Les Waas, a Broadcast Pioneer

Joseph Cox, Unidentified person with Les Waas
A WFIL Radio Event
circa 1964

We don't have lots of information about this photo, but here's what we do know. It was part of a collection of WFIL radio and television photographs (almost all dated from 1964 through 1966). Broadcast Pioneers member Paul Norton (at WFIL Radio and Channel 6 for decades) said that it was a WFIL radio event. Why? Because of the name tag on Broadcast Pioneers member Les Waas' jacket.

Blowing up that portion of the photo, we can see that WFIL Radio came first on the name tag. The bottom portion said in machine typeset printing: WFIL Radio - TV 6. If it were a general WFIL event for all the stations, Paul said that WFIL-TV would have been first on the tag. Same thing if it were a television event.

We can date the photo as being mid 60s because of the thick logo 6 on the tag. It wasn't used before moving to City Line Avenue in January of 1964. Les Waas said that much after that date, and he would have had a moustache. The women's hair styles also seem to confirm the 1964 dating.

We don't know where the event was held but we think that it may have been at the new WFIL studios on City Line. It is possible that it was the grand opening of WFIL Radio from their new facilities. Can anyone supply additional information?

The man on the left is Joe Cox of J. Cunningham Cox, a local advertising agency. Les Waas is on the right. At that time, he had his own agency, but had worked for Joe in the early fifties.

Les Waas e-mailed: The only familiar ones on the photo are Joe Cox, Les Waas and the meatballs. The ladies were possibly employees of J. Cunningham Cox. It must have been at a WFIL party (according to the visible nametag). ...Joe created the idea of News at 11, but had difficulty getting it accepted at WCAU-TV. Who would watch anything that late? But Esslinger Beer agreed to pay for it, and John Facenda became the first 11 pm news host on TV. (No "anchors" yet).

By the way, when we blew up the button on the lady's dress, it said: Jazz and Get Pat. Les had a different button on but it was not readable. Paul Norton said that the station didn't have any jazz programs, but we're not sure what the buttons meant.

If you have additional information or can clarify any of this, please e-mail us and the e-mail address below.

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