L.A. Ring Announcer Jimmy Lennon Dies : Boxing: He was the popular voice at Southland bouts for more than four decades.

Boxing announcer Jimmy Lennon, the slightly built, flamboyant Irish tenor who never heard a name he couldn’t accurately pronounce, died Monday afternoon. He was 79.

Lennon, in failing health in recent years, died of heart failure at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica.

He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Doris, a former stage actress, and a son who also is a boxing announcer, Jimmy Lennon Jr.

Although Lennon was proud of his link to show business--he had been a part-time actor, once sang professionally and helped launch the careers of his famous nieces, the Lennon Sisters--it was in the ring that he shone.

The golden voice of Southland boxing for more than four decades, Lennon worked most of the local arenas and many elsewhere throughout the country.

He announced his first boxing card at the Santa Monica Elks Club in 1943. Soon afterward, he became the ring announcer at the Olympic Auditorium. In later decades, he became as closely associated with the old arena as any of the famed boxers who fought there.

He also frequently was cast as a ring announcer in boxing movies and TV shows.

But, mostly, he was associated with the Olympic Auditorium, where he became a favorite of Mexican fans because of his ability to speak fluent, flawless Spanish.

“Yo soy Irlandes con acento Mexicano,” Lennon said. “I call myself that--the Irishman with a Mexican accent. It’s a big compliment to Mexican fans that I speak Spanish.”

Of his precise pronunciation of Spanish surnames, Lennon said: “A man is entitled to the dignity of his own name.”

Once, Lennon was hired to emcee a Greek-American awards banquet in Los Angeles. He gulped as he looked at the name on a trophy he was to present: “Anastasios Honchopathadurkomontorogiotopolous.”

“There was only one way to do it,” Lennon recalled years later.

“I broke it down into syllables and then put it back together again.”

He did, flawlessly. The man came to the podium, kissed Lennon on the cheek and told him: “You are the only person to pronounce my name correctly since I come to America.”

An imposing figure in his starchy, shiny-black tuxedo--or, for championship cards, perhaps a sequined, lace-trimmed jacket with ruffled shirt--Lennon’s introductions had a show-biz flair.

As the bell rang before each match, the spotlight would focus on the impeccably groomed announcer with his ramrod-straight posture. Dramatically, Lennon would signal the timekeeper for another series of attention-getting rings, waiting patiently until the crowd noise subsided.

Jerking the overhead microphone to his lips, Lennon invariably would begin, “All right, boxing fa-a-a-a-ns.” Before a card’s first bout, it was always: “Good evening, boxing fa-a-a-a-ns . . . “

Then, referring to ever-present notes on a slip of paper in his hand, he would announce the participants--preliminary fighters or world champions--with the buildup a circus barker might employ, ending his flowery spiel by drawing out the fighter’s name for emphasis.

And the fans, charged for action, would roar with excitement.

Sometimes, Olympic crowds were charged for riotous action, too. Lennon’s head and face bore the small scars of years of thrown coins and bottles, depending on whether the decision he announced was met with favor or disfavor.

“He’s by far the best ring announcer any place,” former Olympic matchmaker Don Chargin once said. “I feel sorry for anyone who substitutes for him. The guy can be good, but there’ll be a buzz around the auditorium. ‘Where’s Jimmy? Where’s Jimmy?’ He’s a tough act to follow.”

One day, he announced two world title fights in different cities, Detroit and Cincinnati.

In recent years, Jimmy Lennon Jr., has gradually moved into his dad’s spotlight. He often worked in conjunction with his ailing father.

Jimmy Lennon Jr., in fact, has become an international boxing announcer in his own right, having worked the 1990 Buster Douglas upset knockout of Mike Tyson in Tokyo, among other overseas assignments.

He is also the regular boxing announcer at the Forum.

One of the elder Lennon’s big disappointments was not being able to serve as boxing announcer for the 1984 Olympic Games at the Sports Arena. He was undergoing medical treatment at the time.

As a young man, Lennon wore many hats--meat cutter, chemical salesman, vocalist with the Jan Garber, Jimmy Grier and Al Pearce big bands and crooner for the deceased while working at a funeral home. He sang at Al Jolson’s funeral.

He was born James Frederick Lennon in St. Paul, Minn., but his family moved to Venice when he was a baby. He graduated from Venice High School, where, he often pointed out in later years, he danced at his senior prom with Myrna Loy.

He loved sports--as a 14-year-old pitcher, he struck out Babe Ruth in an exhibition game, and was an outstanding amateur golfer--but boxing dominated his interests, even as a boy.

Reared in the shadow of show business--his father was the first press agent hired at MGM--and his mother had been a ballet dancer--young Lennon seemed destined for a career in the entertainment field.

As a youngster, he and his father often visited old Vernon Arena to watch boxing shows.

Years later, when Lennon had become the Santa Monica Elks Club’s first master of ceremonies for vaudeville acts, he arrived one night for his regular duties.

Mike Hirsch, the promoter, told his emcee that vaudeville was out at the club in favor of boxing and wrestling. He asked Lennon to make the introductions, and he did.

That was the first in a series of steps that firmly established him before sellout crowds that included celebrities as well as gangland figures.

The Irish tenor quickly developed his own style, which included an impressive rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” to open shows.

There was never a whisper in the crowd until Lennon’s final note passed his lips. Then, like a burst of thunder, cheering and applause filled the arena.

“When Jimmy sings the national anthem,” promoter Hirsch once said, “I want to cry. It’s like a lullaby.”

In addition to his wife, Doris, and son, Jimmy Lennon Jr., survivors include daughters Kim Fitzgerald and Robin Thomas, and another son, Scott Lennon.

Funeral services are scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City. A viewing is also set from 1 p.m to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Gates, Kingsley and Gates Funeral Home in Santa Monica.