The Road Taken: Bob Kelly Reports the Traffic, But He Doesn’t Stop There
Bob Kelly with some young fans live on Fox29.
Sue Serio of “Good Day Philadelphia” with Kelly recently at the Oar House in Sea Isle City.
Kelly with some of the people partying on Wednesdays at the Oar House.
“Kelly Drives” airs Thursday at 6:30pm.
In the early-morning hours of Sunday, June 11, a tanker truck exploded and caught fire underneath Interstate 95 at Cottman Avenue in Philadelphia, causing the northbound lanes on the highway to collapse and traffic in both directions to come to a screeching halt … for the foreseeable future. For Fox 29 News traffic anchor and feature reporter Bob Kelly, a quiet summer morning at the shore quickly turned chaotic.
“I found out at about 6:45am when my phone started going crazy,” he says. “I opened it up and the first thing I see is a video of the fire and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, where is this?’ So, then everybody in the world starts texting and the station was calling me. I was just nonstop on the phone that day, gathering information, getting set up with the TV station and the right cameras. As it was unfolding, there were all these unknowns.”
As you read this, there are likely still a lot of unknowns, the biggest being: When will I-95 reopen?
I had the opportunity to talk to Bob Kelly just four days after the I-95 collapse – essentially the Super Bowl week of traffic. Yet, he was generous with his time, affable, unfiltered, funny, and quite serious about giving back to the community and shining a spotlight on the small businesses and neighborhoods that make the Philadelphia area uniquely “Philly.”
In the immediate aftermath of the I-95 collapse, Kelly was like many of us in the Philadelphia area: concerned and frustrated. “It’s been a mess – 160,000 cars use that stretch daily and to put all of that traffic into the neighborhoods is just devastating,” he shares.
His advice? “Avoid the area. If you can forget that there’s a river there, 295 and the New Jersey Turnpike run parallel to 95. Go over a bridge. Yep – it’s going to cost you five bucks. I get it. But go over the bridge and come down 295 or flip-flop and go over and up.”
It’s exactly this kind of straight-talk wisdom that has made Kelly’s reports so popular since he began working as a traffic reporter at KYW News Radio in the late 1990s. As a Philadelphia native, he knew the neighborhoods, and after a long career as a DJ, he was quick with nicknames and catchphrases. “I came up with little things like U-turn Laverne, Double Jelly Donut Delay, the Benny, the Whitman and the Conshy Curve,” he says. “And I know the neighborhoods and how to get around. I grew up in Philly.”
Youthful ambition
It was actually while he was growing up in Philly, that Kelly mapped out his future. “I always wanted to be a disc jockey,” he recalls. “I would pretend in my bedroom, playing records.”
“The Crib,” Bob in his home studio
So, when opportunity came calling, the young Kelly was ready. “My very first DJ gig was at All Saints Parish,” he says. “When the DJ didn’t show up for a dance, the nun said, ‘Robert, go home and get your records.’ So, I went home, got my stereo system, had my records, and the dance went off without a hitch.”
So, at the ripe age of 12, Kelly negotiated a rate to DJ more school dances and then went down the street to other parishes to begin building his business. Eighth-grade dances led to freshman dances to sophomore hops, and then proms. Before long, Kelly was “working at places like The Bent Elbow, Finnegans Wake and all the good Irish bars and also doing weddings,” he says. “I put myself through college, at Temple, that way.”
Eventually he crossed paths with “The Geator with the Heater,” Jerry Blavat. “Jerry was my mentor,” Kelly notes. “He helped me get into the radio business.”
ON THE AIRWAVES
Once he got on the radio, Kelly’s career continued to thrive, and he worked as a DJ for stations up and down the dial. Soon enough, an interesting proposition came his way: “My agent said to me, ‘KYW is looking for somebody to liven up the traffic reports, you know they’re on every 10 minutes. Basically, DJ the traffic. You’re from Philly, you know the lingo.’”
He sure did. After a few years of doing traffic for KYW, many of the stations where Kelly used to DJ asked if he could do traffic for them too, and he started reporting traffic for several stations. “So, I kind of became the king of traffic,” he says with a laugh.
After years of success on the radio, it’s no surprise that TV stations had an interest in the informative, entertaining traffic reporter. So, when CBS3 Philadelphia asked Kelly to join its news team, he made the jump to TV.
TELEVISION PIONEER
But with this move, Kelly did more than just switch mediums, he became an innovator. “I remember talking to CBS3 and they were just going to have my face in a little box on the screen,” he remembers. “I said, ‘Do you want me to have fun with this? I want to do it like the weather, with a green screen. Give me some cars and fancy maps. If you want me to do this, that’s what I need.’”
CBS3 figured it out. “I became the very first person in the country to do traffic at the green screen,” he says. Ultimately, Kelly would be inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame.
Thirteen years later, Kelly was eager to do more than just traffic reports and when Fox 29 News offered him that opportunity, he took it.
One of Bob’s weekly toy drives. This one at Winnie’s in Manayunk.
Bob’s son Austin started popping his head into live shots during COVID.
HIGHLIGHTING THE COMMUNITY
Today, he’s not only the traffic anchor for Fox 29 News’ popular “Good Day Philadelphia” morning show, he’s also a featured reporter with a bevy of special segments that bring him out into the community, and the host of his own weekly show, “Kelly Drives.”
A few of Kelly’s popular segments include “Kelly’s Classroom,” in which he spotlights local schools, and “Breakfast with Bob,” where he explores breakfast venues.
“Every neighborhood has that breakfast place with the specials, and the story behind it. I’m like – let’s tell that story,” he explains. “Every week I go to a different breakfast place, and I promote them, they promote that I’m coming. They pack the place. We’re putting them on TV. Everybody’s happy. It’s so easy, and simple, and fun.”
Bob’s passion and mission is helping kids through Kelly’s KIDZ.
Other special Kelly segments include “Tailgate Takeover” in which he reports on the sights, sounds, and special stories that only take place in the parking lots before the Eagles games. During the holiday season, “A Very Kelly Christmas” turns a Christmas light tour into a block party.
On Friday mornings, Kelly does the “Town Takeover,” which becomes the “Shore Town Takeover” during summer. Each week he’ll visit a different town, up and down the Parkway, from Brigantine all the way to Cape May. Highlighting special events, attractions, and small businesses along the shore, the “Shore Town Takeover” is popular on-air and in person. “It packs the place,” says Kelly. “It’s like a party that kicks off at 4 o’clock in the morning.”
With all of these popular morning segments rolling, Kelly began to receive so many requests to visit different places in the Delaware Valley, that he created his own show, “Kelly Drives,” that runs for a half-hour each week and showcases “what’s out there,” he says.
“I like to find new spots that nobody’s ever heard of before. I try to fill the show with a little bit of everything. Something for the adults, for the kids, the parents, and in the summer, I try to include at least one shore spot every week.”
Whether it’s the “Kelly Drives” program, or a segment on “Good Day Philadelphia,” all of Kelly’s endeavors share a similar sentiment: giving a boost to the people and businesses that make this area tick.
“I love helping the smaller businesses because they get so much out of it,” he says. “I just love being able to see the reactions when I can do a story on a business and they double their business the next week, or they’ll tell me, ‘You put us on TV, and our phone has been ringing nonstop.’ I definitely love helping others.”
KELLY’S KIDZ
That sentiment is especially obvious with his philanthropic organization, Kelly’s Kidz. When Kelly’s 11-year-old son, Austin, had to be treated at Wilmington’s A.I. duPont Hospital (now Nemours Hospital for Children) for a severe allergic reaction as an infant, Kelly made a prayer in the chapel and a promise to create something to give back to the hospital. “Initially, I did a 5K run, and helped them build a radio studio for the Kid’s Craft Center,” he says. “I helped them get hooked up with the Phillies and they’re now the official children’s hospital for the Phillies.”
But like many things in Kelly’s life and career, one thing led to another.
“Right when COVID hit, St. Christopher’s Hospital called me and said, ‘We see you do a lot for A.I. duPont, but the person that gives us our toys just went bankrupt and we need toys for Christmas,’” he recalls. “I said, ‘Well, how many toys do you need?’ And they answered – 25,000. I’m like, oh my God! OK, we can do this.”
Serendipitously, a Facebook Live Dance Party with Austin during the COVID pandemic had just led Kelly to hosting a series of happy hours at outdoor venues. So, Kelly combined fun with philanthropy and started requesting a donation of a new toy or pajamas at every happy hour.
“The first one, people flocked to it, they packed the place, drank, ate, and brought a toy. So, it was like winner-winner chicken dinner,” Kelly says. “I helped the business, and everybody brought toys.”
Bob has made his Wednesday appearance at The Oar house a happening.
Today, Kelly hosts happy hours to benefit Kelly’s Kidz throughout the year. In summer, you can find him spinning tunes and collecting donations at the Hump Day Happy Hour at the Oar House Pub in Sea Isle every Wednesday, the No Shower Happy Hour at the Seaport Pier in North Wildwood every Friday, and the Sunday Funday Happy Hour at the Oar House every Sunday. Once every two weeks, he hauls a giant donation of toys and pajamas to St. Christopher’s.
So, as we are rolling through the Summer of 2023, (and maybe, possibly, hopefully … rolling along I-95), Bob Kelly will continue to stay busier than ever, reporting on the traffic with wisdom and wisecracks, highlighting our towns and businesses, and giving back to the community.
And he’ll be doing it all with his own signature style. “I was always animated because I was a performer, entertainer, disc jockey,” he says. “And that has allowed me to bring everything to life.”
Kelly’s Shore Favorites
With a home in North Wildwood, and a job that takes him into every shore town from Cape May to Brigantine, Bob Kelly has developed some favorites “down the shore.” Here, he shares a few:
Bakery/Cafe: Shorebreak Cafe in Sea Isle City. I met these folks at National Donut Day last year!
Crab Balls: Mike’s Seafood, the legend at the Jersey Shore.
Sunset Spot: The Surfing Pig in North Wildwood
Live Bands: - Jem & the Vibe, Mike Lecompt, Masquerade, Sensational Soul Cruisers. “I love the horn bands. Any band with a horn? I love. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that’s the stuff right there.”
