The man who brought magnetic audio tape recorders to the U.S., Jack Mullin, died June 24, 1999 at age 84.

Mullin was a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II and stumbled upon reels of magnetic quarter-inch tape and machines in a town near Frankfurt, Germany. He came home to America, perfected the machines, and on November 16, 1946 demonstrated how they worked to a meeting of audio engineers in his home state of California. Soon Bing Crosby started using them to pre-tape his radio show for ABC. The show included laugh tracks, which Mullin invented.

Thanks to audio engineer Don Ososke of San Carlos, CA.

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