NORMAN CORWIN
Norman Corwin is often called “Radio’s poet laureate.”
Born in Boston in 1910, Corwin began his radio career as a
local commentator. He moved to New York City in 1938 and
produced Norman Corwin’s Words Without Music for CBS.
Two of Corwin’s masterworks, “The Plot to Overthrow
Christmas” and “They Fly Through the Air with the Greatest
of Ease,” debuted on this series.
In 1941, CBS’ Columbia Workshop gave Corwin a
26-week series; he responded with stories ranging from the
whimsical to the darkly serious to the inspirational. A similar
approach was taken on 1944’s Columbia Presents Corwin.
In December of 1941, Corwin wrote and produced We Hold
These Truths, an all-star celebration of the Bill of
Rights’ 150th anniversary. This landmark program aired over
all four networks simultaneously.
Corwin created the special V-E Day broadcast On a Note of
Triumph, which Carl Sandburg called “one of the all-time
great American poems.” Three months later, he wrote 14
August, a V-J Day documentary narrated by Orson Welles.
Corwin left CBS in 1948 and produced a series of programs for
United Nations Radio. In 2001, National Public Radio aired six
new Corwin plays under the title More By Corwin.
Norman Corwin was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in
1993.
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