TV Radio Mirror (Jul - Dec 1961)

Announcer, deejay, quizmaster —KYW-TV's Tom Haley is a glowing example of how failure ca?i be turned into success Long-necked pal at Cleveland Zoo gets a "hand-up" from Tom on Show Them Alive. The women in Tom's life add up to 7: Wife Helen and daughters — from lower right — Nanette, 7; Jill, 3; Susie, 5; Jennifer, 8; Debbie, 9; and Cindy, I I. folksy witticisms and sage comments about the world in general. It was a time of learning how to do television shows under primitive conditions, with scenery tumbling at a crucial moment, or the sudden realization that there's only five minutes of copy to fill the final ten minutes of a show. . . . Tom's many TV successes were registered in a variety of programs. Morning Surprise, a prestige show featuring remote broadcasts from places of interest around Northern Ohio, and — after the station call letters were changed to KYW-TV in 1956 — Breakthrough, a science show, and Cash On The Line, a quiz-movie program. His Cleveland Zoo series, Show Them Alive, is a thirteen-week series videotaped last year and being re-run this summer. It has been hailed as a brilliant all-family entertainment show and educational tour de force about the world of animals. . . . Although Tom has dispensed more than $55,000 over the past year, on Give 'N Take, he feels that there is more to the show than just giving away money and prizes for contestants' luck and knowledge. Tom has a real belief in the necessity of total involvement of his audience and has therefore inaugurated several entertaining features which have gone over very well. For example, he devotes several minutes each day to finding out people's embarrassing moments and pet peeves. Some of the unexpected comments in these sessions often break up the audience, directors, engineers and Haley himself. . . . Another popular part of the show is "story time," when Tom starts a story off and has members of the audience complete it, no matter how far afield they may take it. . . . Summer finds Tom out on the golf links, where he frequently hits in the low eighties — but, regardless of the score, soaks up the sun and the fresh air. All year 'round, despite his busy schedule, Tom manages to spend considerable time with his favorite girls: Attractive wife Helen and six daughters — Cindy, 11; Debbie, 9; Jennifer, 8; Nanette, 7; Susan, 5 and Jill, 3. "That's a lot of women to have lined up against me," groans poppa Haley. But you can tell he loves every minute of it. . . . His meeting with Helen actually reads like something out of a romantic novel. Back in 1946, when he had just been in Cleveland a short "time, Tom ate regularly at a restaurant where Helen was a waitress. It didn't take long for Tom to pop the question, and they were married that same year. . . . Tom is a family man's family man. He believes in doing things for and with his brood, and this attitude is apparent at the Haleys' home, a two-story frame house in suburban Lakewood, Ohio. An eagerly awaited yearly event is the visit of the entire Haley clan to Tom's show. This is an occasion that few viewers would miss. This charming family group is an inspiration and a pleasure to see. . . . With such a string of successes behind him, and a versatility which is remarkable even in the fast-paced, changeable business of television, Tom Haley looks forward to future opportunities to enlarge the sizable niche he has in the hearts of Northern Ohio viewers. T v R 59