Film & TV History
Jan 26 John Logie Baird gives the first public demonstration of television in his laboratory in London
Film & TV History
Feb 8 Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio becomes Walt Disney Studios
Film Release
Apr 12 Alfred Hitchcock releases his first film as director "The Pleasure Garden", in England; the silent drama was made in Germany
Music Premiere
Apr 14 George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin's 1st collaborative musical "Lady, Be Good!", featuring siblings Fred Astaire and Adelle Astaire as a brother and sister dance team, opens at Empire Theatre, London's West End; runs for 326 performances
Film & TV History
May 20 Thomas Edison says Americans prefer silent movies over talkies
Film & TV History
Aug 5 Harry Houdini stays in a coffin under water for 1½ hrs before escaping
Film Release
Aug 6 "Don Juan" starring John Barrymore is released by Warner Bros, the 1st feature-length film to utilize the Vitaphone sound-on-disc sound system with a synchronized musical score and sound effects
- Aug 18 Weather map televised for 1st time
- Oct 7 Actress Theo Mann-Master resigns from stage
- Oct 9 NBC (National Broadcasting Corporation) forms
- Oct 22 J. Gordon Whitehead sucker punches magician Harry Houdini in the stomach in Montreal
- Oct 24 Harry Houdini's last performance, at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit, Michigan
- Nov 15 1st formal radio network, RCA takes over AT&T 25 station Network (NBC)
Music History
Nov 23 Noël Coward's "This Was a Man" premieres in NYC
- Dec 10 1st radio broadcast in the Sprinfield area (WCBS)