For decades he was Philadelphia's ultimate Voice of Authority.
That's right. Long before Ukee Washington and Jim Gardner and Larry Kane and Jessica Savitch and Marciarose and Vince Leonard, there was John Facenda. In fact, Facenda was a TV news anchorman before there was such a term. And there was hardly a Philadelphian who didn't go to bed without his soothing, nightly sign off: "Have a nice night tonight and a good day tomorrow."
What's more, Facenda not only dominated TV news but his distinctive tones provided the voiceover for NFL films. He was the voice that put the National Football League on the map and today he is enshrined in the Football Hall of Fame as well as being memorialized as a Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneer.
Philadelphia Mayor W. Wilson Goode once called Facenda "a monument in this city. I grew up feeling that the only newsperson in Philadelphia was John Facenda. I trusted him." This is certainly true. Shortly after Facenda passed away in September of 1984, someone was told of Facenda's death. They said that it was terrible because they knew him. They never met him, but they knew him. He came into their homes every evening for almost 25 years. Tom Fox of the Philadelphia Inquirer once said, "The man was uppercase class. He had the majestic bearing of a king, the diction of an elocution teacher, the soul of a poet."
John Thomas Ralph Augustine James Facenda was born on August 8, 1913, in Portsmouth, Va. but Philadelphians always regarded him as one of their own. He was the son of a civil engineer and the middle child of 13. His dad, called Popa by John, came to Philadelphia in 1922 to work on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Facenda's dad moved the family to Philadelphia on the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1926.
In 1931, Facenda was graduated from Roman Catholic High School. He started at Villanova but had to drop out because it was during the heart of the depression.
Facenda went to work for the Philadelphia Public Ledger, a major newspaper in Philadelphia. At that time, they also owned WHAT radio. As fate would have it, an announcer for a WHAT program entitled ''Scholastic Sports Review" took ill and Facenda replaced him.
Facenda was hired by the station as an announcer. When Facenda first started broadcasting, he was nervous. To calm himself, he thought of his mother and talked straight to her and no one else. The stories about John placing a photo of his mom in the announcer booth are all true. He had the ability to speak to an entire city, but everyone thought that Facenda was talking just to them.
Facenda went to New York City for a couple of years to work as program director at Ticker News Service, a radio news operation. Returning to Philadelphia, he went to WIP radio in 1935 and stayed for 17 years. On Saturday, September 11, 1937, he married Dorothy Hunger. They were married in St. Edmond's Church (21st and Snyder) in South Philadelphia. John was the station's night supervisor at the time. He had replaced the previous night supervisor, Ed Wallace in the spring of that year. Wallace was promoted to production director.
At WIP Radio, John developed his trademark sign off which he kept for his entire broadcasting career. Eventually Facenda moved to WCAU-TV, then the city's local CBS owned and operated station. In the 1950s and 1960s, Facenda was the king of Philadelphia news. He often had more viewers than his competitors (Channels 3 and 6) combined. His newscast was originally five minutes long, then ten. Finally 15 minutes and eventually a full half-hour. Along the way Facenda generously mentored many younger broadcasters including Jack Jones who became Philadelphia's first African American anchorman. n April 1954, TV Guide readers voted him The Local Personality Most Worthy of Network Recognition. In the early fifties, Facenda's voice could be heard doing commercials on "I Love Lucy," "PM Playhouse" "Bob Cummings' My Hero" and "The Public Defender." He was not just a local legend but a mainstay nationally.
Facenda went to work for the Philadelphia Public Ledger, a major newspaper in Philadelphia. At that time, they also owned WHAT radio. As fate would have it, an announcer for a WHAT program entitled ''Scholastic Sports Review" took ill and Facenda replaced him.
Facenda was hired by the station as an announcer. When Facenda first started broadcasting, he was nervous. To calm himself, he thought of his mother and talked straight to her and no one else. The stories about John placing a photo of his mom in the announcer booth are all true. He had the ability to speak to an entire city, but everyone thought that Facenda was talking just to them.
Facenda went to New York City for a couple of years to work as program director at Ticker News Service, a radio news operation. Returning to Philadelphia, he went to WIP radio in 1935 and stayed for 17 years. On Saturday, September 11, 1937, he married Dorothy Hunger. They were married in St. Edmond's Church (21st and Snyder) in South Philadelphia. John was the station's night supervisor at the time. He had replaced the previous night supervisor, Ed Wallace in the spring of that year. Wallace was promoted to production director.
At WIP Radio, John developed his trademark sign off which he kept for his entire broadcasting career. Eventually Facenda moved to WCAU-TV, then the city's local CBS owned and operated station. In the 1950s and 1960s, Facenda was the king of Philadelphia news. He often had more viewers than his competitors (Channels 3 and 6) combined. His newscast was originally five minutes long, then ten. Finally 15 minutes and eventually a full half-hour. Along the way Facenda generously mentored many younger broadcasters including Jack Jones who became Philadelphia's first African American anchorman. n April 1954, TV Guide readers voted him The Local Personality Most Worthy of Network Recognition. In the early fifties, Facenda's voice could be heard doing commercials on "I Love Lucy," "PM Playhouse" "Bob Cummings' My Hero" and "The Public Defender." He was not just a local legend but a mainstay nationally.
No question about it: John Facenda was a genuine trailblazer!
H/T; Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers
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