Broadcast Pioneers; Innovators in Philadelphia Communications!
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Almost a Half-Century in Philadelphia with more than 350 Members; Bigger Than Ever!

Broadcast Pioneers; the Official Historians of Philadelphia Radio & Television!

Tribute to Al Alberts!
Wednesday, February 17th!
What a Special Day This Will Be!

If you liked the Al Alberts Showcase and the Four Aces, you're going to love this luncheon. Wow! What an event we have planned for you.

It all takes place on Wednesday, February 17th, at the beautiful and historic Bala Golf Club, 2200 Belmont Avenue (across the street from the State Police) in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia. It's only minutes away from Channels 6, 10 and 17 and the radio stations in Bala Cynwyd.

Reservations Required! (856) 365-5600!

At this fantastic luncheon, we’ll have the kids there (who are now adults) talking about Al, the show, and doing a little of what they did on the program. Eddie Bruce will be there singing "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" as well as Ira Brown (billed at the age of 5 as the World’s Youngest Comedian). He'll tell us some of the same jokes he told on TV 40 years ago. Rick Bossman, aka Rick Douglas will sing, "If Ever I Would Leave You" with member Bucky Clark on the piano. All three were on the program when it was on Channel 48 and all three stayed when it moved to Channel 6 in 1970.

Broadway Star Jarrod Spector
on the Al Alberts Showcase
1984

And as a special treat, Eddie Bruce will be talking live on the phone with Showcase alumni Jarrod Spector, broadway star of "The Jersey Boys," and we'll have Broadcast Pioneers member Stella Alberts also on the telephone live from her home in Florida. Don't miss this one.

(856) 365-5600! Call Now!

Plus, we'll have Dr. Brian McDonough from KYW Newsradio telling stories about his time on Al's show (he sang a Jan & Dean hit). Also, Erica Marie Bupp, known then as Erica Gagliardi, will be singing the old Connie Francis standard, "Where The Boys Are." Jennifer Wiener, who was "Little Miss Showcase of 1974 " will be with us talking about her memories of "Uncle Al" and telling us some of the jokes she told on the telecast.

Beverly Barksdale, now an educator in the Philadelphia School System, was on the program from 1977 to 1981. She'll be with us singing, "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," a number she sang on the Showcase. Plus Jami Brenner Green and her husband, Stephen will be with us singing, "The Prayer."

Call Your Reservations in Now!
(856) 365-5600!

Rick Bossman's daughter, Erica-Anne, was also on the show and she'll be there singing plus Michelle Lawson will perform the dance she did on the show many times to the tune of "On the Way to Cape May." And Donna-Lynne Dalton plans to join us all the way from Florida talking about "Uncle Al."

Plus, Rodney Robb, the WFIL-TV Account Executive who brought the Al Alberts Showcase to Channel 6. He was the city's top sales TV guy and now runs the "Baby Boomers Talent Management" and "The Actors Center," both here in Philadelphia.

(856) 365-5600! RSVP Now! Don't Forget!

Meet and greet (networking) starts at 12 noon with a full-course lunch including salad, coffee or tea and dessert. Lunch is served at 12:30 pm. There’s also a cheese & crudité table. Cash bar available! The cost is still ONLY $25 per person and is open to all our members, any person in the industry and all associated fields; both people now active and retirees. This includes anyone who appeared on the Al Alberts Showcase, their friends and family. You do not have to be a member to attend. Make your reservation now by calling (856) 365-5600.

We'll Be Proud to See You in the Crowd!

Tom Brookshier's Funeral Service Postponed

Tom Brookshier
Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Luncheon
Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Tom's service has been postponed because of the weather. It is now set for Monday afternoon, February 8th. Friends may call from 12:30 pm to 2 pm at the First Presbyterian Church of Ardmore, Montgomery Avenue and Mill Creek Road in Ardmore. A memorial service will take place at 2 pm.

Broadcast Pioneers member Tom Brookshier passed away on Friday evening, January 29th. He has been fighting bladder cancer for several years. Tom was a professional NFL football player with the Philadelphia Eagles and then a sportscaster for WCAU-TV and radio and then CBS-TV. He also served on our Board of Directors for several years.

Tom's Bio from our Website!

(Left to right) unidentified male, Tom Brookshier, Jack Whitaker, John Facenda and unidentified female
on the Bala Golf Club's course
1963

SOME VIDEO OF TOM

January 19, 2005 - Broadcast Pioneers Luncheon

January 17, 2007 - Broadcast Pioneers Luncheon

SOME AUDIO OF TOM

July 8, 1969 - Tom doing sports on WCAU-TV

January 19, 2005 - Broadcast Pioneers Luncheon

November 16, 2007 - Brookie being inudcted into our Hall of Fame

(Left to right) Tom Brookshier, Gary Papa, Terry Ruggles
Kal Rudman, Ed Cunningham & Walt Hunter
Bala Golf Club, Philadelphia
Friday, November 16, 2007

Broadcast Pioneers President Gerry Wilkinson said:

Wow! A great football player, a great broadcaster and an all round great guy. Tom Brookshier is truly a legend in our industry. I always liked to be around Brookie because I knew he would make me smile. Tom was from Roswell, New Mexico and my wife is from Carlsbad, NM. Roswell's High School and Carlsbad were rivals.

When the UFO situation happened in Roswell, reporters came up and asked him and his friends what they thought of aliens. Tom told me that he said, "unless they're good football players and can help us whip Carlsbad, we won't think about them too much.

Brookie grew up working at a station in Roswell. It's was his dad's gasoline station. He told me that he was very good dealing with the customers. He said that maybe that was why he was so comfortable in front of the microphone because he envisioned the audience as a bunch of people who passed through his father's "filling station."

(Left to right) Tom Brookshier & John Facenda
WCAU-TV
1963

Joanie Baldini, wife of Broadcast Pioneers member Bill Baldini, told us this story. One day when Brookie was doing the sports on the "TV10 Big News," anchor John Facenda, who was also a member of our organization, ended the newscast with a story about a local golf tournament. Then Facenda said that he, himself, was quite an excellent golfer. He got up from the anchor desk and came into the middle of the floor. He placed a golf ball on the floor, and the camera panned up. While this was happening, someone on the crew, removed the ball (because hitting a real golf ball in the studio could damage equipment). John then took a swing and the director cut to a shot of Brookie with a golf ball in his mouth.

January is Sports Time!
Wednesday, January 20th
What a Fabulous Lunch!

Our first luncheon for 2010 was held on Wednesday, January 20th. The topic was ALL THINGS SPORTS! This time, IT WAS A SPORTS SPECTACULAR and our biggest sports event of the year! Everyone who's anyone was there. Our moderator for this exciting, stupendous event was Broadcast Pioneers member Tom Lamaine.

Our panel included:

Don Bell, sports anchor for CBS 3 and the CW Philly 57
Ray Didinger, Sports guy from Comcast SportsNet
Howard Eskin, afternoon drive host on WIP Sports Radio
Dom Giordano, telephone talk host from WPHT Radio
Mike Kern, Daily News Sportswriter & Comcast SportsNet
Tommy McDonald, former Eagle and broadcast sportscaster
Merrill Reese, the radio voice of the Philadelphia Eagles

Members Peggy King (former girl singer of the network George Gobel TV show) and Les Waas, former Broadcast Pioneers President did their own version of the famous "Who's On First" comedy routine.

News Anchor Doreen Gentzler
WCAU-TV, Philadelphia
Thursday, September 29, 1988

Also, we had a short tribute to the late George Michael, former sportscaster & Famous 56 boss jock. In person, Howard Eskin, who was George Michael's engineer told us a little about his friend. Plus, live on the phone from WRC-TV in Washington was Doreen Gentzler, former WCAU-TV news anchor who has been co-anchoring the news in Washington for two decades. George Michael did sports on her newscasts.

It all took place on Wednesday, January 20th, at the beautiful and historic Bala Golf Club, 2200 Belmont Avenue (across the street from the State Police) in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia. It's only minutes away from Channels 6, 10 and 17 and the radio stations in Bala Cynwyd.

PHOTOS OF THE EVENT!

77 Photos from that afternoon!
(Taken by Broadcast Pioneers Vice-President Jerry Klein)

COMPLETE AUDIO!

Tribute to George Michael!

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Dom Giordano!

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Panel Discussion!

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Enter Our 2010 Scholarship Competition NOW!

Our 12 scholarship winners
April 2009

We are now accepting applications for our 2010 scholarship competition. Enter now. Deadline is Friday, February 10, 2010. The initial step is easy. There's a simple online application that takes less than five minutes to fill in.

Get the Details!

Help Us Save Our History !


The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia since our beginning in 1962 has maintained archival material of broadcast related items for our market. Help us save our past! Please!

We are looking for donated materials. If you have or know of anyone willing to contribute any broadcast memorabilia, please contact us at 856-365-5600 or e-mail the Broadcast Pioneers at pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com. This would include photos, scans, audio, video and articles. This material may also be used on our website.

Our Mystery Photo for February 2010

Click on the photo for more information!

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There's a nice, huge story on the Time Magazine website about Philadelphia Television in the Fifties. It mentions our website and draws from our material. Author Richard Corliss refers to this site as "invaluable...a trove of early TV memories for Delaware Valley nostalgiaholics." Visit it at: TIME MAGAZINE

Our encoding of audio and video has been upgraded for clearer, sharper and less choppy video with better sounding audio. We are using the latest technology and this may require you to download (it's free) the latest version of the Real Player, now called Real One. Items previously on our website will still work with older versions. All items will play on the most current. Once you download the latest free player, you still may be required to download older codes for everything to work. This is normal and very easy. Just follow the prompts. We have also started to encode our audio and video in the Windows Media format. That player is usually installed as part of Windows when you purchased your computer.

Much of our audio and video now rolls. That is, it goes from one files directly into the next segment. This is done for faster loading. We are also encoding with surestream. This means the file actually contains two streams. One is for dial-up connections and the other is for DSL, Cable and other broadband connections. Your computer will automatically select the correct stream.

Unless you state otherwise, all e-mail messages sent to us become the property of "The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia" and you have given us implied permission to use all or part of your message on our website including the use of your name & to store the correspondence in our archive. All items sent to us via U.S. Mail, other carriers or electronically, become property of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. With such submission and donation, you also transfer any legal rights (including reproduction rights) you may have to said material. This includes photos, articles, audio, video and all other items including but not limited to the usage of your name.

None of the material contained on this website may be reproduced elsewhere without the express permission of "The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia." Where material is owned by others who have given us permission to use their property, you must also gain their approval and authority before use. None of our material falls under "Fair Use" provisions of copyright laws.

The material published on this website is like any other published work and subject to the same copyright protection. Some research used on this site is exclusive. It is the property of the researcher and cannot be reproduced in any form without permission.

We do NOT make or sell copies of material in our archives. We just do not have the staff to do this. Hardly any local show is available for home use anywhere.

This website is protected under U.S. Copyright (2010)
by The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. All Rights Reserved.

The e-mail address of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com

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Anne Klein Communications Group