Iconic sports broadcaster Darrell Eastlake dead at 75

Darrell Eastlake. Photo / Getty Images

Iconic Australian sports broadcaster Darrell Eastlake has died aged 75.

Channel Nine reported the former Wide World of Sports commentator passed away on Thursday morning at a nursing home on the NSW central coast after a battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Eastlake was a larger-than-life personality who called rugby league matches and F1 races, as well as weightlifting and the Commonwealth and Olympic Games. His over-the-top descriptions and ability to hype up any event with his booming voice made him a favourite among sports fans.

Eastlake worked in TV and radio for more than 40 years and was the voice of State of Origin games in the 1980s and early 1990s.

He had been fighting Alzheimer's and emphysema for the past eight years.

RIP Darrell Eastlake - the sound of sports through our childhood.

— Michael Beveridge (@mickyb273) April 18, 2018

Sad news, Big Darrell Eastlake had died... he was the voice of sport for me as a kid, the Origin, and most importantly for me #F1. Thoughts with his family and friends...

— Trevor Long (@trevorlong) April 18, 2018

Had the great privilege of working with the legendary Darrell Eastlake. A huge character and an iconic broadcaster. RIP Big Daz.

— Ben Damon (@ben_damon) April 18, 2018

Saddened to hear the news that Darrell Eastlake has passed. A legendary Sports Commentator. #RIP

— Greg Clark (@greg_clarkie) April 18, 2018

REST IN PEACE DARRELL EASTLAKE, HO HO Ho HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE MAN
I had to pay my respects in caps because I can still hear his voice whenever I see his name. What a legend.

— Higgo (@Higgo74) April 18, 2018

Speaking in 2016, Eastlake's wife Julie detailed the tragic toll his illness had taken on both of them.

"It's been so hard for me to tell him he can't come home," Mrs Eastlake told Channel Nine's A Current Affair.

"If he falls I can't pick him up — and he has fallen so many times.

"He gets very down because he thinks he's forgotten, but he's not forgotten, he's really and truly not.

"I do a lot of crying when I leave the nursing home.

"I sit here and say to myself, 'where's my man gone?'"

Comedian Billy Birmingham included Eastlake in his popular 12th Man projects in which he would impersonate famous identities including the Channel 9 cricket commentary team.

Eastlake started his working life as a baggage handler at Qantas, then ran a surf shop before entering the media.