The Smith-Corona typewriter Larry Lujack used to write his famed “Animal Stories” bits on WLS Radio and Edgar Bergen’s original ventriloquist dummies — Charlie McCarthy, Mortimer Snerd and Effie Klinker — are among treasures on display in a new exhibit celebrating radio’s centennial.
Now in previews, “A Century of Radio” officially opens October 28 at Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications, 360 North State Street. Admission is free through the end of the year.
“Radio has been fueled by creative genius, whether they worked on air or behind the scenes,” David Plier, chairman of the museum, said in a statement. “Our museum will provide the learning platform to the next generation to explore the past, turn a critical eye on the present, and fuel the change for the future.”
Through a series of rotating displays, the yearlong exhibition on the technical, creative and commercial history of the medium will bring to life “the intertwined stories of the business, the science and the culture of an industry that transformed the American experience,” according to the museum.
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