West Philadelphia in The Media
The area gained some fame through the theme song to the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in which Wynnefield native Will Smith raps, "In West Philadelphia, born and raised . . . "
The NBC drama American Dreams is set in West Philadelphia in the mid-1960s.
West Philadelphia was also the home of American Bandstand. The popular dance show and career starter for host Dick Clark was produced at television station WFIL-TV (Channel 6, now WPVI-TV) in "Studio 'B'", which was located in their just-completed addition at 4548 Market Street. The show featured local high school students, turning some into teen idols. The former television station is now home to the West Philadelphia Enterprise Center, although the large satellite dish on the roof still remains.
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Famous quotes containing the words west, philadelphia and/or media:
“Our foreparents were mostly brought from West Africa.... We were brought to America and our foreparents were sold; white people bought them; white people changed their names ... my maiden name is supposed to be Townsend, but really, what is my maiden name? What is my name?”
—Fannie Lou Hamer (1917–1977)
“I’d like to see Paris before I die. Philadelphia will do.”
—Mae West, U.S. screenwriter, W.C. Fields, and Edward Cline. Cuthbert Twillie (W.C. Fields)
“The question confronting the Church today is not any longer whether the man in the street can grasp a religious message, but how to employ the communications media so as to let him have the full impact of the Gospel message.”
—Pope John Paul II (b. 1920)