Publisher's Synopsis
George Thomas Apfel brings to life the history of radio and television in Las Vegas from its humble origins in Strip hotels to becoming a thriving broadcasting industry in one of the nation's fastest growing metros.
The history of broadcasting in Las Vegas began with the first radio station, KGIX, to crackle the airwaves in the 1920s, started by J.M. "Jack'? Heaton, who ran the Las Vegas railroad operation. By the 1940s, the railroad was no longer a major factor; instead, legalized gaming and the Strip drove the growth of the city and, consequently, radio and television. Maxwell Kelch, who was responsible for leading the effort to publicize Las Vegas as a tourist destination, launched the second and oldest existing radio station, KENO. Radio and TV personalities such as Coffee Jim Dandy, Red Mcilvaine, Hal Morelli, Hank Thornley, and Walt Reno were household names to Las Vegans in the 1960s and 1970s. From the 1940s and 1950s, when every radio station called a Strip hotel home, to the mega-consolidation of the mid-1990s, when big corporations took control of many of the Las Vegas signals, the world of radio and television in Las Vegas has evolved significantly. Today, Las Vegas is the 30th largest radio market in the United States. George Thomas Apfel worked in Las Vegas radio for 40 years as an on-air host, manager, and engineer. Many of the photographs he has selected are from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas library, along with images from his personal collection and submissions from former coworkers in the radio industry.
