….and most assuredly, there will never be another! The reference is to WNEW 11-3-0 in New York which was the radio home to some supremely talented air personalities, aided and abetted by a stellar news operation!
Those voices that appeared between the records belonged to a fraternity of personalities who had one tradition: To offer amusing chatter and incisive comments about the records they played.
At the same time, those news broadcasters (some of whom still write for this website), did their level-best through sharp editing and impeccable writing to keep the New York metropolitan area informed up to the minute!
Sadly, that all came to an abrupt end thirty-two years ago on December 11, 1992 and was only amplified by the Nor’easter walloping New York, New Jersey and Connecticut at the time.
As I have said before and meant sincerely, the heavens were weeping for what we will always recall as the Big W!
Article contributed by Bob Gibson
WNEW-AM on-air roster (partial) originally posted 12/10/2012
–MCP–
December 11, 1992 – A sad day in the NY tri-state area, as WNEW last crossed the airwaves. WNEW was an extraordinary station and the memory resonates deeply with its listeners. For this reason, we are able to flip the sad to glad as I share with you a listener memory, sent in by Mr. Kevin Haynes.
My Mom had the kitchen radio tuned to WNEW morning, noon and night for my entire childhood, from toddlerhood in Brooklyn to getting ready for school on Long Island in the mid-1960s and beyond.
I fondly remember Klavin & Finch, William B. Williams, Ted Brown (my favorite!) and sportscaster Chip Cipolla, who once told a hilarious story about getting a piece of fan mail addressed to Gypsy Polo.
To this day, I still recall a couple of the station promos as well as the jingles for Chicken Delight and Robert Hall (“School bells ringing/children singing/It’s back to Robert Hall again…”)
I recorded WNEW’s final two hours to preserve the memories, bid adieu to a New York institution and share the fond farewell with Mom.
–End–
Mr. Haynes, Kevin, donated a digitized version of his long held cassette of the last two-hours of programming, saying,
“…I’m delighted to give it a new, loving home.”
Thank you Mr. Haynes, for your contribution.
This website cannot accommodate the size of those files, so, here are a few cuts from each of the 1 hour recordings.
If you are interested in hearing them in their entirety send your request to editor@wnew1130.com.
Cassette 1. Dec 12, 1992 Mark Simone and guests 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Lena Horne
Jim Lowe
Sinatra
Cassette 2. Dec 12, 1992 Mark Simone and guests 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Ted Brown
Tony Monte & John Pizzarelli, Jr sign off / Jingles
Jim Harlan
Final on-air words and song, including some jingles
Marv Albert worked as the lead radio voice for New York Giants football on WNEW-AM in New York from 1973 to 1976, succeeding Marty Glickman after Marty started broadcasting for the New York Jets . He also worked as a sports anchor for WNBC-TV in New York during this time. Albert has called the play-by-play of eight Super Bowls, nine NBA Finals, and seven Stanley Cup Finals. He has also called the Wimbledon Tennis Championships for TNT, and has worked as a co-host and reporter for two World Series.
Photo from the Archives of Stuart Zuckerman
Promotion Manager WNEW-AM
Julius La Rosa was hired as a disc jockey on WNEW in 1970. That’s when I got to know him while working as a newscaster on the station. Off the air Julie was great to know-personable and willing to talk
Bill Diehl & Julius La Rosa
about his time with Arthur Godfrey when he was fired in 1953. Godfrey said later it was because Julie lacked humility, but what really angered ‘the old redhead’ was La Rosa had hired an agent, a big no-no-no because Godfrey wanted total control over his so-called ‘little Godfrey’s’.
Firing La Rosa backfired. Ed Sullivan immediately hired La Rosa for appearances on his “Toast of the Town.” During the summer of 1955, La Rosa had a three times a week TV series on CBS. In ’56 and ’57 he hosted summer shows as a seasonal replacement for Perry Como. Shortly after leaving Godfrey La Rosa had several hit records, including “Eh Compari” and “Domani.”
Years later when I got to really know Julie we talked about his career and Godfrey. Julie said, “As an entertainer he was the best salesman in the world. I was a 20-yr-old kid in the Navy from Brooklyn and Godfrey gave me a golden opportunity to be on his shows. Happy memories? Are you kidding?! There was a year and a half of total and complete joy, I mean look at me ma, that kind of thing. I was doing what I had one day dreamed I would do.”
Julie told me that after the firing <he> met Godfrey in his office, “offered my hand in friendship and he rejected it.” Godfrey died in 1983 at 79. “Now that he’s gone,” said La Rosa, “I shall pray that he will rest in peace.” La Rosa said they met briefly once on Fifth Avenue walking in different directions. “I took his hand and said, you’re looking well, and he said thank you. And I said, you better watch it, or they’ll make an item of us.”
Thanks for posting your dad’s wonderful commentary*. I remember its original airing very well. I had just returned to the station after three years in the Army and 16 months with the Metromedia station in Philadelphia, WIP. One of my jobs was writing your dad’s 6:00 and 7:30 newscasts.
I was also a newlywed; my Jersey-girl wife was the daughter of a crusty old Italian-American butcher, Stanley Cozza, who rarely had anything good to say to anyone about anything. He was, however, a
Sharon Cozza Fisher and Stanley Cozza
long-running fan of WNEW, his loyalty dating back decades, and because I had gone to work for his favorite radio station, I could never do anything wrong.
Over the years, WNEW’s music policy drifted away from the American standards that had made its reputation, and Stanley drifted with it. Fortunately, he didn’t blame me for the changes, and, a decade later in 1979, when the standards returned to the station, Stanley returned with them. The radio in his grocery store in East Orange went on — tuned to WNEW — when he opened the place in the morning, and it stayed there all day. Ted Brown was a special favorite.
By then, I had left WNEW 1130 — but not the premises — to do the morning news on WNEW-FM, working in the same newsroom, if not on the same frequency. When I left at Christmastime in 1981 for NBC, where I would spend the rest of my career, WNEW 1130 had
Ann Reinking
just circulated a snazzy poster with Broadway star Ann Reinking striking a pose, and as a farewell gift, a whole bunch of staffers autographed the back of it, saluting the big fan, my father-in-law Stanley Cozza.
It’s been sitting in a box for lo these many years, but here it is. I have transcribed the autographs from the back of the poster.
Stanly Cozza WNEW signatures
Thanks again, so much, for your loyalty to the station we all loved so much and the staff who made it great.
Best regards, Andy Fisher
*Editor’s Note: The commentary to which Mr. Fisher refers was posted Feb 6, 2024, and written for broadcast on WNEW-AM February 13, 1970 by Mr. Edward C. Brown.
— — — —
INSCRIPTIONS ON WNEW 1130 POSTER FOR STANLEY COZZA
Stanley – Thank you and Merry Christmas – Tom Whalen
Stanley! We like the music here too! (Especially those of us with a little gray hair!) Keep listening – Happy Holidays! Mike Prelee, News Director
To Stanley – The young lady on the other side is Ann Reinking. I’m sending her to you on Arbor Day. Be prepared – William B.
To Stanley You were my “best” call in the past 175 years. Stay tuned — or come in and work with me!! Best, Ted Brown
Stanley – Glad you like our station, we appreciate your listening. Now what can we do about Andy? Best wishes, Bob Hagen
Stan – My man – I hear that you are cool & dig purple. Warmest regards Al Jazzbeaux Collins
Stanley – You are obviously a gentleman with cultured taste and refined judgment when you pick a station to listen to… but… have you had a hearing check-up lately? Merry Christmas John Kennelly
From one with ALL gray hair — for Stanley Steamer — Bruce Charles —
To Stanley Cozza… Thanks for listening to our hard-working WNEW news team… Best wishes, Mona Rivera
Dear Stan, In reference to the above by Mona Rivera, the true “hard work” is that of the listener. You must be a very hard worker. Best of everything from the Bald One, Charles Scott King
TO STAN – Christmas full time – the year around for you from a part-time milkman – Gordon Hammett
It was circa 1974. Over the previous two years, I had worked as Promotion Manager for fledgling UHF TV stations in Boston and San Francisco. My job was to promote re-runs of old TV series and movies. I wanted to work at a radio or TV station that broadcast live content.
I moved to NYC without a job and interviewed at a number of stations. John V.B. Sullivan was instrumental in hiring me.
I was 26 years old, and enthralled by the caliber of the staff, both the deejays, and the news reporters. (But, the music they were playing was NOT geared to my demographic.)
I still remember the ad campaign I created for the Gene Klavan morning show, which was starting to get stiff competition from WNBC’s Don Imus. It was geared to attract a younger demo that was commuting to Manhattan for their jobs.
The print ads and billboards carried the double entendre headline,
“Klavan Gets You Off in the Morning”
Which was clarified by a big photo of guys in suits getting “off to work” (as if on a race track).
Sincerely,
Stuart Zuckerman
PS- after leaving WNEW, I moved to the ad sales side of the business, and mid-career switched to PBS, getting sponsors for national programs.
