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Vale: Tony Charlton

Broadcaster Tony Charlton, best known for calling major sports events, has died, aged 83.

Retired broadcaster Tony Charlton, best known for calling major sports events, died at his home on Monday morning after suffering from bowel cancer.

He was 83.

Charlton’s career spanned some 60 years, calling major sporting events including the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, Australian Rules football, tennis, motor racing and golf.

He began in radio in 1949 and later worked for Channel Seven, Channel Nine and the ABC.

He commentated the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, and was involved in the first live telecast of a VFL game in 1957.

“Tony Charlton was a high quality broadcaster, who mixed both superb oratory and commentary skills with an ability to break news and tell the stories of our game,” AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said in a statement.

He was awarded an OAM in 1990, an AM in 2003, is an inductee in the Australian Football and Sport Australia halls of fame and was awarded the Australian Olympic Committee Order of Merit in 2008.

Source: NineMSN, The Age

3 Responses

  1. Never met him personally but spoke to him many times from TCN9 to GTV9 when Today and his Sunday night program Interview were running. Was an absolute gentleman and most understanding of stuff-ups and Telecom technical problems.
    The live phone call to a right name/wrong lady in the UK during his Today show is still replayed on goof-tapes.

  2. I am too young to remember this man in his peek on TV, but always enjoyed listening to him speak about the days he was involved in broadcasting. He spoke so gracefully and acknowledged the greats sportscasters that followed him and learnt from him like McAvaney and McGuire. A man that achieved so much, deserved to have a ego yet appeared an absolute gentleman. Will certainly miss your stories Tony. RIP.

  3. A terrific broadcaster and a lovely man, with an amazing memory for names. As a lowly young member of staff at 9, he always greeted me by name, and at an unofficial reunion 50 years later, he again greeted me by name.

    Amazing.

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