FROM HIS BOYHOOD in San Francisco David Belasco brought to his national career an adventurous quality of imagination and a freedom from precedent that helped him to pioneer those new paths in the world of the theatre which were so distinctly his contribution to the art of the theatre. His vivid personality will be deeply missed by the whole country.
HERBERT HOOVER
[A. J. McCosker, Director WOR, 1440 Broadway, New York City]
Note: The message was made public in conjunction with radio memorial services for David Belasco, owner and manager of New York's Belasco Theatre and a prominent figure in the theatrical world. He died on May 14, 1931.
Herbert Hoover, Message on the Death of David Belasco. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/212815