The life-long inventor, Lee de Forest invented the three-element vacuum
tube used between 1906 and 1916 as a detector, amplifier, and oscillator
of radio waves. Beginning in 1918 he began to develop a light valve, a
device for writing and reading sound using light patterns. While he
received many patents for his process, he was initially ignored by the
film industry. In order to promote and demonstrate his process he made
several hundred sound short films, he rented space for their showing; he
sold the tickets and did the publicity to gain audiences for his
invention. Lee de Forest officially brought sound to film in 1919. Lee
De Forest: King of Radio, Television, and Film is about both invention
and early film making; de Forest as the scientist and producer,
director, and writer of the content. This book tells the story of de
Forest's contribution in changing the history of film through the
incorporation of sound. The text includes primary source historical
material, U.S. patents and richly-illustrated photos of Lee de Forest's
experiments. Readers will greatly benefit from an understanding of the
transition from silent to audio motion pictures, the impact this had on
the scientific community and the popular culture, as well as the
economics of the entertainment industry.
