It is an interesting time to consider the historical memory of Lowell Thomas. He is in transition from being remembered as a celebrity to a historical figure. Thomas died in 1981, and as his fans follow him they are being replaced by researchers attempting to document his remarkable career as a journalist, entrepreneur, and adventurer.
Thomas was a pioneer journalist and developed into one of the foremost radio broadcasters during the golden age of radio. Today little is recalled of his ground breaking work as a commentator or as a world traveler. In the early 1920s he launched his career presenting lectures concerning his travels in the Middle East. A three-month stint in England turned into a 5 year world tour. During this time over 4 million people came to experience the multi-media extravaganza entitled The Lowell Thomas Travelogues. In recalling his travels and encounters in Arabia, Thomas made T.E. Lawrence known worldwide as Lawrence of Arabia and established himself as one of the great public speakers of his day. In the 1930s Thomas continued his pioneer work in the broadcasting industry. He was the first person to air a simulcast and he became the voice of Fox Movitone Newsreels. In the 1950s he co-created Cinerama and his movie “This Is Cinerama” broke every known record for income and total audience when it showed on Broadway in New York City in 1952. Later that decade he founded Capital Cities, a major broadcasting group which is now part of the Walt Disney Company. He created his very popular High Adventure television series in the 1960s, and continued his world travels. In 1977 Thomas retired from his radio news program, which had been on the air for 46 continuous years. Later that year he published Good Evening Everybody, the first volume of his autobiography, and just one of the over 50 books he authored. Thomas returned to radio in 1978. National Public Radio aired his series “The Best Years” until just before his death on August 29, 1981.
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