Bulletin: Bill Seward has passed
We’re sorry to report Bill Seward, a long-time figure on the
Los Angeles sports scene, has passed away after a five-year battle with cancer. A native of Sherman Oaks, Seward
graduated from Loyola Marymount University. He once had the distinction of
being the nation’s youngest head football coach at Saint Bernard High School in
Playa del Rey, where he was honored as “Bay Area Coach of the Year.” He also
coached at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks.
Seward started his broadcast career at KVIQ-Eureka. After stops at KATY-Oxnard and WHNT-Concord, New Hampshire, Seward returned to Southern California. He was known for his work with NBC Sports, covering rugby, skiing, ski jumping, cliff diving, biathlon, synchronized swimming, cycling, and marathons, including several Olympics. He also appeared on TVG, the horse racing network. Seward also reported sports on the weekends locally on KNBC-TV. Seward also worked for both ESPN and ABC-TV, appearing on “SportsCenter,” “ESPNEWS” and “ABC World News This Morning.”
But he was perhaps best known locally for his many years on the radio dial. LARadio.com lists Seward working at KXLU (1976-80), XPRS (1980-81), KWNK (1987-88), KGIL (1989), KNX (1990-1997), KFWB (2001-14), and KFI (2017-21). He was awarded several individual Golden Mikes for his sports anchor work, as well as multiple “Best Radio Anchor Staff” awards from the Southern California Broadcasters Association. Seward also hosted “Dodger Talk” on the Dodgers Radio Network when KFWB served as the team’s flagship station.
Frank
Mottek, now at KABC
Radio, worked with Seward at KNX. ”I’m really stunned by this news. I worked
with Bill Seward for about 15 years. A delightful guy. So much fun. He was a
total pro, an excellent broadcaster, always brought such great energy to his
sportscasts. Terrific on the air,” said Mottek. “I'm so very sorry for his loss
and send his family our deepest sympathy.”
Current KNBC-TV sports director and KLAC talk show host Fred Roggin worked with Seward at Channel 4. He spoke fondly of his late colleague. “Exceptionally talented wonderful man with a huge heart. I considered him a friend and it hurts. I'm really going to miss him,” said Roggin.
Most of Seward’s radio career was spent
at KFWB. Ted Sobel recalled working
with Seward:
Bill was similar in my life early on, as Rory Markas was. When I was doing P.A. announcing at the Long Beach Arena for minor league hockey in the mid to late seventies they both would come by and ask me if I knew of any open doors for them in the business. I would always tell them “hey I’m just starting out too and trying to figure out a way to make a living doing this?” It wasn't long after that Bill ended up in New Hampshire doing his thing there, which is where I wound up getting my first play by play job as well. We joked about that over the years but he spent much more time there than I did. We ended up working together at KNX back in the mid to late eighties and renewed a friendship that continued to this day and of course, for well over a decade at KFWB. He was a dedicated professional who was proud of his achievements in this business, and it was always nice to see him doing some of his Olympics work. I will miss our chats (and laughs) about everything under the sun. It was also a kick to speak in front of his sportscasting class (virtually) over the past couple of years. It’s strange to think that we won't ever have that chance again.
Seward also made appearances on both TV
shows and movies. His film resume includes Steve
Jobs, Nightcrawler, Good Kill, Zodiac, Ruby and Recount. Seward was featured on TV
including The Dress Up Gang, I’m Dying
Up Here, Scandal, Revenge, Key & Peele, It’s Always
Sunny in Philadelphia, Touch, Medium, Everybody Hates Chris, and The
Event. He was also host of Sega’s popular video game, “Virtua Fighter 5
Ultimate Challenge.”
It’s believed Seward was in his mid-60s. He is survived by his wife Sherry, his daughters Sarah and Emmy, and son John Patrick.
ayodaradio@gmail.com
Saddened to read this. In addition to being a football coach at St. Bernard, he was a 9th grade/ 10th grade speech teacher. His sense of humor (arguably, the funniest teacher I've ever had) really resonated with us because he wasn't that much older than us (I was 15 during the 1980-1981 school year). It was that sense of humor that galvanized more than a few young teenagers to craft their own funny stories & witticisms for class.
ReplyDeleteI would often reminisce about those heady days of speech class whenever I heard his segments on KNX or KFWB. Rest well, Mr. Seward!