Philip J. Lasky; ‘Father of San Francisco Television’

Philip J. Lasky, 80, founder of San Francisco’s first television station, KPIX Channel 5, and the man who planted the city’s first television antenna on top of the Mark Hopkins Hotel. The San Francisco Examiner’s former TV critic, Dwight Newton, called Lasky “the father of San Francisco television. He started KPIX on a shoestring, developed it into a $6-million property, sold it to Westinghouse Broadcasting Co., and remained on as manager and vice president of Westinghouse.” Lasky began broadcasting on Dec. 24, 1948, at what was then the first television station in Northern California. At the time, there were only about 3,000 TV sets in the area. Lasky retired from broadcasting in 1968 but remained involved in San Francisco as president of the Downtown Assn. and then as a member of the board of directors of station KQED-TV, Channel 9. On Tuesday in San Mateo of cancer.