PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Allan “Al” Novack, a former longtime KYW Newsradio reporter, has died. He was 79.
His daughter Melissa described him as “larger than life — in his stature, presence and the impact he had on his family, community, and listeners.” She said he died Friday, June 6, of Alzheimer’s disease.
Al was a Navy veteran and a lifetime member of the North Penn Volunteer Fire Company. He covered the Delaware Valley at WCAU before coming to KYW in 1990, where he stayed until 2014.
“Reporting and music was in his blood,” Melissa said. “It was something he was born to do.”
KYW’s Mike DeNardo, a friend and colleague, remembers his friendly and competitive nature.
“He was a very colorful guy. He had a booming voice. He would make police calls very early in the morning in that voice, ‘Top of the morning to you officer,’” DeNardo said.
Melissa said he always kept a special place in his heart for the Philadelphia area.
“He loved KYW. He loved all of the staff. Just know how important the Philadelphia region was to him and was part of him from the morning when he got up to get his Wawa coffee,” she said.
Off air, he was affectionately known as a family man.
“He was a dedicated father; he single-handedly raised myself and my two brothers,” Melissa said.
Al is survived by his three children, 10 grandchildren and his great-grandson.