Francis Quirk TV Star! Broadcasting Pioneer Brings Art to the Masses

Throughout his time at Lehigh University Quirk championed art and its appreciation on campus as well as the broader community. He brought many prominent and cutting edge artists to campus for exhibitions, participated in exhibitions and supported local art competitions. But, perhaps one of his most far reaching efforts to spread art appreciation would be through his involvement in television.

Philadelphia Families Enjoy Francis Quirk on Television on Friday Nights

Through our ongoing research effort we obtained information on his hosting several programs:

·       Art and I   WGLV WGPA   1956-1957

·       Its Happening There  WGLV WGPA   1957

·       These Our Own (American Art) WFIL 1955 

·       You Should Know What You Like  WFIL Philadelphia 1954-55

The first broadcast television came out of Schenectady, New York in 1928 from a General Electric facility. Television really began in 1950 when CBS was licensed to form a national network. In 1954, the first color television broadcast was made of Pasadena’s Rose Parade, but the sets were too expensive and did not enter the main stream until the mid-1960’s. During that period, most broadcast programming was in black and white during that time, so a color set was of little benefit.

Quirk was active in the early days, when the broadcasts were live. The comedian-TV-pioneer Milton Berle broadcast from 1948-1956. So, Quirk had to present well and think on his feet. The fact that he put on multiple programs in a significant market indicates that he had a reasonable to high level of proficiency.  While we cannot substantiate it, we think it is highly likely that Quirk also prepared his own material as well. 

Below we share the image of the 1956 story in Lehigh University's Brown and White Student Newspaper.