Lee de Forest: King of Radio, Television, and Film [Paperback]

The life-long inventor, Lee de Forest invented the three-element vacuum tube used between 1906 and 1916 as a detector, amplifier, and oscillator of radio waves. Beginning in 1918 he began to develop a light valve, a device for writing and reading sound using light patterns. While he received many patents for his process, he was initially ignored by the film industry. In order to promote and demonstrate his process he made several hundred sound short films, he rented space for their showing; he sold the tickets and did the publicity to gain audiences for his invention. Lee de Forest officially brought sound to film in 1919. Lee De Forest: King of Radio, Television, and Film is about both invention and early film making; de Forest as the scientist and producer, director, and writer of the content. This book tells the story of de Forests contribution in changing the history of film through the incorporation of sound. The text includes primary source historical material, U.S. patents and richly-illustrated photos of Lee de Forests experiments. Readers will greatly benefit from an understanding of the transition from silent to audio motion pictures, the impact this had on the scientific community and the popular culture, as well as the economics of the entertainment industry.This volume explores both the career of Lee de Forest and the early history of film making, exploring the work of de Forest as the scientist and producer, director, and writer of content who changed the history of film through the incorporation of sound.

Chapter 1 Born to Invent.- The Century of the Inventor.- Toward Communication Without Wires.- Inventing the Motion Picture.- Enter Lee de Forest.- Toward the New Century.- Chapter 2 The Race for Wireless.- The Significance of Marconi.- De Forests Early Career.- Seeking a Better Detector.- The Complex Wireless Business.- A Silent Film Industry Emerges.- Chapter 3 The Meaning of the Audion.- The Dawn of Modern Electronics.l³’