we interview nonfiction authors whose books explore fascinating moments, characters, and stories in history. For this episode we spoke with Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, author ofa nonfiction work that explores how four women shaped the television industry as we know it today.
Many know that the iconic Betty White has had the longest-running television career in history, with over 82 years in the business—and counting. But her place in TV history is so much more than simple longevity: “She was one of the first people on television, period,” says Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, author of the new book1940s, Armstrong notes, “The extraordinary thing about this is that [the executives] didn’t know what to do, especially during the day on television.
But White wasn’t the only television trailblazer. Gertrude Berg, for instance, had her own 17-year long radio show about a New York City Jewish family titledbefore adapting it for television and pioneering the family sitcom. Irna Phillips was the mother of the soap opera genre, creating it for radio and then bringing it to the TV screen and pioneering the very concept of the TV cliffhanger.
“There were these other women who also contributed incredible amounts to what we actually watch now,” said Armstrong. “It’s so big in our lives that it’s important for people to understand the women who helped to create it.”
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