Walter Liss, a 1961 graduate of La Salle College High School in Wyndmoor and former President of ABC Television, was instrumental in creating 6ABC Action News‘ iconic theme song, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported today.

The idea for the now-52-year-old song “Move Closer to Your World” came from Liss, who wanted a theme similar to a popular Coca-Cola commercial that featured the jingle, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony),” the Inquirer said. Hillside Singers producer Al Ham wrote the music and Liss wrote the lyrics, debuting on what was then called WPVI-TV.

Mike Monsell, 6ABC’s vice president of marketing, found original handwritten notes from Liss and Ham, along with a photocopy of the theme’s sheet music inside his desk drawer roughly a decade ago. They were recently refurbished by professional conservationists and still hang on the TV station’s history wall as a tour favorite.

According to the Inquirer, the song’s original version was updated by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and debuted on September 20, 1996. A public outcry forced producers to pull it just three days later. Later this summer, a mini-documentary will chronicle how viewers reacted to the “orchestrated” version of the opening theme.

In 2015, Philly’s The Roots sampled the song during their performance in front of the Art Museum at the 4th of July Jam:

Liss passed away on Monday, May 16, 2022.

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Photos: 6ABC