RIZZO

Written and Produced by Ed Cunningham

The following is from an electronic internal WHYY document...

Love him or hate him, and there were many on both sides, you have to give the late mayor Frank Rizzo his due. He dominated politics and the urban agenda in Philadelphia like no one before or since.

A new WHYY documentary, “Rizzo,” will take our viewers back to the Rizzo era for an examination of his life and times. We will examine the influences on Rizzo’s life, from his earliest days as a tough guy on Rosewood Street in South Philadelphia, through his controversial tenure as Philadelphia’s first Italian-American mayor.

We will give voice to those who knew Rizzo as a young man and those who stood with him in the early days of his career as a police officer. We will feature those who remember the tumultuous days of the 1960’s, when Rizzo fought criminals and railed against liberals and leftists who he believed were undermining America’s way of life. And we will probe his two terms as mayor, an administration which some saw as beneficial to Philadelphia, and others condemned as divisive and bloated with patronage.

Finally, we will examine an issue which for many defined Rizzo race. It was an issue that he bitterly resented, and we will ask blacks and whites who knew him about their perspective on this sensitive topic.

Along the way there will be anecdotes about the powerful personal style that, more than anything else, was the key to Rizzo’s appeal. All of this will be supported with archival film, video and photographs that will visually recreate the Rizzo era.

The three photos at the top of the page are actual screen captures from the program.
Pictures are from the collection of the show's producer, Ed Cunningham.