National Broadcasters Hall of Fame

collage of old time radio components

InfoAge Hosts National Broadcasters Hall of Fame and Induction Ceremonies

The National Broadcasters Hall of Fame takes you back to those innocent days of old-time radio. Days when a simple turn of the dial was the key to entertainment, and words alone created clear images of people and places. There has never been such a unique collection of artifacts, exhibits, displays, recordings, film, and memorabilia which so vividly portrays the glorious history of broadcasting.

At the Hall of Fame, you can hear the best-loved old-time programs in their entirety, and you can watch many of your favorite radio personalities on film. You can enjoy looking at and touching vintage radios. You can see old microphones, earphones, photographs and memorabilia of famous broadcasting celebrities.

The Hall of Fame is a place where the old and the young learn. It is educational, nostalgic and FUN. Even more, it honors the geniuses who turned an invention into an industry, and pays tribute to the men and women who became heroes through their voices.

 

nbhf-freehold

History:

The National Broadcasters Hall of Fame and Museum (hereafter referred to as the Hall and Museum) represents a command dedication to preserving the history of broadcasting in this country. It is the culmination of the efforts of the Schreiber Family to ensure that the importance of the radio pioneers and this communication media to our nation is neither forgotten nor lost, but remembered and honored.

The Hall and museum were founded by newspaper publisher Arthur S. Schreiber, in response to a suggestion by his son Josh, who constantly enjoyed heating about old-time radio and its stars. The original Hall opened in Freehold, New Jersey on May 1, 1977, and housed and displayed artifacts, photographs, memorabilia, and equipment from the past that preserved vivid images of the-radio broadcasting industry and its principal pioneers. Since its opening, the Hall and Museum have entertained and educated millions of people on the history of radio and its pioneering broadcasters. 

The Hall and Museum also salutes and honors the men and women who made broadcasting a communications marvel in the 1930'x, 1940'x, and 1950'x. There are currently 89 inductees in the Hall, including such radio broadcasting giants as Gracie Allen, Jack Benny, Rosemary Clooney, Ralph Edwards, Arlene Francis, Benny Goodman, Bob Hope, Al Jolson, Kay Kyser, Edward R. Murrow, Frank Sinatra, Paul Whiteman, Walter Winchell, and Rudy Vallee.' 

Induction ceremonies from 1977 until 1993 were conducted in New Jersey and New York. Consistent with plans to relocate the Hall and Museum to California, induction ceremonies in 1994 and 1995 were held in Beverly Hills (at the Beverly Hilton Hotel) and Anaheim (at The Disneyland Hotel), respectively. In 1996 induction ceremonies returned to New Jersey.


In 2001 the collection was moved back to New Jersey to the former Belmar Marconi Station, now know as Camp Evans. Founder Arthur Schreiber felt it appropriate the Hall should be located at site built by the father of wireless and radio Guglielmo Marconi.

During the Summer of 2002 the members of the New Jersey Antique Radio Club (NJARC) adopted the collection. They began making plans to set it up in the building Mr. Schreiber had selected for the collection. Due to delays in the transfer of the building the club began preparing the former chief engineer cottage (building 9003) as a temporary location for the collection. A portion of the collection is on display with hands-on radio science experiments for school group visits. 

2008 NBHF Induction Ceremony

2008 Flyer

(Click on the above image to see at full size)

 

Bruce Morrow  Julius La Rosa

John Zacherley

Here are some photos from previous years' events:

NATIONAL BROADCASTERS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

1977 Gracie Allen Red Barber Jack Benny George Burns Bing Crosby Milton Cross Arthur Godfrey Bob Hope Ted Husing H. V. Kaltenborn Kay Keyser Guglielmo Marconi * Edward R. Morrow William S. Paley David Sarnoff * Kate Smith Bill Stern Lowell Thomas Paul Whiteman Walter Winchell Harry Von Zell 1978 Amos 'N' Andy Edgar Bergen Eddie Cantor Jessica Dragonette Don Dunphy Lee DeForest John Gambling, Sr. Leonard Goldenson Leon Levy Leo Rosenberg Rudy Vallee Don Wilson 1979 Goodman Ace Mel Allen Don McNeill Frank Parker Andre Baruch  KDKA Radio 1980 Dinah Shore Benny Goodman Red Skelton Gale Gordon  Orsen Wells Ed Hershey Ralph Edwards Eric Sevareid Rosemarie Gene Autry Ann Elstner Mathews 1981 Milton Berle* William B. Williams Fred Waring  Lanny Ross Garry Moore Ray Goulding Bob Elliott  Kenny Delmar Francis Langford

1982 Frank Sinatra E.G. Marshall Arlene Francis Douglas Edwards 1983 Edward (and Pegeen) Fitzgerald Henry Morgan Gene Rayburn 1984 Perry Como 1985 Al Jolson 1986 Brace Beemer 1993 Ezra Stone Fred Foy Joe Franklin 1994 Ronald Reagan Art Linkletter Larry King McGuire Sisters Robert W. Morgan Gary Owens Ted Turner 1995 Rosemary Clooney ... Jack Whitaker ... Les Brown Young & Rubicam, Inc. Casey Kasem Jonathan Winters Herb Jeffries Monty Hall Irving R. Levine kirk Alyn 1996 Eddie Bracken 2006 Arthur Anderson** Charles Osgood** Les Paul 2007 Celeste Holm** Jane Powell Margaret Whiting** Andy Williams * Inductee visited Camp Evans during their career. ** Visited  InfoAge @ Camp Evans for Induction.

 

 

Views of the revitalized Hall of Fame - 2006-09-16

The Hall of Fame has been relocated to the Radio Technology Museum. There it is among Radios and Receivers; some of which are from the era when Radio Broadcasts and Theater was popular.

Visit the exhibit in its' new location and relive some moments in time from your youth.




   

 

Thanks to a generous gift from the New Jersey Broadcasters Association, the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame has returned to New Jersey for revitalization and display at InfoAge at Camp Evans.   Official Press Release Summer 2001

--- NJ Antique Radio Club prepares old Marconi Chief Engineer's cottage for Spring 2004 reopening of NBHF. 

The cottage will house the hall until the building selected by Mr. Schreiber for the hall is transferred by the U.S. Army Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) office. BRAC is five years behind schedule.

July 18, 2001--- The National Broadcasters Hall of Fame arrives at Camp Evans.  Thanks to the New Jersey Broadcasters Association this historic collection will be saved!  

This is the North American Vans Line Truck at the Camp Evans security office.  The collection is safely stored away. nbhf-here










njba-logo

About National Broadcasters Hall of Fame 

Hall of Fame opening recorded in Congressional Record - Senate April 19, 1977.

Assets

Programs

Hall Founder - Mr. Art Schreiber

The Audio and Video Collection Curator - Mr. Frederick W. Shay

The Radio and Artifact Collection is cared for by the New Jersey Antique Radio Club

 

News Articles on the NBHF

June 22, 2001 Press Release: Broadcasters Hall Of Fame is returning to New Jersey.

Collector seeks new home for hall of fame - Star Ledger - 8/20/1995

A SUPER STORY: Film buff chronicles career of serials' Man of Steel - Star Ledger 8/20/1995

Mount Arlington's Shay is celluloid collector supreme - Roxbury Register - 9/21/1995

The Greatness of Early Radio - Monmouth, Sunday Register The Magazine of the Sunday Register - 4/24/1977

 

NBHF Mementos

2007 Induction Invitation

2006 Induction Invitation

2005 Museum in Marconi Cottage

 

 

Art Schreiber -  founder of the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame (NBHF), passed away October 2012. 

The original museum was opened during 1977 in Freehold, NJ.  It was later moved to California where it was open until 2000. 

In 2006 the Hall of Fame was reopened by the New Jersey Antique Radio Club in a historic WWII building at Camp Evans on the former Belmar Marconi Wireless Station.  Camp Evans, a National Historic Landmark, is managed by The InfoAge Science Center.

In 2007, Art was at Camp Evans to host the 2007 NBHF induction ceremony.  His family reported Art was very pleased to hear the news last week that Camp Evans was designated a National Landmark. 

InfoAge and the NJARC are honored to continue Art Schreiber's work of sharing the joy of radio and the talents of the broadcasting stars with future generations.

All the members of InfoAge, the NJARC and the InfoAge organizations are saddened at this news.

nbhf-2007-ch-as-mw-p9290021-cut-w

 Celeste Holm, InfoAge National Broadcasters Hall of Fame Inductee, honored on Broadway upon her passing.

nbhf-2007-ch-mw-cake-p9290021-cut-w

CAMP EVANS, WALL TWP, N.J.--The lights on Broadway were dimmed Wednesday, July 18, in honor of the late Oscar-winning actress Celeste Holm, who was a 2007 inductee into the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame (NBHF) at the InfoAge Science History Learning Center and Museum in Wall Township.   Broadway theater marquees were to go dark at 8 p.m. that evening for one minute in tribute to Holm, the Associated Press reported.

Holm, who died July 15 at age 95 at her apartment in New York City's Central Park West, gained fame onstage in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘‘Oklahoma!’’ and won an Oscar for her role in the movie ‘‘Gentleman’s Agreement.’’ In an acting career that spanned six decades, she played a host of memorable characters on stage and in movies and television. Holm is one of 97 inductees to date in the NBHF at the Wall site.

"We were honored to host Celeste Holm at InfoAge and induct her into the broadcast Hall of Fame here five years ago, " Fred Carl, the InfoAge Center director, said. "She was quite charming, gracious and appreciative of the distinction we conferred upon her. We're delighted to have this forum in our museum campus where we memorialize so many greats in the fields of broadcasting and entertainment such as Ms. Holm."