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Jimmy Lennon Sr. (April 13, 1913 – April 20, 1992) was a ring announcer for
boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
and
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
matches.


Early life

Lennon sang as a young boy in church and later formed a singing group, The Lennon Brothers, with his brothers in
Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...
. He also served the
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
effort by becoming a commissioned civil instructor as a butcher and cook. At age 17, Lennon was planning to go to college and become an English professor, but his father Herbert Lennon became ill and died at age 44. This left Jimmy and his 19-year-old brother John Henry to work and support the large surviving family. He worked at multiple jobs singing and performing at sports events, athletic, patriotic, and police events in and around Los Angeles.


Announcing career

Lennon first became a ring announcer in
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
at the Ocean Park Arena, while working there as the regular singer of "
The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...
". The regular ring announcer at the time was unavailable so the event coordinator asked Lennon if he would fill in as ring announcer. At the time Lennon was wearing a tuxedo, which he also wore for his first announcing job. His boss liked Lennon's performance so well, he hired Lennon as the regular fight announcer. He was a stickler for details, a prime example being his painstaking effort to pronounce tongue-twisting names correctly. “A man is entitled to the dignity of his own name,” he once told the Los Angeles Times.


Other media

Lennon appeared in 75 productions, including ''
Raging Bull ''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty, Theresa Saldana, Frank Vincent and Nicholas Colasanto (in his final film role). The film ...
,
Rocky III ''Rocky III'' is a 1982 American sports drama film written and directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. The film is the sequel to ''Rocky II'' (1979) and the third installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt You ...
,
Main Event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
,
California Split ''California Split'' is a 1974 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and starring Elliott Gould and George Segal as a pair of gamblers. It was the first non- Cinerama film to use eight-track stereo sound. Plot In Los Angeles, ...
,
Tough Guys ''Tough Guys'' is a 1986 American action comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Eli Wallach, Charles Durning, Dana Carvey, and Darlanne Fluegel. It is the eighth film of Touchstone Pictures, and the fina ...
,
Kid Galahad ''Kid Galahad'' is a 1962 American musical film starring Elvis Presley as a boxer. It was released by United Artists in August 1962 and opened at #9 at the American box office. '' Variety'' ranked it #37 on its list of the top-grossing films of ...
,
The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom about the home life of a family of benign monsters that aired from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster (Frankenstein's monster),Episodes referring to the fact that Herman is ...
'', and ''
The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...
''. Lennon was the character of a Jakks Pacific action figure released in 2007, depicting his ''Rocky III'' appearance.


Personal life

The second born of seven brothers, Jimmy was later the uncle of the Lennon Sisters vocal group on ''
The Lawrence Welk Show ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1955 t ...
''. The popular singing sisters were the daughters of Bill Lennon, younger brother of Jimmy. Sadly, brother Bill was brutally gunned down in the parking lot of his place of employment, at the then Marina del Rey Golf Course, in August 1969. His deranged killer took his own life two months later.


Death

After ten years of heart problems, Lennon was admitted to St. John's Hospital in
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
, where he died in ER on April 20, 1992. Private funeral services were first attended by family and friends in Santa Monica, followed by a larger public open-casket service and burial. Lennon was survived by his wife, Doris, and four children: Scott, Robin Thomas, Kim Fitzgerald and Jimmy Jr., who is also a boxing ring announcer.


Awards and accomplishments

*World Boxing Hall of Fame **Hall of Fame *Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards **
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Mel ...
( Class of 1997)


Selected filmography

*'' Killer McCoy'' (1947) - Ring Announcer (uncredited) *''
State of the Union The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a Joint session of the United States Congress, joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning ...
'' (1948) - Reporter (uncredited) *'' Fighting Fools'' (1949) - Ring Announcer (uncredited) *'' Alias the Champ'' (1949) - Ring Announcer *''
Fighting Coast Guard ''Fighting Coast Guard'' is a 1951 American adventure film directed by Joseph Kane and written by Kenneth Gamet. The film stars Brian Donlevy, Forrest Tucker, Ella Raines, John Russell, Richard Jaeckel, William Murphy and Martin Milner. The f ...
'' (1951) - Announcer (uncredited) *''
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
'' (1951) - Announcer (uncredited) *'' Racket Girls'' (1951) - Himself *''
The Ring The Ring may refer to: Arts and entertainment *The Ring (franchise), ''The Ring'' (franchise), a Japanese horror media franchise Literature * ''The Ring'', a 1967 novel by Richard Chopping * ''The Ring'', a 1988 book by Daniel Keys Moran * ''The R ...
'' (1952) - Ring announcer Aragon fight (uncredited) *'' Champ for a Day'' (1953) - Fight Announcer (uncredited) *''
City of Bad Men ''City of Bad Men'' is a 1953 American Western film directed by Harmon Jones and starring Jeanne Crain and Dale Robertson. Plot A heavyweight championship fight between "Gentleman Jim" Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons is coming to Carson City, ...
'' (1953) - Fight Announcer (uncredited) *''
World in My Corner ''World in My Corner'' is a 1956 American film noir drama sports film directed by Jesse Hibbs and starring Audie Murphy, Barbara Rush and Jeff Morrow. The film was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is one of the few non-Western ...
'' (1956) - Ring Announcer *''
Kid Galahad ''Kid Galahad'' is a 1962 American musical film starring Elvis Presley as a boxer. It was released by United Artists in August 1962 and opened at #9 at the American box office. '' Variety'' ranked it #37 on its list of the top-grossing films of ...
'' (1962) - Fight Announcer (uncredited) *''Joe Frazier vs. Eddie Machen'' (1966) - Himself *''
The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...
'' (1967) – Ring Announcer in S1:E20, "Monkees in the Ring" *''
Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...
'' (1972) - Announcer *'' Let's Do It Again'' (1975) - Fight Announcer *''Train Ride to Hollywood'' (1975) - Himself *'' The One and Only'' (1978) - Ring Announcer in New York (uncredited) *''
Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Mathilda (gastropod), ''Mathilda'' (gastropod), a genus of gastropods in the family Mathildidae * Matilda (horse) (1824–1 ...
'' (1978) - Ring announcer *''
Movie Movie ''Movie Movie'' is a 1978 American double bill directed by Stanley Donen. It consists of two films: ''Dynamite Hands'', a boxing ring morality play, and ''Baxter's Beauties of 1933'', a musical comedy, both starring the husband-and-wife team of ...
'' (1978) - The Announcer (segment "Dynamite Hands") *''
The Main Event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
'' (1979) - Announcer *''
Raging Bull ''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty, Theresa Saldana, Frank Vincent and Nicholas Colasanto (in his final film role). The film ...
'' (1980) - Ring Announcer - Second Robinson Fight and Dauthuille Fight *''Thomas Hearns vs. Pipino Cuevas'' (1980) - Himself *'' Body and Soul'' (1981) - Ring Announcer *''
Rocky III ''Rocky III'' is a 1982 American sports drama film written and directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. The film is the sequel to ''Rocky II'' (1979) and the third installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt You ...
'' (1982) - Title Announcer *''Delta Pi'' (1984) - Ring Announcer *''
Tough Guys ''Tough Guys'' is a 1986 American action comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Eli Wallach, Charles Durning, Dana Carvey, and Darlanne Fluegel. It is the eighth film of Touchstone Pictures, and the fina ...
'' (1986) - Himself


See also

*
Chuck Hull Chuck Hull (Charles W. Hull; born May 12, 1939) is an American inventor who is the co-founder, executive vice president and chief technology officer for regenerative medicine of 3D Systems. He is one of the inventors of the SLA 3D printer, t ...
*
Michael Buffer Michael Buffer (born November 2, 1944) is an American ring announcer (or " MC") for boxing, professional wrestling, and National Football League events. Pioneering a distinct announcing style in which he rolls certain letters and adds other ...


References

*''Briefly, Ring Announcer Lennon Dies After Long Illness'', Daily News of Los Angeles, April 21, 1992. *''L.A. Ring Announcer Jimmy Lennon Dies; Boxing: He was the popular voice at Southland bouts for more than four decades'' Los Angeles Times, April 21, 1992.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lennon, Jimmy 1913 births 1992 deaths Professional wrestling announcers