The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia

Barry Cassell
1952

William Barry Cassell Jr. was born November 3, 1917 in Baltimore, the younger of two children. His father, William Barry Cassell, Sr. was an entrepreneur determined to recoup his family's financial and social standing, both of which suffered in the Reconstruction Era. His mother was Babette Faure, a firmly ensconced member of French society, the daughter of a French general and close relative of a premier of the Fourth Republic. His mother died when he was ten. Such affection as he got was chiefly from his nanny, whose memory he cherished until his death.

Young Barry had more of an eye for fast cars and more of a desire to participate in the growing phenomena of radio than either big business or high society. He also developed a taste for "Legitimate Theater" traveling in road companies and doing summer stock.

In 1941, he enlisted in the Maryland National Guard-D Battery, 110th Field Artillery, 29th Division. He was in some of the bloodiest fighting in World War II, including the severely bloodied first wave on Omaha Beach (D-Day), then on through the carnage of St. Lo, finally himself being severely wounded by shrapnel in the fighting around Brest.

Barry Cassell
1942

His war buddies spoke with profound respect of his heroism under fire, especially going to the rescue of a soldier in a subsequent wave on Omaha who was drowning...after Barry had found some relatively decent cover and was starting to dry off. Cassell would never speak of any of it.

After being wounded and suffering severe shell shock, he worked with Armed Forces Radio in London, returning to Baltimore after the war, his commitment to a career in radio and the even newer sensation, television, assured. He began his television career at Baltimore's station WAAM.

In 1948, he married Virginia Mundell, but the marriage was kept from his father until 1950, when she conceived and brought forth a Cassell heir. W. Barry Cassell III. The secrecy was deemed essential because Virginia had a son due to her previous marriage to a reported bigamist. Being Irish, even ANY kind of previous marriage made the battle to win the his father’s blessing quite an uphill struggle. The birth of William Barry III, however, leveled all mountains, and his baptism reception in 1951 was one of the bigger events of Baltimore society that year.

Barry Cassell adopted John in August of 1950, again risking the ire of the prim and proper Cassells. From that point on, John was HIS son. He had nothing but contempt for racial and ethnic prejudice.

Barry Cassell as "Major Merryman"
"Candy Carnival"
circa 1952

In 1951, after recovering from her nearly life-threatening pregnancy, Virginia persuaded Barry to move to Philadelphia. It was here his television career really took off. He played a co-starring role in America's first and only live TV serial western, WCAU's "Action in the Afternoon," (broadcast over CBS-TV) played starring roles in other live TV offerings, including Major Merryman in WCAU's “Candy Carnival (Contest Carnival) broadcast on CBS, roles such as Teddy Roosevelt in CBS’ "You Are There," and became the station's chief announcer. At the same time, he kept his hand in 'legitimate theater' doing Summer Stock.

When Barry went out in public, he was mobbed for autographs. When he wore his "Action in the Afternoon" costume home one time, the Philadelphia apartment complex where they lived went wild. A write-up of him in TV Guide featured that event, and named both his kids as "having a field day!" This was about the same time Ed Murrow did a "Person to Person" episode of Dick Clark, their friend and neighbor in the next court. The only time John Cassell saw more people assembled there was when Sputnik came over that first time. These were exciting times.

But, in common with many showbiz people, Barry Cassell lived on “excitement,” adrenalin. In common with many World War II vets, he bore the pain of his wounds, which were considerable, in silence. Both of these situations led to an increasing alcoholism which ended the marriage in divorce in 1955 and pretty much torpedoed his career shortly after. He still worked local radio, still did occasional summer stock, and in 1964, he and son John worked the Democrat National Convention together; him with a consortium of Pennsylvania radio stations, John with the Atlantic City station where he wrote news and commercial copy and worked as a DJ.

Dad finally began to settle after his marriage to Edie Ritter in the early 1960's. They settled near Doylestown and he pursued low key (if anything he did could ever be called low key) radio jobs and devoted time to guest lecturing at radio and TV classes at Bucks County Community College. He truly was in on the ground floor of television and had numerous fascinating stories of the way it was as the new industry was getting itself established. John Cassell learned to sympathize with his dad when Barry was doing a live sauerkraut commercial at 6:30 am while deathly hung over from the previous night. Another was when he was rushed to the hospital after the crew shellacked a hotdog he had to eat live so it would film better. He was a trouper. He did what the show or commercial required.

Shortly after Edie died, Barry's war wounds began to cause blood clotting, later blood poisoning. At his funeral in 1992, every surviving member of D-Battery showed up. His commanding officer eulogized that at that moment, "he was the last casualty of World War II, the German steel he carried for years in his arms and legs having killed him."

The e-mail address of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com