It has been a sad week as Philadelphia mourns the loss of Philly icon Trudy Haynes, 95 years old who passed on Tuesday. The Emmy Award-winning journalist broke the mold as the first African American person to appear in an ad for Lucky Strike cigarettes–and in 1963, Trudy took a job at Detroit’s WXYZ-TV, presenting the weather as the nation’s first African American weather reporter. Later accepting a position at Philadelphia’s KYW-TV, where she again became the first African American TV journalist. She remained at KYW for more than 30 years, winning an Emmy Award for her work on “Eyewitness News.”
But what you may not know is when Trudy retired from KYW in 1999, she never retired totally–she went on to start “The Trudy Haynes Show,” which was picked up by Channels Mind 35, ION 61, 66, 80, and 57 (when the station first started airing). Later landing a spot on Philly Cam.
I remember receiving correspondence about the television show and her vision for the show… a vision she made a reality.
**********
Thank you for reading Yanina Carter’s article on scoopnewsusa.com. For more on “Trudy Haynes: Philly icon leaves great memories”, please subscribe to SCOOP USA Media. Print subscriptions are $75 and online subscriptions (Print, Digital, and VIZION) are $90. (52 weeks / 1 year).
