![]() ![]() chain Boots the Chemist for two years, then was accepted in 1954 at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Glenda May Jackson was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire. Once again, Jackson defied expectations, serving as a member of Parliament from 1992 to 2015. Many actors were activists, but some doubted an actress could make a career of it. When she declared that she was moving into politics, some were skeptical. ![]() Saunders, who signed a new contract with ESPN in 2015, seemed to revel in his work, once invoking James Brown to describe his double-duty basketball coverage for ESPN and ABC: “I’m the hardest working man in show business.Onstage, she triumphed as other complex women in “Hedda Gabler,” “Strange Interlude” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.” Survivors include his wife of 29 years, Wanda Saunders two daughters and a brother. He recently completed a memoir, Playing Hurt: My Journey From Despair, with author John Bacon, to be published next year, about his lifelong struggle with depression. In 2013, Saunders filmed a public service announcement promoting awareness of depression as an illness. From 1995 to 2001, Saunders was the play-by-play announcer for the NBA’s Toronto Raptors on CKVR and CITY, while continuing to work at ESPN. He was a sports anchor at Baltimore’s WMAR-TV from 1982 to 1986. While still in college, Saunders filed radio reports on hockey, then worked as a country-music disc jockey before working at Canadian TV stations starting in 1979, first at CKNY in North Bay, Ont., then at ATV in New Brunswick and at CITY in Toronto. A younger brother, Bernie Saunders, played in the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques. He was a standout hockey player in his youth and played briefly at Western Michigan University and later at Toronto’s Ryerson University, from which he graduated in 1977. 2, 1955, in Toronto and grew up in Montreal. “I reacted as someone who is a former athlete who had been in a situation like that before,” he said, “so I’ll clarify that there’s no way the players should be going into the stands.” I have never seen a situation, covering sports, where the players go into the stands where it wasn’t first instigated by those fans.”Īfter prodding by network executives, Saunders backed off his comments. ![]() “I’m here to tell you that the Piston fans, based on what I saw there,” Saunders said, “are a bunch of punks. Saunders faced criticism in 2004 for his comments after an NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons ended in a wild brawl in which several players went into the stands to fight with fans in Auburn Hills, Michigan. But to the many African Americans who have been treated as second-class citizens in every day of their lives and had to watch taxis go by or watch others seated at tables, it struck their sensitivities.” “I know Billy was referring to Iverson’s spirit or aggressiveness. “I was more upset at his lack of sensitivity as to how it hurt or upset African Americans,” he said. Packer apologized, but Saunders provided context in an interview with USA Today. In 1996, when CBS basketball commentator Billy Packer referred to then-Georgetown University basketball star Allen Iverson as a “tough monkey,” Saunders voiced disapproval. ![]() Last week, he spoke at the joint convention of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists in Washington. When you come in that room after, just give me thumbs up if it’s not … and if it is don’t do anything.’ And when I woke, the first guy I saw after surgery was John and I saw thumbs up and we hugged.”Īs one of the North America’s best-known black sportscasters, Saunders occasionally addressed racial issues in sports and society. “The doctor told me that there was a good chance it was going to be cancer,” Vitale told the Associated Press. In 2008, when Vitale underwent career-threatening throat surgery, he said Saunders was at his bedside. Urbane and unflappable, Saunders was often paired in basketball broadcasts with the irrepressible Dick Vitale. His death came 18 months after that of another veteran ESPN broadcaster, Stuart Scott, who died of cancer at 49. “John was an extraordinary talent and his friendly, informative style has been a warm welcome to sports fans for decades,” ESPN president John Skipper said in a statement.ĭozens of athletes and broadcasting colleagues paid tribute to Saunders on Twitter and other social-media platforms. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. ![]()
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