Hy Lit

Hy Lit
Born(1934-05-20)May 20, 1934
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedNovember 17, 2007(2007-11-17) (aged 73)
Resting place
West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Miami
OccupationDisc jockey

Hyman Aaron "Hy" Lit (May 20, 1934 – November 17, 2007) was an American disc jockey and television personality. He broadcast on several radio channels in the Philadelphia area including WHAT (AM), WRCV (now KYW), WIBG, WCAM, WDAS-FM, WPGR, WSNI and WOGL from 1954 to 2005. He hosted popular record hops throughout Philadelphia and emceed performances of Rock and roll musicians including The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and The Rolling Stones. He hosted two television dance shows - Block Party on WCAU and 48 A-GoGo on WKBS-TV; and the nationally syndicated Hy Lit Show on WKBS-TV. He was inducted into the Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame in 1993 and the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 2003.

Early life and education

Lit was born May 20, 1934, to Sam and Mona (Kessler) Lit, in South Philadelphia. He studied dramatics at the University of Miami.

Career

Lit began his radio career in 1954 at WHAT (AM), a Rhythm and blues radio station intended for black audiences where he was the only white DJ. He developed a large teenage audience by playing the music they wanted to hear. He moved to WRCV (now KYW) for a year and then to WIBG where his show drew a 71 market share, a record unmatched by any local radio program since.

He was known for his "hip" language with expressions such as "For all my carrot tops, lollipops, and delicate gum drops, it's Hyski 'O Rooney McVouti 'O Zoot!" He was influenced by Lord Buckley and incorporated similar phrases into his broadcasts such as "Hipsters, flipsters, and finger popping daddies, knock me your lobes" and "jump salty". He published his lexicon in a book, Hy Lit's Unbelievable Dictionary of Hip Words for Groovy People in 1968.

He hosted record hops in Philadelphia that drew in huge crowds. In 1957, he hosted Block Party, a dance show on WCAU Channel 10 in Philadelphia. In 1965, he hosted 48 A-GoGo, another dance show on WKBS-TV. He hosted the nationally syndicated Hy Lit Show on WKBS-TV. He emceed performances of major rock and roll stars including The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and The Rolling Stones.

Lit left WIBG due to a payola scandal in which he was accused of accepting bribes to play certain records. He worked at WCAM, and in 1968 joined WDAS to host Hy Ski's Underground, a new progressive format show that incorporated long music sets of deep album cuts and rhythm and blues. He also broadcast at WPGR and WSNI.

In 1993, he was inducted into the Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame. He received the first March of Dimes Lifetime Achievement of Radio Award in 1994 and Radio & Records magazine's Oldies Personality of the Year in 1999.

In the early 2000's, he pioneered internet broadcasting with the website HyLitRadio.com.

He worked at WOGL (FM) for several years and had high ratings with their oldies format. His hours were reduced by WOGL and he sued them for age discrimination. The lawsuit was settled in December 2005 and he retired at that time.

He was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 2003.

Lit died November 17, 2007, at Paoli Memorial Hospital of heart and kidney failure. He was interred at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

Personal life

He married Miriam "Mim" Uniman, a former Miss Universe contestant who was Miss Philadelphia in 1956. Together they had two children and were divorced in the 1970s. He was re-married and his second wife died in 2000.

He suffered from Parkinson's Disease and became a spokesperson for others that were impacted by the disease.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "Hy Lit". www.broadcastpioneers.com. Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
  2. 1 2 "The Bristol Daily Courier from Bristol, Pennsylvania". Newspapers.com. 1964-06-09. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  3. ↑ Gallo-Stenman, Patricia (2018). Diary of a Beatlemaniac. Malvern, Pennsylvania: Cynren Press. ISBN 9781947976047. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
  4. 1 2 Boris 2011, p. 53.
  5. 1 2 3 Boris 2011, p. 60.
  6. ↑ Dalzell, Tom (2012). Flappers 2 Rappers - American Youth Slang. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc. pp. 104–105. ISBN 9780486121628. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  7. ↑ Lit, Hy (1968). Hy Lit's Unbelievable Dictionary of Hip Words for Groovy People. Hyski Press. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  8. ↑ Boris 2011, p. 63.
  9. ↑ Shull, Bill (2015). Philadelphia Television. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 182. ISBN 978-1-4671-2276-4. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 "Veteran Philly DJ Hy Lit dead at 73". www.wdel.com. Draper Media. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
  11. ↑ Gunderson, Chuck (2023). Some Fun Tonight!: The Backstage Story of How the Beatles Rocked America. Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books. p. 148. ISBN 9781493083275. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  12. ↑ Blavat, Jerry (2013). You Only Rock Once. Philadelphia: Running Press. p. 135. ISBN 9780762450183. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
  13. ↑ Boris 2011, p. 100.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Klein, Michael. "Hy Lit, 73, pioneer DJ, dies after knee injury". www.inquirer.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  15. 1 2 "Hy Lit". www.philadelphiamusicalliance.org. Philadelphia Music Alliance. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
  16. ↑ "Philadelphia Radio Legend Hy Lit Dies". 6abc.com. 2007-11-17. Archived from the original on 2007-11-23. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  17. ↑ "Hyman Lit". remembermyjourney.com. webCemeteries. Retrieved 7 September 2026.

Sources