The Valley Forge Music Fair was an entertainment venue located in Devon, Pennsylvania , outside of Philadelphia , constructed in theater in the round style with seating for 2,932. Initially established in a tent in 1955, a permanent structure was constructed that closed in 1996. The Valley Forge site became a model that led to the creation of a series of venues located in suburban locations on the East Coast of the United States that became a means to present top performers and productions of popular theatrical musicals at reasonable prices outside of the big cities.
28-410: Radio broadcaster Frank Ford and nightclub owner Lee Guber were returning home with their wives after attending a 1954 musical performance presented in a tent. After the two kept commenting on how they could improve on the show they had just seen, Ford's wife told them "Well, why don't you". They went ahead with the idea, leading the creation of Music Fair Enterprises, Inc. Together with Shelly Gross ,
56-586: A 90 percent cut in the workforce. In 1957, McCloskey sold the paper to Walter Annenberg , publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer . Annenberg killed off the Daily News ' Sunday edition and made the tabloid into an afternoon paper. In 1969, Annenberg sold both papers to Knight Newspapers Inc., which eventually became Knight Ridder following a merger. Under the new ownership, the Daily News returned to morning publication and aimed to be taken more seriously. The newspaper continues to struggle financially. It
84-578: A television news anchor who had become disenchanted with his profession, the three raised $ 100,000 to lease the Devon, Pennsylvania site of what they named the Valley Forge Music Fair, which brought in profits exceeding $ 50,000 in its inaugural season in 1955. Another founding member was H.C. Van Arsdale, President of SmithKline, Inc., who later defended Music Fair, along with other founders, from legal challenges. The first facility in Devon
112-476: Is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC , which also owns The Philadelphia Inquirer , a daily newspaper in Philadelphia. The Daily News began publishing on March 31, 1925, under founding editor Lee Ellmaker. By 1930, the newspaper's circulation exceeded 200,000, but by the 1950s the news paper was losing money. In 1954,
140-701: The Philadelphia Daily News , he wondered "what my name would be if the sponsor was the Piggly Wiggly stores." Together with partners Lee Guber and Shelly Gross , he opened the Valley Forge Music Fair in Devon, Pennsylvania in 1955, featuring such shows as its inaugural production of The King and I . Originally housed in a tent, a building was constructed on the site as a theater. Opened on an investment of $ 100,000,
168-500: The Philadelphia Gay News that was the city's first show on commercial radio with a gay focus. The station closed in 1988. He retired in 2000, after WWDB-FM switched to an all-music format. Guests on Ford's programs during his career included Lenny Bruce , Abbie Hoffman , Sugar Ray Robinson and Eleanor Roosevelt . He owned Auto Sport Importers, a business that made reproductions of a classic 1938 Jaguar called
196-601: The Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas when she was considering a run for Philadelphia District Attorney. Ford tried to dissuade her, telling Abraham that she would be losing her judicial tenure and would be taking a reduction in pay. Despite his objections, Abraham ran for office and was elected in 1991. Ford was extremely supportive of his wife's post, and regularly attended her press conferences and had her on his radio show until he became ill in October 2008. Ford
224-521: The Philadelphia Daily News have won three Pulitzer Prizes . Richard Aregood won in 1985 for editorial writing , Signe Wilkinson won for her editorial cartoons in 1992 , and Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman won in 2010 for investigating reporting for their "Tainted Justice" series focusing on the alleged misdeeds of a rogue narcotics squad. The George Fencl Award, named in honor of Philadelphia Police Officer George Fencl,
252-507: The Toll Brothers homebuilding firm, Bruce Toll. The deal became official on June 29, 2006. The group intended to strengthen the online presence of both papers, and began an extensive ad campaign. Falling circulation and ad revenue caused Philadelphia Media Holdings to make the Daily News into an edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer . Without making any other changes to the Daily News , making it part of The Inquirer would combine
280-884: The East Coast. An abandoned lime pit in Westbury, New York , a Long Island suburb of New York City , became the site of their second facility, the Westbury Music Fair , established in 1956, also originally housed in a tent, developed on an investment of $ 150,000. 1957 brought the Camden County Music Fair, also a tent, by the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, New Jersey , on an investment of $ 135,000. Such shows as "Damn Yankees" and "No Time for Sergeants" played to sold out audiences. In 1959,
308-546: The Inquirer Building in 2011, the Daily News along with The Inquirer and Philly.com moved their offices to the 3rd floor of the old Strawbridge & Clothier department store on East Market Street. In 2019, Philadelphia Media Network renamed Philly.com Inquirer.com and made the Daily News an edition of the Inquirer . Philadelphia Media Network was renamed The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Journalists with
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#1732787801868336-503: The Squire SS100, a model that sold several hundred cars but was never a viable business. The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia inducted Ford into their Hall of Fame in 2004. Ford first met his future wife, Lynne Abraham , 24 years his junior, when she helped watch his ill father while his mother ran errands. Ford helped her get a job when she was a teen at the Valley Forge Music Fair he opened in 1955. Years later, when Abraham
364-418: The business brought in a profit of about $ 50,000 their first summer, leading to the establishment of the Westbury Music Fair in Westbury, New York and other locations in Cherry Hill, New Jersey , and near both Baltimore and Washington, D.C., employing 2,000 performers and musicians at their peak. He hosted a late-night talk show on WPEN , becoming one of the first shows to use equipment that would allow
392-480: The circulation numbers of both papers by the Audit Bureau of Circulation . The idea was to make the newspapers more attractive to advertisers. On April 14, 2010, Brian Tierney announced that the Daily News would launch a weekend edition in October. The weekend edition's content would be similar to the daily edition, but would have features that would not be time sensitive and be able to be read anytime during
420-868: The group invested an additional $ 135,000 to create the Storrowton Music Fair in West Springfield, Massachusetts . In later years they would open facilities near Atlantic City, New Jersey , the Baltimore area, Painters Mills Music Fair as well as the Washington, DC area Shady Grove Music Fair as well as operating theaters in Philadelphia, Cleveland Ohio Front Row Theater and in the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida . Frank Ford (broadcaster) Frank Ford
448-406: The host to interact directly with callers on the air, unlike previous shows that had the host repeat the caller's comments. In the early 1970s, he did multiple interviews with "Unicorn Killer" Ira Einhorn , who had murdered girlfriend Holly Maddux, later recalling that Einhorn "stank even then". He bought station WDVT in 1985, where his programming included a show hosted by publisher Mark Segal of
476-405: The name "Eddie Hoyle" while hosting Hollywood According to Hoyle , a gossip program. While selling radio time in 1946, a customer called Frankford Unity Grocery Store wanted to sponsor a music show; He decided that he would host the show himself to pick up a few extra dollars, and adopted the name "Frank Ford" for the show, a name that stuck with him for the rest of his life. In a 1995 interview with
504-427: The newspaper was sold to Matthew McCloskey and then sold again in 1957 to publisher Walter Annenberg . In 1969, Annenberg sold the Daily News to Knight Ridder . In 2006 Knight Ridder sold the paper to a group of local investors. The Daily News has won three Pulitzer Prizes since its founding. Philadelphia Daily News began publishing on March 31, 1925, under founding editor Lee Ellmaker. In its early years, it
532-413: The paper's unions and launched a public relations campaign to promote local ownership. A bankruptcy auction was held on April 28, 2010. The group of lending creditors and a group of local investors allied with Brian Tierney both bid for Philadelphia Newspapers, but the lenders had the winning bid. The lenders' company, Philadelphia Media Network , took control later that year. In July 2012, after selling
560-497: The week. In early 2009, debts from buying the newspapers forced Philadelphia Newspapers LLC into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection . The bankruptcy was the beginning of a year-long dispute between Philadelphia Media Holdings and creditors. The group of creditors, which include banks and hedge funds, wanted to take control of Philadelphia Newspapers LLC themselves, and opposed efforts by Philadelphia Media Holdings to keep control. Philadelphia Media Holdings received support from most of
588-424: Was "like watching your mother-in-law drive off a cliff in your brand-new Mercedes – mixed emotions." The supermarket closed down after 16 months in business. As of December 2014, a local casino has begun using the phrase "Valley Forge Music Fair" in promoting some of its shows. The success of their facility in Devon led to efforts to replicate the model, and the creation of other music fairs in suburban locations on
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#1732787801868616-515: Was a tent, a not uncommon sight in the mid-1950s. The exposure to the elements, including heat, cold, rain and snow was a problem, and the tent had even been blown down once by strong wind. A permanent structure was constructed on the site in 1973. The final performance was a Kenny Rogers Christmas show in December 1996. After the closing was announced, with site to be replaced by a Giant supermarket, Gross recalled being conflicted, feeling that it
644-492: Was dominated by crime stories, sports and sensationalism . By 1930, daily circulation of the morning paper exceeded 200,000. Circulation dropped over the years, and by 1954, the money-losing paper was sold to Matthew McCloskey, a contractor and treasurer of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party . In December 1956, the paper's financial condition was so bad that McCloskey got permission from the unions for
672-479: Was in college, she would babysit for his stepdaughter. Abraham had been thinking of medical school and becoming a physician, when Ford told her "You ought to be a lawyer. You're forthright. You've got a big mouth. You talk well. You're smart." He married Abraham in June 1977, when he was 60 years old and hosting local radio talk shows, and she was a 36-year-old municipal court judge. She was an elected judge serving on
700-474: Was interested in architecture, art, dance, opera and food, and he and Abraham traveled extensively around the world. A longtime resident of Center City, Philadelphia , Ford died, at age 92, on March 3, 2009, at Vitas Hospice of St. Agnes Hospital in Philadelphia due to complications from a stroke . He was survived by both his first and second wives, a daughter, two grandchildren and a great-grandson. Philadelphia Daily News Philadelphia Daily News
728-556: Was married to Lynne Abraham , a former judge and District Attorney of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. Born as Edward Felbin , he grew up in the Logan section of North Philadelphia , where he graduated from Simon Gratz High School in 1934. He attended the University of Pennsylvania , where he graduated in 1939. While in college, he got a job at radio station WHAT as an announcer, earning $ 15 weekly plus transportation. He used
756-564: Was surpassed in circulation, but not readership, by the free daily Metro . When the sale of Knight Ridder to The McClatchy Company was announced in March 2006, there were rumors that McClatchy would close the Daily News . However, in May, before the sale was finalized, it was announced that the Inquirer and Daily News would be re-sold to Philadelphia Media Holdings L.L.C., a local group led by advertising executive Brian Tierney and co-founder of
784-513: Was the stage name of Edward Felbin (September 30, 1916 – March 3, 2009), a talk radio host in Philadelphia . Along with partners Lee Guber and Shelly Gross , Ford founded the Valley Forge Music Fair in 1955 and the Westbury Music Fair the following year. He served on the board of trustees for Science Service, now known as Society for Science & the Public , from 1957 to 1962. He
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