Jim Healy
Encyclopedia
Jim Healy was a longtime Los Angeles
, California
, sports commentator (KLAC, 1961-65; KFWB, 1969; KABC-TV
, 1969-84; KLAC, 1973-82; KMPC
, 1984-94), whose daily solo radio show featured a number of sound effects and audio clips ("drops") of famous sports personalities, which he played repeatedly to affect an acerbically humorous tone.
Excerpting from his entry on the "L.A. Radio: Where Are They Now?" list:
A one-of-a-kind sportscaster in Los Angeles for 43 years, Jim died July 22, 1994, at age 70 from complications of liver cancer. He began at KMPC
in 1950, fresh out of UCLA, writing for broadcaster Bob Kelley. Jim wrote for Bob for 11 years. He hosted "Here's Healy" on KBIG and also worked at KFWB, KABC-TV
and KLAC. Jim was the nightly sports reporter on KABC-TV/Channel 7... ..."Is... it... true?" became one of his trademark lines. His headstone at Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn reads: "Jim Healy, 1923-94, IT IS TRUE.” ... In 1997 he was inducted into the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Healy's shows (at least those from the late 1970s onward) took the form of him reading headlines, with the clicking sound effect of a teleprinter
in the background. In response to his own headlines or comments, Healy would then play one of his many favorite audio clips, such as "That's a bunch of bull," "That's just plain poppycock" (President Richard Nixon
), or "Jim Healy, you've got a weak show" (by a Howard Cosell
mimic). Among his sound effects was a silly laughtrack, sounding like, "Hee-hee-hee-hee..." (Norm Sherry
, then manager of the California Angels).
Perhaps the most notorious—and among the most frequently played—clip in Healy's collection was a post-game tirade by then-Los Angeles Dodgers
manager Tommy Lasorda
, after Dave Kingman
, playing for the Chicago Cubs
, hit three home runs to beat the Dodgers. Lasorda's rant started out: "What's my opinion of Kingman's performance!? What the &@*$% do you think is my opinion of it?"
More often than not, his programs embodied satire and ironies of the sports scene rather than another pedestrian delivery of sports news reports found everywhere else. For example, instead of straight reporting from the weekly UCLA press lunches, he'd talk about "They offered the build-it yourself tostadas at the Bruin football press conference today, drawing a lot of the usual media free-loaders (followed with a sound drop of hogs feeding)," which
of course had nothing to do with football but was considerably more amusing.
Added side note: UCLA eventually stopped serving lunch at its pressers.
Among other Healy-isms:
His KMPC
show was famous for going over its 30-minute time limit. Healy would stay on the air as the top of the hour approached, then warn his listeners about the impending "dreaded six o'clock tone," and continue his program.
During his late career, one of Healy's favorite clips came from then-University of Miami
defensive end Jerome Brown, captured on tape when Brown led his fellow Hurricanes out of a pre-1987 Fiesta Bowl
dinner with opponent Penn State, saying: "Did the Japanese go and sit down and have dinner with Pearl Harbor before they bombed 'em?" Any reference to Japan or the Japanese on Healy's show would result in a replay of Brown's remark. When Brown died in a car accident on June 25, 1992, Healy announced Brown's death during his 5:30 p.m. PDT broadcast — and never played the "Pearl Harbor" clip again.
Healy is the father of Patrick Healy, a longtime newscaster on KNBC-TV in Los Angeles
.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, sports commentator (KLAC, 1961-65; KFWB, 1969; KABC-TV
KABC-TV
KABC-TV, channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, licensed to Los Angeles, California. KABC-TV's studios are located in Glendale, California...
, 1969-84; KLAC, 1973-82; KMPC
KMPC
KMPC is a radio station based in Los Angeles, California and is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Licensee, LLC. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean-language programming...
, 1984-94), whose daily solo radio show featured a number of sound effects and audio clips ("drops") of famous sports personalities, which he played repeatedly to affect an acerbically humorous tone.
Excerpting from his entry on the "L.A. Radio: Where Are They Now?" list:
A one-of-a-kind sportscaster in Los Angeles for 43 years, Jim died July 22, 1994, at age 70 from complications of liver cancer. He began at KMPC
KMPC
KMPC is a radio station based in Los Angeles, California and is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Licensee, LLC. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean-language programming...
in 1950, fresh out of UCLA, writing for broadcaster Bob Kelley. Jim wrote for Bob for 11 years. He hosted "Here's Healy" on KBIG and also worked at KFWB, KABC-TV
KABC-TV
KABC-TV, channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, licensed to Los Angeles, California. KABC-TV's studios are located in Glendale, California...
and KLAC. Jim was the nightly sports reporter on KABC-TV/Channel 7... ..."Is... it... true?" became one of his trademark lines. His headstone at Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn reads: "Jim Healy, 1923-94, IT IS TRUE.” ... In 1997 he was inducted into the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Healy's shows (at least those from the late 1970s onward) took the form of him reading headlines, with the clicking sound effect of a teleprinter
Teleprinter
A teleprinter is a electromechanical typewriter that can be used to communicate typed messages from point to point and point to multipoint over a variety of communication channels that range from a simple electrical connection, such as a pair of wires, to the use of radio and microwave as the...
in the background. In response to his own headlines or comments, Healy would then play one of his many favorite audio clips, such as "That's a bunch of bull," "That's just plain poppycock" (President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
), or "Jim Healy, you've got a weak show" (by a Howard Cosell
Howard Cosell
Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
mimic). Among his sound effects was a silly laughtrack, sounding like, "Hee-hee-hee-hee..." (Norm Sherry
Norm Sherry
Norman Burt Sherry is an American former catcher, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball. He is best known as the man who, while still an active player as the second-string catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, helped the great lefthanded pitcher Sandy Koufax harness his talent and transform...
, then manager of the California Angels).
Perhaps the most notorious—and among the most frequently played—clip in Healy's collection was a post-game tirade by then-Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
manager Tommy Lasorda
Tommy Lasorda
Thomas Charles Lasorda is a former Major League baseball player and manager. marked his sixth decade in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest non-continuous tenure anyone has had with the team, edging Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully...
, after Dave Kingman
Dave Kingman
David Arthur Kingman , nicknamed "Kong" and "Sky King", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter. The towering 6' 6" Kingman was one of the most feared sluggers of the 1970s and 1980s...
, playing for the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
, hit three home runs to beat the Dodgers. Lasorda's rant started out: "What's my opinion of Kingman's performance!? What the &@*$% do you think is my opinion of it?"
More often than not, his programs embodied satire and ironies of the sports scene rather than another pedestrian delivery of sports news reports found everywhere else. For example, instead of straight reporting from the weekly UCLA press lunches, he'd talk about "They offered the build-it yourself tostadas at the Bruin football press conference today, drawing a lot of the usual media free-loaders (followed with a sound drop of hogs feeding)," which
of course had nothing to do with football but was considerably more amusing.
Added side note: UCLA eventually stopped serving lunch at its pressers.
Among other Healy-isms:
- He used the term "zops" as slang for dollars.
- He referred to fellow L.A. sports broadcasting personality Stu NahanStu NahanStu Nahan was an American sportscaster best known for his television broadcasting career in Los Angeles from the 1950s through the 1990s. He is also remembered for his role as a boxing commentator in most of the Rocky films. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6549 Hollywood Blvd...
(both appeared in "Rocky IIIRocky IIIRocky III is a 1982 American film that is the third installment in the Rocky film series. It is written and directed by and stars Sylvester Stallone as the title character, with Carl Weathers as former boxing rival Apollo Creed, Burgess Meredith as Rocky's trainer Mickey, and Talia Shire as Rocky's...
") as "Silver-tipped Stu." - He called Bill Dwyre, sports editor of the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, "Journalist Bill." - Ever dismissive of his arch-rivals, UCLA alum Healy referred to the USC TrojansUSC TrojansThe USC Trojans are the athletic teams representing the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the Trojans, the women's athletic teams are referred to as either the Trojans or Women of Troy...
as the "Brain Surgeons." - He called Chick HearnChick HearnFrancis Dayle "Chick" Hearn was an American sportscaster. Known primarily as the long-time play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, the legendary Hearn is remembered for his rapid fire, staccato broadcasting style, inventing colorful phrases such...
, the late announcer for the Los Angeles LakersLos Angeles LakersThe Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, "Chickieburger." - Chris SchenkelChris SchenkelChristopher Eugene "Chris" Schenkel was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and baritone voice.-Early life and career:Schenkel began his broadcasting career at radio...
, who actually died in 2005, eleven years after Healy, was always "the late Chris Schenkel".
His KMPC
KMPC
KMPC is a radio station based in Los Angeles, California and is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Licensee, LLC. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean-language programming...
show was famous for going over its 30-minute time limit. Healy would stay on the air as the top of the hour approached, then warn his listeners about the impending "dreaded six o'clock tone," and continue his program.
During his late career, one of Healy's favorite clips came from then-University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
defensive end Jerome Brown, captured on tape when Brown led his fellow Hurricanes out of a pre-1987 Fiesta Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
dinner with opponent Penn State, saying: "Did the Japanese go and sit down and have dinner with Pearl Harbor before they bombed 'em?" Any reference to Japan or the Japanese on Healy's show would result in a replay of Brown's remark. When Brown died in a car accident on June 25, 1992, Healy announced Brown's death during his 5:30 p.m. PDT broadcast — and never played the "Pearl Harbor" clip again.
Healy is the father of Patrick Healy, a longtime newscaster on KNBC-TV in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.