Himan Brown’s Legacy

Himan Brown created dramas that used sound effects like a creaking door and a steam engine to enthrall listeners during the golden age of radio. During a span of 65 years Brown produced more than 30,000 radio programs, including “Inner Sanctum Mysteries,” “The Adventures of the Thin Man,” “Dick Tracy,” and “Grand Central Station.” Brown grasped “how sounds would trigger the imagination,” said Ron Simon, curator of television and radio at the Paley Center for Media. “He was one of radio’s great storytellers.”

During his lifetime, Himan Brown was actively involved in building community through philanthropic organizations as he shared in his interview for the book, Five Directors: The Golden Years of Radio. Himan championed Jewish causes and programming related to seniors. He also believed in building community by funding dedicated to families and education. Through the Himan Brown Charitable Trust’s support of nonprofit organizations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast, Himan’s legacy endures today.

In the last decade the Himan Brown Charitable Trust (HBCT) has granted out over $60,000,000 to charitable organizations in Himan’s memory.