1. John Blackman was an Australian radio and television presenter, voice artist, comedy writer and author.
18 Facts About John Blackman
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John Blackman was most widely-known for his voice-over work for the long-running Nine Network comedy variety show Hey Hey It's Saturday from 1971 until 1999, returning for reunion specials in 2009 and in 2021, with a brief relaunch in 2010.
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John Blackman was an avid supporter of the Fitzroy Football Club, now the Brisbane Lions.
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John Blackman worked in radio from 1969 but was probably best known for his 28-year stint as announcer and character voice-over for the Nine Network's Hey Hey It's Saturday, Australia's longest-running variety show.
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John Blackman returned to 3AK Melbourne in 1979 to host the breakfast show until 1981.
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In 1997, after a seven-year hiatus from radio, John Blackman was employed as the cohost of the 3AK breakfast show with Anna "Pinky" Pinkus and Denis Donoghue until 2000.
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In 2009, John Blackman returned as part of the Hey Hey It's Saturday reunion specials to reprise his voice-over role.
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John Blackman had a four-decade feud with Kamahl, which was instigated in part by John Blackman and Daryl Somers' persistent bullying on Hey Hey, including racist jokes.
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John Blackman joked at the time that this made him a "real white man".
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John Blackman continued in a solo role until May 2016, when he was unceremoniously dumped by Macquarie Media Ltd.
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John Blackman was a corporate host and compere for over 800 business award nights, conferences and social occasions.
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John Blackman authored several books, including Aussie Slang, Aussie Gags and More Aussie Gags, Don't Come the Raw Prawn, Best of Aussie Slang, Aussie Slang Dictionary, and the Dickie Knee Bumper Comic Book.
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John Blackman married his second wife Cecile on 2 December 1972, and they have an adult daughter.
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On Christmas Eve 2007, John Blackman suffered a seizure brought on by a golf ball size meningioma brain tumour.
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John Blackman was diagnosed with an aggressive form of skin cancer in 2019, resulting in his jaw being removed.
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The cancer reappeared in 2022, with John Blackman undergoing extensive surgery to remove the top of his skull and the skin from his scalp.
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John Blackman died from a heart attack on 4 June 2024, at the age of 76.
18.
John Blackman was a member of the Patrons Council of the Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria.