Esther Broza, 92; Was Children's Show Host
By Ralph Cipriano, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: June 06, 1990
Esther Broza was a patient woman. During weekly auditions for her Sunday morning radio and television show, The Children's Hour, she would listen as 200 children paraded up on stage, one after another, to sing 200 versions of ''The Good Ship Lollipop."
"She was warm and caring and wonderful," recalled Pat Block, who as Patsie Wilkie won a "New Faces" talent contest during the 1940s and went on to be a star on the show for eight years.
Mrs. Broza, of Lower Merion Township, the producer, writer and director of The Children's Hour for 32 years, died Monday at Lankenau Hospital. She was 92.
The Children's Hour was broadcast by radio station WCAU beginning in 1927, and was hosted by Mrs. Broza's husband, Stan Lee Broza, who died in 1970.
The show began when a local developer, John McClatchy, asked Stan Lee Broza to come down to McClatchy's shopping center on 69th Street in Upper Darby and
put on some kind of radio show that would keep children amused while their parents shopped.
The show, which featured children singing, dancing and performing in skits, developed stars such as Eddie Fisher, Frankie Avalon, Kitty Kallen, Ezra Stone and the Nicholas Brothers. The performers worked for free in exchange for professional training and youthful fame. In later years, The Children's Hour, whose longtime sponsor was Horn & Hardart, was simulcast on Channel 10. The program ended in 1958.
When Broza dreamed up the show, he asked his wife, the former Esther Malis, to fill in temporarily as a producer and writer until he could find someone else.
"I didn't need much urging," she recalled in a 1949 interview. "I was just a frustrated actress at heart."
On the show, Stan Lee Broza "did the announcing and she (Mrs. Broza) did all the work," her son Stanley recalled. She wrote the scripts, selected all songs and costumes, applied makeup and was in charge of all rehearsals and auditions.
"She was peppy and upbeat all the time," her son said. "She loved active people and she loved to entertain."
She had an easy way with children, and a firm hand with stage mothers.
"I firmly believe that if you handle a child with love, instead of sternness, you can get him to do just about anything," she said in a 1949 interview.
"She made it fun," Block said. "But she wouldn't tolerate backstage mothers. They had to stay out of the way."
Mrs. Broza stayed in touch with her former performers, sending out hundreds of Christmas cards every year. Her home was always open to her former troupers.
"She always said I was the daughter that she never had," Block said. ''She was the catalyst for so many careers. She had a great capacity for love."
Besides her son, she is survived by another son, Elliot Lawrence, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow at Goldstein's, 6410 N. Broad St. Burial will be at Roosevelt Memorial Park in Trevose.
By Ralph Cipriano, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: June 06, 1990
Esther Broza was a patient woman. During weekly auditions for her Sunday morning radio and television show, The Children's Hour, she would listen as 200 children paraded up on stage, one after another, to sing 200 versions of ''The Good Ship Lollipop."
"She was warm and caring and wonderful," recalled Pat Block, who as Patsie Wilkie won a "New Faces" talent contest during the 1940s and went on to be a star on the show for eight years.
Mrs. Broza, of Lower Merion Township, the producer, writer and director of The Children's Hour for 32 years, died Monday at Lankenau Hospital. She was 92.
The Children's Hour was broadcast by radio station WCAU beginning in 1927, and was hosted by Mrs. Broza's husband, Stan Lee Broza, who died in 1970.
The show began when a local developer, John McClatchy, asked Stan Lee Broza to come down to McClatchy's shopping center on 69th Street in Upper Darby and
put on some kind of radio show that would keep children amused while their parents shopped.
The show, which featured children singing, dancing and performing in skits, developed stars such as Eddie Fisher, Frankie Avalon, Kitty Kallen, Ezra Stone and the Nicholas Brothers. The performers worked for free in exchange for professional training and youthful fame. In later years, The Children's Hour, whose longtime sponsor was Horn & Hardart, was simulcast on Channel 10. The program ended in 1958.
When Broza dreamed up the show, he asked his wife, the former Esther Malis, to fill in temporarily as a producer and writer until he could find someone else.
"I didn't need much urging," she recalled in a 1949 interview. "I was just a frustrated actress at heart."
On the show, Stan Lee Broza "did the announcing and she (Mrs. Broza) did all the work," her son Stanley recalled. She wrote the scripts, selected all songs and costumes, applied makeup and was in charge of all rehearsals and auditions.
"She was peppy and upbeat all the time," her son said. "She loved active people and she loved to entertain."
She had an easy way with children, and a firm hand with stage mothers.
"I firmly believe that if you handle a child with love, instead of sternness, you can get him to do just about anything," she said in a 1949 interview.
"She made it fun," Block said. "But she wouldn't tolerate backstage mothers. They had to stay out of the way."
Mrs. Broza stayed in touch with her former performers, sending out hundreds of Christmas cards every year. Her home was always open to her former troupers.
"She always said I was the daughter that she never had," Block said. ''She was the catalyst for so many careers. She had a great capacity for love."
Besides her son, she is survived by another son, Elliot Lawrence, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow at Goldstein's, 6410 N. Broad St. Burial will be at Roosevelt Memorial Park in Trevose.
Esther Broza, 92; Was Children's Show Host
By Ralph Cipriano, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: June 06, 1990
Esther Broza was a patient woman. During weekly auditions for her Sunday morning radio and television show, The Children's Hour, she would listen as 200 children paraded up on stage, one after another, to sing 200 versions of ''The Good Ship Lollipop."
"She was warm and caring and wonderful," recalled Pat Block, who as Patsie Wilkie won a "New Faces" talent contest during the 1940s and went on to be a star on the show for eight years.
Mrs. Broza, of Lower Merion Township, the producer, writer and director of The Children's Hour for 32 years, died Monday at Lankenau Hospital. She was 92.
The Children's Hour was broadcast by radio station WCAU beginning in 1927, and was hosted by Mrs. Broza's husband, Stan Lee Broza, who died in 1970.
The show began when a local developer, John McClatchy, asked Stan Lee Broza to come down to McClatchy's shopping center on 69th Street in Upper Darby and
put on some kind of radio show that would keep children amused while their parents shopped.
The show, which featured children singing, dancing and performing in skits, developed stars such as Eddie Fisher, Frankie Avalon, Kitty Kallen, Ezra Stone and the Nicholas Brothers. The performers worked for free in exchange for professional training and youthful fame. In later years, The Children's Hour, whose longtime sponsor was Horn & Hardart, was simulcast on Channel 10. The program ended in 1958.
When Broza dreamed up the show, he asked his wife, the former Esther Malis, to fill in temporarily as a producer and writer until he could find someone else.
"I didn't need much urging," she recalled in a 1949 interview. "I was just a frustrated actress at heart."
On the show, Stan Lee Broza "did the announcing and she (Mrs. Broza) did all the work," her son Stanley recalled. She wrote the scripts, selected all songs and costumes, applied makeup and was in charge of all rehearsals and auditions.
"She was peppy and upbeat all the time," her son said. "She loved active people and she loved to entertain."
She had an easy way with children, and a firm hand with stage mothers.
"I firmly believe that if you handle a child with love, instead of sternness, you can get him to do just about anything," she said in a 1949 interview.
"She made it fun," Block said. "But she wouldn't tolerate backstage mothers. They had to stay out of the way."
Mrs. Broza stayed in touch with her former performers, sending out hundreds of Christmas cards every year. Her home was always open to her former troupers.
"She always said I was the daughter that she never had," Block said. ''She was the catalyst for so many careers. She had a great capacity for love."
Besides her son, she is survived by another son, Elliot Lawrence, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow at Goldstein's, 6410 N. Broad St. Burial will be at Roosevelt Memorial Park in Trevose.
By Ralph Cipriano, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: June 06, 1990
Esther Broza was a patient woman. During weekly auditions for her Sunday morning radio and television show, The Children's Hour, she would listen as 200 children paraded up on stage, one after another, to sing 200 versions of ''The Good Ship Lollipop."
"She was warm and caring and wonderful," recalled Pat Block, who as Patsie Wilkie won a "New Faces" talent contest during the 1940s and went on to be a star on the show for eight years.
Mrs. Broza, of Lower Merion Township, the producer, writer and director of The Children's Hour for 32 years, died Monday at Lankenau Hospital. She was 92.
The Children's Hour was broadcast by radio station WCAU beginning in 1927, and was hosted by Mrs. Broza's husband, Stan Lee Broza, who died in 1970.
The show began when a local developer, John McClatchy, asked Stan Lee Broza to come down to McClatchy's shopping center on 69th Street in Upper Darby and
put on some kind of radio show that would keep children amused while their parents shopped.
The show, which featured children singing, dancing and performing in skits, developed stars such as Eddie Fisher, Frankie Avalon, Kitty Kallen, Ezra Stone and the Nicholas Brothers. The performers worked for free in exchange for professional training and youthful fame. In later years, The Children's Hour, whose longtime sponsor was Horn & Hardart, was simulcast on Channel 10. The program ended in 1958.
When Broza dreamed up the show, he asked his wife, the former Esther Malis, to fill in temporarily as a producer and writer until he could find someone else.
"I didn't need much urging," she recalled in a 1949 interview. "I was just a frustrated actress at heart."
On the show, Stan Lee Broza "did the announcing and she (Mrs. Broza) did all the work," her son Stanley recalled. She wrote the scripts, selected all songs and costumes, applied makeup and was in charge of all rehearsals and auditions.
"She was peppy and upbeat all the time," her son said. "She loved active people and she loved to entertain."
She had an easy way with children, and a firm hand with stage mothers.
"I firmly believe that if you handle a child with love, instead of sternness, you can get him to do just about anything," she said in a 1949 interview.
"She made it fun," Block said. "But she wouldn't tolerate backstage mothers. They had to stay out of the way."
Mrs. Broza stayed in touch with her former performers, sending out hundreds of Christmas cards every year. Her home was always open to her former troupers.
"She always said I was the daughter that she never had," Block said. ''She was the catalyst for so many careers. She had a great capacity for love."
Besides her son, she is survived by another son, Elliot Lawrence, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow at Goldstein's, 6410 N. Broad St. Burial will be at Roosevelt Memorial Park in Trevose.
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