Max M. Leon (1904 – November 2, 1984) was an

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. H ...

, radio producer, conductor,

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

opera manager Opera management is the management of the processes by which opera is delivered to audiences. It is carried out by an opera manager, also called a general manager, managing director, or intendant (UK English). A multifaceted task, it involves managi ...

, referee, and businessman. He had a wide array of talents and interests which led him towards a highly diversified career in many fields from running and owning

WDAS (AM) WDAS (1480 kHz) is an AM radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, the station airs a sports format as an affiliate of Fox Sports Radio. WDAS's studios and offices are located in Bala Cynwyd. WDAS's tran ...

from 1950 to 1979, refereeing for polo sporting events, and owning and operating Whole-Sum Products, a candy factory, for more than four decades. He also was a highly accomplished musician, serving as the founder and conductor of the Philadelphia Pops Orchestra and working as the general manager of the

Opera Company of Philadelphia Opera Philadelphia (prior to 2013 Opera Company of Philadelphia (OCP)) is an American opera company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the city's only company producing grand opera. The organization produces one festival in September (Festiv ...

Biography

Born in Poland to Jewish parents, Leon came to the United States at the age of 16. He began his career working for the Whole-Sum Products candy factory in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in the 1920s during which time he also played a variety of instruments in "Max Leon and his Musical Eagles", a local dance band. Leon eventually became the general manager of Whole-Sum Products and later bought the company in 1934, which he kept going into the 1970s. He created the formula for the marshmallow that was used in

Breyers Breyers is a brand of ice cream started in 1866 by William A. Breyer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History In 1866, William A. Breyer began to produce and sell iced cream in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, first from his home, and later via hor ...

chocolate marshmallow ice cream. The company also had contracts with

Acme Markets Acme Markets Inc. is a supermarket chain operating 161 stores throughout Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, the Hudson Valley of New York, and Pennsylvania and, as of 1999, is a subsidiary of Albertsons, and part of its presen ...

. Leon continued to be active with several amateur musical groups in Philadelphia during the 1930s. He eventually ended up studying conducting with

Paul Breisach Paul Breisach (June 3, 1896 – December 26, 1952) was an Austrian-born conductor. He was a pupil of Heinrich Schenker in Vienna from October 1913 for several years. '' New Grove 2'' reports that he was a conductor at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in ...

, a conductor at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

Martin Rich Martin Rich (October 8, 1905October 23, 2000) was a German opera and symphonic conductor. Rich played the piano from the age of 5. He studied in Berlin under Franz Schreker. He conducted at venues in Bologna in Italy, and Grant Park, in I ...

at the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. ...

, and

Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association with ...

, famed director of the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscripti ...

. Leon financed and founded the Philadelphia Pops Orchestra in 1943 and became the principal conductor. The orchestra was made up of musicians primarily from the Philadelphia Orchestra. He conducted concerts with the orchestra for many years. From 1963–1975 he served as president of the board of the

Philadelphia Grand Opera Company The Philadelphia Grand Opera Company was the name of four different American opera companies active at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the twentieth century. The last and best known of the four was founded in November 195 ...

, also serving as general manager from 1972–1975 after the departure of

Anthony Terracciano Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton ...

. He oversaw that company's merger with the

Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company The Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company was an American opera company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was active between 1958 and 1974. The company was led by a number of Artistic Directors during its history, beginning with Aurelio Fabiani ...

to form the

(OCP) in 1975. From 1975–1978 he served as OCP's first General Director. On October 19, 1950, Leon bought WDAS-AM from William Goldman, moving the station from

Ocean City, New Jersey Ocean City is a city in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the principal city of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Cape May County and is part of the Philadelphia- Wilmington-Camden, ...

to Philadelphia. He then relocated the station from Center City to Fairmount Park, where he built a world class facility with new towers and transmitter. He ran the station, which was marketed towards the black community, for almost three decades. In October 1979 he sold the station to the

National Black Network The National Black Network, or NBN, began operation on July 2, 1973 as the first coast-to-coast radio network wholly owned by African Americans. Early years The idea for a National Black Network was conceived by former ABC Radio and Mutual Broad ...

. He was also the owner of KNTO, a radio station located in Wichita Falls, Texas. Subsequent to his broadcasting career, Mr. Leon owned and trained numerous thoroughbred race horses. Leon died in Philadelphia in 1984. He was inducted posthumously into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fam

in 2007.

References

External links

Biography of Max Leon at broadcastpioneers.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Max 1904 births 1984 deaths American male conductors (music) American radio producers Impresarios Jewish American musicians Jewish classical musicians Opera managers American people of Polish-Jewish descent 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American musicologists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American Jews