Hearn Critical After Falling

Legendary Laker announcer Chick Hearn was in critical condition at a Northridge hospital Friday after he fell and hit his head in the backyard of his Encino home, officials said.

Los Angeles firefighters said Hearn, 85, sustained a head injury and was rushed to the operating room for surgery on bleeding in the brain caused by the 7 p.m. fall.

His wife Marge was with him at the time of the accident, officials said.

“We were summoned by a neighbor’s 911 call and arrived quickly to discover Hearn to have sustained a serious head injury,” L.A. Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

Hearn, who called a record 3,338 consecutive Laker games over 36 years, saw his streak end last season when he had to undergo heart surgery to repair a blocked aortic valve Dec. 19. He suffered a further setback when he fell during rehabilitation and suffered a broken hip Feb. 17. Paul Sunderland filled in for him.

Still, Hearn was able to return to the Lakers in time to broadcast the team’s run through the playoffs to its third consecutive NBA championship.

Friday evening, a team of firefighters went to Hearn’s star on Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame and scrubbed it clean, expecting that fans would soon be covering it with flowers, candles and get-well messages.

“Word of his injury hit us all deeply at the L.A. Fire Department,” Humphrey said. “Firefighters are joining in offering his family sympathy.”

Kate Preston, a spokeswoman for Northridge Hospital Medical Center, said officials there would have more information at noon today.