Jim O'Brien (reporter)

James Franklin Oldham, better known as Jim O'Brien (November 20, 1939 – September 25, 1983), was an American newscaster.

Jim O'Brien
Born
James Franklin Oldham

(1939-11-20)November 20, 1939
Belmont, Texas, U.S.
DiedSeptember 25, 1983(1983-09-25) (aged 43)
near Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Cause of deathParachute failure while skydiving
Other namesJim O'Brien (stage name)
EducationBaylor University
Occupation(s)Television newscaster, weather reporter and presenter, Disc jockey
Years active
  • 1970–1973 (radio)
  • 1973–1983 (television)
Spouse
Sandra Jo Hauck
​
(div. 1969)​
Children
  • Peri Gilpin (born Peri Kay Oldham)
  • Patti Jo Wynne (née Oldham)
AwardsBroadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame (posthumous, 1997)

Formative years and family

He was born in Galveston in 1939. He married Sandra Jo Hauck in a small ceremony in Texas. They had two daughters: actress Peri Gilpin (born Peri Kay Oldham), who played the character Roz Doyle on the television program Frasier, and Patti Jo Wynne (née Oldham), who married Shannon Wynne.

According to Peri, he wished to become a pastor and was a theologian who studied at Baylor University.[1]

Broadcast career

After short stints at radio stations KHJ in Los Angeles and WOR-FM in New York City, he came to Philadelphia in 1970 to become a disc jockey at radio station WFIL.

Around 1973, he joined the WPVI-TV Channel 6 Action News team as a sports anchor. He soon became the weatherman, and eventually co-anchored the 12:00PM and 5:00PM newscasts, the local edition of Dialing for Dollars, and the weekend magazine show Primetime.

O'Brien was beloved for his humor and the unique, fun-loving personality that he brought to his newscasts and weather reporting. He had two favorite hobbies: motorcycle riding and skydiving. The latter hobby led to his death in a skydiving accident on September 25, 1983 at the United Parachute Club near Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania. He and another skydiver jumping with him deployed their main parachutes. During their descent, under their open parachutes, they collided with each other and their parachutes became entangled. After they tried unsuccessfully to detach themselves from each other, O'Brien, an experienced skydiver, performed a standard skydiving emergency procedure called a "cutaway". He jettisoned his main parachute and deployed his reserve parachute. However, by the time he performed the maneuver, he was already at such a low altitude that he struck the ground before his reserve canopy was able to inflate. The other jumper managed to use the entangled main parachutes to land safely.[2]

Legacy

O'Brien was posthumously inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 1997.

References
  1. Archive, 6abc. "A Tribute to Jim O'Brien - 6abc Philadelphia Archive - 6abc.com". 6abc Philadelphia. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  2. aicommand.com; The Death of Jim O'Brien


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