Original painting owned by Joan Masingill Brown
Luther Masingill first sat down behind the microphone at WDEF Radio on New Year’s Eve, 1940.
He quickly became “the voice of Chattanooga”, and for the next 74 years, he held down the same time slot at the same radio station, a broadcasting world record that will never be broken.
When WDEF TV became Chattanooga’s first TV station in April of 1954, Luther quickly became “the face of Chattanooga” as well.
He was only broadcaster to be on the air for both the deadly attacks on Pearl Harbor that led to WORLD WAR II, plus the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001…not to mention countless life-changing events in between.
In his amazing life and career, Luther helped reunite tens of thousands of lost pets with their owners and helped hundreds upon hundreds of charities with his Community Calendar public service announcements.
Each of those were typed out on the Royal typewriter you see here. This typewriter became as much of a fixture at WDEF as Luther himself, and he typed on it each and every day until shortly before his death.
Among his numerous honors, Luther is a recipient of the National Marconi Award, and a member of both the National Radio Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame.
Luther has always been “a man of service”. He proudly served his country in the Army Signal Corps. He served his church, his family, and his community. The very name “Luther” conjures up those twinkling blue eyes, a friendly smile, and that golden voice. Sadly, that voice was forever silenced when he passed away on Monday, October 20, 2014, at precisely 6:00am – the same time his daily radio show began for well over 7 decades.
The man may be gone, but the kind words and deeds that came from his heart … and from his typewriter … will never be forgotten.
Purchase Information
(30% of the proceeds from the sale of the prints will be donated to Humane Educational Society)
18″ x 18″ Giclee Print on Paper is $100 plus $15 shipping and handling.
18″ x 18″ Giclee Print on Canvas Wrap is $250 plus $38 shipping and handling.
If you are a resident of Tennessee, there will be a 9.25% sales tax added to your order.
If you are local to the Chattanooga area, I can arrange for a payment and pick-up so you can save on shipping and handling charges. Please email me at studio6arthur@gmail.com for arrangements.
Artist Gay M. Arthur resides in Hixson, TN and is a member of the In-Town Gallery. She got her BFA in Painting and Drawing from UTC in 2003. Her paintings can be seen throughout our city.Gay is proud to capture “all things nostalgic” from structures like U.S. Pipe, Wheland Foundry and others. Her eye for detail also allows her to faithfully capture the beauty in items rarely used in daily life anymore, like abandoned vehicles. And yes, typewriters.