The Man That Helped Make WPVI a Powerhouse
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Longtime newsies will likely remember the name Larry Pollock.
Pollock was the General Manger of WPVI and helped turn that station into a powerhouse.
On Monday, funeral services were held for the former GM that helped build the blowtorch of Philly.
"Larry Pollock was an icon in the local television business," said Rebecca Campbell, president, The Walt Disney Company EMEA
In the early world of television, with grainy flickering images on a two-dimensional screen, Larry Pollock brought a third dimension.
As 6abc's longtime president, he understood that viewers weren't merely numbers but that they were people, a simple approach that's been driving this television station since he sat behind its wheel.
"Larry Pollock was the architect of the modern channel 6. It began way back in 1975," said Action News anchor Jim Gardner.
1975 was the year Larry arrived in Philadelphia at WPVI.
Over the next 11 years, he reinvented Channel 6 and Action News, establishing it and ensconcing it as the market's number one newscast.
The formula was as straightforward as it gets.
"Larry knew ultimately that people connect with people, and if you put the right people in the right places, it would work," said Bernie Prazenica, president and general manager of 6abc.
With a keen eye for talent, Larry lured a stable of faces that would become Philadelphia's family: Jim Gardner, Dave Roberts, Lisa Thomas Laury to name a few.
"I wanted to be successful, I wanted to do a good job in large part to satisfy him. And to make him proud of me," said Gardner.
H/T WPVI
