Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Tribute page (2014):

Born on June 6, 1895, Broadcast Pioneers member Leon Levy and his brother Isaac (Ike) were founding members of this organization. Ike and his law partner, Daniel Murphy bought WCAU Radio for $25,000 in 1925. The next year, Leon bought Murphy out. Ike was a practicing attorney and Leon was a licensed dentist. So both practiced their professions during the day and "played radio" at night. Yes, that's right, WCAU Radio didn't sign on the air until evening. Leon was granted his degree in dentistry during 1915 from the University of Pennsylvania. He practiced for a dozen years. Dr. Levy was president of the corporation that owned WCAU (Universal Broadcasting which later became WCAU Broadcasting) from 1928 until August 1, 1949. 

In World War I, Leon Levy was a naval lieutenant in the dental corps, and during WW II he also served as a radio consultant for the Office of War Information from 1942 to 1945.

Eventually, the Levys took WCAU Radio from a small station not even heard in all parts of the city to a 50,000-watt clear channel heard on the entire East Coast of the United States.

It wasn't until 1928 when the Paleys--Sam, Jacob (Sam's brother often called Jay) and William (Sam's son)-- purchased a third interest in WCAU for $150,000 that the station went full-time. Bill Paley became renowned as the man who built CBS. But the Levys were investors in CBS (as were Jay and Sam) and their station was the network's first affiliate.

Leon Levy married Sam Paley's daughter, Blanche. The couple had two children, Robert and Lynne.

The Inquirer also reported that Levy "was a major contributor to medical and educational facilities here" in the Delaware Valley. He served on many board of directors in here the area.

Levy was a past president and past chairman of the board of the Atlantic City Racing Association. He and the late John B. Kelly founded the association, and Levy was also a director of the Thoroughbred Racing Association of North America. He loved horses and for decades was co-owner of Jaclyn Stables where he had many horses.

He was also a board director for the Robin Hood Dell, chairman of the board of Delaware Rover Terminals, Inc., a board of director member of the Yellow Cab Company of Philadelphia, Official Films, Inc. and a trustee of the Samuel Paley Foundation.

According to thePhiladelphia Inquirer, WCAU Radio was the first station in the nation to broadcast major-league baseball games. WCAU was also the first radio station to sign a contract with a major wire service, United Press. It was also reported that it was Levy who talked Al Jolson into making his first radio appearance. WCAU Radio's "Children's Hour" was the first broadcast in the nation (October 1927) of live entertainment before a live audience. In February 1933, the station became the first to build and open a building exclusively for broadcasting.

From November of 1927 to September 14, 1977, Dr. Leon Levy was a senior director on the CBS Board of Directors and also one of the directors of the CBS Foundation. In January of 1939, Broadcasting Magazine reported that Dr. Levy owned 27,850 shares of CBS stock. In 1941, he owned 37,723 shares. Seventeen years later, the same publication showed Leon Levy's holding was 2.2% of CBS's total stock. The larger stockholder in the company was Levy's brother-in-law, William Paley, with 10.9%.

WCAU had applied for a VHF television license, and in 1946, Dr. Levy announced that the station had redrawn its application in favor of applying for a UHF license that would work well with CBS's color system. That system was deemed to be not as good as the RCA system. 

Leon loved to take photographs and especially liked playing tennis, often with his son, Robert.

He and his wife, Blanche, donated a million dollars to the Albert Einstein Medical Center, and he also served on its board of directors. Dr. Levy also donated money to the University of Pennsylvania that included the Leon Levy Oral Health Center for Research. He held honorary degrees from Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Military College and Widener College, now Widener University.

WCAU Radio was sold to the Philadelphia Record in 1946. In 1958, the station was purchased by CBS, in which the Levys and the Paleys held major interests.

On May 16, 1968, the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia honored Dr. Leon Levy as our third "Person of the Year." In 1992, Leon Levy along with his brother, Isaac, were inducted into our "Hall of Fame." 

Leon died on Wednesday, August 9, 1978 at his Philadelphia home located at 3250 West School House Lane. He and Blanche also owned a property in Palm Beach, Florida. At the time of his death, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Levy had been ill "for some time."