce and star in a long-running hit when she premiered her serial comedy-drama The Rise of the Goldbergs , later known as The Goldbergs.-Career:Berg was born...
who wanted him to play Jake, her husband on The Goldbergs
The Goldbergs
The Goldbergs is a comedy-drama broadcast from 1929 to 1946 on American radio, and from 1949 to 1956 on American television. It was adapted into a 1948 play, Me and Molly, and a 1973 Broadway musical, Molly.-Radio:...
, which he did for six months. He continued as a radio actor but soon began to pitch shows directly to advertising agencies. While at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, he recruited fellow student Irwin Shaw
Irwin Shaw
Irwin Shaw was a prolific American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best-known for his novel, The Young Lions about the fate of three soldiers during World War II that was made into a film starring Marlon...
to write scripts, giving the author his first paid writing job. Shaw later based a character on Brown in his 1951 novel about the radio industry, The Troubled Air.
On the air
During a span of 65 years, he produced more than 30,000 radio programs, including The Adventures of the Thin ManThe Adventures of the Thin Man
The Adventures of the Thin Man radio series, initially starring Les Damon, was broadcast on all four major radio networks during the years 1941 to 1950. Claudia Morgan had the female lead role of Nora Charles throughout the program's entire nine-year run...
, The Affairs of Peter Salem, Bulldog Drummond
Bulldog Drummond
Bulldog Drummond is a British fictional character, created by "Sapper", a pseudonym of Herman Cyril McNeile , and the hero of a series of novels published from 1920 to 1954.- Drummond :...
, CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater was a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS affiliates from 1974 to 1982....
, City Desk, Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a hard-hitting, fast-shooting and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate...
, Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
, The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater
The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater
The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater was a 1977 anthology radio drama series with Tom Bosley as host. Himan Brown, already producing the CBS Radio Mystery Theater for the network, added this twice-weekly anthology radio drama series to his workload in 1977...
, Grand Central Station
Grand Central Station (radio)
Grand Central Station was an American anthology radio series which had a long run on the major networks from 1937 to 1954. Produced by Himan Brown, Martin Horrell and others, the story content ranged from romantic comedies to lightweight dramas....
, Green Valley, USA, The Gumps
The Gumps
The Gumps, a popular comic strip about a middle-class family, was created by Sidney Smith in 1917, launching a 42-year run in newspapers from February 12, 1917 until October 17, 1959....
, Inner Sanctum Mysteries
Inner Sanctum Mysteries
Inner Sanctum Mysteries, a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952, was created by producer Himan Brown. A total of 526 episodes were broadcast.-Horror hosts:...
, Joyce Jordan, M.D., Marie, the Little French Princess, The NBC Radio Theater, The Private Files of Rex Saunders, Terry and the Pirates
Terry and the Pirates (radio serial)
Terry and the Pirates was a radio serial adapted from the comic strip of the same name created in 1934 by Milton Caniff. With storylines of action, high adventure and foreign intrigue, the popular radio series entralled listeners from 1937 through 1948...
and numerous daytime soap operas. In 1951-55 he directed the NBC detective drama, Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator
Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator
Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator was a radio detective drama heard on NBC from October 3, 1951 to June 30, 1955.Detective Barrie Craig worked alone from his Madison Avenue office. Unlike his contemporaries Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, Craig had a laid-back personality, somewhat cutting...
, and he directed many episodes of shows he produced.
Television
In the 1950s, he bought Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Studios at 221 West 26th Street (now Chelsea StudiosChelsea Studios
Chelsea Studios is a television studio and sound stage at 221 West 26th Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City.-History:The building was originally an armory that was home to Ninth Mounted Calvary which moved to 14th Street in 1914....
) to produce his shows.
When television arrived, Brown produced 26 episodes of the syndicated Inner Sanctum TV series, plus a daytime show, Morning Matinee. Realizing that "all these guys making TV, they have to have a set," he profited by acquiring the studios in Chelsea; they were used for 35 years by New York TV production firms.
Through his non-profit educational foundation, Brown produced They Were Giants, radio programs dramatizing the lives of such literary figures as Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
and H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
. We, The Living, fact-based dramas about the lives of senior citizens.
Brown died peacefully on June 4, 2010, in New York.
Awards
A member of the Radio Hall of Fame, Brown received the American Broadcast Pioneer and the Peabody Award. Brown taught audio drama at Brooklyn College and the School of Visual Arts. He lived at the same apartment on Central Park West from 1938 until his death in 2010.Listen to
- CBS Radio Mystery Theater (complete collection) Internet Archive, Retrieved 2011 September 15
- Inner Sanctum Mysteries (166 episodes) Internet Archive; currently, (September 2011) content has been removed.