Art Raymond

I used to listen to Art as a child in Phila. when he hosted a Latin music show and Philly's first late-night interview show, on WPEN, 950 AM radio. He broadcasted live from a room open to the public for late night snacks and even some dancing of Latin dances during the musical segment from 9 to 10 PM. The talk segment ran to 2 AM. Guests were mostly from the theatre and entertainment world, as Philly was a big pre-Broadway try-out town in those days. My parents went to the show quite frequently, held on the ground floor of the station's building in Center City, in what was called the William Penn Room. One night my parents took me along. It was 1955, I was 11 yrs. old, my grandmother, who had lived with us, had recently died. Of course, I was the only kid in the room; this was strictly adult stuff. Art saw an interesting opportunity, I guess, between sets, and beckoned to me to come up and join him behind the desk. When he came back on, he actually interviewed me on-air; then gave me an armload of gifts, including a safety razor. Naturally, it was an event I never forgot. Look at the details I still remember! Afew years later, Art started his Sunday morning Jewish radio show, called The Bagel & Lox Hour. It was three hours, and on WHAT-FM. After a few years of great success, he moved back to NYC, and continued his show on WEVD, now renamed The Simcha. I hope you enjoy this recollection. I am 73 now, and have been a semi-professional Yiddish concert singer for the last 20 years (I studied voice and opera back in the 60's in NYC with a personal friend of Jan Peerce, one of the performers Art knew well and played often) Art was definitely an important influence on my life, and is someone I hold dear in my heart to this very day. Richard Lenatsky West Chester, Pa. 610-203-6490 or [email protected] if you'd like to reminisce. "Zayt Gezunt"