"What's down the road? Digital technology, computers, students going to school, going to graduate school via computers and television. They are going to invent things that we don't even have an idea what it might be."

    About This Interview

    In his four-and-a-half-hour interview, Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. (1910-2009) talks about his early years and his earliest awareness of the impending invention of television. He describes meeting Allen B. DuMont and going to work for DuMont Laboratories, where soon after the progress of television was halted temporarily by World War II. He recounts in detail his time at DuMont Laboratories including the various types of television sets produced and cameras used. Goldsmith discusses the rise and fall of the DuMont Network, and its subsequent sale to a company that would eventually become MetroMedia. He outlines his later career, going to work for Fairchild Camera and then becoming a teacher. He concludes by speaking of the then-future of television, including HDTV, and the integration of the television viewing experience and computers. Eric Bremner conducted the interview on November 14, 1997 in Lacey, WA.

    All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.
    People Talking About ...
    Thumbnail of Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr.

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on Allen B. DuMont founding the DuMont Laboratories Inc.

    03:55
    Thumbnail of Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr.

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the advent of color television broadcasting

    07:21
    Thumbnail of Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr.

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the early programming from DuMont and on adjusting signal strength

    04:47
    Thumbnail of Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr.

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on Allen B. DuMont getting into manufactuing television sets and getting into broadcasting

    05:49
    Thumbnail of Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr.

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the proposed merger between ABC and the DuMont Network involving Leonard Goldenson and Ted Bergmann

    02:20
    Thumbnail of Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr.

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on watching an early baseball game on television with police outside the Lincoln Tunnel

    02:26
    Play Full Interview

    Chapter 1

    On his early life and influences; on some of the early names involved with the technological aspects of radio and his early interest and awareness of television, including his experimenting with the cathode ray tube and microwaves

    15:17

    On seeing television at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair; on Allen B. DuMont founding the DuMont Laboratories Inc., and on the kind of person DuMont was; on what he and Allen B. DuMont were working on when he first started at DuMont Laboratories

    14:33

    Chapter 2

    On the working conditions at Allen B. DuMont's DuMont Laboratories when he was hired in 1936, and on DuMont working with David Sarnoff; on Allen B. DuMont getting funding for his DuMont Laboratories, and on the competing British experiments with television; on Allen B. DuMont's vision for bigger tubes for early television, and on British "Cossor tubes"

    09:04

    On developing an in-house broadcast system at DuMont Laboratories, and on early test patterns; on his wife, Helen Wilcox; on working with inventor Lee De Forest at DuMont Laboratories

    08:46

    On Allen B. DuMont getting into manufacturing television sets and getting into broadcasting; on World War II interrupting and delaying the development of television; on the television sets that Allen B. DuMont's DuMont Laboratories manufactured before World War II

    10:06

    Chapter 3

    On having his newborn son come home on the day he got his first television, the Model 180; on the Allen B. DuMont Foundation; on selling the DuMont Model 180 television set

    08:59

    On the early programming from DuMont, and on adjusting signal strength; on watching an early baseball game on television with police outside the Lincoln Tunnel; on the early development of the kinescope and videotape

    12:00

    On participating in the National Television System Committee and setting the technical standards for broadcasting television

    08:36

    Chapter 4

    On why the NTSC made it so televisions do not have a channel one, and on how the NTSC impacted sets that were already sold; on Paramount acquiring a substantial portion of DuMont

    15:05

    On the reasons for selling part of DuMont to Paramount; on DuMont Laboratories' activities during World War II; on the use of DuMont Laboratories' Electronicam to film Jackie Gleason's The Honeymooners

    13:12

    Chapter 5

    On DuMont's Electronicam and the advent of Ampex magnetic videotape; on setting up an experimental local station (WTTG) in Washington, D.C. right after World War II; on DuMont's competition in putting out television receivers and camera equipment just after World War II

    14:16

    On DuMont dealing with FCC regulations in the wake of the FCC freeze on the granting of new television licenses in 1948; on the creation of ABC due to FCC regulations, and DuMont shedding its broadcasting operations; on the advent of color television broadcasting

    16:07

    Chapter 6

    On the industry push toward color television in the 1950s involving David Sarnoff and Allen B. DuMont, and on the NTSC setting standards for color television; on competitors working together to arrive at standards for color television; on Kenneth A. Hoagland developing a computerized system pixels for full color television

    14:46

    On the achievements of the DuMont Network and on dealing with both the technical and the programming side of DuMont; on Paramount's detrimental involvement with the DuMont Network, and on the reasons for the end of the DuMont Network

    15:37

    Chapter 7

    On the dissolution of the DuMont Network due in part to lack of channels available from the FCC allocation plan; on the coaxial television cable connecting San Francisco to New York; on DuMont having only three owned and operated stations while other networks had four

    09:14

    On the proposed merger between ABC and the DuMont Network involving Leonard Goldenson and Ted Bergmann; on the creation of the DuMont Broadcasting Corporation which later become MetroMedia run by John W. Kluge, and on how Allen B. DuMont took the failure of the DuMont Network

    10:36

    On the work he did with Fairchild Camera and on going into teaching; on his personal thoughts on Allen B. DuMont and DuMont's successes and failures; on his greatest career achievements

    09:05

    Chapter 8

    On his own achievements, and the achievements of DuMont Laboratories and of Allen B. DuMont; on the then-current state of television and the then-future of television from a technological standpoint

    17:05

    On various people with whom he worked in his career

    11:40

    Chapter 9

    On various people with whom he worked in his career

    11:03

    On b-roll pictures from his career- with Allen B. DuMont circa 1937; Iconoscope television camera; Iconoscope camera for military television circa 1938; the Joint Technical Advisory Council; Radio Club of America with Lee deForest, David Sarnoff, and Allen B. DuMont; Allen B. DuMont with an early television tube; with Allen B. DuMont with Stanley Cook at WABD television; WDTV cameras and microwave disk on a bus; Empire State Building drawing from Empire State Television Guild; an original DuMont television

    09:29

    Chapter 10

    B-Roll- eating breakfast and chatting; tour of his broadcast studio; in the control room at his studio; walking and talking on a parking lot; behind the scenes of the Archive interview

    31:08

    Chapter 11

    B-roll- behind the scenes at his Archive interview; looking though pictures; picture of Allen B. DuMont and Goldsmith

    13:37

    Honeymooners, The

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the use of DuMont Laboratories' Electronicam to film The Honeymooners

    03:48

    1939-40 World's Fair

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on DuMont's Model 180, their first television set, and demonstrating it at the 1939 World's Fair

    01:43

    Historic Events and Social Change

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on World War II interrupting and delaying the development of television

    02:55

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on DuMont's Model 180, their first television set, and demonstrating it at the 1939 World's Fair

    01:43

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on DuMont Laboratories' activities during World War II

    04:55

    Media Consolidation

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the proposed merger between ABC and the DuMont Network

    02:20

    Network Creation

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on DuMont having only three owned and operated stations while other networks had four

    02:42

    Technological Innovation

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on some of the early names involved with the technological aspects of radio and his very early interest and awareness of television, including his experimenting with the cathode ray tube and microwaves

    04:02

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on seeing television at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair

    02:13

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on his work on hearing aid devices, and on meeting Allen B. DuMont

    06:10

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on Allen B. DuMont founding the DuMont Laboratories Inc.

    03:55

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on what he and Allen B. DuMont were working on when he first started at DuMont Laboratories 

    03:14

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the working conditions at Allen B. DuMont's DuMont Laboratories when he was hired in 1936

    04:58

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on Allen B. DuMont getting funding for his DuMont Laboratories, and on the competing British experiments with television

    02:31

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on Allen B. DuMont's vision for bigger tubes for early television, and on British "Cossor tubes"

    01:34

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on developing an in-house broadcast system at DuMont Laboratories, and on early test patterns

    04:19

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on working with inventor Lee De Forest at DuMont Laboratories 

    02:24

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the television sets that Allen B. DuMont's DuMont Laboratories manufactured before World War II

    01:01

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on DuMont's Model 180, their first television set, and demonstrating it at the 1939 World's Fair

    01:43

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the early development of the kinescope and videotape 

    04:36

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on why the NTSC made it so televisions do not have a channel one, and on how the NTSC impacted sets that were already sold

    04:44

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the NTSC authorizing the start of commercial broadcasting in July of 1941 and where the entire industry was at that time

    05:29

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the use of DuMont Laboratories' Electronicam to film The Honeymooners

    03:48

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on DuMont's Electronicam and the advent of Ampex magnetic videotape

    02:40

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on setting up an experimental local station (WTTG) in Washington, D.C. right after World War II

    07:52

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on DuMont's competition in putting out television receivers and camera equipment just after World War II

    03:45

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on DuMont dealing with FCC regulations in the wake of the FCC freeze on the granting of new television licenses in 1948

    04:50

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the creation of ABC due to FCC regulations, and DuMont shedding its broadcasting operations

    03:56

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the advent of color television broadcasting 

    07:21

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the industry push toward color television in the 1950s involving David Sarnoff and Allen B. DuMont, and on the NTSC setting standards for color television

    09:03

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on competitors working together to arrive at standards for color television

    01:31

    Thomas T. Goldsmit,h Jr. on Kenneth A. Hoagland developing a computerized system pixels for full color television

    04:12

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the achievements of the DuMont Network, and on dealing with both the technical and the programming side of DuMont

    08:21

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on Paramount's detrimental involvement with the DuMont Network, and on the reasons for the end of the DuMont Network

    07:15

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the dissolution of the DuMont Network due in part to lack of channels available from the FCC allocation plan 

    04:09

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the coaxial television cable connecting San Francisco to New York

    02:22

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on his own achievements, and the achievements of DuMont Laboratories and of Allen B. DuMont

    07:39

    Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. on the then-current state of television and the then-future of television from a technological standpoint 

    09:26

    Television Industry

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on DuMont having only three owned and operated stations while other networks had four

    02:42

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the proposed merger between ABC and the DuMont Network

    02:20

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the creation of the DuMont Broadcasting Corporation which later become MetroMedia, and on how Allen B. DuMont took the failure of the DuMont Network

    04:16

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on DuMont licensing its television set division to Emerson and DuMont Laboratories merging with Fairchild Camera in 1960

    04:01

    War

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on World War II interrupting and delaying the development of television

    02:55

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on DuMont Laboratories' activities during World War II

    04:55

    World War II

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on World War II interrupting and delaying the development of television

    02:55

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on DuMont Laboratories' activities during World War II

    04:55

    Barney Balaban

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on Barney Balaban

    00:24

    Ted Bergmann

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the proposed merger between ABC and the DuMont Network involving Leonard Goldenson and Ted Bergmann

    02:20

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on Ted Bergmann

    00:39

    Allen B. DuMont

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on his work on hearing aid devices, and on meeting Allen B. DuMont

    06:10

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on Allen B. DuMont founding the DuMont Laboratories Inc.

    03:54

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the kind of person Allen B. DuMont was

    01:13

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on what he and Allen B. DuMont were working on when he first started at DuMont Laboratories 

    03:14

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the working conditions at Allen B. DuMont's DuMont Laboratories when he was hired in 1936, and on DuMont working with David Sarnoff

    04:58

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on Allen B. DuMont getting funding for his DuMont Laboratories, and on the competing British experiments with television

    02:31

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on Allen B. DuMont's vision for bigger tubes for early television, and on British "Cossor tubes"

    01:33

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on developing an in-house broadcast system at DuMont Laboratories, and on early test patterns

    04:19

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on Allen B. DuMont getting into manufactuing television sets and getting into broadcasting

    05:49

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the television sets that Allen B. DuMont's DuMont Laboratories manufactured before World War II

    01:00

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on Paramount acquiring a substantial portion of DuMont

    04:52

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the reasons for selling part of DuMont to Paramount

    04:29

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the industry push toward color television in the 1950s involving David Sarnoff and Allen B. DuMont, and on the NTSC setting standards for color television

    09:03

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the creation of the DuMont Broadcasting Corporation which later become MetroMedia run by John W. Kluge, and on how Allen B. DuMont took the failure of the DuMont Network

    04:16

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on his personal thoughts on Allen B. DuMont and DuMont's successes and failures

    06:57

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on his own achievements, and the achievements of DuMont Laboratories and of Allen B. DuMont

    07:39

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on Allen B. DuMont and Bruce DuMont

    01:19

    Jackie Gleason

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the use of DuMont Laboratories' Electronicam to film The Honeymooners

    03:48

    Leonard H. Goldenson

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the proposed merger between ABC and the DuMont Network involving Leonard Goldenson and Ted Bergmann

    02:20

    David Sarnoff

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the working conditions at Allen B. DuMont's DuMont Laboratories when he was hired in 1936, and on DuMont working with David Sarnoff

    04:58

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on the industry push toward color television in the 1950s involving David Sarnoff and Allen B. DuMont, and on the NTSC setting standards for color television 

    09:03

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on David Sarnoff

    01:16

    Frank Stanton

    Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on Frank Stanton

    00:35

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