Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is a federally recognized, state chartered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving the Philadelphia Broadcast Community since January of 1962.

January Luncheon
The Bala Golf Club, Philadelphia
Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Meet and Greet at 12 noon!
Lunch served at 12:30 pm
Ratecard: $28 per person

Please reserve now!
Call (856) 365-5600
rsvp@broadcastpioneers.com

Another Third Wednesday Luncheon!
Wednesday, February 21st, 2018!

Good Food - Great Programs - Wonderful Times

How Stations Deal with Snow!
Lunch is only $28 per person!

DON'T MISS THIS ONE!

Hit After Hit, Smash After Smash, Blockbuster After Blockbuster... Here's another "monster" lunch where the "stars" don't wait to come out at night. They're with us at lunchtime!

Continue the New Year with more good times. Broadcast Pioneers will have another great topic. It's "How Broadcasters Deal With Snow." Everyone who’s anyone is going to be there!.Save the date! It's Wednesday, February 21st. That's the third Wednesday of the month.

Meet and greet (networking & reception) starts at noon and lunch will be served at 12:30 pm. Be sure you have your place by making your reservation(s) NOW. E-mail Broadcast Pioneers at: rsvp@broadcastpioneers.com. Call (856) 365-5600. Our MC for the afternoon will be Broadcast Pioneers member Tom Lamaine, former weather guy and meteorologist for CBS 3, KYW-TV for over a quarter of a century.

Elliot Abrams, Accu-Weather's Senior VP & co-founder of their radio service
Carol Erickson, meteorologist for CBS 3 for decades & animal book author
Joe Miketta, acting Meteorologist-in-Charge of the National Weather Service
Terry Ruggles, NBC 10, WCAU-TV reporter/anchor for more than 4 decades
Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz, meteorologist for NBC 10. NBC 10 for decades
Sue Serio, the morning meteorologist for "Good Day Philadelphia" on Fox 29

It all takes place at the beautiful and historic Bala Golf Club, 2200 Belmont Avenue (across the street from the state police) in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia. Only minutes away from Channels 6, 10 and 17 and the radio stations in Bala Cynwyd. Call now for reservations. (856) 365-5600! E-mail: rsvp@broadcastpioneers.com. Don't miss this one! THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

Make plans to be there. Bring a friend (or three)! Meet and Greet starts at 12 noon. Lunch is served at 12:30 pm. It includes a nice, fresh, green salad with dressing, a roll, a 3-course meal, dessert, iced tea and coffee. Cost is only $28 per person.

Plenty of FREE parking. Our luncheons are open to all our members, their guests, and any person in the industry or associated fields, whether active or retired. You do NOT have to be a member to attend. There is no reserved seating at our luncheons. Feel free to sit anywhere. Well, okay--the three people on the camera crew sit near the cameras, but that's in the back of the room.

In order to speed up check-in at the luncheon, it would help if you had exact change or your check written in advance. Checks should be made payable to the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia.

If you would like to add a few dollars extra, we would appreciate it. It would help us with all the important work we are doing. Thanks

WE WANNA SEE
YOUR FACE IN THAT PLACE!

Visit Our Website Often - http://www.broadcastpioneers.com
You should check the front page of our website often (link above) for important information!

Tune in to our YouTube Channel - http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/youtube
Our YouTube Channel has all our luncheons, exclusive interviews and archival material!

Check out our Facebook Page - http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/facebook
There are things on our Facebook Page that are NOT on our website (like our vintage photo of the week)

Go to our Twitter Account - http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/twitter
The Broadcast Pioneers Twitter Account has info and stuff not available elsewhere!

Go to our Instragram Section - http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/instagram
Here's another one of our social media sections. Visit it as often as you wish!

NEW MEMBERS TO BROADCAST PIONEERS:

FULL MEMBERS:

Nick Wargo has been in our industry for the last 16 years. He started as a DJ at WVLT, Vineland (Cruisin' 92.1). He has worked his whole career in South Jersey. From WVLT, he went to WSNJ in Bridgeton (1240 on AM). Then 11 years ago, he moved to WOND (News Talk 1400 in Atlantic City) as a newscaster and producer. He's still there as the station's evening producer. Wargo has also engineered the audio at some of the Broadcast Pioneers luncheon in recent years.

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS:

Two new Associate Members are Brenda Geras, a host and dancer here in the Delaware Valley and Jay Soffian who loved TV dance shows and was an assistant on "Dancin' On Air."

We are thrilled to have over 500 Members. More than ever. We hope to see as many of our members as possible at our February luncheon. Get your reservations in now!

DIGITAL ARCHIVAL PROJECT NEWS:

VIDEO:

(Left to right) Dan Baker, Bill Vargus, Bill Wendl and Joe Pellegrino
Broadcast Pioneers Luncheon
Bala Golf Club, Philadelphia
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
(Photo by Gerry Wilkinson)

We Kicked off the New Year with our JANUARY SPORTS SPECTACULAR. The topic was ALL THINGS SPORTS! Our MC for the afternoon was Broadcast Pioneers member Joe Pellegrino, former sports anchor for WPVI and WCAU-TV!!

Our panel included (in alphabetical order):

Dan Baker, sportscaster & public address announcer for the Phillies & Eagles
Bill Vargus, the former sports director for Fox 29, WTXF-TV, Channel 29
Bill Werndl, well-known sports network & area broadcaster and sports author

Member Marciarose Shestack was with us that day. In the early seventies, KYW-TV's sports department wasn't doing very good in picking winners. Someone said, "Marciarose could do better." Of course, she didn't know much about sports. So she picked the winners based on other criteria, like which uniforms looked better. It was an interesting story.

WRTI People - Past and Present
(Left to right) Bill Vargus, Dan Baker, Bill Johnson,
Tobias Poole, Mike Bove, Gerry Wilkinson and Michael Muderick
Broadcast Pioneers Luncheon
Bala Golf Club, Philadelphia
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
(Photo by Joe Amaoto)

We also celebrated the 70th birthday of WRTI, Temple University Radio. Tobias Poole (Operating Director) and Bill Johnson (General Manager) from the station were with us.

It all took place at the beautiful and historic Bala Golf Club, 2200 Belmont Avenue (across the street from the state police) in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia. Only minutes away from Channels 6, 10 and 17 and the radio stations in Bala Cynwyd.

Video from our YouTube Channel

WRTI Presentation

All Things Sports

(video courtesy of Broadcast Pioneers VP Brad Seecof and Metramedia Broadcasting & Studios)

AUDIO:

Broadcast Pioneers member Joan Stack was inducted into our Hall of fame in 2016. She was an interviewer on local station WBUX. While she was on a suburban station, she attracted interviews with many famous people over the decades. One such person was Bill White. The date is Tuesday, June 25, 1985. The program was heard daily.

White played for the Giants and stayed with them when they moved from the Big Apple to the city by the bay. He then went to the Cardinals and eventually to the Phillies. He was an all-star first baseman and a super broadcaster.

He started his broadcasting while playing with the Cards. When traded to the Phils, he did television sports for WFIL-TV and WPVI-TV, Channel 6. He left Philly in 1971 to go to NYC and do the Yanks games along with Phil Rizzuto and Frank Messer. He did local New York sports on WINS, WMCA and WABC.

He did several World Series games for CBS Radio and did sports reports for them. He was one of the announcers on ABC-TV's Monday Night Baseball. He also did several Olympics' coverage. In 1989, he became the president of the National (Baseball) League. White currently lives here in our area. This is an amazing interview.

Listen in Real Audio
Listen in Windows Media Format

Our next piece of audio dates from Sunday evening, October 17, 1965. It is one of the rare newscasts that features the voice of Paul Haggerty. While we have the entire 5 minute newscast in our audio archive, we are only presenting a little less than two minutes here.

Why? First, it was an off air recording. It was made by holding the microphone in front of the radio speaker. Since Paul worked for WFIL Radio, the station was at 560 on AM. It was very susceptible to all kinds of noise, especially during storms. This recording sounds like there was some kind of electrical interference. As the newscast went on, the quality got worse. That's why you're only getting a part of the broadcast. However, it is one of the few done by Paul Haggerty in existence today. This dates from a little less than one year before WFIL became Famous 56.

Listen in Real Audio
Listen in Windows Media Format

Today's News Becomes Tomorrow's History!
(This is what our Digital Archival Project, DAP, is all about!)

A LITTLE BIT OF BROADCAST HISTORY!

Fox 29 reporter Dave Schratwieser
on the streets of Philadelphia
circa 1993

IN TOUCH WITH OUR MEMBERS:

Member Tom Kranz has a new novel out called, "Budland." It's about a guy who killed his news director. Everyone starts to turn on Bud. His lawyer. His wife. Kranz had worked for six different news directors in eleven years. Just to be clear, Tom, himself, has never killed a news director. No, never. Tom has a previous book, Liveshot. Both books are available on Amazon.com. Click here for Amazon (where Broadcast Pioneers gets a portion of your purchase).

In an exclusive, member Harry Hurley does it again. Nineteen hours after Gov. Chris Christie left office, Hurley did an exclusive interview with New Jersey's 55th Governor, the first one to serve two complete terms in a quarter of a century. The conversation lasted for 95 minutes and ran with no commercials on Wednesday morning, January 17th. Just Harry and the former governor going one on one. Harry does morning drive on WPG Radio at the shore. You can listen to the complete broadcast here! Harry Hurley was inducted into our Hall of Fame in 2013.

In case you haven't seen it, the Marquis Who's Who Calendar for 2018 features one of our own as the cover "person" for January. It's none other than Broadcast Pioneers Board of Directors Member Kal Rudman. Fred Marks, editor in chief of Maruis Who's Who notes that "Rudman is a man of innumerable talents and energy, who is a passionate believer in giving back to the community." Kal's name and picture are in lights on a digital billboard in New York's Times Square.

Brother Gerry Molyneaux, a member of Broadcast Pioneers, will be honored by the La Salle University Communications Department during their "Night of the Shining Star." It all takes place on Saturday, March 3rd in the La Salle University Union Ballroom, on the union's second floor. Cost is $75 per person. Gerry is a Professor of Communications for many decades and has served on the Broadcast Pioneers Scholarship Selection Committee for many years.

Broadcast Pioneers Vice-President Bill Kelley was honored last Thursday evening with the 5th Annual John O. Totten Stewardship Award. The Flourtown event had cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and celebrated the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States.

Today's News Becomes Tomorrow's History!
(This is what our Digital Archival Project, DAP, is all about!)

A LITTLE BIT OF BROADCAST HISTORY!

(Left to right) Joe Page, Joe DiMaggio, a listener, Don Kellett and Tom Moorehead
WFIL Radio, Philadelphia
1946

Joe Page was a southpaw pitcher for the New York Yankees and later the Pittsburgh Pirates. Going to the Pirates probably made Page happy as he was born in the western part of Pennsylvania and later in life lived in Latrobe. That town had the distinguished honor of being the place where the banana split was invented in a neighborhood drug store.

Joe DiMaggio also played for the New York Yankees. In fact, he was there for his entire career. While Joe served in the service during the Second World War, his parents were both classified as enemy aliens. Joe's dad was a fisherman and the U.S. Government seized his boat and prohibited him and his wife (Joe's mom) from traveling more than 5 miles from their home without government approval. All this even though Joe was voted the Most Valuable Player in baseball during 1941. DiMaggio's second wife was actress Marilyn Monroe.

Don Kellett was a sports announcer for WFIL Radio during the 1940s. Like so many sportscasters, Don was an athlete. He was a baseball player for the Boston Red Sox. In the early fifties, he became the president and general manager of the Baltimore Colts NFL football team. He also was the Director of Freshman Athletes at the University of Pennsylvania, his alma mater.

Tom Moorehead was a founding member of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. Tom served as president of this organization in 1969 and held that office when he passed away in 1970. He was inducted into our Hall of Fame in 2011. The above photo was taken in conjunction with the WFIL Sports Clinic broadcast. Moorehead was the station's Sports Director. Tom later went on to host television broadcasts on WFIL-TV, Channel 6. Many of those programs were not sports related.

Did you know...

Frank and Marcia Tricker
WPTZ Television, Channel 3, Philadelphia
circa 1945

...Broadcast Pioneers member David White came from a show business family. Well, it's absolutely true.

We asked member David White to tell us a little about his mother and father. David is actually David White Tricker, founder and original member of the rock and roll group, Danny and the Juniors. Here's what he said:

This photo (above) is of my dad, Frank Tricker and my mom Marcia Tricker, professionally known as Barry and Brenda. They were an acrobatic/hand-balancing act that worked together in the thirties and ‘40s all over the United States. My dad put the act together several years before I was born. He taught Mom the tricks and incorporated them into a stage routine.

My parents were both musically inclined. Dad selected the music for the act and rehearsed the band. When Mom was a teenager, she learned to play the piano by ear, and performed at various functions. Barry and Brenda played a variety of venues, beginning with talent shows, where they usually won first or second prize.

Before they could afford a car, they used to hitchhike to their engagements. It was February 1943 when I was added to the act, at the age of three, and we became Barry and Brenda and Company. That’s when I made my stage debut entertaining servicemen at the Theodore Roosevelt Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida during the Second World War.

I’ll always be grateful to my dad and my mom for including me in their act, and exposing me to the wonderful world of Show Business. The applause was great, but it was the live music that inspired me most.

Marcia Tricker
WFIL-TV, Channel 6 (now WPVI)
1955

And here's what David told us about the WFIL photo where his mother is demonstrating Contadina tomato products:

This photo is of my mom, Marcia Tricker, who, after she and my dad separated, became a food demonstrator, a hostess at Schraffts Restaurant, a dance instructor at Arthur Murray, and a sales person at Strawbridge and Clothier.

In 1955, when I formed The Juvenaires, consisting of: Artie Scotese, (later replaced by Joe “Terry” Terranova), Frank Maffei, Danny Rapp, and me, (later to become Danny and the Juniors), my mom and my step-father, Vincent "Sweeny" Del Vecchio, became our acting managers, although no papers were ever signed, and no commissions were ever taken.

They took us to various bars and restaurants, where we sometimes sang for our supper, and occasionally we even got paid. One appearance was the Sons of Italy talent show at the Venus Lounge in South Philly. After weeks of eliminations, we wound up in the finale and came in second, edged out by Bobby Ridarelli, who had not yet cut a record or changed his name to Bobby Rydell.

They also took us to the 500 Club in Atlantic City, where we made an appearance. They were instrumental in gaining us the experience that would serve us well. Later on in life, she did secretarial work for the evangelist Dr. Thea Jones, and she was also a volunteer at the Methodist Hospital in Philadelphia for more than twenty years.

Our special thanks go to TUTV - Temple University Television and The Kal & Lucille Rudman Media Production Center.

They have again underwritten a grant to be used to fund an entire year of all our newsletters for calendar year 2018. We thank them so much for their continued support!

 

You Can Help Us!

When you log into Amazon via http://smile.amazon.com, all eligible purchases earn Broadcast Pioneers a donation of 0.5% from Amazon. However, you must log in to Amazon through http://smile.amazon.com. We have made it simple. You can also log into them using http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/amazon. It's easy to remember and takes you to the same place.

AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices and the same service. The only difference is that they donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to Broadcast Pioneers. IT DOESN'T COST YOU ANY MORE TO DO THIS! Same price to you and we get a donation to help us continue with all our great educational projects! IT'S WIN - WIN!

MORE DIGITAL ARCHIVAL PROJECT NEWS:

VIDEO:

(Left to right) Members Bill Vargus and Sue Serio
(inside their Delaware County home)
Broadcast Pioneers Interview shoot
Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Last week, Broadcast Pioneers did another couple of its video interviews. They were with members Bill Vargus and Sue Serio, husband and wife (and they interviewed each other). Sue is the Fox 29 TV Weather Anchor. Bill used to be the station's sports director.

Before joining the Fox team, Sue was the co-anchor of “ Wake-Up!” the top-rated morning show on WIVB-TV, the CBS affiliate in Buffalo, NY. She also co-anchored the station’s News at Noon.

Serio has hosted numerous radio shows. She worked for stations WKSZ-FM in Philadelphia, where she was co-host of a morning show; WMGK-FM Philadelphia, where she was host and producer of the popular "Magic After Dark," and WBAL-AM in Baltimore where she was mid-day radio host and personality.

Graduating cum laude with a B.A. in mass communications, Serio attended college at Towson State University in Maryland. She started her career in radio while attending Towson State in 1977. A five time Emmy nominee from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Serio was honored by the Academy in November, 1994, when she received the Outstanding Individual Achievement Award for weathercaster. In June, 1995, she received a Certificate in Broadcast Meteorology from Mississippi State University.

Sue was on the air at WHYY-TV 12 (PBS) in Philly, where she worked as weather anchor and feature reporter. That was also where she met her future husband: Broadcast Pioneers member Bill Vargus.

Since graduating from Temple University in 1980, Bill Vargus has spent most of his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia area. Immediately after finishing at Temple, Billy V. became a news anchor on WHAT radio. He also worked at radio stations WHYY, WDAS, and Q102. In 1985, he did the 76ers pre-game and post-game shows when Sixers games were carried on WFIL.

Anxious to break into television, Billy V. landed a job as a writer at KYW-TV and began to learn from the ground up. He was only there 8 months, though, before landing his first on-air TV job as sports anchor for WHYY's Delaware News. "It was a great place to start, because I covered the high school and college teams in Delaware, but also the Philly pro sports teams. The Eagles had just hired Buddy Ryan as coach, they had Reggie White, and then they drafted the late, great Jerome Brown. That was a great locker room, a fun team to cover."

Covering sports became a 24/7 affair when he landed a job doing weekends at WCAU-TV in 1989 while continuing weekdays at WHYY.

It was while working at WHYY that he met Sue Serio. Years later, they became engaged, and when Sue landed a job in Buffalo, New York, Billy V. followed. He was fortunate enough to land a job as the main sports anchor at the very same station where Sue had been hired to host a brand new morning show. In 1994, shortly after their arrival in Buffalo, they married. Their daughter, Nia, was born in Buffalo in 1997.

Despite the success, they both enjoyed in Buffalo, Billy and Sue longed to return to Philadelphia. In 1997, Billy V accepted the position of weekend sports anchor at Fox 29. This time, Sue followed Billy V, as she was hired to do morning weather a few months later.

Watch the Interview from our YouTube Channel

(video courtesy of Broadcast Pioneers VP Brad Seecof and Metramedia Broadcasting & Studios)

AUDIO:

Bernard Meltzer was an advice talk show host on both WCAU Radio and then on WPEN. Meltzer switched stations when WCAU decided to go all news. His last WCAU show was at the end of 1975. The program aired on Sunday mornings from 8 am until 1 pm. Here's the last few minutes of his last program on WCAU.

Listen in Real Audio
Listen in Windows Media Format

Our last piece of audio this month dates from January of 1976. It's the first few minutes of Bernard Meltzer on WPEN Radio. He kept the same time period but just switched stations. Both pieces of Meltzer audio donated by John Hendricks.

Listen in Real Audio
Listen in Windows Media Format

Remember, History is ONLY What Gets Saved!
(If there were no portraits of George Washington, how would we know what he looked like?)

A LITTLE BIT OF BROADCAST HISTORY!

Television Master Control
Third Floor
WFIL-TV, Channel 6, Philadelphia
1964
(note: you can see the TV studios through the windows at the top part of the photo)

We ran the above photo in our December 2017 newsletter. Since that time, Broadcast Pioneers Board Member Steve Sacks (who used to work for decades at Channel 6) gave us this additional information. He said:

In case you are interested, I would say that in the picture is Al Matter at the director's console, Bob Miller on audio, Frank Mack (video facing camera in front of Al Matter) and Fred Bell at MCR. In the studio, Gene Fagan on camera, and a long shot maybe Ralph DeCocco.

IN TOUCH WITH THE INDUSTRY:

Two area broadcasters now have full-time gigs with Beasley Broadcasting. Natalie Egenolf and Tyrone Johnson are at 97.5, the Fanatic here in Philly. Johnson comes forward as the producer of the Mike Missanelli Show. Egenolf is now their update anchor and Social Media Coordinator for the station. Natalie continues as a reporter for Sirius XM and host of Saturday Sports Special on WTEL, 610 (the old WIP-AM). WTEL is also owned by Beasley.

Anne Gress is going to New Jersey 101.5 as Brand Manager. She was PD at WOGL from the last 14 years. New Jersey 101.5 is WKXW and features a format of local telephone talk during the week and classic rock on weekends. She previously was programmer of Star 104.5 and WJJZ (Smooth Jazz). WKXW is one of Townsquare's top-billing stations. Anne replaces Eric Johnson who left New Jersey 101.5 to take over programming duties for Beasley at WPEN, 97.5, The Fanatic.

The new General Manager for the Salem Radio Group here in Philly (WNTP, 990 on AM and WFIL, 560) will be Lorenzo Caldara, who replaces Gregg Stiansen. Stiansen left last year to go to the Adams Outdoor Advertising people. Lorenzo has a quarter of a century experience at New Jersey 101.5.

WMGK-FM is planning 2018 Locals Only Beer Fest in the spring. There will be 25 local breweries there. Best beer gets a free local ad pack on the station or a free live broadcast from their place of business. Members John DeBella and Debbie Calton will be there playing music from their personal collection.

Jeff Benton, a member of our Board sent in this story. He used to be involved with WYBE.

Last April, Independence Public Media of Philadelphia, LLC, owner of WYBE, Channel 35, announced that it was relinquishing its broadcast license to the FCC as part of the Incentive Auction, whereby the FCC will use WYBE's spectrum for wireless broadband (like cell phones).

As a result, Independence Public Media has entered into an agreement with (LVPTC) Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation for a channel-sharing arrangement whereby WYBE will broadcast from an antenna, in Bethlehem, along with WPBH, WFMZ, and WLVT. In addition, Independence Media has donated all of its assets (equipment and programs) to LVPTC. Although WYBE is still accessible via cable, its over-the-air broadcasts in the Philadelphia market have ceased (at least for now).

Although Independence Public Media no longer owns WYBE, the Independence Pubic Media will continue to exist as a foundation for the purpose of funding new and innovative media projects, using the $131.1 million it received from the FCC for relinquishing its license and spectrum.

Beasley Media Group tells us that WJBR-FM is now Mix 99.5 and they continue to be based in Wilmington. Here's what they say:

The New Mix 99.5 WJBR is the evolution of a radio station designed exclusively for Delawareans. You told us you wanted a radio station that plays more music, a radio station that plays a better mix of your favorite songs, a radio station that plays a better mix of songs that make you feel good, and a radio station that plays a better mix of music to get you through the work day!

THIS AND THAT! Little Bits of Information....

Boake Carter
WCAU Radio
1622 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia
1936

We heard that there was an episode of the TV syndicated series, "The Star and the Story" entitled "The Thin Line." It starred David Niven and fifth billing was to Chuck Connors. In that show, they talked about a fictional musician named Red Benson. Well, Philadelphia had their very own Red Benson. He was a star on the radio series, "The Children's Hour" (WCAU Radio) that featured this organization's very first president, Stan Lee Broza. While we remember Red for his telephone-talk show on WPEN Radio, he was also a musician and the first host of the network TV Series, "Name That Tune." Richard Hayes (a one-time host on WCAU Radio) also hosted that series. The one most famous for "Name That Tune," however, is George DeWitt. DeWitt, by the way, grew up in Atlantic City during the depression. He used to stand on the street corners and sing for tips.

Channel 3, WPTZ became WRCV-TV when NBC acquired the station in January of 1956. Since NBC was pushing color (so they could sell color TV set manufactured by NBC owner RCA), they set out to convert Channel 3 to a color facility. They made the switch on September 24th of 1956 in a short ceremony at the station. They had two live color chains and 3 color film chains. By the way, Channel 3 started using the WRCV-TV call letters on February 13, 1956 (just in case you ever wondered).

George Taylor on WTTM had a year-long effort back in 1949. Seems that the Mercer County Airport was controlled by the U.S. Navy but they weren't using the facility. The City of Trenton had no air facilities so Taylor thought the federal government should turn over the airport to the city. Taylor was a commentator on WTTM (Trenton). The change of hands of the airport took place late in 1949. The next day, WTTM did a lot of special features about the change in ownership. Most of them were done by the station's Special Events Director, Ernie Kovacs.

Some of our members may recall that one of the young people on The Paul Whiteman TV Teen Club was June Keegan. The program originated from Philadelphia through the facilities of WFIL-TV, Channel 6 and it was broadcast live on ABC-TV. However, did you know that June had a twin sister, Joan. June is ten minutes the elder. June's favorite singers were Perry Como and Doris Day. June's first broadcast appearance was on the Children's Hour on WCAU Radio, hosted by our first president, Stan Lee Broza. She sang the song, "Some Sunday Afternoon." Shortly, thereafter, June got on Jack Steck's children's program program live from Woodside Park over WFIL. She was on it for 4 years. Jack was our Person of the Year in 1974 and was a founding member of this organization.

Bill Givens came to Philly from Schenectady. Well, in 1952, Bill was sitting behind a KYW Radio mike doing a farm show trading funny stories with sidekick Gene Graves. Bill started in broadcasting at the tender age of 13 when we cut the voice track for a local Ford dealer in New York State. Bill's dad also worked in radio.

Many of you know former Broadcast Pioneers board member Howard Jones as "Happy the Clown." Well, former President Lew Klein told us that the show was an outgrowth of the very successful Santa Claus program that Howard did for the station. They wanted to capitalize on its strength all year round so they created Happy the Clown.

On December 15, 1957, WRCV-TV and WFIL-TV did a half-hour simulcast because of the inauguration of their new antenna systems. It was called, "The Big T (short for tower)." The new tower was 1,100 feet based in Roxborough, which is the highest elevated position inside the city limits. Each station added at least an additional quarter of a million homes to its service area.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES:

KYW Radio Moves to Philadelphia!

KYW Radio Print Advertisement 
December 1934

KYW Radio moved to Philadelphia from Chicago with much fanfare. They started broadcasting in Philadelphia at 6:44 am on Monday, December 3, 1934. A press report from the next day, Tuesday, December 4th said:

With a five-hour broadcast enjoyed by several hundred studio guests and thousands of listeners at firesides throughout the Nation, Philadelphia’s newest radio station, KYW, which went on the air yesterday, was formally dedicated last night.

…The formal welcome to this city was expressed by Mayor Moore in an inaugural program in which a host of artists of the National Broadcasting Company were featured. The Mayor called attention to the fact that Station KYW formerly broadcast from Chicago.

…Among artists and representatives of the National Broadcasting Company heard were Gladys Swarthout, of the Metropolitan Opera Company, Dr. Walter Damrosch, Jessica Dragonette, the Revelers, M.H. Aylesworth, President of the National Broadcasting Company, Rudy Vallee, Ed Wynn and Ben Bernie.

KYW moved from Chicago to Philadelphia seamlessly. They signed off the air in Chicago on Sunday evening, December 2, 1934 and signed back on in Philadelphia on Monday morning, December 3, 1934.

Some sources show that this move was on December 11th. This is simply incorrect, as we have dated news reports that prove the earlier December 3rd date. And better yet, we actually have copies of the December 3, 1934 KYW Radio Program Log. So, there's the proof that they were here on that date.

In 1934, the official name of the company that owned KYW was “The Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company.” Its studios in 1934 were located in the WCAU Building, 1622 Chestnut Street in Center City Philadelphia and WCAU’s General Manager and half-owner, Dr. Leon Levy (a founding member of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia and an inductee into our Hall of Fame) was KYW’s General Manager. Its transmitter was in Whitemarsah.

Philadelphia’s Mayor Joseph Hampton Moore said on December 3, 1934:

The KYW call letters are among the best known in the radio world. With its removal from Chicago to Philadelphia, KYW will provide the radio listening public of the surrounding territory with an additional chain program as well as outstanding local programs.

Others who spoke included Dr. Leon Levy, E.W. Loomis, Middle Atlantic Division Manager of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company and Walter C. Evans, Manager of the Radio Division of Westinghouse.

While the inaugural broadcast was five hours long in Philly (beginning at 8 pm), NBC Radio picked up an hour and a half of it for live broadcast on its Red Network. KYW became the affiliate of the NBC Red Network and the national broadcast was heard from 10:30 to 11 pm and from midnight to 1 am. The broadcast, both locally and nationally ended at 1 am.

Until KYW moved to Philly, the NBC Red Network stations were WLIT and WFI, which each had 500 watts and shared the same frequency of 560 kHz on the AM dial.

On Sunday, December 2, 1934, without any explanation that the NBC Red Network affiliation was moving to KYW, a press report said:

With the opening of program service tomorrow, WLIT and WFI, popular outlets of the National Broadcasting Company will inaugurate a new service bringing to the Philadelphia audience, the blue network WJZ programs instead of the red WEAF programs, formerly heard over these stations. Many new features, heretofore never presented over a local station will now be available.

KYW would stay under the management of WCAU for three and a half years until NBC provided management services in 1938. When KYW moved to Philadelphia, it was at 1020 kHz on the AM dial, the same frequency it was in Chicago. It would be years later when it would re-locate to the 1060 kHz dial position that we know today.

Now you might think that Philadelphia didn’t have a station at 1020 kHz. However, it did. It was WRAX, who moved its station to 920 kHz and shared time with WPEN (On May 11, 1938, WPEN took over WRAX and incorporated its hours into the WPEN schedule).

KYW Radio's First Day of Programming in Philly!

Actual KYW Radio Program Log
Monday morning, December 2, 1934
(originally donated by member Dave Skalish)

We're going to let you see the entire program log for Monday, December 3, 1934 for KYW Radio. It was their first day of broadcast here in Philadelphia. The night before, they signed off the air in Chicago.

Now, you are asking why we just don't put up our copy of the program log. Well, because it just doesn't reproduce well. It will be clearer to do it as a list here in this newsletter. The original was done on a spirit duplicator, commonly referred to as a ditto machine. It was used for things like this because of the low cost. However, because of that, you get a limited number of copies along with a low quality of the copy. The original copies were purple (as was the one we got our copy from). We made it black and white (above) for better reproduction. Dittoed image gradually fade, so there is less contrast than there originally was. The durability of the inexpensive paper used with Ditto machines left a lot to be desired. The paper would often yellow and degrade because of the remaining acid in the untreated pulp used in the paper. Copies of this type pose a real problem for archives. The paper can simply crumble when handled, and often into small pieces. Regardless, this is a major find and we are glad to have our copy. Special thanks go to member Dave Skalish, Chief Engineer of the Entercom Radio Group (formerly CBS Radio) here in Philadelphia.

Monday,   December 3, 1934
     
6:44 AM Opening - Record  
6:45 NBC Tower Health Exercises  
6:45 to 8:00 C&A on ET  
7:45 NBC Pollock & Lawnhurst  
8:00 to 1:00 C&A on ET  
8:00 KYW INAUGURATION ANN. #1  
8:00 NBC Bradley Kincaid  
8:15 Don Halltrio  
8:30 Musical Clock  
9:00 KYW INAUGURATION ANN. #2  
9:00 NBC Organ Rhapsody  
9:30 NBC Eva Taylor - Songs  
9:45 KYW INAUGURATION ANN. #3  
9:45 NBC Mattinata  
10:00 NBC Press Radio News  
10:05 NBC Johnny Marvin  
10:15 NBC Clara, Lu 'n' em  
10:30 KYW INAUGURATION ANN. #4  
10:30 NBC Sweethearts of the Air  
10:45 NBC Joe White, Tenor  
11:00 KYW INAUGURATION ANN. #5  
11:00 NBC Morning Parade  
11:30 NBC Postmaster General James A. Farley  
12:30 PM NBC Merry Madcaps  
1:00 KYW INAUGURATION ANN. #6  
1:00 KYW PROGRAM REVIEW  
1:05 HARDING SISTERS  
1:30 to 5:15 C&A  
1:30 KYW INAUGURATION ANN. #7  
1:30 NBC Forum on Character Building  
2:00 NBC Revolving Stage  
2:45 NBC Vic and Sade  
3:00 NBC Oxydol's Own Ma Perkins  
3:15 NBC Dreams Come True  
3:30 KYW INAUGURATION ANN. #1  
3:30 NBC Women's Radio Review  
4:00 NBC John Martin's Program  
4:15 KYW INAUGURATION ANN. #2  
4:15 NBC Gypsy Trail  
4:30 NBC Roxanne Wallace  
4:45 Welfare Federation  
5:00 NBC George Sterney's Orchestra  
5:15 KYW INAUGURATION ANN. #3  
5:15 NBC Tom Mix Ralston Shooters  
5:30 to 6:35 C&A  
5:30 NBC The Sizzlers  
5:45 Pell, Balas, Tell Sisters  
6:00 Mountain Nuele (print is unclear)  
6:30 NBC Press Radio News  
6:35 NBC Carol Deis  
6:45 KYW INAUGURATION ANN. #4  
6:45 NBC Billy Batchelor  
6:45 to 7:30 C&A  
7:00 Ray Perkins  
7:15 KYW INAUGURATION ANN. #5  
7:15 NBC The German Refugee  
7:30 Thomas C. Shaffer  
7:45 NBC Uncle Ezra  
8:00 KYW INAUGURATION PROGRAM  

Some remarks about December 3, 1934!

Most of the programming on KYW back in their first years here in Philadelphia were NBC Red Network programming. At 6:45 am, there was a program of exercises. It came from the network and featured Arthur Bagley for Metropolitan Life Insurance. Like modern day morning announcers, Bagley did crazy stuff with his sidekick, the Goofus Bird.

We'll move ahead a little to Pollock & Lawnhurst. They were piano players that played, among other things, ragtime music. They were Muriel Pollock and Vee Lawnhurst. The ladies were well known for the piano rolls they made in the 20s and early thirties.

Not long after the Bradley Kincaid program aired, he incorporated a 22 year old banjo player, Marshall Jones into his music. Bradley always said that Jones was not fun and grumpy when Marshall came into the studio for the morning show. He was nicknamed "Grandpa Jones" just three years out of his teens. The name stuck.

Don Halltrio was a typo from 1934. It's actually the Don Hall Trio. They were George Don Hall, Grace Donaldson and Hortense Rose. They originally started in radio in the 20s in Ohio and then moved to NYC to be on the network. Don and Hortense later would marry. This was a network broadcast, even though the log didn't say so.

The Musical Clock was a local program and shortly after coming to Philadelphia, Leroy Miller (later of WFIL fame) became the program's permanent host. Broadcast Pioneers founding member Stu Wayne would later gain fame as the host of the program before moving on to WPEN. You'll remember last month in our "This and That" column that we talked about Halloween Weeks being the host of this show on KYW while the station was in Chicago. They brought the show with them and Halloween moved to another Chicago station.

Eva Taylor had a morning show on NBC Radio where she sang "the blues." For many years, she also had a local program on WOR Radio. She's the mother of actor Clarence Williams III, star of the Mod Squad TV Show. His father and grandfather also had wonderful jazz careers working with many greats including Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong.

"Clara, Lu 'n' em" was actually "Clara, Lu, and Em." It was an early radio soap opera that originated out of Chicago and WGN. After a couple of years, the show went on the network. This program was on NBC's Blue Network but aired here in Philadelphia on KYW, the NBC Red Affiliate. It was the story of three women who lived in a small town. It originally started as a sorority sketch at Northwestern University. When the show moved to CBS Radio (and WCAU), one of the young ladies was portrayed by Fran Allison (of Kulka, Fran and Ollie fame).

Sweethearts of the Air was a broadcast that featured May Singhi Breen (The Original Ukulele Lady) and Peter DeRose. Peter played piano but may be better known for his penmanship of such well-known songs as "Deep Purple," "Have You Ever Been Lonely" and the Christmas standard, "It's a Marshmallow World," a Christmas favorite.

Vic and Sade was a daily radio sitcom back in the thirties. The cast was commonly referred to as "radio's home folks." It was a 15 minute show but like most sitcoms didn't have a continuing story line. The show later moved to CBS as a 30 minute broadcast and onto Mutual Radio. It also was a TV series twice in the early days of television. This, too, was a NBC Blue Network broadcast at this time.

Vic and Sade was followed by "Oxydol's Own Ma Perkins." Oxydol soap powder sponsored the program for decades. It ran for over 7,000 episodes. For awhile, it had the unusual experience of being heard on both the NBC and CBS Radio networks (different episodes). The broadcast originated out of Chicago.

Another popular show carried on KYW was Tom Mix Ralston Straighter Shooters Club. He was one of America's most popular cowboys and was a real one too. He was born right here in Pennsylvania and became a silent movie and later a radio legend. On radio, Tom didn't portray himself but was played by Joe "Curley" Bradley. One of the child actors on this series later would gain fame on television. He was George Gobel and Broadcast Pioneers member Peggy King sang every week on the program.

A LITTLE BIT OF BROADCAST HISTORY!

Educators having a discussion about television's part in education
WPTZ, Philco TV
on the TV Show "Operation Blackboard"
1951

This photo illustrates WPTZ's belief that education belonged on the airwaves. Seen in this picture from left to right are: Dr. H.A. Bean, Mrs. Albert Garside, Dr. Edward Reilly, Dr. Louis P. Hoyer and Martha Gable.

Dr. Bean was superintendent for the Camden Public Schools. Mrs. Garside was the Vice-President of the Philadelphia Home and School Council. Dr. Reilly was the superintendent of the Philadelphia Catholic Schools. Dr. Hoyer was the head of the Philadelphia Public Schools and Martha Gable was the Assistant Director of the Philadelphia School Community Relations Department and supervisor of the station's "Operation Blackboard" telecast.

Gable was inducted into our Hall of Fame in 1992. That was the first year we ever inducted anyone. Others inducted that year include Walter Annenberg, Dick Clark, John Facenda, Ben Gimbel, Atwater Kent, Ernie Kovacs, Vince Leonard, Ike and Leon Levy, Jack and Florence Steck and Max E. Solomon. Quite a distinguished group.

OUR HATS OFF TO YOU FOR GIVING:

We would like to thank the following for their contributions donated at our January luncheon. They include: Art Wilson, Damon Castle, Darryl Seieman, Dorie Lenz, Drew Fox, Gerry Wilkinson, Mel Klawansky, Paul Big Bear, Steve Sacks, Brenda Geras and Ted Hodgins. Also special thanks go to member Bob Backman for the nice gift he included when he paid his dues. Christy Earley sent a nice check to help out with our archival project. Christy is the daughter of member Kathy Tarras Earley. Her dad was member Joe Earley (Mr. Rivets) who worked on the Ernie Kovacs TV Shows that came out of Philadelphia.

We are a federally recognized, state chartered charity with a 501(c)(3) status. Contact us at (856) 365-5600 or e-mail pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com for more details. Your gift to Broadcast Pioneers will help us and may lower your federal income tax. That's win-win, isn't it?

Special Thanks (in alphabetical order) for the gift of Appreciated Stock: (a federal tax advantage for the giver)

Member Marc Howard - $3,600 (put into our general fund to be used where needed)
Member Sylvia Kauders - $5,159.45 (used for the scholarships listed below)

Special Thanks (in alphabetical order) for contribution of $1,000 or more to our DAP, Digital Archival Project:

Member Jerry Del Colliano - $1,500
Member Johnny B. Hall and wife Ginny - $3,000
The Harry Hurley - Hurley in the Morning Charity (Harry is a member)- $1,000
The Shunfenthal Family (in memory of Sherri Shunfenthal's father, Les Waas) - $2,000
Member Marlin Taylor - $1,000
A member who prefers not to be identified publicly - $1,000

Special Thanks (in alphabetical order) for contribution of $1,000 or more into our General Fund to be used where needed:

Member Art Moore - $1,000
Member Brad Seecof and Metramedia Broadcasting & Studios - $1,000

Special Thanks (in alphabetical order) for April 2018 Scholarships:

Members Robin and Ira Adelman - 1 scholarship in memory of member Leon Love
Member R. Alan Campbell - 1 scholarship in memory of Dave Shayer
Member Johnny B. Hall and his wife, Ginny - 7 scholarships
The Harry Hurley - Hurley in the Morning Charity - 1 scholarship (for a Stockton University student)
Member Sylvia Kauders - 1 scholarship (from a grant for 5 yearly scholarships running until 2019)
Member Kal Rudman - 5 scholarships (for Temple University students)
Member Tony Scafide - 1 scholarship
The Shunfenthal Family (in memory of Sherri Shunfenthal's father, Les Waas) - 1 scholarship
Member Marlin Taylor - 1 scholarship
Member Allan Tripp - 1 scholarship in honor of his 100th birthday

Special Thanks (in alphabetical order) for a contribution of $500 or more to our DAP, Digital Archival Project:

Member Bill Webber, Jr. - $500
The Philadelphia Eagles (in honor of Ray Didinger being inducted into our Hall of Fame) - $500
Armitage Shanks (not their real name) - $500
Members Robin and Ira Adelman - $500

Bequests in their Will:

Member Sylvia Kauders passed away recently. In her will, she bequest to the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia, the amount of $5,000. This funding is to be used to underwrite one scholarship per year until gone. These scholarships will start in the year 2020 and continue until 2024. From a previous gift, Sylvia has underwritten one scholarship a year starting in 2015 and continuing until 2019.

Member Dave Shayer passed away last year. In his will, he bequest to the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia, the amount of $5,000. This funding is to be used to underwrite our archival project which was dear to Dave's heart and soul.

Underwrite a complete scholarship and we'll give you credit in the electronic newsletter until the scholarship is awarded. Give us a donation of appreciated stock of $2,000 or more) and we'll list you in our "Thank You" column for two years. Give us a donation of $1,000 or more and we'll list you in our "Thank You" column for a year. Give us a donation of $500 or more and we'll list you in our "Thank You" column for six months. You can select how we use the money: for our archival project, for scholarships or for our general fund to be used as needed.

More Thanks:

A growing portion of the revenues that fund the different activities of the Broadcast Pioneers comes from donations.  This includes our archival project and our scholarship program. Now we are making it even more beneficial for our donors. Broadcast Pioneers is now able to accept gifts of appreciated stock, which provides a significant tax benefit to you. By giving appreciated stock (stock which is worth more now than what it cost when it was purchased), you can get a charitable contribution tax deduction based on the current market value of your stock. At the same time, you avoid the capital gains tax that would arise if you simply sell the stock. So if you'd like to support our educational mission or our archival project and save money on taxes too, please consider making a gift of appreciated stock. We are a federally recognized, state chartered charity with a 501(c)(3) status. Contact us at (856) 365-5600 or e-mail pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com for more details.

Many of us are over 70 and a half years old. If you are, you can donate directly to Broadcast Pioneers from your IRA Account. If you take a distribution and then donate to us, you would have to pay federal tax on the distribution. By donating directly to us, you pay no tax and we get the full amount. Remember, this donation must go directly to us in order for you to avoid paying income tax. This direct donation may also prevent you from going into a higher tax bracket. That's always good. Speak with your tax advisor about this.

Don't be left out. You too can make a pledge. It's never too late. You can earmark it for scholarships, our Digital Archival Project or our general fund. Thanks so much for your support. If you forgot to make an extra contribution (cash or memorabilia) and would like to do so now, you can do so. We would be thrilled to hear from you at: PO Box 2886, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004, call us at (856) 365-5600 or e-mail us at: pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com

A FINAL THOUGHT....

In December, we ran "A Final Thought" from Harry Harris' unpublished book, "TV Star Secrets." We received several "card and letter" from our members asking for more. So, here's another one. Harry wrote:

"John Forsythe said he named his first daughter Page 'after a girl I was in love with when I was 9 years old. She promised to name her first son John, but I don't know if she kept her part of the bargain. When my second daughter, Brooke arrived, it took five or six days to pick an equally theatrical name. I made a lot of bad jokes about naming her Page 2.'"

Member Harry Harris
from an unpublished manuscript entitled
"TV Star Secrets"
sole copy resides in our archives
originally written in the mid-1970s
(Harry was the TV Critic for the Evening Bulletin & later the Philadelphia Inquirer)

Please contact us by e-mail at pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com or by mail to: Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia, PO Box 2886, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004. Your stories are important, to you, to us, and your colleagues. Contact us today and we’ll include your story in the next newsletter!

© 2018, Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia
All Rights Reserved


The e-mail address of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com
For luncheon reservations call (856) 365-5600 or e-mail us at: rsvp@broadcastpioneers.com