Milton Charles

American organist and radio musical director. He was one of the last organists for silent movies and radio shows. b.: 1897 (San Jose, CA, U.S.) d.: November 1991 (Corona, CA, U.S.) Milton began taking piano lessons at the age of 7, and at 13 was a church organist, earning $25 a month. Later, as one of only three or four professional organists in the country in the 1920’s, Milton came to be in big demand, playing the Tivoli and Uptown Theaters in Chicago and back to the Metropolitan and then Paramount Theaters in Los Angeles again. Milton was, to his knowledge, the first performer to use a microphone (carbon mike) in his act. He came up with the idea accidentally, while trying to solve an acoustics problem in a theater, and just stayed with it. He then began a long stint playing background music and lead-in music for CBS Radio in Chicago, finally rising to Music Director of Columba Net work and Station WBBM in Chicago.