I love history like this. From the Writers Almanac today: Its the birthday of the Iron Man of radio, reporter Bob Trout, born Robert Blondheim in Wake County, North Carolina (1909). He grew up in Washington, D.C., where his father owned a shoe store. But the boy didnt want to stay in the family business; he hoped to be a great writer some day, traveling the world and having adventures like his hero, Jack London. He graduated from high school and worked odd jobs — a soda jerk, a cab driver, and a janitor at a local radio station, WJSV. One day, the stations regular announcer didnt show up for work, so the managers asked their janitor to fill in. He did so well that he was offered a regular position as a broadcaster. He delivered the news and shared practical advice for housewives and fishermen. In 1932, he changed his last name from Blondheim to Trout, which was the last name of a family friend. That same year, WJSV was purchased by CBS, and soon Trout joined Edward Murrow in the CBS newsroom in New York City. Trout was still in his early 20s, so he grew a thin mustache in the hopes of making himself look older, and he kept it for the rest of his life. Trout became known in the newsroom for his ability to improvise, seemingly endlessly, during major news events, which earned him the nickname the Iron Man. During the Allied invasion of Normandy, Trout began broadcasting at 3 a.m. and didnt stop for more than seven hours. His reporting during the war made him famous, and it was Trout who announced to America the official end of World War II. Trouts ability to ad lib particularly impressed President Roosevelt, who had put it to the test in 1936 on the way to accept his second-term nomination in Philadelphia. Roosevelt was listening to the radio en route, and Trout was filling airtime while he waited for the presidents train. When the train stopped, Roosevelt heard Trout announce that the train had finally arrived and the president would be emerging any moment. But Roosevelt didnt come out, and the minutes went by; Trout ran out of anything new to say, but he just kept ad libbing. Finally the president emerged, and he admitted to Trout years later that he had been sitting there waiting just for fun, to see how the reporter would handle it. Trout became the presidents favorite broadcaster, and he introduced Roosevelts fireside chats. When Trout got the news of Roosevelts death in April of 1945, he interrupted his own broadcast and delivered an impromptu 25-minute tribute to the president without any planning or notes. Trout dressed well, in dark, tailored, three-piece suits. He wore a hat out of doors, and he tipped it whenever he passed a woman. He refused to fly unless absolutely necessary, and his preference was walking — at least 100 blocks a day in Manhattan, with a walking cane. Trout was a shy man, not a natural speaker, but he overcame his shyness by always thinking of the microphone as if it were a telephone and he were delivering the news to someone personally.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 15:48:43 +0000
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