Himan Brown Dies Aged 99

21st July 1910 - 4th June 2010

After a long and incredible life, Himan Brown passed away at the age of 99, only a few short weeks before his 100th birthday.

Born in 1910 in Brooklyn to Jewish parents, Himan Brown graduated school by age 16 and law school by the age of 21. However, he never practiced law in his life. Before he ever left high school he was enthralled with the new invention called radio.

While still a teen, Brown began reading a Jewish newspaper column on the radio in a Yiddish accent. People began to take notice and soon he found himself playing opposite Gertrude Berg in The Rise of the Goldbergs. Brown was instrumental in selling this program to NBC where it premiered in 1929 eventually changing its name to The Goldbergs. While the program ran for several years and eventually transitioned over to television, Brown only remained on the project for a couple of months after its broadcast.

The radio bug had bitten and immediately after leaving the Goldberg series he began selling scripts for other shows, buying rights to comic strips and other stories and participating in every aspect of the radio field.

Brown was a producer, writer, actor and director of many of the most popular radio shows of the 1930’s and 40’s. Perhaps, his most famous show was Inner Sanctum Mysteries. This show premiered in 1941 and ran until 1952. It was so popular because of the drama the show brought forth. One of the most remarkable things that came from that show was the creaking door sound effect. That simple sound effect caused people for nearly a decade to stay tuned and listen.

Brown also produced other favorites such as The Adventures of the Thin Man, Flash Gordon, Bulldog Drummond, Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator and Grand Central Station. He had the pleasure of working with such radio greats as Helen Hayes, Boris Karloff, Edward Lorre, and Edward G. Robinson.

Himan Brown continued working in radio for the rest of his long life. From 1974 until 1982 he produced the radio show, CBS Mystery Theater, this was well into the television age, yet it remained a popular show for almost a decade. Brown dabbled in radio well into his 90’s producing an AM show from a nearby college campus.

Brown died from an age related illness in his home in his Central Park, Manhattan home. He is survived by his son Barry and daughter Hilda, two granddaughters and four great grandchildren.

He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1990.

Happy listening my friends,