The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia

45 Years of KYW Newsradio!
Wednesday, June 16th

Spectacular, sensational, informative, magnificent, dramatic, impressive…these are just a few of the words being used to describe this year's luncheons and the June gathering is certain to be right up there where the air is rare! 45 Years of KYW Newsradio (can you hear the teletype in the background?) will be full of great stories, memories and tales of this legendary radio station.

At 5 am on Saturday, June 19, 1965, WRCV Radio returned to being called KYW. At that time, the legendary radio call letters returned to Philadelphia and within months became the city's only "all news - all the time" radio station.

It all takes place on Wednesday, June 16th at the beautiful Bala Golf Club, 2200 Belmont Avenue in Philadelphia! Just minutes away from Channels 6, 10 and 17 plus the radio stations in Bala Cynwyd. Tons of free parking and for those who want it, there's also valet service.

(Left to right) Sam Katz, Bill Bransome and Richard Maloney
Atlantic City remote covering the opening of the first Jersey casino
May 1978
Photo taken by Warren Maurer who was GM at the time
Picture sent to us by Sam Katz

Our moderator will be Broadcast Pioneers President-Elect Jerry Klein who at one time worked at KYW Newsradio.

On the panel we'll have:

Harry Donahue, the current morning KYW Newsradio anchor
Bud Galow, one of the best loved former techs at KYW Newsradio
Jay Lloyd, a KYW Newsradio bureau chief for a third of a century
Richard Maloney, a KYW Newsradio reporter for 20 years
Roy Shapiro, formerly the General Manager of KYW Radio
Fred Walters, former KYW Newsradio reporter, editor and executive

Live on the telephone will Steve Porter, the station's very first all news anchor and making introductory remarks will be Steve Butler, the station's Director of Programming.

From our archives, watch a segment from KYW-TV's "Evening Magazine" hosted by Broadcast Pioneers member Ray Murray. The year is 1985 and the clip is entitled, "The Story of KYW Newsradio." You'll need the Real Player installed on your computer in order to watch.

"The Story of KYW Newsradio"

On September 21, 1965, at twelve noon, KYW Radio changed format from music to all news, all the time. The last disc jockey on the station was our very own Bill Webber. From our archive, you can listen to the format change here.

(Left to right) Editor Ed Belkin and News Director Nelson Cohen
at KYW Newsradio
circa 1978
Photo by Mark Tomizawa
Picture sent to us by Sam Katz

EDITOR'S NOTE: Why was Nelson going after Ed? Well, we don't know. However, one explanation is that Nelson heard this Herb Clarke - Dick Covington piece of production.

Meet and greet (networking) starts at 12 noon with a full-course lunch including salad, coffee or tea and dessert being served at 12:30 pm. There's also a crudité and cheese table. Cash bar available! The cost is still only $25 per person and is open to all our members, any person in the industry or associated fields; both people now active and retirees. You do NOT have to be a member to attend. Make your reservations early by calling (856) 365-5600. It's going to be a great turn out. Attending this luncheon is the biggest "no-brainer" on the planet! Be there and say hi to old friends (and make some new ones).

This season’s luncheons have had record-breaking attendance. If you miss the next one, you will have missed an extraordinary experience and a good time! But don't worry. Your friends and colleagues will tell you about it. RESERVATIONS ARE CRUCIAL! Don’t wait until the last minute, reserve now! This is sure to be another blockbuster turn out. Make your reservation now by calling (856) 365-5600. This is THE place to be on Wednesday, June 16th!

The next board meeting will be on Wednesday, June 16th at 10:15 pm at the Bala Golf Club. Beginning in September 2010, board meetings will move from every 4 months to every 3 months with board meetings in September and December of 2010 plus March and June of 2011. Mark your calendars.

You must be assigned to this committee in order to attend. Members have already been notified by mail as to the time and place of this committee's remaining meeting which is in the middle of June.

In the words of Ilse Poindexter, “It was a beautiful afternoon. It meant so much to have all this love extended to us.” And, that sums up the wonderful May luncheon that was “A Tribute to Malcolm Poindexter.”

Our moderator was Broadcast Pioneers member Trudy Haynes who did a wonderful job. The panel included:

We were delighted to have Ilse Poindexter, Malcolm’s wife joining us along with Malcolm’s sons, Malcolm III and David. Plus on the phone was Broadcast Pioneers member Al Primo, who created the “Eyewitness News” format and was the one who hired Poindexter.

And then, we had the 3 Billion Second Man, Gene Crane all the way from Mexico. Gene was a former NBC 10 reporter and anchor. He turned 90 last week, on May 27th, (that’s almost 3 billion seconds) and did a fantastic report of what he’s been up to and how he’s doing. In Gene’s words, “It’s okay to retire, but retire to DO SOMETHING!”

We have complete audio and video of the luncheon on our website plus 81 photos. If you missed the event or just want to revisit it, you can check it out here!

"It’s so good seeing some of the people Dad worked with. We are thankful to the Broadcast Pioneers for doing this and remembering Dad." David Poindexter

"It was a wonderful event. The stories and the memories were wonderful." Malcolm Poindexter III

"Excellent, heart warming, reality, such fond memories. I’m so proud we can remember someone with such dignity and love." Trudy Haynes

“This afternoon was absolutely perfect for Malcolm’s family and everyone who was here.” Robin Mackintosh.

“A wonderful warm person. He was an absolute delight to work with and a gentleman.” Joanne Calabria, Vice President, CBS Television Stations

“What an amazing event. It totally re-captured the spirit of Malcolm. The Broadcast Pioneers did a great job with the line-up.” Dick Standish

"Malcolm was such a nice sweet guy. I wish I had gotten to know him better. These luncheons are so wonderful!" Gene Crane

Since Bill Webber died in office as our Chairman of the Board, that left a vacancy in that position. The Board of Directors will vote on a new Chairman to fill the remainder of Bill's term at our next board meeting, June 16th. By tradition, the last past president whose membership is currently up-to-date acts as a temporary Chairman until the board vote. That person is Pat Delsi, our new Acting Chairman of the Board. Pat served as our Chairman of the Board for three years when Ed Papazian (2001 to 2002) and Bill Webber were our presidents (2002 to 2004). Pat served as our 34th president from 1999 to 2001.

Robin Roberts, former Philadelphia Phillies baseball pitcher passed away on Thursday May 6th in Florida. Robin was a sports broadcaster on WPEN radio in the late sixties. His good friend, United States Senator Jim Bunning, (who pitched a perfect game for the Phils) said; “A truly great all-time pitcher and Hall of Famer in baseball, but even more, a great human being who I will miss dearly.”

Carl Morris, 77, father of Broadcast Pioneers member Carol Chrzanowski, “Philly Carol” from WVLT, Cruisin' 92.1, died suddenly on May 17th. Carol was with her dad just hours before his passing. Everything seemed fine and so she went on to the radio station to do her broadcast. He died a few hours later.

James E. Heitmann, Jr. (Terry), passed away on May 2, 2010. He was 80. He was a camera man for KYW, CBS 3 for 38 years, retiring in 1991. For 13 of those years, he was a camera operator on "The Mike Douglas Show" which was syndicated and was recorded at its flagship station, Channel 3. He was an original home owner in Levittown, PA.

Art Linkletter, 97, passed away on Wednesday, May 26th. His "House Party" broadcast started in radio during 1944 with its last day on radio (CBS) being October 13, 1967. We have three of those broadcasts in our audio archive, all from the last week of broadcasting including the last show. The TV version ran from 1952 to 1969. Linkletter and Broadcast Pioneers member Peggy King appeared as guests on The Jack Benny TV Show on October 23, 1955. That show is in our video archive.

Channel 6 Air Personality Rex Morgan (holding the microphone)
Devon Horse Show, Devon, PA
May 29, 1965

Richard Maloney has had a broad and distinguished career as one of the most effective, credible & creative communicators in our region. He is Director of Public Affairs for SEPTA and also served as Senior Director of Public Relations/Operations for Independence Blue Cross. From 1970 to 1990, he was a reporter for KYW Newsradio.

Dick Standish is an award winning veteran reporter who joined KYW-TV Channel 3 in 1979, after working at sister station KYW Newsradio, for twelve years. Over his career, Dick has interviewed numerous celebrities and dignitaries, including President George Bush, the late Senator Edward Kennedy, former First Lady Roslyn Carter and many others.

Rick Williams has been in the broadcasting business since 1977 and has worked at WCSD-FM, Tri-State ITFS and NJN, the New Jersey Network where he has been for the last 29 years. He's currently the network's Assistant Director of Engineering. He also does outside freelance production services among many other things.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Member Rick Williams is no relation to WPVI's news anchor by the same name. He is also not related to the other Rick Williams at Channel 6 who is an Executive Producer for Action News.

Kalie Desimone, one of our newest and youngest members (who attended the May luncheon) is in her early twenties. Kalie has been appearing in TV commercials since she was a baby, and meets our ten-year “in the business” requirement! She is a recent graduate of Elizabethtown College with a BA in Communications.

Susan Buehler is Senior VP for Bellevue Communications Group. Susan is a veteran journalist with outstanding news judgment honed by more than 17 years of experience in television news at stations in Philadelphia, Des Moines, and Sioux Falls. From 1993 to 2001, Susan served as a planning editor, producer and reporter at Fox 29 in Philadelphia.

Orien Reid was Philadelphia’s leading consumer reporter in the 70s, 80s and 90s. For 26 years, she worked at KYW-TV and later at WCAU-TV. In 2007, The Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists presented her with the PABJ's Community Service Award. She has also been an Ambassador for Alzheimer's Disease International.

Robin Mackintosh is recently retired veteran reporter of CBS 3, Eyewitness News. Known as “a reporter’s reporter,” he has covered major events affecting the Delaware Valley during the last third of a century. He has interviewed Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Princess Grace Kelly, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and many others.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Bill Webber's granddaughter was named Grace after the Princess (see Grace Kelly's photo at a WPEN radio booth at Philadelphia's Civic Center) and also because of Bill's long time friendship with the Kelly family. See a picture of Bill with Jack Kelly.

That sets another all-time record in membership. We now have 373 members. We are thrilled and we hope to see as many of you as possible at our next luncheon.

Did you know...

(Left to right) Rocket Expert Bill Bergen & Newsman Roy Neal
WPTZ, Channel 3 in Philadelphia
1951

Roy Neal covered space flights before going to NBC-TV News. Did you know that? He did it right here in our market at Channel 3. Neal, who went through the doors to the Johnson Space Center in Houston more times than many astronauts, was born and raised right here in Philadelphia. He worked at WIBG Radio and then in 1947 went to WPTZ (now KYW-TV) for five years before joining NBC-TV where he stayed for over three decades. He was their resident space expert. Roy e-mailed the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia:

It was Bill Bergen, who was in charge of rocket testing for the Martin Company. Bergen went on to Rockwell, in later years, where he was prominent in mounting the spacecraft that sent men to the moon.

At the time of this coverage, he was launching V-2 adaptations from the German rocket program at White Sands, NM and some designed by the Martin Company. He had the foresight to put a camera on board and it sent back some of the first pix of earth as seen from space. We showed them on TV....

All that happened circa ...1951. We carried the aerospace theme even farther on our "Open House" show by doing a series on what H bombs would do from orbital altitude. Dr I. M. Levitt, who took over Fels Planetarium from Roy Marshall, drafted illustrations so accurate that years later, when the U.S. detonated an H bomb, his overlays matched those of the real test!

Roy Neal was friendly with many of the American astronauts visiting them at their homes. He became the NBC television network expert on space flight. He was their walking encyclopedia about space. Neal reported on space flights on all the US manned flights during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs and into the space shuttle flights.

Much of this TV coverage resides in our audio archive section. While it is audio only, most of it is thought to be the only known copy of wall-to-wall television network coverage in existence anywhere in the world. (We have about 200 hours). The networks just didn't save the many hours of coverage because of the expense of preserving it. Only highlight video reels are known to have survived. Our archival material was air checked off of various Philadelphia television and radio stations. While it is only television audio (and no video), it is thought to be unique and one of a kind.

But back to Roy. Neal was the pool network reporter on duty when word of the problem with Apollo 13 broke. His feeds were carried on all three television networks and on the various radio networks.

Roy Neal was writing his life story at the time of his death. It was all about growing up in Philadelphia, working at WIBG Radio and then working at Channel 3. He had gotten only three chapters written (taking us through his work at WPTZ) when he passed away. The bad news is that Roy Neal only wrote three chapters. The good news is that Roy planned ahead and sent us those first three chapters for use on our website. They are available only on our website. It is exclusive.

Read the first three chapters!

U. S. Viking 7 Rocket Takes Off
WPTZ, Channel 3 in Philadelphia
August 7, 1951

View of Earth taken from Viking 7
WPTZ, Channel 3 in Philadelphia
August, 1951

The V-2 was originally developed by the Germans during WWII. Many of the German rocket scientists that surrendered to the United States at the end of the war were relocated to White Sands in New Mexico. On April 16, 1946, the U.S. launched its first V-2 rocket. The U.S. Navy's Viking rocket was conceived shortly thereafter based on the V-2 design.

The first Viking was flown at White Sands in May 1949. Twelve Vikings were built, each differing from the one before. Ten of these rockets were fired from White Sands for upper air research. Viking 4 was fired from sea near Christmas Island in the Pacific from the USS Norton Sound. Viking 8 was never flight tested -- it broke free from its restraining bolts during a pre-flight static test of its rocket engine prior to its test flight.

In its final configuration, Viking was 45 feet long and 45 inches in diameter. The major structural material was aluminum. It was powered by a liquid propellant rocket engine producing 20,000 pounds of thrust using liquid oxygen and alcohol. Like the V-2, peroxide was decomposed to provide steam for operating its propellant turbo-pump. It was capable of carrying more than1,000 pounds of instruments to an altitude of at least 150 miles. The Viking was later integrated into the Vanguard program.

The above left photo is of Viking 7 which was launched on August 7, 1951 from White Sands. It did Upper-air pressure, density; solar and cosmic radiation research. It set an altitude record for single-stage rockets of 136 miles and reached a speed of 6,600 kph. This was the highest flight of the original airframe design.

So if you thought Roy Neal didn't start covering space travel until he went to NBC, you would be wrong. He did it all right here in Philly on Channel 3. Neal died in August of 2003. His son, David Neal (not related to Broadcast Pioneers member Dave Neal) has been an Executive Producer for NBC-TV for decades.

This regular monthly column is written and researched by Gerry Wilkinson

IN TOUCH:

Our 2009 Person of the Year and Broadcast Pioneers Board member Bill Wright, Sr. tells us he recently had a wonderful conversation with Kitty Emerson, wife of Bill Emerson who did news and sports for six years on WIBG. Bill Emerson was confined to a wheel chair for 12 years and developed a blood disease, but nothing kept him from what he loved doing. He was the PA announcer for the New York Giants. Wright remembers most, his “incredible sense of humor, that kept everybody laughing!” Thanks for sharing Bill.

Broadcast Pioneers member and Broadcast/TV Consultant Joe Pelletier tells us that Donald Barnhouse (also a member) has his commentary most nights at 10:25 pm on Channel 69, WFMZ in Allentown, Pa. The station is available on most area cable services throughout the Delaware Valley. For many years, Don was the featured commentator on the TV 10 "Big News" with Broadcast Pioneers member John Facenda.

On Thursday, May 6th, we saw WPVI-TV's Adam Joseph sitting in the audience of the "Live with Regis and Kelly" broadcast airing nationally and carried here in Philadelphia on 6ABC. The show is produced by WABC-TV's Vice-President of Programming Art Moore, a member of the Broadcast Pioneers. He was this organization's 22nd President (1984 to 1985) and our 22nd Chairman of the Board in 1985 to 1986. Well, we contacted Art and asked him to explain just why Adam Joseph was there and he said:

Adam is a friend of mine and has wanted to see our show from the studio, so he came up on his days off. We have been trying to co-ordinate the visit since Christmas. Several years ago when our show did a week on a cruise ship down the East Coast, Adam did a piece for WPVI with us on board when we stopped in the port there to do our show. Kelly has also worked with him when she has been a guest during Channel 6's coverage of the Thanksgiving Day Parade. One big happy family!

...Regis (was) talking to Adam about being a weathercaster, something Regis has been kidding all week as a career he should have followed. It was typical Regis and very funny. Hope all is well there. Enjoyed the latest newsletter. On another matter I am about to produce for WABC-TV locally in New York a half hour special on traveling to Philadelphia as a short trip destination. It will be airing in NY on Saturday, June 19th at 7:30 pm. We are doing this in conjunction with the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Bureau. Small world! I'll have crews there in a couple of weeks shooting features, etc.

Watch Adam on "Regis & Kelly"

Peggy King, age 4
Greensburg, Pa
1934

"Well, I'll be a dirty bird," in the words of George Gobel. Broadcast Pioneers member Peggy King (former girl singer on the network George Gobel TV Show) tells us she’ll be performing in New York (probably at a hotel restaurant/lounge) this summer with Jack Jones (the singer, not the news anchor or Channel 10 tech). Peggy said, “I’m still singing like I always did.” We’ll provide performance details when available.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The above photo was taken of Peggy King in 1934 in a western Pennsylvania town called "Greensburg." Its population today is 16,000 with a much smaller population in the thirties. Living in that same town in the same year was a family by the name of Wilkinson including 12 year-old Floyd. That pre-teen boy grew up to be the father of our current president, Gerry Wilkinson. The two families, to our knowledge, didn't know each other. One other thing. Peggy's father was also named Floyd, who also grew up in Greensburg. Both Peggy and Gerry say that their fathers were the only person they ever met in their lives who was named Floyd and both Floyds came from the same small town.

Broadcast Pioneers member Al Primo’s “Teen Kids News” is going strong. Teen Kids News was one of only six kid reporters invited by First Lady Michelle Obama to the White House for the launch of her Anti-Obesity Campaign in Washington. You can watch the series online. The show is also carried on WPVI's digital sub-channel 2 (Channel 245 on many Comcast systems) Sundays at 9 am.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Tune in an hour earlier (Sundays at 8 am) and watch an episode of "Captain Noah's Magical Ark." Captain Noah and Mrs. Noah are, of course, none other than Broadcast Pioneers members Pat and Carter Merbreier. Can't wait until Sunday? View Captain Noah clips from our archive right here on our website. You'll need the Real Player in order to watch.

Speaking of the rascally ol' captain, he had recently published a 36-page pamphlet about his life and experiences. Thanks to Carter for his permission to reproduce it here for you to enjoy. Click on it to read (it is a 3 meg file so it may take a little while to appear). Or you can right click on the link and choose SAVE AS to save the pdf file to your computer's hard drive. Captain Noah's "A Small, Clear Image of the Past"

Cine Magnetics, Inc of Armonk, New York has acquired the business of Action Duplication, Inc. of West Conshohocken. Since 1990, ADI has been a leader in providing high-quality VHS, then CD and DVD duplication services to companies in the Mid-Atlantic region. We only mention this because Action Duplication was owned for almost two decades by Broadcast Pioneers member Joel Levitt who died in April of 2008.

2009 Hall of Famer and member Gene London recently did three “packed” (standing room only) shows at Boscov’s Department Store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ where he displayed a Traveling Exhibit of his world-class collection of famous Hollywood Gowns and accessories. The day before the event, he appeared on NBC 10's "10 Show." You can watch Gene on the show by clicking here! If you missed the New Jersey shows, have no fear. This Saturday, June 5th, Gene does it all over again at the Neshaminy Mall Boscov's store in Bensalem, PA. Congratulations Gene!

AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

A couple weeks ago, we have mailed out all our membership renewals. You should have received yours by now. It's important that you correct any information on the form that is wrong. Otherwise, you will have incorrect info printed in the next edition of our membership directory that is due out this fall. Also, please take the time and mail back your renewal. Dues are a main source of revenue for us. If you can afford it and wish to do so, please check the extra contribution box. Remember, we are a federally recognized, state chartered charity with 501(c)(3) status. Your contributions and membership dues may be tax deductible. Check with your tax advisor. Without you, there is no Broadcast Pioneers.

VCRs AND OTHER EQUIPMENT:

We are still looking for a few, good VCRs to be donated to us. Without good playback equipment, we cannot continue to digitize our video archive. Major companies like Sony and Panasonic no longer made stand alone VCRs. We are waiting for someone to donate a good condition playback machine so that we can continue the our digitalization process. The cheap VCR/DVD player combos that are on the market today do not contain the proper electronics to correct record errors during playback, so we must rely on older machines.

If you have a VCR to donate, contact us at (856) 365-5600 or e-mail us at: pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com. Remember, for the next twenty years or more, we will be receiving donations of VHS tape for our archival project. You have to have something to play them on, you know. So, please keep us in mind as you move over to HD and DVRs.

ON THE HEALTH FRONT:

The family of Tom Dooley, tell us that Tom is progressing. He has a physical therapist, speech therapist, and an occupational therapist. His neurologist said, “He is doing remarkably well this soon after surgery.” Recently, he was able to lift his left leg off the floor and put it on a chair with no assistance from anyone and not using his arm to help. We’re thinking positive thoughts for you Tom!

(Left to right) Roy Weissing and Diane Betzendahl (now Diane Allen)
KYW-TV Eyewitness News Set
1977

We followed-up on the story about 2005 Hall of Fame inductee Senator Diane Allen, who recently underwent surgery for an aggressive form of oral cancer. Part of her tongue and part of the floor of her mouth were removed. Her Doctors told her she probably would never speak normally again. She has undergone months of speech therapy and is facing one more surgery in this month. When we spoke with Diane (who is a long-time friend of the editor), she sounded like her regular self. She has been back to her Trenton and Burlington County offices for the past few weeks, and says she is on the road to recovery. Diane told us, “During the darkest days of my past six months, I heard from so many people I had not heard from in such a long time, particularly TV friends. It meant the world to me.” Diane, the Pioneers are pulling for you!

Watch Diane Allen be inducted into our Hall of Fame!
(Available as Real Video only)

Special thanks go out to members Robin Mackintosh and Johnny B. Hall for their personal donations to Broadcast Pioneers this past month. The organization welcomes all donations from its members and friends at any time. Your support directly contributes to the ongoing success of our mission.

We also thought it would be nice to recognize those members who have made an extra contribution when they renewed their membership. Thank you! They are: Vince Leonard, Marie Pantarelli, Nicky DeMatteo, Les Waas, Ray Fiedler, Mike Strug, Mel Gollub, Frank Stone, Anthony DiFlorio, Tom Moran, Joanne Harmelin (of Harmelin Media), Allen Stone, Bill Kelley, Sally Berlin, Elliot Abrams, Dr. Gordon Gray, Leon Love and Kenny Jeremiah.

If you sent in your renewal and forgot to made an extra contribution and would like to do so now, it's not too late. We would be thrilled to hear from you at: PO Box 2886, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004.

We received an actual Thank You card from Rachel Jakubowitcz at Muhlenberg College in Allentown. In this day of electronic correspondence, this is so unusual. She was one of 13 college students who won a Broadcast Pioneers scholarship awarded in April. She said in part:

And speaking of scholarships, we just received a check for $1,000 from member Esther Kurtz. This scholarship award will be given out in the Spring of 2011. Esther has shown the generous nature of the Kurtz family by underwriting an annual scholarship for five years now through the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia in the memory of her late husband, David Kurtz, founder of B-101. The future broadcasters thank the entire Kurtz family.

Broadcast Pioneers member Ed Eisen has a new book on the web. “Soul for Sale: Confessions of a Philadelphia Spin Doctor.” The book chronicles the 52-year career of the award-winning journalist whose message to young people is to find happiness by staying clear of public relations opportunities that toss deception into the public discourse. The story is a remembrance full of history, drama and laughter of 52-years on deadline. Good luck Ed, sounds like a great read!

Broadcast Pioneers member John Carlton and his wife Gen took some time to speak with us about his long-time friend and colleague, Bill Webber. They both came to Philadelphia around the same time and started on the same day at channel 6. John, couldn’t remember the year but said, “Dick Clark was still on the radio.” Turns out Bill would do commercials for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News with John’s wife, Genevieve posing as Bill’s wife. During one of the spots, Genevieve sat on Bill’s lap and was stroking his head telling him how wonderful he was, she had his paper, etc. when all of a sudden Bill’s hair decided to make a move and slid off! As John and Genevieve tell us, fortunately Bill had a great sense of humor and took it in stride. To this day, some people who remember that commercials believe that Gen was Bill's wife.

Our favorite mike/sound guru and member, Dave Michaels (son of Pat Delsi) has been involved in several Delaware Valley Walk-A-Thons for ARC. Dave tells us he’s very excited about this organization and their accomplishments. Another “walk” is scheduled for the fall of this year.

Want to see and hear Broadcast Pioneers member Kenny Jeremiah? Sunday, June 6th; Kenny Jeremiah & Bitter Sweet at Cousin Mario’s Restaurant and Lounge, May’s Landing and Sunday, June 13th; The Deck, Trump Marina Casino with the Jeremiah Hunter Band. And of course, we can't forget Broadcast Pioneers member Charlie Gracie who will be at Club Jimmy D's, Folcroft on the 11th and 25th of June. And at the end of the month, June 30th, there's a rock and rock show starring Charlie and Shirley Aston Reeves (of the Shirelles) at Ridley High School, also in Folcroft. Plus, we can't forget members Joe Terry and Frank Maffei of Danny and the Juniors. They want everyone to know that Danny & the Juniors will be appearing at the Community Center in Avalon, NJ on June 5th at 7 pm and then they're off for on-the-road appearances in Denver and Buffalo later this month.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Frank Maffei tells us the story that he and Joe hung out with a very tough crowd of guys in South Philly. They all carried knives. That is, all except Frank. He carried a razor. "On the streets," Maffei said, "it was a real problem because I never could find an electrical outlet to plug it into" We're not sure that this is a true story. What do you think?

This just in at press time. We heard from member Rod "Storm" Phillips who tells us that Mike Bove and Elaine Soncini yanked him out of retirement. He now has the weather duties on the WHAT Radio morning show. He said, "WHAT (1340) is a reasonable facsimile of the old WPEN." He also passed along this story about Russ Miller who is now 84. For years, he was a Delaware County Realtor in Clifton Heights. Then he developed a real estate telephone call-in show on WWDB to go head-to-head against Jay Lamont's program on WPEN. Russ' daughter, Connie Bottinelli wants everyone to know that her dad, on Memorial Day, did a really well done, perfectly paced and produced live audience show in Florida when Russ now lives. Way to Go, Russ!

With all the talk about the Supreme Court lately, we thought you might enjoy listening to a condensed version of a WDAS News Special entitled: The Supreme Court, Past and Present. Dating from March of 1971, it was narrated, written and produced by Broadcast Pioneers member Bob Perkins who was News Director of WDAS AM & FM at that time.

(Left to right - seated) Andrea Mitchell and Dick Standish
(Left to right - standing) Richard Maloney, Dick Sheeran, Bob Witten and Bill Bransome
1976
Photo sent to us by Broadcast Pioneers member Dick Standish

Pennsylvania held a primary election a couple of weeks ago. Well, we have in our archive, KYW Newsradio coverage of the April 25, 1972 primary election. You'll hear Sandy Starobin, Gene Scott, Joe Donovan, Dick Standish, Vince Lee, Dan Morrow, Ken Shuttleworth, Jay Lloyd and Andrea Mitchell. Audio is available only in the Real Audio format.

Because of all the excitement about the Philadelphia Flyers and the Stanley Cup, Ice Hockey seems to be on everyone's mind. Because of this, we thought you might enjoy hearing a 13-minute excerpt of a Philadelphia Falcons and New York Rovers (a farm team of the Rangers) Ice Hockey game broadcast over WFIL Radio on February 6, 1946. By the way, if you listen carefully, you can hear Tom Moorehead (the 8th President of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia) mention a player on the NYC team called "Shero." Tom was talking about Fred Shero who led the Flyers to two Stanley Cups during the 1974 and 1975 seasons.

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

We were “on the scene,” when Broadcast Pioneers member Tom Moran and (in his words) the “usual suspects;” member Andy Kortman (WNJC, 1360AM), member Dean Tyler, board member Ed Hurst, and Bobby Russo got together for a luncheon gathering at the Anchorage Restaurant in Somers Point, New Jersey. Turns out that Tom Moran and member Tom Lamaine had had lunch a few days earlier with Broadcast Pioneers Vice President-Elect Bill Wright Sr., when Moran mentioned to Lamaine about the get together. He said, “I might just show up.” Low and behold the guys are having lunch when Tom Lamaine strolled in. Moran said, “The reaction in the room was phenomenal when Tom walked in.” Another great get together of the legends of our industry! A great time was had by all!

"Shortly after KYW Radio switched to all news, a lady called the station and spoke with me. She asked if I could play a specific record for her, and I told her, 'Sure, we'll get it on right after the news.'"

45 Years of KYW Newsradio! Wednesday, June 16th

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

45 Years of KYW Newsradio!
Wednesday, June 16th

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