Name: Chick Hearn
Date of Birth: 27 November 1916 Long-time play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers. Host of TV game-show "Bowling for Dollars." Had only missed two Laker games, both times due to poor weather. Son, Gary, died of a drug overdose on June 1, 1972. Daughter, Samantha, died of pneumonia May 24, 1991, brought on by anorexia. Wife Marge was his high school sweetheart. Hearn began his career covering Bradley University (which he attended), and the Peoria Caterpillars basketball team. He moved to Los Angeles in 1956 to announce football and basketball games for the University of Southern California. He was hosting a popular daily radio sports show when the Lakers, who had moved from Minneapolis in 1960, asked him to join their new broadcast team during the 1961 NBA playoffs. ... Would jokingly claim to have lost his birth certificate whenever he was asked how old he was. Coined the term "slam dunk." Enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, 2003. Got his nickname while, as an amateur basketball player, he was handed a box of sneakers only to be surprised to find a chick inside. Has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (6755 Hollywood Blvd.). Postumously selected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the first broadcaster to be honored. (7 April 2003) Recipient of the Curt Gowdy Award (awarded to members of the electronic and print media for outstanding contributions to basketball by the Basketball Hall of Fame) in 1992. Inducted into the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame in 1995. He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio at 6755 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Read more Chick Hearn movies (actor)User Comments |
