Pasquale "Pat" Polillo

YARMOUTHPORT — Pasquale "Pat" Polillo passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008. His wife, Dr. Kristine Soly, was with him at the time of his death. He died from a brain tumor that he battled since 2003. He was 75 years old.

Pat Polillo enjoyed a diverse and distinguished career spanning the fields of broadcasting, government, journalism, education and community service.

He was born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., but grew up in Baltimore and at 16 was volunteering at a local radio station. Three years later he was working at television station WAAM in Baltimore as a projectionist, cameraman, and on-air talent.

Pat was a pioneer in local television for almost 40 years, from 1961 to 1998. He served as news director in Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco and Atlanta; and as vice president and general manager of two television stations, KPIX-TV in San Francisco and KYW-TV in Philadelphia.

A common sense manager, Polillo earned a reputation as a "troubleshooter" who turned operations around and transformed news operations.

His career in broadcasting was marked by innovation and two Emmy Awards. He is credited with numerous breakthroughs which revolutionized local television coverage, including the widespread use of minicams in covering live news events, the development of serious investigative reporting teams (I-Teams) at local television stations, and the transformation of station editorials to on-site reports that got results.

Polillo's lively career also included stints as a management consultant; a newspaper editor; a teacher of biology, music, German and math; a special agent for the Army's Counter Intelligence Corps in Germany; a marketer of a vocabulary program for children; and, for more than 40 years, a leader of Great Books discussion groups at both the adult and children's levels. He earned a bachelor's degree from St. John's College in Annapolis in 1956. The school emphasized the Great Books classics. He later kept a wall of books in his office by authors including Plato, Montaigne, Goethe, and many others, and for years organized Great Books seminars for children and adults.

After graduating from college, Mr. Polillo served in Army counterintelligence in Germany for two years. He then earned a master's degree in German literature from Johns Hopkins University.

In 1998, he moved to Yarmouthport with his wife, Dr. Kristine Soly, a holistic cardiologist. The couple met as next door neighbors in Philadelphia, and married in 1989.

He was a passionate tennis player. Though he battled brain tumors since 2003 and had five major surgeries, he returned to playing tennis four days a week within two weeks of his first three surgeries.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his 97-year-old mother, Adeline Polillo; sons Anatole and Michael; a daughter, Dr. Sloane Winkes; a stepson, Andrew Popielarski; a sister; a niece; a nephew; and four grandchildren. A son, Kyle, died tragically earlier this year.

The Philadelphia Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences will pay tribute to Mr. Polillo at its Emmy awards ceremony, Sept. 13, 2008. Mr. Polillo was a founding member of the chapter.

Much of his groundbreaking work in broadcasting is part of the Pat Polillo Archive at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication Library.

A reception for family and friends will be held on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008, from 2 to 4 p.m., at Doane, Beal, and Ames Funeral Home, 729 Route 134, South Dennis, 02660.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his name may be made to the Neely House, which provides a place for families to stay while loved ones are receiving cancer treatment at Tufts Medical Center. Donations should be sent to Neely House, 750 Washington St., Box 0716, Boston, MA 02111.

Doane, Beal & Ames

508-385-7116