Posted on 06/25/2011 6:06:18 PM PDT by My Favorite Headache
Nick Charles, CNN's first sports anchor, lost his battle with bladder cancer on Saturday (June 25). He was 64.
Charles, the son of a taxi driver, grew up in Chicago. He himself got behind the wheel of a cab when putting himself through college. When he got his first job as a sports anchor he was told that his Greek name -- Nick Nickleas -- was too ethnic. So he changed it to Charles.
Along with Fred Hickman, Charles co-anchored CNN's "Sports Tonight" for 20 years. In 2009, he was diagnosed with cancer. In March, Charles said he hoped to make it through one more Easter, see his daughter play the piano, see his dream home completed and reach his 65th birthday on June 30. According to CNN, he made three out of four.
On Saturday, boxer Mike Tyson remember Charles on Twitter: "Mourning the loss of a true warrior. My friend & brother, Nick Charles."
RIP
Agree, he was really good.
too bad. I watched him when he was on WRC. lost track of him when he went to the commie news network.
RIP, Mr. Charles.
I was unfamiliar with this "Nick Charles".
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/06/25/pkg.charles.colleagues.remember.cnn
Have a box of tissues handy on this one.
I used to watch him and Fred Hickman (who overcame a coke habit) doing the sports on CNN back before the FNC days.
Last few times I’ve seen him on TV, he didn’t look too good.
I live in MD - used to watch him on WRC [Washington] and WJZ [Baltimore] all the time ...
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