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Jimmy Lennon

This article is about the ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Sr. For his son, also a ring announcer, see Jimmy Lennon Jr.

Jimmy Lennon Sr. (April 13, 1913 – April 20, 1992) was a ring announcer for boxing and professional wrestling matches.

Jimmy Lennon
Lennon (left) raising the hand of Pedro Morales
Born
Jimmy Lennon Sr.

(1913-04-13)April 13, 1913
DiedApril 20, 1992(1992-04-20) (aged 79)
Occupation(s)Boxing and professional wrestling ring announcer
SpouseDoris Lennon
Children4; Including Jimmy Jr.

Early life

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Lennon sang as a young boy in church and later formed a singing group, The Lennon Brothers, with his brothers in Venice, California. He also served the World War II 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

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Lennon first became a ring announcer in Santa Monica, California at the Ocean Park Arena, while working there as the regular singer of "The Star-Spangled Banner". 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.[1]

Other media

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Lennon appeared in 75 productions, including Raging Bull, Rocky III, Main Event, California Split, Tough Guys, Kid Galahad, The Munsters, and The Monkees. Lennon was the character of a Jakks Pacific action figure released in 2007, depicting his Rocky III appearance.

Personal life

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The second born of seven brothers, Jimmy was later the uncle of the Lennon Sisters vocal group on The Lawrence Welk Show. 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

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After ten years of heart problems, Lennon was admitted to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, 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.

Championships and accomplishments

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Selected filmography

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rosenthal, Michael (8 June 2017). "HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2017: JIMMY LENNON SR". The Ring. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  • 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.
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