Edgar Twamley, The Irish born American Radio Hero

Ireland has produced a huge number of radio personalities who have departed the island and entertained millions across the world.  The lives of Eamonn Andrews or Terry Wogan have been extensively written about by both themselves and biographers. One broadcaster you may not have heard of, was Edgar Harold Twamley who made his name on American radio. This is his story.

 

Twamley was born on Mountjoy Square in Dublin in 1896 and when he was fourteen years old, his family moved to London but even the British capital could not hold the teenagers attention. A nineteen-year-old made his way to Liverpool and boarded the SS Finland and on November 25th 1915, Edgar Twamley arrived in New York harbour to take on the new world. He wrote on his arrival card that he was heading to Washington DC but Twamley ended up in Davenport, Iowa.

 

He joined the staff of local Davenport radio station W.O.C as an announcer and this would start a career that would eventually take him to the top of his profession at a new radio network. On August 5th 1925 he was introduced to the listening public as the new station director. W.O.C had been purchased by Professor B J Palmer from Robert Karlowa in 1922. Palmer ran the ‘Palmer School of Chiropractic’s’ and moved the station to the school campus. W.O.C broadcast on two channels, news and entertainment on 360metres medium wave, while sports and weather could be found at 485m. In 1932 one of its most famous sports casters was Ronald Reagan, later to serve two terms as US President.  

The small town of Davenport was not going to hold back the Dubliner from making his mark on the broadcasting world. In 1932, having married English born Violet, he moved the family to the upstate New York city of Buffalo. Initially he was employed by the N.B.C radio sales department then in 1935 he was being listed as the ‘Commercial Director and Programme director’ of W.B.E.N in Buffalo. W.B.E.N, owned by the Buffalo Evening News, hence the callsign, broadcast on 900khz from the Hotel Slater in the city. It was an affiliate of the NBC’s Red Network and Twamley was about to head up the NBC corporate ladder.

                                                     

In the US national census in 1940, Edgar was living at 355 Voorhees, Buffalo New York and was married to English born Violet with their two children Muriel aged 19 and Edgar junior aged seven. His birthplace was listed as The Irish Free State.

 

Tragedy was to befall Twamley in 1940 when Clifford M. Taylor, the commercial manager of W.B.E.N, and a member of the NAB Sales Managers Division, died of a heart attack March 11th in Jacksonville, Florida. Mr. Taylor was on his way home with Edgar Twamley by his side from a fishing trip when he suddenly died. In 1943 Mack Twamley, the 10-year-old son of Edgar H. Twamley, made his debut Broadway appearance in the play "Tomorrow the World" at the Barrymore Theatre.

 

With the second World War consuming the world in September 1944 his departure from W.B.E.N was announced with the appointment of Robert Thompson as the commercial manager of W.B.E.N succeeding Edgar H. Twamley, who had taken up a confidential role with the US military for the duration of the rest of the war. After the war he re-joined the NBC head office on their sales team with Twamley heading up the Chicago office.

                               

In January 1946 following the resignation of Paul Gould, vice president, a member of board of directors and station manager of W.L.I.B New York, Edgar Twamley, was appointed general manager of the station, absorbing all of Mr. Gould's duties. W.L.I.B was at the time one of New York’s most popular stations. W.L.I.B was originally W.C.N.W and founded in 1941. The station's target audience was the upper middle-class and wealthy New Yorkers, as evidenced by its format of classical music and popular jazz which competed with W.Q.R.X. The station was purchased by The New York Post in 1944 and regularly ran news updates from the Post 's newsroom at various times during the day.

 

Twamley then found himself as a radio station trouble shooter. He was parachuted into the management of a number of stations floundering in the new commercial world after the war. One of those stations was W.L.A.D in Connecticut which had gone on air in October 1947. Becomes a station trouble shooter

According to the trade papers at the time,

‘The station, a 250w daytime station on 800khz, is under the temporary managership of Edgar Twamley, a consultant called in to straighten out W.L.A.D's affairs. The managership reportedly will go to Joseph Mathers, now commercial manager, when Mr. Twamley concludes his work.’

 

In 1950, Twamley left NBC to join a brand new radio Network hoping to rival the big four at the time NBC, CBS, ABC and Mutual. He was installed as Vice President in charge of the PBS Network. According to the radio trade papers of the day,

‘PROGRESSIVE Broadcasting System, a new operation offering daytime programs to local stations exclusively throughout the country, will begin full operation Nov. 26, President Larry Finley announced last week in New York. Arrangements for service to about 250 stations are completed, he said, and additional stations are expected to bring the total to 400 by Feb. 1, he said. Mr. Finley, who arrived in New York after a six -weeks tour cov- ering more than 760 radio stations, also announced the election to the PBS board of Dr. Miller McClintock, former president of MBS. He also announced the appointments of Edgar H. Twamley, formerly with NBC and WBEN Buffalo, as vice president in charge of the eastern division, and Robert B. White, a former executive of ABC, as vice president in charge of the central division. Donald Withycomb, former president of WFIL Philadelphia, is ex- ecutive vice president, with headquarters in New York. Mr. Finley, former transcription producer, is one of three stockholders, and will headquarter in Hollywood. Programs, will be fed both live and via tape -recording from divisional points in New York, Chicago and Hollywood, via AT &T lines, Mr. Finley said. Stations will pay a minimum program fee of $580 per month, he said, plus one -half of the talent charge per quarter - hour, which ranges from $4 to $40. The company also plans to represent its affiliated stations in national sales, at the standard 15% commission, according to Mr. Finley.’

Unfortunately the network failed to take off and within months ceased operations on January 31st 1951.

After the disaster of PBS sudden closure, he crossed the country to Santa Barbara, California where he began working for sixteen year radio veteran Paul H. Chapman & Co., a company who matched radio stations up with perspective investors and new owners.

 On July 26th 1967, the newspapers reported,

‘Edgar H. Twamley, 70, broadcaster associated with stations in Davenport, Iowa, Los Angeles, New York and Buffalo, N.Y., died July 26 in hospital in Santa Barbara, Calif., following surgery.’