Legendary Australian radio personality Ron E Sparks has died aged 73.
Ron’s former WSFM101.7 colleagues Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones announced the heartbreaking news on Instagram on Saturday.
Alongside a photo of Ron hard at work in his radio booth, they wrote some tragic words: ‘We are devastated to announce the heartbreaking news.
‘The passing of former WSFM announcer Ron E Sparks. Vale.’
No cause of death has been announced as of yet.
Ron was born in 1951 and began his radio career in Sydney in the 1970s, as the voice over announcer for the popular AM radio station 2SM.
His distinctive voice saw him move into television as the announcer of many popular game shows, including Wheel of Fortune and Hot Streak.
He also was briefly an on-camera presenter for the legendary ABC music show Countdown, in the 1970s.
Throughout his career he interviewed many world-famous celebrities, including legendary boxer Muhammad Ali.
Heartbroken fans quickly took to social media to express their sadness over Ron’s passing.
‘Absolutely stunned to hear of the death of Sparks. A legend of the airwaves. The man who took me 2SM to 2UW in 1979 where I remained for the following 21 years. Have a heavenly Maccas for me big fella,’ wrote radio veteran Trevor Sinclair.
‘Sad news. Vale Ron,’ a second person added.
Sparks famously ruffled the feathers of presenters Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson in 2001, when they were working at 2Day FM in Sydney.
Kyle revealed in his autobiography Scandilands that Sparks had furiously reprimanded him for smoking in the studio.
‘Sparks was well within his rights – He had complained, a million times to everyone at the station about the smoking situation. I was a disrespectful thirty year old brat who needed a good a**e-kicking,’ Kyle wrote.
He is survived by his wife and two sons.
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