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Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio is a non-fiction book by Tom Lewis, a history of radio in the United States, published by HarperCollins in 1991. The book was adapted into both a 1992 documentary film by Ken Burns and a 1992 radio drama written and directed by David Ossman. The source of the title is from a quote by Lee DeForest.
Original Release
01/29/1992
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|
| Jason Robards | Narrator / Narrator (voice) |
| Red Barber | Self - Radio Announcer |
| Erik Barnouw | Self - Historian |
| Ken Bilby | Self - Biographer of David Sarnoff |
| Norman Corwin | Self - Writer |
| Susan Douglas | Self - Historian |
| Frank Günther | Self (engineer) |
| Jeanne Hammond | Self - Niece of Edwin H. Armstrong |
| Loren Jones | Self - Engineer |
| Garrison Keillor | Self - Writer |
Directors
Writers
Ken Burns, Geoffrey C. Ward, Tom Lewis
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|
| Jason Robards | Narrator / Narrator (voice) |
| Red Barber | Self - Radio Announcer |
| Erik Barnouw | Self - Historian |
| Ken Bilby | Self - Biographer of David Sarnoff |
| Norman Corwin | Self - Writer |
| Susan Douglas | Self - Historian |
| Frank Günther | Self (engineer) |
| Jeanne Hammond | Self - Niece of Edwin H. Armstrong |
| Loren Jones | Self - Engineer |
| Garrison Keillor | Self - Writer |
| Helen Kelley | Self - Radio Broadcaster |
| Robert Morris | Self - Engineer |
| Dana Raymond | Self - Friend of Edwin H. Armstrong |
| Gertrude Tyne | Self - Engineer |
| Fred Allen | Self - Predicts Demise of Radio |
| Gene Autry | Self - Sings |
| John Barrymore | Hamlet |
| Winston Churchill | Self - Finest Hour Speech |
| Charles J. Correll | Self - Prepares for Amos 'n' Andy Broadcast |
| Lee De Forest | Self - Objects to Quality of Radio Programming |
Producers
| Name | Role |
|---|
| Ken Burns | Producer |
| Tom Lewis | Producer |
| Morgan Wesson | Producer |
Editors
| Year | Type | Category | Won |
|---|
| 1992 | Emmy | Outstanding Informational Special | Nominated |
