The World Tomorrow is a now-defunct radio and television half-hour program which had been sponsored by the Radio Church of God (later renamed Worldwide Church of God while under the direction of Herbert W. Armstrong.) A fifteen minutes version of the radio program (but under varied translations of The World Tomorrow name but which are also now-defunct), was broadcast by various speakers in the French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish languages.
The Radio Program (English language)
This broadcast which began in 1934, was originally called the Radio Church of God after the church that sponsored the program. The original presenter was Herbert W. Armstrong who both created both the program and founded the church. Following the 1939 World's Fair in New York the broadcast was renamed The World Tomorrow following the theme of the fair which was "The World of Tomorrow". Years later the Radio Church of God changed its name to the Worldwide Church of God.
The programs originated daily in a half-hour format, primarily from a studio located on the campus of Ambassador College in Pasadena, California, (USA), which was owned and operated by the church as a then-unaccredited liberal arts institution. Other studios were located at Ambassador College, Bricket Wood, Herts, England and Ambassador College (later accredited as Ambassador University) at Big Sandy, Texas, USA.
During the 1960s Garner Ted Armstrong, youngest son of Herbert W. Armstrong and his wife Loma Armstrong, took over the narration of the half-hour all-talk presentation. The voice and style of Garner Ted Armstrong was often compared to that of news commentator Paul Harvey, which Garner Ted Armstrong attempted to emulate with a degree of success.
The program was introduced and concluded by the voice of Hollywood radio announcer Art Gilmore who appeared both on film and television screens in various roles. He was also noted for being the unseen announcer on The Red Skelton Show and on Highway Patrol with Broderick Crawford which were among his many credits on television. "The World Tomorrow" concluded with an early Hollywood-produced music jingle over which Art Gilmore gave the program address, which varied according to the country that it was being aired in, or where its broadcast was intended to be received.
International editions in other languages
A fifteen minutes and usually once-a-week version of the same program (but under varied translations of The World Tomorrow name but which are also now-defunct), was broadcast by various speakers in the French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish languages.
FRENCH: The French language edition was primarily aired in parts of Canada and Haiti over several local stations and in Europe over the super-power station Europe Number One . The presenter was Dibar Apartian who recorded the programs in the same studio used by Herbert W. and later Garner Ted Armstrong on the Pasadena, California campus of Ambassador College. The program was also supported by a French language edition of The Plain Truth magazine.
GERMAN: The German language edition was primarily aired in Europe over Europe Number One. The presenter was a graduate of Ambassador College in Pasadena where the program was recorded. The program was supported by a German languaged edition of The Plain Truth magazine.
ITALIAN: The Italian language edition was primarily aired in Montreal and Toronto, Canada over two local stations. The presenter was also a graduate of Ambassador College in Pasadena where the program was also recorded.
RUSSIAN: The Russian language edition was primarily aired for a short period of time in the 1950s-1960s over the super-power station Radio Monte Carlo , which was beamed towards the former USSR. The presenter was a Russian language Hollywood presenter who both translated English scripts and then recorded the programs.
SPANISH: The Spanish language edition was primarily aired in parts of South America, although it was also aired from Porta , Portugal. The original presenter was Dr. Benjamin Rea who was Vice-Chancellor of Ambassador College at Bricket Wood in Hertfordshire, England which is where he recorded the programs in the radio studio located on the campus. The program was also supported by a Spanish language edition of The Plain Truth magazine.
The Television Program (English language)
1950s: ABC Television Network
There were two eras of The World Tomorrow on television. The first era featured Herbert W. Armstrong speaking from a Hollywood sound stage in the 1950s before the advent of videotape when all syndicated programs had to be recorded on film. The original series was shown on a portion of the ABC Television Network for half an hour, once a week in black and white.
1972 to 1986
The second era began in the 1970s and lasted well into 1980s when all radio and television programs were cancelled following the death of Herbert W. Armstrong in 1986. The presenter was originally Garner Ted Armstrong and then following his departure from his father's church in the mid-1970s and subsequent founding of his own church, the Church of God International, Herbert W. Armstrong resumed the presentation. The thrust of the broadcasts was largely to present how current events in the world tied into the church's views of Biblical prophecies. Both the radio and televisions of The World Tomorrow invariably informed their audience how to receive the church's magazine, The Plain Truth, the content of which was largely similar to that of the broadcasts.
Sponsor
For a history of the sponsor of both the radio and television programs see the brief biography of Herbert W. Armstrong and the church that he founded called the Radio Church of God. Although the church changed its legal name of incorporation before the death of its founder, the Worldwide Church of God has since become a relatively new and totally different church in both belief and mode of operation and is moving from Pasadena to Glendale, California with talk of it even changing its corporate name yet again.
External links
Investigation by journalist into possible political links regarding his UK pirate radio broadcasts of the 1960s
Last updated: 09-12-2005 02:39:13
