Walter Winchell on the air, 1953
Published: February 10, 2012
Red Grandy ©Stars and Stripes
Washington, D.C., January, 1953: Walter Winchell broadcasts to "Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea" from Pennsylvania Avenue, near the White House, during President Dwight D. Eisenhower's inaugural parade. As one of the most powerful media figures of his time — his column was carried in over 2,000 papers and his radio broadcasts heard by 55 million people in the 1940s — Winchell had (and frequently used) the ability to make or break careers and reputations. But in spite of the all controversial aspects of his career, he left behind one very positive legacy — he was the driving force behind the creation of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.
Advertisement
