Peter Kenney, 91, former chief lobbyist for NBC in
Washington and a longtime Washington and international broadcasting executive
for the company, died Jan. 3 at his home in Henlopen Acres (Rehoboth Beach),
Del. His death was reported Friday in the Cape Gazette.
Kenney was also onetime manager of NBC-owned WRC-TV
Washington and, briefly, VP, NBC International, based in Buenos Aires,
responsible for TV station construction in South America. He was VP,
Washington, for NBC from the early 1960s until his retirement in 1983.
Kenney was born Sept. 12, 1921, in Hartford, Conn. He served
in the Signal Corps during World War II, joining a Hartford ad agency upon his
return. He moved into radio sales and became VP and GM of WKNB New Britain,
Conn. He moved into TV, launching New England's first UHF station as co-owner
and VP. The station was bought by NBC. He transferred to the international
division and moved to Buenos Aires.
Kenney was a longtime member of the National Association of
Broadcasters board, as well as the All-Channel Broadcasting Committee, the
President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, and the National
Industry Advisory Council. He received NAB's Grover Cobb Award for
contributions to the broadcasting industry.
Survivors include his wife, Geraldine, Mr. Kenney, and two
sons, John T. Kenney of Lewes, and Peter B. Kenney Jr. of Atlanta, Ga.
A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Jan. 7 at St.
Edmond Catholic Church, 409 King Charles Ave., Rehoboth Beach. Visitation is
4-5:30 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 6, at Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium,
Atkins-Lodge Chapel, 16961 Kings Hwy., Lewes.
