NATPE Founder Lew Klein Dies

Lew Klein, the founder and former president of NATPE and the NATPE Educational Foundation, has died at the age of 91.

Klein’s passing was confirmed by NATPE Chairman Andy Kaplan, who said in a statement: “It is with the deepest regret that we inform you that Lew Klein, NATPE’s founder and guiding light, has passed away. Lew was the soul and inspiration for NATPE and was tireless in his work and support of both NATPE and the NATPE Foundation, which he founded and served as president until his passing.”

Kaplan added, “Our condolences go out to Janet, Lew’s wife, who was by his side for a lifetime and always present at NATPE events, and to Lew’s entire family. We will dearly miss his wise counsel, smiling face and his class. He was one of a kind.”

Klein, who started his career in the 1950s in the programming department of WFIL in Philadelphia, was the president of Gateway Communications from 1984 to 1993. He then went on to serve as the executive producer of American Bandstand and the award-winning series Frontiers of Knowledge and College News Conference.

Pursuing his passion for passing on his knowledge about the media industry, Klein was an adjunct professor at the School of Communications at Temple University in Philadelphia for 65 years.

Among the honors Klein received during his lifetime were NATPE’s President’s Award, the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Gold Medal, Broadcast Pioneer’s Philadelphia Chapter’s Broadcaster of the Year title and the Broadcast Education Association’s Distinguished Education Service Award.

Klein is survived by his wife, Janet, his children Ellen and Stephen, granddaughter Anna and her husband, John, and great-grandchildren Oscar and Miriam.