On Saturday, February 23, we received the following from NAMM‘s Dan Del Fiorentino:
Our friend Ken Hyams passed away on Tuesday. His son, Kip who followed in his father’s footsteps with a career in the audio industry, told us the sad news.
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Ken was a key franchise owner of Altec Lansing in the early days of consumer electronics. He worked for a Los Angeles retailer of this audio and consumer-electronic products in the late 1940s and 1950s. While witnessing the growth and development of the audio industry, particularly with products such as those offered by Harman Kardon and Altec Lansing, Ken decided to open his own company. Allied Communications Inc. was established in 1964 and ran as a successful business until Ken retired in 2001, when he closed the company. He was proud of the services his company provided and enjoyed the many friends he made along the way.
Ken was dedicated to the NAMM Oral History program and assisted us with arranging several important interviews over the years. When I asked him when I would get the chance to interview him, he would say after you get other key people. He finally agreed to his own interview just five months ago.
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