y***@yahoo.com
2007-11-19 13:31:11 UTC
I only learned Sunday in the Philadelphia Inquirer of the death of
Philadelphia radio legend, Hy Lit, "The Potentate of The Keystone
State" (ne: Hyman Litsky) the day before from complications from knee
surgery days before. Lit was the spirit of Philadelphia radio in the
1960's on old WIBG ("Wibbage"), Radio 99 (AM 990), and stated by some
sources that his Sunday Hall Of Fame (mostly oldies sprinkled with a
few new records) pulled in a 71% listening share at the height of its
popularity (probably before advent of format flipping WFIL in late
1967), and certainly I remember reading at the time in teenage years,
that Wibbage had 45% daytime listener share.
In a well-written obituary piece for today's (Monday, November 19)
Philadelphia Daily News by John F. Morrison, I excerpt main parts; so
some may read this later after it is not free (don't rat me out):
[open quote]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted on Mon, Nov. 19, 2007
Voice of an era is silenced
By JOHN F. MORRISON
Philadelphia Daily News
CALLING ALL MY BEATS, beards, Buddhist cats, big-time spenders, money
lenders, teetotalers, elbow benders, hog callers, home-run hitters,
finger-poppin' daddys and cool babysitters.
He was "your man with the plan, on the scene with the record machine."
He was Hy Lit, and Philly radio had never heard anything like him, and
never will again. He was unique, with an imaginative patter that he
laid on his listeners, mostly the young, while playing the music that
drove them wild.
His son, Sam Lit, called it "magic."
"My father was the champion of the spoken word," Sam said. "The man
had a magic with the spoken word."
"He had a mellifluous voice," said Kal Rudman, music magazine
publisher and philanthropist and a former disc jockey.
"He had a whole bunch of tremendous hip lines. They reflected such a
lively personality."
Hy Lit, the South Philadelphia kid who captivated the youthful Philly
audience with early rock 'n' roll, sneaked the Beatles into town with
the help of Frank Rizzo, brought numerous early musical stars here,
ran successful dance parties, and didn't retire until 2005, died
Saturday under mysterious circumstances. He was 73 and lived in Lower
Merion.
Hy had hurt himself in a fall on Nov. 4 and was admitted to Lankenau
Hospital to have a knee drained. Over the next week and a half, he was
transferred to Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital and then on Thursday to Paoli
Hospital, where he died. The cause of death has not been determined.
{edit delete}
"The guy went into Lankenau with a knee injury and two weeks and five
days later he's dead," {son} Sam {Lit} said. "This should not have
happened."
Hy Lit, who was devastatingly handsome in his youth, was a key
participant in the development of rock 'n' roll music from its origins
as rhythm and blues, a mostly black phenomenon.
In fact, in his early days as a disc jockey on WHAT, a predominantly
black station, most of his listeners thought he was black.
When he made his first public appearance at the old Arena, at 46th and
Market streets, in the late '50s, he was almost booed off the stage by
the largely black audience, which did not believe he was Hy Lit.
"I had a tough time convincing them, and the boos, the screams and the
jeers were the loudest I ever heard," he wrote for an upcoming
biography.
Finally, the late Georgie Woods, from soul radio rival WDAS, came out
on stage, silenced the audience and convinced them that the white man
really was Hy Lit.
After he switched to WIBG, he held down the 6-to-10-p.m. slot through
most of the '60s. His show attracted 71 percent of all listeners on
the weekend, an unimaginable number today.
In 1964, there was rising hysteria about an English rock group called
the Beatles. Hy wanted to bring them to Philly for a concert at old
Convention Hall, but a distraction was needed to get them into town
through the mobs that were waiting for them.
Frank Rizzo, the future police commissioner and mayor, was then a
police captain. He hit on the idea of smuggling the Beatles, who had
performed in Atlantic City, into Philly in a Hackney's fish truck,
while a decoy limousine drew away the fans.
Other early stars he brought to Philly included Elvis Presley, Mick
Jagger and the Rolling Stones, Otis Redding, Diana Ross and the
Supremes, Marvin Gaye and others. He hosted shows at the Uptown
Theater and on WKBS-TV (Channel 48).
He hired a kid named Joe Tamburro to assist with the record hops he
hosted. Tamburro, who became a popular disc jockey known as
"Butterball," is now program director of WDAS (105.3-FM). He remembers
Hy as a "fascinating, dynamic impresario."
"He was probably the best format disc jockey in Philly," said
legendary entertainer Jerry Blavat. "He was able to follow a format
and still have his own persona."
Jerry lamented that with Hy Lit's death, that type of disc jockey, as
also personified by the late Joe Niagara and others, is a thing of the
past.
"Today, people just want to hear the music," he said.
Hy, who called himself "Hyski O'Roonie McVouti O'Zoot," had no
intention of getting into radio when he came back to Philly after
graduating with a communications degree from Miami University.
An excellent athlete, he was playing in a basketball game between some
Philly players and a team of radio industry employees.
During the game, Charlie O'Donnell, then program director of WHAT,
told Hy he admired his voice and invited him to take a time slot on
Saturday morning.
Hy accepted, and the rest, as they say, is history.
In recent years, Hy suffered from Parkinson's disease, but, his son
insists, it didn't slow him down. Hy and Sam recently started a music
Web site, www.hylitradio.com, which features oldies music and videos.
His last station was WOGL (98.1-FM), which he sued for age
discrimination after it reduced his hours. The suit was settled in
2005, when Hy retired.
He was active in raising money for the Parkinson's Disease Foundation.
His many honors included being inaugurated into the Broadcast
Pioneers' Hall of Fame in 2003. He has a spot on the Avenue of the
Arts Walk of Fame, received the first March of Dimes Lifetime
Achievement of Radio Award, was named Oldies Personality of the Year
in 1999 by Radio and Records Magazine, and other awards.
Hy was divorced from his first wife, the former Miriam Uniman, in the
1970s. His second wife, Maggie, died in 2000.
Besides his son, he is survived by a daughter, Benna; three
grandchildren; and a sister.
Services: 2 p.m. today at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala-Cynwyd. *
[end quote]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
li - A great or typical picture of Hyski in action is seen at web-site
of yesterday's Inquirer article (the Daily News does not publish on
Sunday), here, at:
http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/11541306.html
You can also sign a guest book there.
Philadelphia radio legend, Hy Lit, "The Potentate of The Keystone
State" (ne: Hyman Litsky) the day before from complications from knee
surgery days before. Lit was the spirit of Philadelphia radio in the
1960's on old WIBG ("Wibbage"), Radio 99 (AM 990), and stated by some
sources that his Sunday Hall Of Fame (mostly oldies sprinkled with a
few new records) pulled in a 71% listening share at the height of its
popularity (probably before advent of format flipping WFIL in late
1967), and certainly I remember reading at the time in teenage years,
that Wibbage had 45% daytime listener share.
In a well-written obituary piece for today's (Monday, November 19)
Philadelphia Daily News by John F. Morrison, I excerpt main parts; so
some may read this later after it is not free (don't rat me out):
[open quote]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted on Mon, Nov. 19, 2007
Voice of an era is silenced
By JOHN F. MORRISON
Philadelphia Daily News
CALLING ALL MY BEATS, beards, Buddhist cats, big-time spenders, money
lenders, teetotalers, elbow benders, hog callers, home-run hitters,
finger-poppin' daddys and cool babysitters.
He was "your man with the plan, on the scene with the record machine."
He was Hy Lit, and Philly radio had never heard anything like him, and
never will again. He was unique, with an imaginative patter that he
laid on his listeners, mostly the young, while playing the music that
drove them wild.
His son, Sam Lit, called it "magic."
"My father was the champion of the spoken word," Sam said. "The man
had a magic with the spoken word."
"He had a mellifluous voice," said Kal Rudman, music magazine
publisher and philanthropist and a former disc jockey.
"He had a whole bunch of tremendous hip lines. They reflected such a
lively personality."
Hy Lit, the South Philadelphia kid who captivated the youthful Philly
audience with early rock 'n' roll, sneaked the Beatles into town with
the help of Frank Rizzo, brought numerous early musical stars here,
ran successful dance parties, and didn't retire until 2005, died
Saturday under mysterious circumstances. He was 73 and lived in Lower
Merion.
Hy had hurt himself in a fall on Nov. 4 and was admitted to Lankenau
Hospital to have a knee drained. Over the next week and a half, he was
transferred to Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital and then on Thursday to Paoli
Hospital, where he died. The cause of death has not been determined.
{edit delete}
"The guy went into Lankenau with a knee injury and two weeks and five
days later he's dead," {son} Sam {Lit} said. "This should not have
happened."
Hy Lit, who was devastatingly handsome in his youth, was a key
participant in the development of rock 'n' roll music from its origins
as rhythm and blues, a mostly black phenomenon.
In fact, in his early days as a disc jockey on WHAT, a predominantly
black station, most of his listeners thought he was black.
When he made his first public appearance at the old Arena, at 46th and
Market streets, in the late '50s, he was almost booed off the stage by
the largely black audience, which did not believe he was Hy Lit.
"I had a tough time convincing them, and the boos, the screams and the
jeers were the loudest I ever heard," he wrote for an upcoming
biography.
Finally, the late Georgie Woods, from soul radio rival WDAS, came out
on stage, silenced the audience and convinced them that the white man
really was Hy Lit.
After he switched to WIBG, he held down the 6-to-10-p.m. slot through
most of the '60s. His show attracted 71 percent of all listeners on
the weekend, an unimaginable number today.
In 1964, there was rising hysteria about an English rock group called
the Beatles. Hy wanted to bring them to Philly for a concert at old
Convention Hall, but a distraction was needed to get them into town
through the mobs that were waiting for them.
Frank Rizzo, the future police commissioner and mayor, was then a
police captain. He hit on the idea of smuggling the Beatles, who had
performed in Atlantic City, into Philly in a Hackney's fish truck,
while a decoy limousine drew away the fans.
Other early stars he brought to Philly included Elvis Presley, Mick
Jagger and the Rolling Stones, Otis Redding, Diana Ross and the
Supremes, Marvin Gaye and others. He hosted shows at the Uptown
Theater and on WKBS-TV (Channel 48).
He hired a kid named Joe Tamburro to assist with the record hops he
hosted. Tamburro, who became a popular disc jockey known as
"Butterball," is now program director of WDAS (105.3-FM). He remembers
Hy as a "fascinating, dynamic impresario."
"He was probably the best format disc jockey in Philly," said
legendary entertainer Jerry Blavat. "He was able to follow a format
and still have his own persona."
Jerry lamented that with Hy Lit's death, that type of disc jockey, as
also personified by the late Joe Niagara and others, is a thing of the
past.
"Today, people just want to hear the music," he said.
Hy, who called himself "Hyski O'Roonie McVouti O'Zoot," had no
intention of getting into radio when he came back to Philly after
graduating with a communications degree from Miami University.
An excellent athlete, he was playing in a basketball game between some
Philly players and a team of radio industry employees.
During the game, Charlie O'Donnell, then program director of WHAT,
told Hy he admired his voice and invited him to take a time slot on
Saturday morning.
Hy accepted, and the rest, as they say, is history.
In recent years, Hy suffered from Parkinson's disease, but, his son
insists, it didn't slow him down. Hy and Sam recently started a music
Web site, www.hylitradio.com, which features oldies music and videos.
His last station was WOGL (98.1-FM), which he sued for age
discrimination after it reduced his hours. The suit was settled in
2005, when Hy retired.
He was active in raising money for the Parkinson's Disease Foundation.
His many honors included being inaugurated into the Broadcast
Pioneers' Hall of Fame in 2003. He has a spot on the Avenue of the
Arts Walk of Fame, received the first March of Dimes Lifetime
Achievement of Radio Award, was named Oldies Personality of the Year
in 1999 by Radio and Records Magazine, and other awards.
Hy was divorced from his first wife, the former Miriam Uniman, in the
1970s. His second wife, Maggie, died in 2000.
Besides his son, he is survived by a daughter, Benna; three
grandchildren; and a sister.
Services: 2 p.m. today at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala-Cynwyd. *
[end quote]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
li - A great or typical picture of Hyski in action is seen at web-site
of yesterday's Inquirer article (the Daily News does not publish on
Sunday), here, at:
http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/11541306.html
You can also sign a guest book there.