Broadcast Pioneers

Douglas Edwards (1917-1990) was an American radio and television newscaster and correspondent and is regarded as the first "anchorman" of a nationally televised, regularly scheduled newscast by an American network. His four-decade career was contracted to the CBS network.

Born in Oklahoma, he and his widowed mother moved to Alabama in 1932. There the teenage Edwards was paid $2.50 a week to be a "junior announcer", a disc jockey, and to fill any lapses during broadcasts by reading poetry and even singing (after a fashion) occasionally. After college, he remained intent on working in radio, and between 1935 and 1940, he found employment at a small station at WSB in Atlanta and at WXYZ in Detroit where he served as a newscaster and announcer. His big break was an offer from CBS Radio in 1942 to move to New York as an assistant announcer and understudy to journalist John Charles Daly.

In the fledgling days of television of 1947, Edwards was chosen by CBS to host the 1948 Democratic and Republican national conventions. Edwards presented news on CBS television every weeknight for fifteen years, from 1947 until 1962. Initially aired as a 15-minute program under the title CBS Television News, the broadcast evolved into the CBS Evening News and expanded to a 30-minute format in 1963 under Walter Cronkite, who succeeded Edwards as anchor of the newscast. Edwards retired from CBS in 1988.

Owosso Motor Car Company

 

The Litestar or Pulse autocycles were considered Ground Cruising Recreational Vehicles (GCRV). Founder David Vaughn worked with the supplier of its bodies, Tomorrow Corp., but the two companies severed ties over numerous disagreements. Vaughn then changed the Litestar name to Pulse in 1985. The fiberglass body was designed to look like an aircraft with tandem seating. Including its rear-mounted motorcycle engine, the Pulse weighed in at about 1,000 lbs and considered by the DMV to be motorcycles. 

Technically a two-wheeled motorcycle, the Litestar featured two additional outrigger wheels under its "wings" that provided balance when standing still or in a turn. Though compliant with US federal regulations as a motorcycle, various states took issue with the Litestar. Initially, they had no reverse gear and there were some quality issues. Twenty-seven states were willing to license the vehicle. The Owosso, Michigan company went out of business in 1990 and in its five-year run, manufactured 347 autocycles. A number appear today at various airshows or classic motorcycle venues.

Photo: September 3, 2022. Marion, Indiana

The Dependable Fallback Host

 

Bill Cullen (1920-1990) was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades. His biggest claim to fame was as a game show host for twenty-three shows, earning him the nickname "Dean of Game Show Hosts." Cullen's broadcasting career began in 1939 in Pittsburgh as a disc jockey and play-by-play announcer for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Hornets. After serving in the Civil Air Patrol as an instructor and patrol aircraft pilot during World War II, Cullen got his first television game show, Winner Take All, in 1952.

The witty busy Bill was on the network's list as their fallback guy. When no one could think of someone new, they typically went with the engaging personality of Cullen. In the mid-Fifties, he hosted Name That Tune, and from 1956 to 1965 he hosted the initial daytime and primetime versions of The Price Is Right. For three seasons he hosted Eye Guess, beginning in 1966. The show spawned a board game version, as well. Throughout the Sixties and Seventies, he hosted some new generations of game shows, most of which had a short life. Cullen was certainly a household face, appearing as a guest on countless game shows including popular shows like The Cross-Wits, Password, Pyramid, and Match Game. But most famously as a panelist on I've Got a Secret from 1952 to 1967, and To Tell the Truth from 1969 to 1978.

Note: Cullen contracted polio when he was 18 months old. That long-term disability plus injuries sustained in a serious motor vehicle accident in 1937, made it difficult for him to walk or stand for extended periods. The game show directors took great care and limited his standing or walking. Few peers knew of his disability at the time and nearly every television viewer ever noticed.

Synopsis: Thrust Into Television

 

Probably best known for his Western villainy, Harry Lauter (1914-1990) also snagged bit parts in a few significant modern-day films as in White Heat (1949) or as a well-hidden platoon leader in The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951). The former male model neared stardom on television's Tales of The Texas Rangers (1955, above). One might find him in such comedies as The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet or My Favorite Martian as the straight man, of course. He was cast in Adam-12 and other series during the 1970s. Lauter spent time on the rodeo circuit before turning to acting. For his many Westerns, he also learned how to safely do his own stunts. Learning from the best: Jock Mahoney. Unknown to most entertainment fans, much of his energy later in life was devoted to his own paintings and running an art gallery.