The Militant is surprised that no one in the local blogosphere caught this, but considering the fact that most of the transplant-dominated local bloggers are out of town, the Militant assumes control! Power! Absolute powah!But seriously now, the Militant mourns today's loss of local broadcasting legend Stu Nahan, 81, who succumbed after a long battle with lymphoma. A Los Angeles native, he grew up in Canada where he became a minor league hockey goalie and eventually started his broadcasting career in Sacramento and Philadelphia before coming back to his hometown in the late 1960s.
Locals remember seeing him on KABC Channel 7, KNBC Channel 4 and KTLA Channel 5 and hearing "Silver-Tipped Stu" on KABC 790, Xtra Sports 690 and KFWB 980, where we last heard him as part of the Dodgers pregame show before his retirement three years ago.
He was known to non-locals too, as the boxing commentator in the Rocky saga, but many an Angeleno will forever have his spry, concerned and authoritative baritone embedded in their minds for the rest of their lives.
I remember Stu's sportscasts, primarily on channel 4, very well. I also recall Rogin coming in and the station basically giving Stu the heave-ho fairly quickly. Tough business, but Stu seemed to always land on his feet. I was interested to know that when he came to channel 4, he replaced Ross Porter, who moved up to broadcast Dodgers' games. God, I hated Ross Porter. My stepfather used to (rightfully) call him "old mush mouth". Anyhoo, rest in peace, Stu.
ReplyDeleteI best remembered Stu when I made Channel 5's News at Ten a daily habit. He was a tremendously talented sports anchor.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most memorable commentaries he said was his disgust at naming the Super Bowl Trophy after Vince Lombardi. Nahan referenced a game where the Packers were playing a weak opponent, and Green Bay was so far ahead that the opposing squad would have had no chance of coming back. Lombardi still insisted that his team play hard to further humiliate the opponents.
It was bold to hear that comment.
Sad to see that another talent from KTLA's better days is no longer with us.
Stu will be greatly missed.