Tributes for larrikin Eastlake
LEADING sports broadcaster Darrell Eastlake — known for his big, booming voice — has been remembered as “a larrikin”, after passing away aged 75. The former Wide World of Sports commentator, once the voice of State of Origin and the Commonwealth Games, had been battling Alzheimer’s and emphysema for several years.
His former colleague Ken Sutcliffe said Eastlake was “a real larrikin” and had “a heart as big as Australia”.
“He was larger than life, and he loved life,” Sutcliffe told AAP on Thursday morning after the Nine Network announced Eastlake’s death.
Eastlake worked in TV and radio for more than 40 years and was known for his trademark booming voice.
Sutcliffe remembered when they first met in 1982, before the pair worked at the Brisbane Commonwealth Games.
“He had an absolutely booming voice, but he was holding back a bit during the screen-testing. Then the excitement of the Games got too much for him and he just unleashed,” he said.
Eight years later in Auckland, Eastlake was so loud he was moved from the press box to a stairwell downstairs with a TV monitor set up especially for him. “Even then they could still hear him,” Sutcliffe said. “But everyone loved him; he was just a really good fellow.”
NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said Eastlake’s “iconic” commentary will “always be part of the rich history of State of Origin”.
“His calls were always colourful, larger than life, and he oozed passion through every tackle or big moment,” he said in a statement.
Nine Network’s director of sport, Tom Malone, told colleagues Eastlake understood “sport is entertainment, and for the average person, a momentary escape from their everyday life”.
Eastlake died at his nursing home on the NSW Central Coast, wife Julie by his side.