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Tony Schwartz (American sound archivist)

Tony Schwartz
Born (1923-08-19)August 19, 1923
New York, New York
Died June 15, 2008(2008-06-15) (aged 84)
New York, New York

Anthony Schwartz (August 19, 1923 – June 15, 2008) was an American sound archivist, sound designer, pioneering media theorist, and advertising creator. Known as the "wizard of sound," he is perhaps best known for his role in creating the controversial Daisy television ad for the 1964 Lyndon Johnson campaign.

Considered a guru of the newly emerging "electronic media" by Marshall McLuhan, Schwartz ushered in a new age of media study in the 1970s. His works anticipated the end of the print-based media age and pointed to a new electronic age of mass media.

Born in Manhattan, Schwartz was raised there briefly before his family moved to Peekskill, New York. At 16, he went blind for about six months. He had previously been interested in ham radio, and the incident focused him more on sound as did his lifelong agoraphobia.

He earned a degree in graphic design from the Pratt Institute and worked as a civilian artist for the United States Navy during World War II. He later earned honorary degrees from John Jay College, Emerson College, and Stonehill College.

Schwartz began recording ambient sounds, spoken word, and folk music, releasing many albums on Folkways Records and Columbia Records. One of his albums, New York Taxi Driver, was among the first 100 recordings inducted into the National Recording Registry. From 1945 to 1976, Schwartz produced and hosted "Around New York" on WNYC.


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