Remembering Mike Adams

It’s always hard to write about the passing of a friend. We lost Mike recently. He was 81. Mike fought a brave battle with Parkinsons for 5 years. I met Mike when I joined CHRS in 1988. When I became President in 1996 I asked Mike to serve as the Chairman of the CHRS Board of Directors. Mike and I worked closely together until we left our positions in 2023. Mike cared deeply for CHRS. He was an educator, a collector, a historian, a writer, a film maker and a friend. Always presenting and writing about radio history from children’s books about radio to the biographies of the inventors like ‘Doc’ Herrold. Mike loved radio broadcasting and spent his life celebrating this important cultural and technical medium. We will miss Mike so much. So Many areas of CHRS were enhanced by Mike’s attention.

Long time CHRS member Bill Wray wrote this great bio of Mike for a presentation Mike gave to the Audio Engineering Society in 2012:

“I truly enjoyed my many great chats with Mike over the years, and seeing his good photos and videos of CHRS events. In 2012 I invited him to present at the Audio Engineering Society Convention in San Francisco “Lee de Forest: The Man Who Invented the Amplifier”. Picture attached. He will be greatly missed by all of us.

Mike Speaks At The AES In 2012

Here is the introduction I used:

Mike remembers a time in the early 1950s when he discovered the power of the microphone. His Junior High school in Cambridge Ohio was located right next door to the phone company, and every day during his lunch break, little Mike would visit their trash bin.

He managed to get plenty of carbon granule telephone mics, and soon he discovered that he could wire a battery in series with the carbon mic and a small loudspeaker, to create a tiny PA system.

As Mike progressed onto high school, he became the school DJ and it’s audiovisual geek-in-residence. Mike also recorded the school marching band on his Webcor tape recorder, and cut records for the students.

He went on to college, studied radio, got a job as a top-40 DJ, went back to school to study film, got a job as a documentary film maker, became a college professor, and is currently the Chair of the department of TV-Radio-Film and Theatre at San Jose State University. He was also the advisor to the school’s FM radio station and a senior member of the California Historical Radio Society.

He is a lifelong radio historian and enjoys collecting those great old radios. His latest book, “Lee de Forest, King of Radio, Television, and Film”, was released in 2012 by Springer Science.

Bill Wray”

Our condolences to Mike’s wife Barbara and his entire family. Mike requested no ceremony… But we will have a few nice things to say about his full and accomplished life at our holiday celebration in December.

Rest In Peace Mr. Chairman. You are truly missed and loved by all.

Steve

Here are links to Mike’s work:

CHRS PRESENTS A SF BAY AREA RADIO HISTORY PRESENTATION BY MIKE ADAMS

Lee de Forest: King of Radio, Television, and Film 2012th Edition

Broadcasting’s Forgotten Father, the Charles Herrold Story

Charles Herrold Americas First Broadcaster

Charles Herrold, Inventor of Radio Broadcasting

The Radio Boys and Girls: Radio, Telegraph, Telephone and Wireless

        Adventures for Juvenile Readers, 1890-1945