A powerful voice out of Philadelphia that seemed like it would never be stilled can now no longer be heard. Radio pioneer and icon Mary Mason passed away at Presbyterian Hospital on Thursday, July 25, 2024. She had just turned 94 last week, and now her struggle with Alzheimer’s is over.
When 1340/AM WHAT radio station was sold back in 2010, it seemed like that was the beginning of the end for Mary’s storied career. In 2010, WHAT was owned by Inner City Broadcasting, based in New York City. Out of nowhere, one day at the radio station, we were all essentially told, “Today is your last day. The radio station has been sold.”
That impacted Mary Mason, Al Butler, Nick Taliaferro, behind-the-scenes workers Tony Harmon and B’Nta Givens, and others. Heck, that announcement impacted me too because, at the time, I was an on-air personality at WHAT 5 days a week and I was the program director.
Mary Mason reigned on the morning airwaves in Philadelphia for over four decades. She started out in 1958, spinning gospel music on the air at WHAT. She did that, and she did that well for quite a few years until the civil rights movement hit hard. With the assignation of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., blacks in several major market cities across the country came out rioting, destroying property, and reacting in absolute outrage at the murder of civil rights hero Dr. King.
Peace and order were called, and so in cities like Chicago, LA, Detroit, and Philadelphia, radio personalities who normally would be on the radio playing songs, telling stories about people they met in the community or celebrities they were about to interview, all of a sudden the music stopped. The joking around ended, and radio activists were born. Amongst them was one Mary Mason. Mary Mason took to morphing into a radio talk show host like a duck takes to water, and she was out of the gates and off to an amazing talk show career. From the very beginning, Mary Mason always spoke with wonderful diction. She prepared in advance for her programs, which was clear to anyone who was listening–and this was before the days of computers.
Mary quickly became a much sought-after radio personality, to have come out and acted as mistress of ceremonies for events. She had already been doing that as someone who was playing gospel music on WHAT. It was nothing for her to M.C. a gospel concert at the Mann Music Center or the Robin Hood Dell East, with Dorothy Norwood as the headliner. She could attract big-name stars and political leaders. When Mary Mason called, people answered and made sure to confirm to be on her radio program, “Mornings With Mary.” Not only did she interview a lot of famous people and newsmakers. She befriended many of them, so it was nothing for her to get on a yacht with the late Congressman Tom Foglietta and sail down the Potamic River. It was nothing for Mary Mason to run down to Atlantic City and have dinner with Donald Trump at the Trump Casino when he still owned Trump Casino.
To be sure, Mary Mason loved politics and she loved talking politics on the air and off. When she liked a political candidate and thought they would be good for Philadelphia, she would put her full support behind them, endorsing them on the air and everything. On the other hand, if Mary Mason didn’t like a certain political candidate, she would give them hell to pay. If they sneezed too hard, Mary was going to tell it on the air. If you had any dirty laundry, Mary was going to wash it out live on the radio. From where I sit, I would say that Mary Mason helped to make a few elected officials, and she darn sure helped to break a few.
I’ve often heard Lady B., of Radio One fame, give Mary Mason credit for helping her along the way in her career. She says, in fact, that it was Mary Mason who gave her–her start in radio at WHAT. Lady B stated, “Mary could get the president of the United States on the phone and approach them about any issue having to do with Black folks, and she would demand answers, and she would demand action, and she got it, at the end of the day most importantly. I’m going to miss her. My heart is heavy.”
Mary Mason was also very involved in charitable work. She was a woman who made a major impact in the city of Philadelphia. He started her own nonprofit organization, the Mary Mason Foundation and through that organization, she assisted the elderly who needed clothing, a wheelchair, or other items that could make their lives a little easier.
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