The 40-year television and radio veteran had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and emphysema for many years

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The veteran sports announcer Darrell Eastlake has died aged 75.

The former Wide World of Sports commentator, who also called State of Origin and Commonwealth Games, had suffered with Alzheimer’s disease and emphysema for several years.

The Nine Network, where he called Origin and other sports for many years, announced his death on the Today show on Thursday.

Eastlake was known for his booming voice and worked in television and radio for more than 40 years.

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Channel Nine’s director of sport, Tom Malone, told colleagues Eastlake understood “sport is entertainment, and for the average person, a momentary escape from their everyday life”.



“Darrell’s impact on Australian sport cannot be overstated. He was one of the leading voices and faces of Wide World of Sports.



“He revolutionised sports like weightlifting, Formula 1, and superbikes with his trademark excitement and ‘HUUGE’ commentary,” Malone said in a statement.

The radio personality Ray Hadley told his 2GB listeners Eastlake was a “wonderful bloke” and a “gentleman in every respect”.

Eastlake died at his nursing home on the New South Wales central coast with his wife, Julie, by his side.

“He gets very down because he thinks he’s forgotten, but he’s not forgotten, he’s really and truly not,” Mrs Eastlake told Nine’s A Current Affair in 2016.

AFL commentator and Nine personality Eddie McGuire, who worked with Eastlake at the Commonwealth Games, said he was “larger than life” and a man who did his homework.

“He was a great teammate and I had many great times with him. He was sensational on air,” McGuire told Triple M.

