Norman Corwin, acclaimed radio writer, dies

LOS ANGELES -- During a career that spanned more than 70 years, Norman Corwin wrote, produced and directed for radio, television, film and the stage.

His insightful writing earned Emmy and Golden Globe awards. He received an Academy Award nomination for his script for the 1956 film "Lust for Life," the biography of Vincent van Gogh starring Kirk Douglas.

But radio was Corwin's true passion.

"I find it difficult to turn down an offer to be heard," he said in a 2001 interview on public radio.

Corwin, a creative giant of the Golden Age of Radio whose programs chronicling World War II are milestones in broadcasting, died Tuesday at his Los Angeles home of natural causes, according to the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism where Corwin remained a writer in residence until his death. He was 101.

Actor William Shatner, who narrated several of Corwin's later radio programs, called him a legend and his hero. He is "the poetic soul of discretion and a monument to artistry in America," Shatner once said.

Throughout the 1940s, Corwin was well known to millions of Americans who depended on radio for their link to the world.

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Some of his most acclaimed programs dealt with World War II and provided perspective about a war being fought thousands of miles away. His writing brought the country together, inspiring patriotism, hope and optimism.

He joined CBS in 1938 at the height of the radio network's glory. While his early work was behind the microphone, Corwin eventually turned his focus to writing, producing and directing.

In 1941, he wrote "We Hold These Truths," a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Bill of Rights featuring the voices of Lionel Barrymore, Walter Brennan and Orson Welles. It was broadcast simultaneously on all four radio networks days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

"We Hold These Truths" was added in 2005 to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry, formed to honor sound recordings of unusual historical merit.

In 1945, he penned "On a Note of Triumph," considered by many to be Corwin's masterpiece. It was broadcast nationwide on May 8, 1945, the day of the allied victory in Europe.