Radio Sound Effects: Who Did It, and How, in the Era of Live Broadcasting

by Robert L. Mott

To today's radio listener, it is difficult to imagine the influence radio once held over the American people. Unlike movies or newspapers, radio both informed and entertained its audience without requiring them to participate. Part of its success depended upon the people who created the sound effects--a squeaking door, the approach of a horse, or a typewriter. The author did live sound effects during the "Golden Age" of radio. He provides many insights into the early days of the medium as it grappled with entertaining an audience based on a single sense (hearing). How the sounds were produced is fully covered as are the artists responsible for their production. Stories of successful effects production are balanced by embarrassing or funny failures. A list of artists and their shows is included.

303 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Mott grew up in Nyack, NY, served in the Marines during WWII, and graduated from Columbia University. He played drums with Benny Goodman for a period before getting a job at CBS doing sound effects for radio. He stuck around for television and worked on The Dick Van Dyke Show, Laugh In, and won two Emmys for his work on Days of Our Lives.

Reviews

[Samantha Glasser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of this book until a seller on eBay, who noticed I liked OTR based on the other things I had purchased from him, offered to show me other items he had for sale but hadn’t listed yet. He offered me a good price so I took a chance. I’m glad I did.

The author worked doing sound effects during the Golden Age of Radio so he speaks from experience. This book is about a lot more than just the devices sound engineers used to create various sounds. It is about the pranks they played on each other, the restaurants they hung out in, and what the industry was like in those days.

There are plentiful photographs. Unfortunately because they’re printed on the regular paper, some of them are printed very dark and details are difficult to distinguish.

“The directors who abhorred the deceptive and artificial use of sound effects saw nothing deceptive or artificial about a white male actor playing a black female or middle-aged woman playing the parts of young boys.”

[lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice stuff on radio and its intersection with tv and film - based on quite a lot of American productions and channels - Americans love to experiment with radio but not to listen to it !

[Aubreyjd2k · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can find cool radio sound effects on: https://bruitagegratuit.com/

[Nikki Edgar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting!