Overview
- Description
- On May 4, 1941 Fred Perry spoke with Marshall E. Dimock, Second Assistant Secretary of Labor, about his journey to American citizenship. Perry tells Mr. Dimock about his first impressions of the country and why he chose to discard his British citizenship. He also reveals how his family feels about his naturalization. Perry goes on to share how competitive sporting tours can strengthen relationships between countries. He compares Americanism and totalitarianism with a sports analogy. The professional tennis player warns Americans of dictators wanting to expand their control in the Western Hemisphere. Perry concludes the segment by referencing the defeat of France as an example of what can happen when a country is not prepared to meet might with might.
Fred Perry was born on May 18, 1909 in Stockport, England. He began playing lawn tennis on his family’s public estate. In 1928 and 1929, his amateur sporting career catapulted when he won medals in the single, double and team events at the World Table Tennis Championship. He attracted adoring fans at Wimbledon because he did not have a privileged background. Between 1934 and 1936, he won three consecutive Wimbledon men's titles and the title of World Number 1. He also won the U.S. Open (1933, 1934, 1936), French Open (1935) and Australian Open (1934). In 1938 and 1941, he was awarded the prestigious US Pro title. He is the only player in his era to win eight Grand Slams, ten Majors and two Pro Slams. Fred Perry was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1975. His greatest legacy is the iconic self-titled sportswear line. - Date
-
Broadcast:
1941 May 04
- Format
- WAV
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- Genre/Form
- Radio broadcasts.
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- This archival media can only be accessed in a Museum reading room or other on-campus viewing stations.
- Copyright
- NBC Universal
- Conditions on Use
- Contact NBC Universal at www.nbcuniarchives.com for permission to duplicate and use this film or sound recording.
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- In process
- Recorded Sound Provenance
- The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum purchased digital copies of these sound recordings from the Library of Congress in March 2018.
- Recorded Sound Notes
- More information about Fred Perry:
https://www.biographyonline.net/sport/tennis/fred-perry.html
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/fred-perry-3454.php
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0675071/bio
More information about I’M AN AMERICAN:
https://www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/our-history/historians-mailbox/im-american
https://www.npr.org/2017/10/16/557338355/im-an-american-radio-show-promoted-inclusion-before-world-war-ii - Recorded Sound Source
- Library of Congress - Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS)
- File Number
- Source Archive Number: RWB 6674
- Record last modified:
- 2024-02-21 07:27:10
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn620832
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Also in "I'm An American" NBC radio broadcasts
I’M AN AMERICAN premiered in 1940 on the eve of WWII. The NBC radio broadcast was spearheaded by the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the U.S. Department of Labor to foster a “deeper consciousness of the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship and more tolerance for fellow american of all birthplaces”. The weekly program featured distinguished foreign-born citizens discussing their naturalization process, the meaning of “democracy” and reminding all Americans of the value/privilege of U.S. citizenship. Sound recordings of I’M AN AMERICAN are available from the NBC Radio Collection in the Library of Congress.
Date: 1940-1944
I'm An American -- Anton Lang
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I'm An American -- Guy Lombardo
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I'm An American -- Ludwig Bemelmans
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I'm An American -- Hans Kindler
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I'm An American -- Luise Rainer
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I'm An American -- Charles Pergler
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I'm An American -- Gaetono Salvemini
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I'm An American -- Paul Muni
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I'm An American -- Béla Schick
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I'm An American -- Leopold Stokowski
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I'm An American -- Attilio Piccirilli
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I'm An American -- Igor Sikorsky
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I'm An American -- Louis Adamic
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I'm An American -- Konrad Bercovici
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I'm An American -- Emil Ludwig
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I'm An American -- Walter Damrosch
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I'm An American -- Guiseppe Bellanca
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I'm An American -- Thomas Mann
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I'm An American Day 1942 part 2
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I'm An American Day 1942 part 3
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I'm An American Day 1942 part 4
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I'm An American Day 1943 part 1
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I'm An American Day 1943 part 2
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I'm An American Day 1943 part 3
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I'm An American Day -- Christmas in Freedom
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I'm An American -- Walter Huston
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I'm An American -- Robert Zuppke
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I'm An American -- Efrem Zimbalist
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I'm An American -- Daniel Tobin
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I'm An American -- Edith Kempthorne
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I'm An American -- Pitirim Sorokin
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I'm An American Day 1942 part 1
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I'm An American -- Vilhjálmur Stefánsson
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I'm An American -- César Saerchinger
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I'm An American -- Ferdinand Schumann-Heink
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I'm An American -- Frank Kingdon
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I'm An American -- Richard Waring
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I'm An American -- William Schlamm
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I'm An American -- Max Lerner
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I'm An American -- Fortune Gallo
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I'm An American -- Raymond Loewy
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I'm An American Day 1941 -- The Dangerous Days
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I'm An American Day 1941 -- I'm An American Day
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I'm An American Day 1941 -- Fiorello LaGuardia
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I'm An American Day 1941 -- One Nation Indivisible
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I'm An American -- Henry Morgenthau Sr
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I'm An American -- Kurt Weill
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I'm An American -- Franz Werfel
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I'm An American -- Frank Capra
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I'm An American -- Xavier Cugat
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I'm An American -- Anton Carlson
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I'm An American -- Johannes Steele
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I'm An American -- Yolanda Mero-Irion
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I'm An American -- Jean Hersholt
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I'm An American -- Rabbi Stephen Wise
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I'm An American -- Gregory Zilboorg
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