Philadelphia Newsman Don Lancer, Longtime Fixture On KYW 1060, Dead At 68
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Legendary Philadelphia newsman Don Lancer passed away this morning after a battle with cancer.
"Good morning, I'm Don Lancer. On Independence Mall it's..."
In 37 years, Don said those words on KYW Newsradio 1060 thousands of times, but he never sounded bored or tired.
Listen to the voice of Don Lancer...
Podcast
"He loved putting together an entertaining show, an informative show, and he could do it with style," recalls Harry Donahue, a morning news anchor at KYW Newsradio and a longtime Lancer colleague.
(Clip of Don Lancer on KYW:) "Traffic was pretty well snarled on the Roosevelt Boulevard extension when a truckload of hogs broke down (laughs). Richard Maloney, our transportation reporter, you've covered a lot of good ones in your day. Can you tell us something about this one?"
"And then he got into doing business reports, and he made those entertaining," adds Harry Donahue. "I mean, some of the best radio we've ever had, I think, was Don Lancer and Fred Sherman in the morning."
Don retired from KYW in 2008 but continued to be heard occasionally in advertisements on the station.
Vince Hill, who took over as business editor at KYW Newsradio, recalls Lancer's quick wit.
"You know, he made fun of everything," says Hill. "He made fun of me, but I appreciated everything he did for me, and I learned a lot. Don, you taught me a lot, bud. Take it easy."
The Bacchi Funeral Home distributed an obituary on Monday afternoon that said in part, "Relatives and friends are invited to his funeral mass at Mother of Divine Providence Church, 333 Allendale Rd., King of Prussia, on Thursday, April 28th, 2011 at 11:00am. Donald's viewings will be Wednesday evening from 6 to 8pm at the Bacchi Funeral Home and Crematory, Ltd., 805 DeKalb St. (Rt. 202), Bridgeport, Pa. and also Thursday morning from 10 to 10:50am, at the church. Interment will be private in Calvary Cemetery, Lower Merion Twp., Pa.
"In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Don's memory to World Wide Marriage Encounter, c/o Tony & Cathy Witczak, 30 Sullivan Rd., Wayne, PA 19087."
Click below to hear a montage of Don's broadcasts. It includes Don's 1977 KYW Newsradio Holiday greeting, a few of his his funiest moments behind the microphone, his interview with President Clinton in October of 1994, and Don's last business report from February 29, 2008.
Podcast
Reported by Pat Loeb, KYW Newsradio 1060
