Larry Kane

Larry Kane (born October 21, 1942) is an American journalist, news anchor and author. Kane spent 36 years as a news anchor in Philadelphia, and is the only person to have anchored at all three Philadelphia owned and operated television stations. Early in his career, he was the only broadcast journalist to travel to every stop on the Beatles' 1964 and 1965 American tours. He has authored three books about the Beatles, as well as a memoir and a novel. Today he is the host of Voice of Reason, a weekly news analysis program on the Comcast Network, as well as a consultant for NBC and a special contributor for KYW News Radio.

Biography

Early life

Kane was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish parents as Lawrence Kanowitz. His parents changed the name years before his broadcasting career. Kane's father was an electrical contractor. His mother, Mildred Kane, fought multiple sclerosis for 14 years before her death at age 40. His work with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society began because of his mother's involvement with the disease. He began his career in broadcast journalism in Miami, Florida at age 16, first at WQAM and later at WAME and WFUN. While working at WAME, Kane became the first U.S. news correspondent to break the story of the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961.

Work with the Beatles

As the only broadcast journalist to travel to every stop on the Beatles' 1964 and 1965 tours, Kane authored Ticket to Ride in 2003.^[1] Kane also authored Lennon Revealed, a New York Times and Los Angeles Times Bestseller in 2005.^[2] Kane is considered one of the premiere American experts on the life of John Lennon. On July 30, 2013, Kane's internationally distributed book, When They Were Boys: The True Story of the Beatles' Rise to the Top was released.^[3]

Kane was also one of the contributors to Yoko Ono's 2005 book Memories of John Lennon, in which he recalled how Lennon cohosted the Philadelphia "Helping Hand Marathon" fundraiser in 1975 and gave a weather forecast on Kane's television newscast.^[4]

Career in Philadelphia

In 1965, he came to Philadelphia as an anchor for WFIL Radio and as main anchor for its sister station WFIL-TV, Philadelphia's ABC affiliate. Kane was the later the primary anchor for the (then new) Action News format. WFIL-TV would change its call letters to WPVI-TV in 1971 after Capital Cities Communications purchased the station from Triangle Publications. Kane is credited with coining the phrase "The Big Story" at the top of Action News, something WPVI uses to this day. Kane would leave WPVI in 1977, in order to move to New York City and join WABC-TV.

Kane was also an anchor on New York's WABC-TV's Eyewitness News for one year from 1977 to 1978; during that time, he was the lead anchor the night after the infamous New York City blackout of 1977^[5] and also anchored news updates for ABC News.

He returned to Philadelphia in late 1978 and joined WCAU-TV, then a CBS-owned station, as the primary anchor of Channel 10 News at 6 P.M. and 11 P.M. In 1993 he moved to KYW-TV, an NBC affiliate which became the new CBS station in Philadelphia in 1995. He also hosted a short-time weekly program produced by KYW-TV called The Bulletin with Larry Kane (not to be confused with the defunct Philadelphia Evening Bulletin newspaper). Kane anchored the 6 P.M. and 11 P.M. newscasts at KYW until December 23, 2002.

Kane covered local Philadelphia politics through hosting several public affairs programs. Kane was anchor at WCAU while Jay Feldman was GM and journalistic sources thought reliable tipped erroneously that Philadelphia mayor William J. Green was subject of federal investigation for improprieties. The story was later retracted, and Green sued CBS.

In 1994, the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia inducted Kane into their Hall of Fame. On November 22, 2002, The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia presented him with their "Person of the Year" award, their highest honor.

Kane continues to do special reports for KYW, an all-news AM radio station in Philadelphia, and hosts Larry Kane: Voice of Reason, a weekly news analysis program on the Comcast Network.

Author

A veteran of 23 political conventions since 1964, Kane is perhaps most well known for his insight on American politics and government. Those stories were featured in 2000 in his first book Larry Kane's Philadelphia, a regional bestseller.

In 2011, Kane released his first novel, Death By Deadline, a cautionary mystery about the dangers of bad information, and the risks of out-of-control local TV news operations.^[6]

Charity work

Recognized as a leading proponent of the rights of the disabled, Kane is campaign chairman of the Delaware Valley Multiple Sclerosis Society.^[7] For 35 years Kane has broadcast weekly features on radio and TV in connection with the National Adoption Center to find homes for waiting children.^[8] He is also involved in many other non-profit endeavors.^[9]

Personal life

Kane resides in suburban Philadelphia with his wife Donna. Donna is the President of Dynamic Images Inc., a multifaceted production company, and an officer of DJNY and its Unique Quest training product. Larry and Donna have a son, Michael, who lives in Connecticut with his wife Jennifer. They also have a daughter, Alexandra, who lives in suburban Philadelphia with her husband, Douglas Weiss. The Kanes have three grandchildren.

Books

• Larry Kane's Philadelphia. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 2000. ISBN 1-56639-806-1. 
• Ticket to Ride. New York: Penguin Books. 2003. ISBN 0-7624-1592-4. 
• Lennon Revealed. New York: Running Press Book Publishers. 2005. ISBN 0-7624-2364-1. 
• Death By Deadline. Dynamic Images Inc. 2011. ISBN 1-4635-8537-3. 
• When They Were Boys: The True Story of the Beatles' Rise to the Top. Running Press. July 30, 2013. ISBN 0762440147. 

References

External links

• Official website
• Kane's Tribute to John Lennon
• Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia
• Larry Kane at the Internet Movie Database