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Golden Star Radio, First Minority Foreign Language Radio Hour in the US

There is an ancient neon sign from the 1920s at 850 Clay that says 金星 "Golden Star Radio", cross street is Spofford Alley. 

Golden Star Radio Sign @ 850 Clay
by author

Turns out there's a story behind this... Golden Star Radio was the sponsor of the first all-Chinese radio program in the US, called "Golden Star Radio Hour". It was recorded that Thomas Tung and his company sponsored the first all-Chinese radio program on April 22, 1939, transmitted by 1450 KSAN-AM in San Francisco. According to the book Cathay by the Bay via NerdsEyeView the program called for 15 minutes of news, 15 minutes of Cantonese Opera, 6-7 different commercials, and the last half dedicated to contemporary music from Hong Kong. 

Golden Star Radio Co was Founded in 1936 at 846 Clay by Thomas Tung, it started as a radio sales and service company. The company primarily served as a radio seller and repair depot for Chinatown during the day. But at night, in the basement, Thomas Tung's wife Mary Chin Tong delivered the nightly news plus the aforementioned programming. The radio show lasted until 1979, according to history, even though KSAN switched to R&B in 1958. It was unclear to which station the radio show continued on until 1979, when it finally went off the air.

According to SFWeekly, Golden Star Radio originally started as a way to get their own name out among the community as a place to get radio and repairs done, but provided so much more than that, as they managed to translate President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's fireside chats to Chinese and present that as news to their audiences.  According to Arcane Radio Trivia, the translation was probably by Gilbert Gang Nam Woo, a journalist who also worked with the radio program, and later, worked as a translator for President Truman. 

Golden Star Radio Co Letterhead
courtesy Discogs https://www.discogs.com/label/1517466-Golden-Star-Radio-Company/images

(Historical note: "All Negro Hour" by WSBC in Chicago debuted on November 3, 1929, but that's in English, and was started by a White-owned radio station, so it's not really aimed at minorities. )

According to Discog, Golden Star Radio Company also published two records in the US, which appears to be recordings of Chinese or Cantonese Operas. There were probably a lot more, but they're not cataloged by Discog. 

Today, Golden Star Tattoo Company lives right under the sign, to carry on the name. 

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About the author

Kasey is a professional tour guide and amateur historian who specialized in Chinatown History and Tours. You will often find him guiding groups sampling delicious food and learning interesting historical tidbits about Chinatown most weekends.

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