Hy Lit

"Hy Lit"', born "Hyman Aaron Lit", (May 20, 1934 – November 17, 2007) was a Philadelphia-area DJ from the 1950s until 2005. In his 50 year career, Hy Lit broadcasted from WIBG-AM, WDAS-AM/FM, WKBS-TV, WIFI, WSNI/WPGR, KPOL, WKXW, among many others. His last station was WOGL, where he broadcasted from 1989 until his resignation late in 2005.

Hy Lit was born to Sam and Mona (Kessler) Lit, in South Philadelphia-area. At one time in the 1960s, Hy hosted the nationally syndicated "Hy Lit Show," from WKBS-TV in Philadelphia, which aired in more than 30 markets nationwide. Hy dominated AM radio from the late 50's through the 60's as one of WIBG's "Good Guys," as his "Hall of Fame" show drew a 71 market share (unheard of before or since.) He released several successful LP, "Hall of Fame" collections of music he played on the show, the last of these when he joined WPGR-AM in 1981. Around 1978, Hy Lit moved to California after a brief but successful stint with the Harlem Globetrotters before once more returning to the Philadelphia area. In 1977, when WIBG went off the air forever, he was the last DJ on the air.

Hy will best be remembered as a legendary radio disc jockey who had a great knowledge of music and its artistry. His shows educated listeners about the history behind the tunes, as a source of entertainment, as well.

Since 1982, and many years to follow Hy, hosted a live oldies radio show at different area clubs (most notably the Woodbine Inn in Pennsauken, NJ, where he'd close his commercials by saying, "I wanna see your face in the place!" Hy moved to WOGL-FM in 1989, hosting the highly-rated "Top 20 Countdown" on Saturday and Sunday afternoons in addition to his weekday afternoon shift.

He had an elite sense of humor and would often refer to himself as "Hyski," or "Hyski O'Rooney McVoutie O'Zoot." An interesting note, Hy had once asked the legendary voice, actor Orson Welles to record the "Hyski O'Rooney.." tag for his radio show.

In the mid 90's it was revealed that Hy was suffering from the beginnings of Parkinson’s disease. Just after the death of Hy's wife Maggie (Russo) Lit in 2000, WOGL and Infinity/CBS Broadcasting management significantly reduced Hy's radio hours, along with a significant decrease in salary. In 2002, a lawsuit was filed with the aide of law firm, Spector, Gaddon and Rosen, against the media conglomerate, CBS Broadcasting, which for a second and concurrent time decided to reduce Hy's radio time and salary and this time cancel his health insurance.

In December 2005, Hy Lit, station WOGL, and CBS Broadcasting settled the three-year health and age-discrimination lawsuit, under the condition that Hy Lit would (reluctantly) retire from the station. Sadly, Hy did his last “Hy Lit Hall of Fame Show" radio show on December 11, 2005. However, WOGL management would not permit Hy to reveal he would be leaving the airwaves and abandoning thousands of listeners left to wondering what happened to the legendary Hy Lit.

Subsequently, in 2005, HyLitRadio.com (an enterprise begun with his only son, Sam) was born. [http://HyLitRadio.com HyLitRadio.com] with its terrestrial radio simulcasts over selected radio stations would and remain keeping Hy and his magnificent voice alive. Furthermore, there exists Hy Lit Radio Technologies Inc. an emerging technologies company Hy started with Sam, which develops advanced software engine applications, including the patent pending, [http://YourDisplayCarousel.com YourDisplayCarousel.com] , and an advanced search engine, [http://HyLitGlobalSearch.com HyLitGlobalSearch.com] among many other unique digital product applications.

[http://www.yourdisplaycarousel.com/flash/mainstreet.swf? Hy Lit Display Carousel]

He died at 12:30 pm November 17, 2007, at Paoli Memorial Hospital of kidney failure. He is buried at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. He is survived by his beloved older sister Udel (Lit) Steinberg, who resides in Northeast Philadelphia. Lit has a son, Sam Lit and daughter Benna (Lit) Martucci. He has three grandchildren, all of which reside in the Philadelphia region. [ [http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=5767800 6abc.com: Philadelphia Radio Legend Hy Lit Dies 11/18/07 ] ]

References

For more detailed information on Hy's career from 1954-1980 go to [http://www.hylitradio.com/index.php?page=6 Hy Lit History]

External links

* [http://www.HyLitRadio.com HyLitRadio.com]