Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Jean Connelly
Inducted 2002
Jean Wykoff Connelly was born June 5, 1923, in the village of Venango, Pennsylvania, the daughter of W. Leslie Wykoff and Margaret Mead Wykoff, both of Crawford County before moving to North East, Pennsylvania, in 1925. Jean graduated from North East High School in 1941. While still in high school she began her journalism career as a stringer for the Erie Dispatch Herald. (She recalls the pay as two cents a printed inch.) Her senior year she was named the Erie County debate champion at Allegheny College and was also crowned the Queen of the Concord Grapes.
In 1945, Jean graduated from the University of Pittsburgh where she was the first woman to be assigned to be Men's Editor of the PITT News. Her senior year she was editor of the yearbook, The Owl, and was elected to the Pitt Hall of Fame. She was a member of Chi Omega sorority, Mortar Board, and the honorary journalism fraternity, Xylon.
From 1945-1947, Jean taught high school English and Civics at Stonycreek High School in Shanksville, PA, in Somerset County before marriage took her to Missoula, Montana. There, in 1947, she began her 40-year broadcast career at the CBS affiliate station, KGVO Radio. With an NAB guidebook, she learned to write copy for accounts ranging from wheat-binding equipment to cocktail lounges. With her name "Erin Day" she co-hosted a "husband/wife" two-hour breakfast program.
In 1949 she returned to Pittsburgh to work at the city's first and only TV station, WDTV-DuMont, Channel 3. Her first assignments were sales service, network clearances, establishing a Traffic department and for a time, subbing as program director.
When studio facilities were ready Jean went on the air as host and producer of Pittsburgh's first magazine-type program (Home Edition) as Jean Sladden. After marriage to William J. Connelly, Jr., she changed her on-air name and the program became known as The Jean Connelly Show. Meanwhile, the station had also changed its name: in 1955 it became KDKA-TV, Channel 2, a Westinghouse property.
In 1959 Jean moved to WTAE-TV, Channel 4 where her program was telecast from 10 to 10:30 weekday mornings. Information, demonstrations, civic and social reports and interviews made up the format. Among her favorite guests she lists Gregory Peck, Helen Hayes, Phyllis Diller, Arthur Godfrey, Governor David Lawrence and many of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The program gained national publicity in TV Mirror, Glamour, and McCall's magazines. In all, she hosted and produced over 5,000 half-hour programs.
Jean produced several documentaries and hosted special programs such as the Academy Awards Preview programs with Pittsburgh's three newspaper movie critics. She and Carl Ide hosted a remote telecast of the Junior League Ball in Carnegie Music Hall. She was a commercial spokesperson for Duquesne Light Company and Mayor David L. Lawrence chose her to host his statewide interview programs prior to his election as Governor of the Commonwealth.
In 1975 she elected to leave her on-air achedule as a member of the News at Noon broadcast with Paul Long and Al McDowell to become the station's Director of Publis Service, a position she held until her retirement in 1988. While in that position the ABC-TV Network appointed her to their 14-member Literacy Council.
Jean received AFTRA's first Outstanding Woman in Broadcasting award in 1967. In 1988, she was honored by American Women in Radio and Television with the President's Award from the Gateway Chapter. That same year the University of Pittsburgh named her to the Distinguished Alumnae list. The Allegheny County Commissioners declared June 9, 1988, as Jean Connelly Day in Pittsburgh. She had won several Golden Quill and Matrix awards through the years. In June, 2002, she was inducted to its Hall of Fame by the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters.
She was a long-time member and board person of the Pittsburgh Radio and Television Club, the Press Club, and a national charter member of American Women in Radio and Television. She had served locally as president of the Gateway Chapter. For 25 years she was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind children and had previously served on the boards of Vintage, the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, Goodwill Industries, the Civic Light Opera and the Easter Seal Society.
William J. Connelly, Jr., Jean's husband of 41 years, died in 1994. They had three children: Kathleen Murphy of Connecticut, William (Chip) Connelly and Marcy Gookin, both of Pittsburgh. There are five grandchildren: Ann, Kate, and David Gookin; Phillip Hubbard, and William (Liam) Connelly.
Jean remains active with gardening, reading, swimming, travel, auctions and geneology clubs.