Wee Willie Webber

Bill "Wee Willie" Webber (June 11, 1929 – May 23, 2010) was an American radio and television personality and pioneer. Webber worked in radio and television in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, region for more than 50 years.[1]

Wee Willie Webber
Born(1929-06-11)June 11, 1929
Havana, Cuba
DiedMay 23, 2010(2010-05-23) (aged 80)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Other namesWee Willie, Bill Webber
OccupationBroadcaster, Radio Personality
Years active1948–2010
Spouse(s)
Constance Russell
​
(m. 1958)​
ChildrenBill Webber Jr. (b. 1959)
Wendy Webber (b. 1963)

Biography

Webber was born in Havana, Cuba.[1] His father was British while his grandfather, an engineer, helped to pave the streets of Havana.[1] His family immigrated to the United States, and Webber was raised in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.[1] Webber graduated from Bushwick High School and attended classes at New York University.[1]

Webber enlisted in the United States Army after World War II and worked as an Army mapmaker while stationed in Japan after the war.[1] He successfully auditioned for the Armed Forces Radio on Honshu, earning the nickname "Honshu Cowboy" because he played country music.[1] His time in the Army allowed Webber to obtain U.S. citizenship.[1]

Broadcasting

Webber began his broadcasting career in 1948, at WGYN, a now-defunct FM radio station in New York City.[1] He worked for other radio stations in Manhattan and in Lancaster, Pennsylvania during his early adulthood.[1]

Webber was hired as an announcer at WEEU-TV (channel 33) in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1953.[1] However, the station was unprofitable; it went off the air in 1955, after Webber left.[1]

In 1954, Webber began working in Philadelphia at WFIL and WFIL-FM as a "summer relief announcer."[1]

In 1956, Webber became an announcer at WFIL-TV (Channel 6). He began hosting Breakfast Time, a two-hour, morning children's show on Channel 6. The show, which featured cartoons, weather, and sports, aired until the 1960s.[1] In 1963, Webber joined WRCV-TV (Channel 3) as host of a quiz show. However, Webber's quiz show was canceled in 1965 when Westinghouse Broadcasting acquired the station and moved production of The Mike Douglas Show to Philadelphia.[1] In September 1965, Webber played the last song on KYW radio before the station switched to an all-news format.[1]

He next hosted the Wee Willie Webber Colorful Cartoon Club, an after-school show which aired on WPHL-TV (Channel 17) in the late afternoon hours. The Wee Willie Webber Colorful Cartoon Club ran for 10 years, from 1965 until 1975.[1] From 1976 to 1979, he hosted a similar show on WKBS-TV (Channel 48).

In the late 1960s, Webber became the 10 a.m. to 1 p.m air personality at WIP radio. He would remain in that time slot on WIP into the 1980s. Webber later was heard on WPEN radio from 1989 until 2005.[1] From about 2007 until 2010, Webber hosted a weekday program on WHAT radio and a Sunday afternoon show on WVLT in Vineland, New Jersey.[1]

Webber was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 1999.[1] He served as the president of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia from 2002 until 2004. From 2004 until 2006, Webber served as the chairman of the Broadcast Pioneers' board of directors.[1] In 2006, the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia named Webber its Person of the Year.[1] In 2007, Webber again served as the organization's Chairman of the Board, a position that Bill held at the time of his death in 2010.

Death

Bill Webber died of a heart attack at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia on May 23, 2010, at the age of 80. He was awaiting heart surgery at the time of his death.[1] He was survived by his wife, Constance; daughter, Wendy Scheid; son, William Webber Jr.; and four grandchildren (Taylor, Drew, Owen, and Grace). Webber lived on Rittenhouse Square at the time.[1]

Television
Year Station City Notes
1952 WBRE-TV Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania First TV job
1953 WEEU-TV Reading, Pennsylvania WEEU-TV was a short-lived TV station replaced by WITF-TV, anchored the weekend TV news at 11 pm and did the weather at 6:15 pm[2]
1956-1963 WFIL-TV Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Breakfast Time,[3] substitute booth announcer on American Bandstand,[4] host of Hess's Fashion/Toy shows,[5] the Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Mummers Parade
1964 WRCV-TV Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Hosted TV quiz show Tug-o-War (cancelled so the studio could be used for The Mike Douglas Show)[6] and regionally syndicated Challenge Billiards[7]
1965-1975 WPHL-TV Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Wee Willie Webber Colorful Cartoon Club,[8] The Bill Webber Show (the Philadelphia Phillies' pregame show)[9]
1976-1979 WKBS-TV Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Kids Block[10]
2000 WHYY-TV Philadelphia, Pennsylvania A Walk Up Broad Street[11]

Radio
Year Station City Notes
1949 WGYN New York, New York First broadcast job[12]
1950-1951 Armed Forces Radio Honshu, Japan Korean War, nicknamed the "Honshu Cowboy" for playing country music to the U.S. troops[13]
1952 WLAN-AM Lancaster, Pennsylvania [10]
1953 WPEN-AM Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Sunday shift[13]
1954-1963 WFIL-AM & WFIL-FM Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Started as a summer relief announcer, then hosted an evening shift followed by an afternoon show[10]
1964-1965 WRCV-AM Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Did celebrity interviews that ran locally on WRCV-AM and nationally on NBC Radio Network program Monitor,[14] played last record before switch to KYW-AM all-news format[15]
1966-1988 WIP-AM Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Long time mid-day host[16]
1989-2005 WPEN-AM Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Long-running Saturday show during "Station of the Stars" period[17]
2006-2010 WVLT-FM Vineland, New Jersey Sunday afternoon show[18]
2009-2010 WHAT-AM Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mid-day program[19]

References
  1. Naedele, Walter F. (2010-05-23). ""Wee" Willie Webber, local TV fixture, dies at 80". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
  2. "Philly's Bill Webber Dies At 80".
  3. "Bill Webber on "Breakfast Time" WFIL-TV 1957".
  4. "Dick Clark & Bill Webber, WFIL-TV, 1958".
  5. "Channel 6 celebrity Bill "Wee Willie" Webber on the interview set in Hess' Department Store, Allentown, 1965".
  6. "The Set of "Tug-O-War", WRCV Studios, 1619 Walnut Street, Center City Philadelphia, 1963".
  7. Wee Willie Webber on Challenge Billiards in 1964 playlist on YouTube
  8. WPHL-TV Channel 17 50th Anniversary Show - Intro/Sign On/Wee Willie Webber on Vimeo
  9. "Wee Willie Webber Photos".
  10. "Bill Webber".
  11. "A walk up Broad Street [videorecording] : with Bill Webber & Hy Myers / produced by WHYY-TV12 ; producer & director, Ed Cunningham".
  12. "Wee Willie Webber 2010 Tribute".
  13. "'Wee Willie' Webber dies, a beloved radio, TV star".
  14. "'Johnny Carson & Bill Webber in 1964".
  15. Bill Webber on KYW-AM transition from music to all-news format in 1965 on YouTube
  16. "Philadelphia Radio Archives WIP".
  17. "Tribute to Bill "Wee Willie" Webber".
  18. "WVLT (FM)".
  19. "Philly TV Legend Bill Webber Dies at 80".
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