6abc inducts 4 beloved Action News icons into Hall of Fame

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- There have been countless leaders who have paved the way for us here at 6abc, and on Thursday, an inaugural group became the very first inductees into the "6abc Hall of Fame."

Their plaques now grace our walls here at the station.

Two of them are household names, luminaries, pioneers, and friends to us all.

The other two were forces of strength and leadership behind the scenes. On Thursday, they took their official place in station history.

Our beloved friend and trailblazing news anchor Lisa Thomas-Laury was the first to be inducted.

She recalls her first day at Action News when she was 23 years old.

"When I came here, I was such a neophyte and didn't know very much and had never anchored a newscast," Thomas-Laury says. "WPVI believed in me to the point where they let me sit behind the news desk with Jim O'Brien and anchor the news. I still had a lot to learn."

She would go on to work here for 38 years.

Weather Anchor Dave Roberts was on the air here for more than four decades.

"Once you came to Philadelphia, and to 6abc, this was home," Roberts says. "Everybody made you feel at home. Everybody worked together and they worked hard. It felt like a family. It was just a good feeling."

Also inducted was the late Walter Liss, a former president of the ABC Owned Television Stations.

"People would always say to me, 'What is the secret of being a good anchor person?" recalls former news anchor Jim Gardner. "I would say to be able to communicate to an individual and show empathy is critically important. Walter Liss taught me that."

Here's a fun piece of Action News history: "Walter was famous for having co-written 'Move Closer to Your World' with Al Ham," says 6abc President and General Manager Bernie Prazenica.

Finally, Larry Pollock earned his spot.

He was the longtime president of 6abc who went on to run all of the ABC Owned Television Stations.

His daughters were on hand to honor his legacy.

"It conjures up a lot of emotions," says Jackie Pollock Kane. "It's just very flattering."

"It just makes me really happy and really proud," says Debbi Pollock Lindenberg.

This is only 6abc's inaugural group in a Hall of Fame that will only continue to grow.