![]() Jenkins was also one of the first on-air employees of ESPN when it launched in 1979, and spent more than 20 years as the lead commentator for the network’s NASCAR races alongside Ned Jarrett and Benny Parsons – worried, he later told Robin Miller, that someone in the stock car world would catch onto the fact that his heart really belonged to open-wheelers. But that unlikely beginning marked the start of relationship between Jenkins and the Speedway’s fans that spanned five decades, including his tenure as IMS Radio’s chief announcer from 1990 through 1998, and then on ABC from 1999 through 2003. The Indiana native got into motorsport broadcasting more or less by accident – he was reporting on farming stories at WIRE when he was ushered into the IMS radio network as a backstretch announcer in 1979 by friend and fellow radio journalist Paul Page. "When you're contemplating your mortality and your life, those are the things I reflect on," Charles said.Long-time Indy 500 and NASCAR radio and TV broadcaster Bob Jenkins died on Monday after a fight with brain cancer. Always look for the best," he told CNN.com. That's what's going to make life worth living. "Find that little kernel every day that brings you pleasure and joy - and fasten onto that. ![]() He spoke about making video diaries for his 5-year-old daughter, to have to remember him. Before his death, he returned to TV only one time: on HBO's "Boxing After Dark" last March.Ĭharles is survived by his wife, their daughter, Giovanna, and three children from two previous marriages: Jason, 39 Melissa, 36 and Katie, 24.Ĭharles reflected on dying for an April 8 CNN.com article, written one month past the 20 months he was told in August 2009 that he could expect to live. In 2009, his illness forced him to take a leave of absence from Showtime, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He covered some of the sport's most memorable fights, including the one in which Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear. From there, Charles worked in Baltimore and Washington before signing on at CNN.Ĭharles, who was half-Greek and half-Sicilian, was known for his good looks and sharp clothing, The Washington Post reported.Ĭharles left CNN in 2001 and joined Showtime as a commentator on boxing, according to The Hollywood Reporter. His news director in Springfield suggested he change his name. He took the job and accepted a pay cut, earning $130 a week as a sports anchor, compared to the $200 he made driving a cab, according to CNN. He drove a taxi to pay for school and was still driving when he auditioned for his first television job in 1970 in Springfield, Ill. Nicholas Charles Nickeas grew up poor in Chicago and worked his way to Columbia College Chicago, where he studied journalism and communications, according to CNN. landscape he loved, his wife, Cory, told CNN. ![]() He was 64.įor two decades, Charles and Fred Hickman hosted the CNN show "Sports Tonight," which competed with ESPN's "SportsCenter."Ĭharles died overlooking the Santa Fe, N.M. Nick Charles, CNN's first sports anchor, died Saturday after a two-year struggle with bladder cancer, the network reports.
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