Fred Hickman, an original sports anchor for CNN in 1980 as well as an early version of TNT’s “Inside the NBA,” has died of liver cancer at age 66.
His wife Sheila Hickman made the announcement Wednesday, telling CNN, “A light has gone out.”
Hickman and Nick Charles were the first hosts of “Sports Tonight,” the 11 p.m. sports news and highlights program on CNN as part of Ted Turner’s launch of the 24/7 cable news network.
“He was a joy to work with and set the standard for sports broadcasting,” said Mike Glenn, a former NBA player who worked with Hickman at CNN in the 1990s. He loved how Hickman would close newscasts with the line, “May all your jump shots hit nothing but net!”
Charles and Hickman had special chemistry on air and were like brothers off air, said Cory Charles, Nick’s widow. “They were always laughing,” she said. “They were just Nick and Hick.” She recalled when they entered the room at CNN’s 20th anniversary party in 2000, “Nick and Fred got the loudest applause in the room.”
Hickman was also part of the first season of TNT’s popular “Inside the NBA” in 1989. After leaving CNN, he helped launch the new regional sports network YES in New York in 2002, landed at ESPN in 2004, then moved to Fox in 2008. There, he became a pre- and post-game host for the Atlanta Braves broadcasts on the Fox Sports South and Sport South Networks until 2011.
“He had this natural ease of delivery that made everyone feel comfortable,” said Jerome Jurenovich, a long-time CNN colleague who also did some work with him at Fox Sports. “He was the most naturally gifted broadcaster I’ve ever seen.”
But Jurenovich said Hickman told stories off camera “that were 100 times better than any story he delivered on camera in a report. He was just a funny, funny guy.”
Hickman could imitate other people and “had such perfect timing,” Jurenovich said. “If Fred hadn’t gone into sportscasting, he could have been a stand-up comic.”
Glenn said Hickman used to joke after they did something particularly well, “That’s why we get paid the mediocre bucks!”
And even if the teleprompter went down or started glitching, Glenn said Hickman was so smooth that viewers would never be able to tell. He also said Hickman was a great mentor, who helped Glenn relax on camera and be himself.
Over the past decade, Hickman worked at TV stations in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Hagerstown, Maryland before joining the short-lived Black News Channel in Tallahassee, Florida, which shut down earlier this year.
Sheila, who married him in 2007, said Hickman found out he had liver cancer after deciding to retire.
“Fred was happy,” she said. “We were happy. Not a sad day in his life.”
He was a romantic, she added, telling her every year that he promised to be with her another 50 years. “And at the time I thought this was corny,” she said, “but every few days, he’d ask me, ‘Will you marry me?’ I’d say, ‘Why do you ask? Of course, I’ll marry you.’ And he’ll say, ‘I’ll marry you back.’”
Hickman is survived by Sheila and his two adult children from a previous marriage, Mack and Gabrielle.
Funeral services will be held at St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church in Tallahassee, though a date has not been finalized.
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