Vaguely interesting on an otherwise dull day...

[PCIntern]

Here in Philly, a gentleman known to his TV audience as "Wee Willie Webber"died today of a heart condition at age 80. Bill Webber was a Broadcast Pioneer, and those of us well over 50 recall his days as an early morning cartoon host on Channel 6, the ABC affiliate. At 6'5", he was a gentle, kind, and approachable guy, and over the years did a whole host of jobs here in town for many of the stations.

What I recall distinctly about him had nothing to do with cartoons, but more of a community responsibility maneuver which was remarkable for its day, but would be unthinkable now:

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, I was kept home from school since we didn't know if we were going to go to WW III or not, and I was, of course,watching cartoons while my mom was on the phone with family. During the broadcast, Mr. Webber told the children to go and get their parent or parents and switch to NBC Channel 3 because the President might be making an important statement at any moment, and that apparently, ABC did not have a hookup or feed to the station in Philly at that moment.

I've never forgotten that...it wa a one-of-a-kind moment.

[LiberalLoner]

1. Wow. Thanks for sharing this. n/t