In August 2018, the radio personality was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer. Blackman’s jaw had to be removed and replaced with a piece of his thighbone as a result. He’s had several operations to rebuild his jaw over the years.
Advertisement
John Blackman is an Australian radio and television host, voice artist, comedian, and author. He is best known for his work as a voice actor on the long-running Nine Network comedy variety show Hey Hey It’s Saturday, which he hosted from 1971 to 1999 and then returned for reunion specials in 2009 and 2021, with a brief relaunch in 2010.
Advertisement
He joined 3AK in 1974 and hosted the morning show until 1975 when he moved to Sydney to work for 2UE for three months as a “floating” announcer.
A golf ball-sized (benign) meningioma brain tumour caused Blackman to have a seizure on Christmas Eve 2007. It was successfully removed after six hours of surgery at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital, and he made a full recovery.
Leave a Reply