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Theodore David Brown (May 5, 1924 – March 20, 2005) was a radio personality who worked at several stations in New York City including WMGM, WNEW and
"Ted Brown, Talk Show Host and New York Radio D.J., Is Dead"
''
Brown joined New York radio station WOR, doing mostly nighttime music shows, in late 1946. In August, 1949, he filled in for WNEW 1130's morning team of Gene Klavan and Dee Finch and was given his own early morning show in August of that year. He jumped to weekends at rival station WMGM in December of the same year. Brown continued as the station's morning air personality until a programming shake-up led to a line-up and call letters change (to WHN) in September, 1962. Brown then switched back to WNEW and a late afternoon shift. He was hired away by yet another rival station, WNBC-AM, to do its afternoon shift, in February, 1970. Completing a series of relocations dizzying even for the whirlwind New York radio market of the '60s and '70s, WNEW hired him back from WNBC for the afternoon show in August, 1972. He moved to mornings in 1978 and remained after WNEW began evolving in 1979 to Adult Standards/Big Bands by 1981. He continued working at WNEW until 1989 when he semi-retired. In the 1990s he helped host
WNBC
WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo station WN ...
during the 1950s and 1960s, the golden age of AM radio
AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transm ...
.
Early life
Brown was born inCollingswood, New Jersey
Collingswood is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey, located east of Center City Philadelphia. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 13,926,Roanoke College
Roanoke College is a private liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers 35 majors, 57 minors and concentrations, and pre-professional pr ...
in Salem, Virginia
Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county seat of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combin ...
. He served in the United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
as a tail gunner on a B-17 bomber
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and spent 18 months as a prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
in Stalag IX-C after being shot down over Germany. During the 1950s, Brown broadcast from a studio in the basement of his home in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher"Ted Brown, Talk Show Host and New York Radio D.J., Is Dead"
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', March 22, 2005; accessed May 4, 2008. "As a teenager in the 1950s, Jonathan Schwartz, another New York radio colleague, watched Mr. Brown broadcasting from his basement studio at his home in Riverdale, in the Bronx. Theodore David Brown was born on May 5 in Collingwood, N.J., the youngest of four children of Meyer Nathan Brown, who owned a grocery store, and Rose Brown."
Radio career
Brown joined New York radio station WOR, doing mostly nighttime music shows, in late 1946. In August, 1949, he filled in for WNEW 1130's morning team of Gene Klavan and Dee Finch and was given his own early morning show in August of that year. He jumped to weekends at rival station WMGM in December of the same year. Brown continued as the station's morning air personality until a programming shake-up led to a line-up and call letters change (to WHN) in September, 1962. Brown then switched back to WNEW and a late afternoon shift. He was hired away by yet another rival station, WNBC-AM, to do its afternoon shift, in February, 1970. Completing a series of relocations dizzying even for the whirlwind New York radio market of the '60s and '70s, WNEW hired him back from WNBC for the afternoon show in August, 1972. He moved to mornings in 1978 and remained after WNEW began evolving in 1979 to Adult Standards/Big Bands by 1981. He continued working at WNEW until 1989 when he semi-retired. In the 1990s he helped host New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
football games on WNEW. From 1993-95, Brown worked mid-days at WRIV
WRIV (1390 AM) is a radio station licensed to Riverhead, New York and serves eastern Long Island. It broadcasts an adult standards format.
The station, which has been owned since 1987 by Crystal Coast Communications, has daytime power of 1,000 ...
, a standards station in Riverhead, New York
Riverhead is a town within Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the north shore of Long Island. Since 1727, Riverhead has been the county seat of Suffolk County, though most county offices are in Hauppauge. As of the 2020 census, the po ...
, and on WVNJ 1160 in Oakland, New Jersey
Oakland is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of New York City. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 12,754,
WNEW, The World's Greatest Radio Station
accessed October 8, 2014.
Ted Brown profile
metromediaradio.net; accessed October 8, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Ted 1924 births 2005 deaths Jewish American military personnel United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II People from Collingswood, New Jersey Entertainers from the Bronx Roanoke College alumni Radio personalities from New York (state) United States Army Air Forces soldiers American prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany American expatriates in Germany 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews
Howdy Doody Show
In October 1954, Brown was hired to temporarily replace the ailing Bob Smith, who had suffered a heart attack on Labor Day, onThe Howdy Doody Show
''Howdy Doody'' is an American Children's television series, children's television program (with circus and Western (genre), Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F Campbell
. Brown played the part until Smith returned in September 1955. In the summer of 1959 he hosted a daytime game show called "Across The Board" for ABC Television.
Personal life
Three times married himself, his second wife was actressSylvia Miles
Sylvia Miles (née Scheinwald; September 9, 1924 – June 12, 2019) was an American actress. She was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performances in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969) and '' Farewell, My Lovel ...
; the union ended in an acrimonious divorce in 1970, with Brown paying Miles alimony for decades; he was quoted in an interview as saying "It's been between $200,000 and $300,000". He was her third and last husband.
Death
Brown died at theHebrew Home for the Aged
The Association of Jewish Aging Services (AJAS) was founded in 1960 as the North American Association of Jewish Homes and Housing for the Aging (NAJHHA). It was created and continues to function as the central coordinator for homes and residenti ...
in Riverdale due to complications of a stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
he had suffered several years earlier.
References
External links
WNEW, The World's Greatest Radio Station
accessed October 8, 2014.
Ted Brown profile
metromediaradio.net; accessed October 8, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Ted 1924 births 2005 deaths Jewish American military personnel United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II People from Collingswood, New Jersey Entertainers from the Bronx Roanoke College alumni Radio personalities from New York (state) United States Army Air Forces soldiers American prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany American expatriates in Germany 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews