Philadelphia talk radio veteran Mary Mason dies at 94

The story originally appeared on 6abc.

Philadelphia talk radio veteran Mary Mason has died.

Mason, whose real name was Beatrice Turner, started her career in 1958 as a gospel music radio host on the radio station WHAT.

Then in 1970, she began her talk program “Mornings with Mary.”

Mason became a Philadelphia radio star at a pivotal time, paving the way for women and minorities to do the same.

“Reverend Louise Williams Bishop and Mary Mason are the two African American women who really broke the barrier in Philadelphia radio for us to come behind them,” Thera Martin, Mason’s former program director, told Action News.

Martin said it was an honor to work with Mason, who she grew up listening to on the radio.

“People used to hang onto her every word, every morning, with her very popular radio show, 7 to 10 a.m. Mornings with Mary,” Martin said.

The show catapulted Mason’s career, leading her to interviews with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Muhammad Ali, and Oprah.

Martin said, “She was strongly focused on politics. She understood that politics makes the city, helps makes the state and the nation go round.”

Philadelphia-based radio host Wendy Clark, better known as Lady B, is remembering Mary Mason.

Lady B, who was one of the first rap and radio DJs, interned and worked for Mason. She spoke to Action News about Mason’s influence on her and the community.

“This is a woman who fought for civil rights in the 60s. This is a woman, like you said, who could get a president on the telephone and ask them about any issues that was affecting Black folks,” said Lady B.

During Bill Clinton’s visit to Philadelphia in 1993, Mason interviewed him live on the air.

Her focus on politics is what led her to meet former Congressman Bob Brady, who now serves as chairman for the Philadelphia Democratic Party.

“Anybody who wanted to be anybody in politics, or in business, had to talk to Mary, and she would make or break people,” Brady said. “Nine times out of ten, she was right.”

“It took a long time to win her over, but once I did, she was 100 percent loyal, and she was my buddy,” Brady added.

Mason died on Thursday at the age of 94 after living with Alzheimer’s for years.

Since her passing, reactions have been pouring in from across the city of Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the region.

Congressman Dwight Evans posted to X on Friday, calling Mason “a pioneer for African American women in Philadelphia radio. It’s impossible to overstate her impact and influence! May she Rest in Power.”

“There would be no Black radio, as I know it, as we know it. There would be no Black radio without Mary Mason,” Brady told Action News.

He added, “There will never be another Mary Mason. There just won’t be another Mary Mason. Whether it be on the radio, whether it be in TV, politics.”

When she wasn’t making a name for herself in the political sphere, her friends said she was doing charitable work.

Martin said, “She had the ability to galvanize people. To organize people to do radiothons in an instant, and make them big successes, and come out with a hundred thousand dollar fundraiser in a day and a half.”