Jack L. Cooper
Jack L. Cooper | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jack Leroy Cooper September 18, 1888 Chicago, Illinois , US |
| Occupation(s) | Radio presenter, broadcasting executive, vaudeville promoter and performer |
| Known for | First African-American DJ and innovator in US radio |
Jack Leroy Cooper (September 18, 1888 – January 12, 1970) was the first
National Radio Hall of Fame.[5]
Biography
He was born in
Theater Owners Booking Association (TOBA) circuit as a singer and dancer, and started writing and producing sketches and stage shows, soon running his own touring troupe with his first wife. He managed at least two theaters for TOBA, and began writing for newspapers in Memphis and Indianapolis.[4]
After moving to
gramophone records, including gospel music and jazz, using his own phonograph.[8] In 1938, he created a new show, Search for Missing Persons, designed to reunite listeners with family members who they had lost contact with.[5] He also pioneered a mobile news team to cover items of interest to Chicago's black community.[4]
By 1947, his production company Jack L. Cooper Presentations controlled about 40 hours per week on four different stations in Chicago. He promoted African Americans as presenters, and was among the first to broadcast commentaries on
urban blues recordings:
"His announcing privileged standard American English over the black vernacular, a preference he shared with the most affluent and educated African Americans. In effect, Cooper and his team became the voice of the urban black bourgeoisie and a symbol of racial uplift."[4]
Cooper retired from broadcasting in 1959,West Pullman neighborhood was officially named Cooper Park in his honor.[6]
References
- ISBN 9780203484289. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
- ^ ISBN 9780313296369. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
- ISBN 9780820476339. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
- ^ ISBN 1566396670. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
jack cooper radio.
- ^ National Radio Hall of Fame. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
- ^ a b c "Chicago's Radio Voice, Jack Cooper", at African American Registry. Retrieved 20 May 2014
- ^ Billie Henderson, "Jack Cooper and Gang Blazing the Trail in Radio Broadcasting Field," Pittsburgh Courier, January 10, 1931, p. 18.
- ^ Corey Deitz, "A Profile of Radio Personality Jack L. Cooper", About.com Archived 2014-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 20 May 2014
External links
- Biography at the Radio Hall of Fame