Dick Lane: KTTV Channel 5

[Ron Hill]

When we raced on TV, Speedboat Rodeo (Winter 1955-56) , we raced for 39 straight weeks. We didn't run all classes, we ran three classes each week. The TV Show was like 10 to 12 every Sunday. Dick Lane announced ever race. He'd come early, and walk around the pits and talk to everyone. He often said how much fun it was to announce the Boat Races. He'd watch testing, and if you stood near him, he'd be talking to himself getting "PUMPED UP" for the show. He'd watch someone come around a corner and he'd say, "Whoa Nellie" which he was famous for...He also seemed to like me, and the HILLS, he called me "Silky Sullivan Hill." His favorite class was 36 runabout, as they only went about 39 MPH and he could announce every move, all racing was live, no tapes in those days. They'd super impose the clock in one corn of the screen for the starts, quite cool for the era...They had a "FAVORITE DRIVER" contest, and the winner got a set of Ptoto Tools...I won the tools, this is a picture of me with Dick....They later sent me a complete set of new tools as this set was missing some wrenches...


Dick also announced Jalopy Derby were Rufus Parnell Jones raced...Dick shortened his name to Parnelli Jones. When I see Parnelli he often speaks fondly of Dick Lane......

Early years
Lane was born in 1899 in Rice Lake, Wisconsin to a farm family. Early in life he developed talents for reciting poetry and doing various song-and-dance acts. By his teenage years, he was doing an "iron jaw" routine in circuses around Europe and worked as a drummer touring with a band in Australia. After the decline of Vaudeville, Lane obtained extensive work in motion pictures and was best known at the time for playing Inspector Farraday in some Boston Blackie features.
During World War II, he appeared as MC with USO troupes entertaining G.I's. His unit appeared at Ft. Mc Arthur in September 1944.

Filmography

1937 : Flight From Glory : Mr. Hanson 1937 : Should Wives Work? 1938 : Radio City Revels : Crane 1938 : I'm from the City : Captain Oliver 'Ollie' Fitch 1938 : Mr. Doodle Kicks Off : Assistant Coach 'Offsides' Jones 1938 : Charlie Chan in Honolulu : Mike Hannigan, alias Det. Arnold 1939 : Union Pacific : Sam Reed 1940 : Brother Orchid : Mugsy O'Day 1940 : Boom Town : Assistant District Attorney 1941 : Sunny : Reporter 1941 : Time Out for Rhythm : Mike Armstrong 1941 : Hellzapoppin' : Director 1942 : Ride 'Em Cowboy : Pete Conway 1942 : To the Shores of Tripoli : Lieutenant on Minesweeper 1942 : A-Haunting We Will Go : Parker 1942 : Arabian Nights : Corporal 1943 : Air Force : Major W.G. Roberts 1943 : It Ain't Hay : Slicker 1943 : Corvette K-225 : Vice Admiral 1943 : Crazy House : Hanley 1943 : The Chance of a Lifetime : Insp. John Farraday 1943 : Gung Ho! : Captain Dunphy 1944 : Mr. Winkle Goes to War : Sgt. 'Alphabet' Czeidrowski 1945 : Here Come the Co-Eds : Nearsighted man at Miramar Ballroom 1945 : The Bullfighters : Hotshot Coleman 1946 : Pardon My Terror : Dick 1946 : Sioux City Sue : Jefferson Lang 1947 : Devil Ship : Captain 'Biff' Brown 1948 : The Babe Ruth Story : Boston Braves' coach 1949 : He's in Again : Dick 1949 : Mighty Joe Young : Attorney 1949 : That Midnight Kiss : Radio D.J. interviewing Ethel Barrymore 1949 : The Big Wheel : Reno Riley 1950 : The Jackie Robinson Story : Clay Hopper, Montreal Manager 1951 : I Can Get It for You Wholesale : Kelley 1960 : Visit to a Small Planet : Superbo Television Spokesman 1964 : The Killers : Demolition Derby Announcer 1965 : Dear Brigitte : Track Announcer 1976 : The Shaggy D.A. : Roller Rink Announcer 1978 : The One and Only

Work with KTLA

Due to his work at Paramount Pictures, he was able to obtain work at KTLA which was owned by the studio at the time. When the station went commercial for the first time in 1947, Lane started work as a news presenter. One of the early highlights of his career was to report on the first atomic explosion covered by a television newscast. His claim to fame was when KTLA agreed to broadcast wrestling matches from the Olympic Auditorium in 1946 and hired Lane to comment on the action. He started his work airing Roller Derby in 1951. His broadcasts featured such personalities as Gorgeous George, Mr. Moto (wrestler) and Doc Grable. Contrary to popular opinion, it was Lane and not former ABC sports announcer Keith Jackson who coined the exclamatory expression "Whoa, Nellie!" when something "bad" happened in the ring or on the rink.^[1]

Later Years

After Lane retired from television full time in 1972, he accepted few offers for work, but did make a notable cameo appearance in Raquel Welch's vehicle The Kansas City Bomber. Lane died in Newport Beach, California on September 5, 1982.

Dick Lane was well known for being the TV KTLA ch 5 announcer for the Jalopy Derby and Destruction Derby from Gardena Stadium.

He was also well known for his role of Leather Britches on the Spade Colley show on KTLA.