Donald Musgrave Lee (August 12, 1880 – August 30, 1934) was the exclusive west coast distributor of Cadillac automobiles in the early 20th century.

Biography

Lee was born in Lansing, Michigan. In 1919, he purchased the Earl Automobile Works of Hollywood, California.

Harley Earl Harley Jarvis Earl (November 22, 1893 – April 10, 1969) was an American automotive designer and business executive. He was the initial designated head of design at General Motors, later becoming vice president, the first top executive ever ...

, the son of the company's owner, was kept on as manager. Renamed Don Lee Coach and Body Works, the company produced many custom designed Cadillacs for the rich and famous. Earl left the company to become the head of General Motors' styling department in 1927. Lee died in Los Angeles in 1934 of a sudden heart attack, leaving control of his auto and broadcasting empire to his son, Thomas S. "Tommy" Lee (1906–1950).

Broadcasting

Having amassed a fortune selling automobiles, Lee branched out in broadcasting in 1926 when he purchased KFRC in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and relocated the station to the top floor of his Cadillac dealership at 1000 Van Ness Ave. In 1927 he purchased KHJ in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. By mid-September 1932, Lee also had full control of KDB, Santa Barbara, and KGB, San Diego. From 1929 to 1936, the 12-station

Don Lee Network The Don Lee Network, sometimes called the Don Lee Broadcasting System was an American regional network of radio stations in the old-time radio era. Origin Don Lee made a fortune as the exclusive West Coast distributor of Cadillac automobiles. He ...

was affiliated with

Columbia Broadcasting System CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

. This venture was known as the ''Don Lee-Columbia Network''. However, in 1936, CBS purchased KNX, along with some other West Coast stations. It also forged some new West Coast network alliances. This led to the Don Lee Network, now run by son Tommy Lee, to end its affiliation with CBS. Instead, on December 30, 1936, it became an affiliate of the

Mutual Network The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. rad ...

. The two networks were known in newspaper ads as ''Don Lee-Mutual''. Don Lee programs were offered to affiliates when Mutual had vacant time slots. The Don Lee Network was sold to ABC Radio on April 26, 1959. Programs became part of ABC. In 1931 Lee was granted a license to begin experimental

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

broadcasts with station W6XAO in Los Angeles."Don Lee System Given License for Television," ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', June 19, 1931, p. A1. "Los Angeles First With Television Broadcast," ''

'', December 27, 1931, p. 14. The station later became KTSL, KNXT and is currently KCBS-TV, the flagship West Coast station for the CBS television network. The ridge above the Hollywood sign, where Lee established his transmitter, is still known as "

Mount Lee Mount Lee is a peak in the Santa Monica Mountains, located in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Hollywood Sign is located on its southern slope. History The original unnamed peak was one of the "three sisters" along with C ...

". One of the former call letters of the Don Lee affiliated outlets, KDON at Salinas-Monterey, California, is now used by its FM sister station, which is owned by iHeartMedia. Lee died in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, aged 54.

Biography

Broadcasting

References

Further reading