In life, things come and things go. And in another sad day here in LA broadcasting, longtime Los Angeles sportscaster Stu Nahan, who was introduced to a worldwide audience with his role as a boxing announcer in all six "Rocky" films, died yesterday at age 81 after a long battle with lymphoma. He began his career as a sportscaster at KCRA-TV Channel 3 in Sacramento, then moved to Philadelphia, where he announced Philadelphia Flyers hockey games on WKBS-TV Channel 48 as Captain Philadelphia and came to Los Angeles in 1968 as a sportscaster on KABC-TV Channel 7, KNBC-TV Channel 4 and KTLA-TV Channel 5 until he left in 1999.
A milestone in Nahan's career came in 1976 when he was cast to appear in a low-budget film about a boxer who unexpectedly gets to challenge boxing's heavyweight champion. Nahan was introduced to a worldwide audience with his role as a boxing announcer in all six "Rocky" films, "Rocky" would receive the best picture Oscar and spawn five sequels, all of which Nahan appeared in. Nahan also appeared in the 1982 film "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," interviewing surfer Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) in a dream sequence, who tells Nahan, who was wearing a colorful jacket, "Hey dude, nice jacket."
The cameo appearance had an impact on a member of Baseball's Hall of Fame, Nahan told City News Service in May, shortly before he received the 2,339th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. "Every time I've seen Tony Gwynn the past 20 years he doesn't say, `Hi Stu,' he says, `Hey dude, nice jacket,"' Nahan said. Nahan's Walk of Fame ceremony had been delayed because of his cancer treatment, but he said in May he was doing well. But it wasn't to be. Yesterday, another LA legend passed on.
Speaking of coming and going. it seems that all the coin that Paris Hilton thought she was going to get from her Hilton inheritance could be gone, gone, gone – and it's all her grandfather's fault. Barron Hilton announced yesterday that he would be giving 97 percent of his $2.3 billion fortune to charity, specifically to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, putting Paris' reported $30 million windfall in some doubt. There will still be about $130 million left, presumably for the family. (Poor Paris, hunh?) Grandpa Barron has been quoted as being "embarrassed" by Paris' behavior and even supposedly threatened to yank her inheritance entirely a few years back. Easy come, easy go!
And finally, it's time this girl has got to go. What's up with Britney Spears latest night of lunacy? It all started off when the popwreck hopped out of her car and stood in the middle of the street to get a photo of a roadside mural -- only to be thwarted by some inconsiderate paparazzo -- sending Spears into a camera smashing tirade! Unlucky for Brit, the camera she smashed was her own, and she had to return to the scene of the freak out to find her camera's memory card. A pap finally found it for her -- and then things got crazy! Brit then hopped into a photog's ride and took off to Woodland Hills -- reportedly hitting speeds of 120 MPH! After that, she strapped on her best pink wig and tight dress, and she and the photog went into the Peninsula Hotel -- where he later emerged at 4:00 AM craving a cigarette! Hmmm. By the way, what's with the unclean, Ratafarian hair? Okay girl, you're 15 minutes over your 15 minutes of fame. Buh-bye!What an insane day. We lost a legend, lost a billion, and are watching a pop diva lose it, period. It's all sad but that's the way Hollywood is. And it blows me away that people idolize the like of Hilton and Spears. What have they done to enhance the greater good? Stu on the other hand, did what he did best. And had fun at the same time. They say that celebrities always pass on in "threes." Hopefully, we've seen two careers pass on right before our eyes!
