Journalist. One of America's preeminent news commentators of the 1930s, he helped make political punditry a commercial success on the radio. He was born Harold Thomas Henry Carter in Baku, Russia, where his father was on staff at the British Consulate. "Boake" was an old English name from his mother's side. After studying at Christ College, Cambridge, he moved to the United States in 1920 and became a citizen in 1932. Getting his start as a reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News, he began his radio career at CBS affiliate WCAU and won national attention for his spot coverage of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. In 1933 Philco sponsored him in a news program that was twice voted the most popular in the country, beating out such competitors as Lowell Thomas and Edward R. Murrow. Opening each broadcast with "Allo, Boake Carter speaking" and closing it with "Cheerio", he hectored his listeners, whom he referred to as "Johnny Q. Public", with his conservative and isolationist views. His opposition to the New Deal and apparent reliance on innuendo and speculation rather than facts to back his opinions made him increasingly controversial, and in 1938 he was fired by CBS. Carter blamed President Roosevelt personally for this. After a year off the air he returned with a new show on the Mutual Network but never regained his popularity. In 1942 Carter converted to a sect called Biblical Hebrewism and changed his first name to Ephraim, while his commentaries grew bizarre in their religious allusions to world events. At the time of his death from a stroke, his program had been reduced to 15 minutes a week at the noon hour. Today Carter is remembered solely for a statement he made but did not write: "In time of war the first casualty is truth". This observation dates to the Ancient Greek tragedian Aeschylus and was developed over the centuries by Samuel Johnson and others.
Journalist. One of America's preeminent news commentators of the 1930s, he helped make political punditry a commercial success on the radio. He was born Harold Thomas Henry Carter in Baku, Russia, where his father was on staff at the British Consulate. "Boake" was an old English name from his mother's side. After studying at Christ College, Cambridge, he moved to the United States in 1920 and became a citizen in 1932. Getting his start as a reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News, he began his radio career at CBS affiliate WCAU and won national attention for his spot coverage of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. In 1933 Philco sponsored him in a news program that was twice voted the most popular in the country, beating out such competitors as Lowell Thomas and Edward R. Murrow. Opening each broadcast with "Allo, Boake Carter speaking" and closing it with "Cheerio", he hectored his listeners, whom he referred to as "Johnny Q. Public", with his conservative and isolationist views. His opposition to the New Deal and apparent reliance on innuendo and speculation rather than facts to back his opinions made him increasingly controversial, and in 1938 he was fired by CBS. Carter blamed President Roosevelt personally for this. After a year off the air he returned with a new show on the Mutual Network but never regained his popularity. In 1942 Carter converted to a sect called Biblical Hebrewism and changed his first name to Ephraim, while his commentaries grew bizarre in their religious allusions to world events. At the time of his death from a stroke, his program had been reduced to 15 minutes a week at the noon hour. Today Carter is remembered solely for a statement he made but did not write: "In time of war the first casualty is truth". This observation dates to the Ancient Greek tragedian Aeschylus and was developed over the centuries by Samuel Johnson and others.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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