John Blackman, the Australian radio and television presenter best known as the voice of Dickie Knee on Hey Hey It’s Saturday, died aged 76 in June 2024. The “another life-threatening cancer diagnosis” headline refers to news he shared in June 2022, when he said cancer had affected bone at the top of his skull. The reports cited here do not establish cancer as the cause of his death.
What Blackman reported in June 2022
A 7 June 2022 report by PerthNow said Blackman had announced that he had bone cancer on the top of his head, with the possibility of cancer beneath it. The report quoted his Facebook statement describing it as the same aggressive cancer that had taken his jaw four years earlier.
According to that account, scans and consultations involving his plastic surgeon and neurosurgeon preceded an operation to remove cancer-infected bone. The area was covered with titanium mesh, and a skin graft was placed over his scalp. Blackman said brain biopsies were clear. The report also said six weeks of daily radiotherapy were due to begin the following week; that was a treatment plan reported in 2022, not a statement about ongoing treatment.
Earlier cancer and his career
The Guardian’s obituary dates Blackman’s diagnosis of aggressive skin cancer to 2019 and says the cancer reappeared in 2022, leading to further extensive surgery. This provides later context for the earlier report without establishing a complete clinical history.
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Blackman’s reflections on disability
In an interview excerpt included in ABC’s 5 June 2024 tribute, Blackman reflected on how illness and surgery changed his understanding of disability: “It gives me a new insight into what other disabled people go through, not just for nine months of their life, but their whole lives, you know.” The remark is his personal reflection, not a medical assessment. ABC News
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about his death
Blackman died aged 76 in June 2024. ABC reported that the announcement it covered did not give a cause of death. The reports cited here therefore do not support describing cancer as the cause.
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