[1] Lee was born in Spring Grove, Minnesota on November 9, 1921, he was awarded a bachelor's degree in 1942 from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, having majored in music.
With experience as a singer and playing the trumpet, he began his career in broadcasting by hosting (and singing on) the show Hymns We Love on the school's radio station.
He enlisted in the United States Navy, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service as a pilot in the Pacific theater during World War II.
[2] As assistant director of public relations for the Evangelical Lutheran Church, he was publicist for the 1953 film Martin Luther, a biographical drama directed by Irving Pichel and starring Niall MacGinnis.
[1] After WGN-TV in Chicago canceled a scheduled presentation of the film in 1956, dozens of Protestant leaders criticized the station's decision, with Lee telling The New York Times that WGN had caved into pressure from forces that sought to whitewash history, and that such "Efforts at thought control, wherever they are exerted, are un-American and are to be deplored".
It was broadcast on PBS in October 1966, with critic Jack Gould of The New York Times calling the film "the most accomplished and sensitive hour of television this season".
Contains some of the best observational "fly on the wall" footage ever filmed, filled with incisive scenes showing people struggling with their prejudices, anger, disillusionment, changing social times and hopes for the future.