John Blackman‘s wife Cecile has spoken for the first time after the radio legend’s death from a heart attack at the age of 76.
The Hey Hey It’s Saturday star’s passing was announced on The Morning Show earlier this week, with tributes quickly flocking in for the Australian radio icon.
Blackman’s wife of 52 years Cecile has now spoken out publicly after her husband’s death and detailed their precious final moments together.
The broadcaster passed away from a heart attack at his home on Tuesday after undergoing minor surgery the day before to have two skin cancers removed.
In 2018, Blackman had his jaw removed amid a difficult battle with cancer and an operation on his brain in 2022, but Cecile said it was his heart that caused his death, after he had been on heart medication for many years.
John Blackman’s wife Cecile (pictured with the broadcaster in 2018) has spoken for the first time after the radio legend’s death from a heart attack at the age of 76
‘I think his body just went “Nuh, I am sick of this”, he died of a heart attack, there was no sign of cancer,’ she told the Herald Sun.
Cecile detailed Blackman’s last moments as she told how he went for a five-hour nap after feeling tired from his minor surgery, but woke up with ‘shocking’ chest pain.
She immediately called the ambulance but Blackman tragically died before they arrived at their home.
She shared: ‘I took him to the couch and laid him down and he died just then, the ambulance arrived in minutes and they did everything they could, at one stage there were eight people here, but his heart just stopped beating.’
Cecile said she was grateful Blackman was at home at the time and told how she and her daughter Tiffany, born in 1974, were given two ‘special’ hours with him after his passing.
The Hey Hey It’s Saturday star’s passing was announced on The Morning Show earlier this week, with tributes quickly flocking in for the Australian radio icon
‘They wrapped him up warmly and the funeral parlour people asked if we would like to spend time privately with him at home,’ she shared.
‘We asked for two hours and those two hours will be embedded in my brain forever, they were so precious and special and important.’
Cecile also reflected on Blackman’s health struggles and said he never got an official cancer diagnosis, despite having numerous surgeries to remove skin tumours.
The presenter first suffered with severe case of skin cancer known as a basal cell carcinoma in August 2018.
The ‘really aggressive’ cancer was discovered on a routine trip to his doctor to see about an inflamed pimple.
In 2018, Blackman had his jaw removed amid a difficult battle with cancer but Cecile said it was his heart that caused his death, after he had been on heart medication for many years
Later that same year, Blackman had a 12-hour operation to remove the cancerous growth on his mouth, and his jaw was substituted with a portion of his thigh bone.
In January 2024, he told how his life changed after the operation, which removed the cancerous tumour but meant he couldn’t work in front of a microphone again.
‘When I went to my surgeon to get the results of the test he said, “Look, John, your life is going to change completely from now on”,’ he told the Herald Sun.
‘Professionally, financially, emotionally, it is never going to be the same again. You will never work in front of a mic again.’
He bravely told how the gruelling operation couldn’t rob him of his well-known sense of humour despite changing his career.
In 2018, Blackman had his jaw removed amid a difficult battle with cancer and an operation on his brain in 2022, but Cecile said it was his heart that caused his death
‘Everything the surgeon said has come true. Even now talking to you, it is painful. I can’t do what I love,’ Blackman went on.
‘Thankfully, I still have my sense of humour, they did not remove that.’
Just years after his first surgery, Blackman faced a second battle in 2022 when he had to undergo another life-saving operation on his brain.
Another growth had sprouted ‘in a crater’, a result of one of the removal procedures, and had started to move towards his brain.
Blackman admitted the cancer could have ‘killed’ him and he had a six-hour surgery to remove the ‘aggressive’ tumour, leaving him with a titanium mesh plate in his head.
‘That was the one that could have actually killed me, because it was a very aggressive cancer (Squamous Cell Carcinoma) that was growing right on the top of my noggin,’ he said.
The legendary broadcaster had a hugely successful radio career spanning around 50 years, but was best known for his character voices on the long-running variety TV show Hey Hey It’s Saturday.
Blackman first started his career in the media back in 1969 and went on to become a household name on Australia’s airwaves.
He went from working in sales to launching his radio career at the age of 22 and first worked at 2GN Goulburn as an announcer, newsreader, copy writer and salesman.
Blackman went on to secure a gig at 2CA Canberra before joining 3AW in Melbourne as an evening announcer alongside Reverend Alex Kenworthy on Nightline.
He later moved to Sydney and worked as a staff continuity announcer and daytime newsreader at National Nine News’ program TCN-9.
Then came his famous move to Hey Hey It’s Saturday, where he worked as an announcer and doing the character voices on the show for its entire 28-year run.
Cecile said she was grateful Blackman was at home at the time of his death and told how she and her daughter Tiffany were given two ‘special’ hours with him after his passing
The broadcaster had a hugely successful radio career spanning around 50 years, but was best known for his character voices on the long-running variety TV show Hey Hey It’s Saturday
Blackman became famous for his rapid-fire wit, incredible sense of humour and hilarious punchlines.
He voiced legendary characters including Angel, Mrs Macgillicuddy, Alfred Desk Mike and Charlie Who, among many more, as he won over legions of fans.
The long-running program was on screens from 1971 until 1999, and went on to have a string of brief relaunches in the early noughties, which Blackman returned for.
Blackman also lent his famous voice to the Hey Hey It’s 100 Years special, which aired in Victoria and South Australia in April 2022.
Hey Hey It’s Saturday was hit by controversy in recent years when Kandiah ‘Kamahl’ Kamalesvaran claimed he was targeted by a series of racist jokes on the program.
On Hey Hey It’s Saturday, Blackman (left) voiced legendary characters including Angel, Mrs Macgillicuddy, Alfred Desk Mike and Charlie Who as he won over legions of fans
He said the most offensive skit happened in 1984 when a stage hand covered his face in white powder before presenter Blackman called out off-screen: ‘You’re a real white man now, Kamahl, you know that?’
Blackman was also well-known for his role as a breakfast show presenter on 3AW alongside Bruce Mansfield, in what was considered to be one of Australia’s most successful radio pairings.
After leaving 3AW, he had a seven-year hiatus from radio before returning to 3AK Melbourne as a breakfast show host alongside Anna Pinkus and Denis Donoghue.
Blackman also went on to feature on a string of panel shows including Family Feud, Blankety Blanks and Personality Squares.
His other radio highlights included working on Triple M Adelaide, MAGIC 12778 and Coodabeen Champions on 3UZ.
WHAT IS BASAL CELL CARCINOMA?
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is a type of non-melanoma skin cancer.
Non-melanoma means it does not involve skin pigment cells.
BCC often appears as scabs that bleed
BCC makes up more than 80 per cent of all forms of skin cancer in the UK and US.
About 5.4 million basal and squamous cell skin cancers are diagnosed each year in the US and around 100,000 in the UK.
It is mainly caused by overexposure to UV light from the sun or tanning beds.
BCC can occur anywhere on the body but is most common on areas exposed to the sun, such as the face, neck and ears.
The following people are most at risk:
- People with fair skin or hair
- Those who work outdoors
- People who use sunbeds
- Those with a personal history of the condition
BCC is usually painless. Early symptoms often only include a scab that bleeds occasionally and does not heal.
Some appear as flat, red, scaly marks or have a pearl-like rim. The latter can then erode into a ulcer.
Others are lumpy with shiny nodules crossed by blood vessels.
Most BCCs can be cured, however, treatment is complex if they are left for a long time.
Treatment usually involves removing the cancerous tumour and some of the surrounding skin.
Source: British Skin Foundation and NHS Choices