Lowell Thomas
Lowell Thomas | |
|---|---|
Lowell Thomas, c. 1966 | |
| Born | Lowell Jackson Thomas April 6, 1892 Woodington, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | August 29, 1981 (aged 89) Pawling, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Valparaiso University University of Denver Princeton University |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, broadcaster |
| Employer | Chicago-Kent College of Law |
| Spouses | Frances Ryan
(m. 1917; died 1975)Marianna Munn
(m. 1977) |
| Children | Lowell Thomas Jr. |
Lowell Jackson Thomas (April 6, 1892 – August 29, 1981) was an American writer, broadcaster, and documentary filmmaker. He authored more than fifty non-fiction books, mostly travel narratives and popular biographies of explorers and military men. Between 1930 and the mid-1950s, Thomas appeared regularly on radio and television as a travel and news commentator, and was a narrator of Movietone newsreels shown in cinemas.
Thomas was especially known for the writings and documentary films that turned T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) into an international celebrity. Later in his career, Thomas was involved in promoting the Cinerama widescreen system. In 1954, he led a group of New York City-based investors to buy majority control of Hudson Valley Broadcasting, which, in 1957, became Capital Cities Television Corporation.