Frank Edwards (writer and broadcaster)

Frank Edwards (writer and broadcaster)

Frank Edwards (August 4, 1908- June 23, 1967) was an American writer and broadcaster, and one of the pioneers in radio. Late in his life, he became well-known for a series of books about UFOs.

Biography

Early life and career

Born in Mattoon, Illinois, Edwards broadcast on pioneering radio station KDKA AM in the 1920s, making him one of the earliest professional radio broadcasters.

During the '30s, Edwards continued his career in radio, but also worked a variety of other jobs, including a stint as a professional golfer. He was hired by the Treasury Department during World War II to promote war bond sales.

National radio, UFOs and controversy

After WWII, the Mutual Broadcasting System hired Edwards to host a nationwide news and opinion program sponsored by the American Federation of Labor. Edwards' program was a success, and became nationally popular.

In 1948, Edwards received an advance copy of "Flying Saucers Are Real," a magazine article written by retired U.S. Marine Corps. Major Donald E. Keyhoe. Though already interested in the UFO reports that had earned widespread publicity since 1947, Edwards was captivated by Keyhoe's claims that the U.S. military knew the saucers were actually extraterrestrial spaceships.

Edwards began mentioning UFOs on his radio program, and wrote several books on the subject.

He was fired from the radio program in 1954, for reasons that remain uncertain. His interest in UFOs was believed to be a factor, [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,823515-3,00.html "Time" magazine,] August 23, 1954.] but Edwards' editor and friend Rory Stuart [see Stuart's preface to the anthology "The Strange World of Frank Edwards" (Lyle Stuart Inc, 1977)] wrote " [AFL President] George Meany insisted that Frank Edwards not mention any [competing labor union] CIO labor leaders on his program. He flatly refused and was fired." In spite of thousands of letters in protest of his dismissal, Edwards was not reinstated.

Later career

After being fired from Mutual, Edwards continued working in radio, mostly at smaller local stations. He created and hosted a syndicated radio program, "Stranger Than Science", which discussed UFOs and other Forteana. In 1959 he published a book with the same title that was largely a collection of his radio broadcasts.

Edwards made an appearance on the Johnny Carson-era "Tonight Show", in October, 1966.Fact|date=March 2008 The episode was guest-hosted by singers Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme. Unfortunately, though Carson saved videos of the show past about 1969, this episode is presumed lost. On that telecast, Gorme made references to the fact that she enjoyed various science-fiction shows, like "Star Trek" and "Time Tunnel", and Edwards made various references to experts' sightings of UFOs, to promotehis then-current book, "Flying Saucers--Serious Business!"

Death

It is one of the myths of ufology that Edwards died on June 24, 1967, exactly 20 years after Kenneth Arnold's famous first "flying saucer" sighting. Actually, Edwards died a few minutes before midnight, on the evening of June 23, but his death was announced at the Congress of Scientific Ufologists in New York City on June 24, 1967. The attendees were shocked into silence by the news.

Bibliography

Books authored by Frank Edwards include:
*"My First 10,000,000 Sponsors"
*"Strangest of All", New York: Lyle Stuart, 1956.
*"Stranger than Science", New York: Lyle Stuart, 1959.
*"Strange World", New York: Lyle Stuart, 1964.
*"Strange People"
*"Flying Saucers - Serious Business", New York: Lyle Stuart, 1966.
*"Flying Saucers - Here and Now!"

References

*Clark, Jerome. 1998. "The UFO Encyclopedia: The Phenomenon From The Beginning: Volume 1: A-K". Detroit: Omnigraphics.
*Story, Ronald: "The Encyclopedia of UFOs". Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-385-13677-3.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Frank Edwards — is the name of:*Frank Edwards (politician) (1852 ndash;1927), British Liberal Party politician *Frank Edwards (writer and broadcaster) (1908 ndash;1967), American writer and broadcaster *Frank Edwards (Irish Communist) (1852 ndash;1983), Spanish… …   Wikipedia

  • List of San Diego State University alumni and faculty — This is a list of encyclopedic people associated with San Diego State University, a California State University campus located in the United States. Alumni Entertainment, Arts, and Media * K.D. Aubert, supermodel, model, actress and Fantanas… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Quill and Dagger members — The Quill and Dagger Society, founded at Cornell University in 1893, selects new undergraduate members in the spring of their junior year or fall of their senior year. A small number of honorary members have been selected since the society s… …   Wikipedia

  • Media and Publishing — ▪ 2007 Introduction The Frankfurt Book Fair enjoyed a record number of exhibitors, and the distribution of free newspapers surged. TV broadcasters experimented with ways of engaging their audience via the Internet; mobile TV grew; magazine… …   Universalium

  • List of atheists (authors) — Authors * Douglas Adams (1952 ndash;2001): British radio and television writer and novelist, author of The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy . [ I am a radical Atheist... Adams in an interview by American Atheists… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Northern Irish people — is a list of notable people from Northern Ireland.It also covers * people of Northern Irish descent * people born in Northern Ireland who have since become nationals of other countries * people born outside Northern Ireland and later settled… …   Wikipedia

  • 1990 New Year Honours — Contents 1 United Kingdom 1.1 Life Peers 1.2 Privy Counsellors 1.3 Knights Bachelor 1.4 Order of the …   Wikipedia

  • 2000 New Year Honours — The insignia of the Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George: Andrew Wood was awarded the Grand Cross in this Honours list. The New Year Honours 2000 for the United Kingdom were announced on 31 December 1999, to celebrate the year… …   Wikipedia

  • Deaths in February 2007 — Contents 1 February 2007 1.1 28 1.2 27 1.3 26 …   Wikipedia

  • List of atheists (miscellaneous) — Business* John Baskerville (1706 ndash;1775): English typesetter, printing innovator and typefounder, designer of the typeface that bears his name. [Baskerville left directions that his body be buried in a Conical Building in my own premises… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”