Gary O'Callaghan

Gary Bernard O'Callaghan MBE (11 October 1933 − 19 August 2017) was an Australian radio announcer based in Sydney, known for his on-air character, "Sammy Sparrow".^[1] He was an Australian Commercial Radio Hall of Fame recipient. He dominated Sydney radio from the 1960s to the 1980s.^[2]

Gary O'Callaghan MBE
Born	(1933-10-11)11 October 1933 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died	19 August 2017(2017-08-19) (aged 83)
Nationality	Australian
Occupation	Radio personality
Years active	1951–2007

Early life

O'Callaghan was born in Melbourne in 1933.^[3][4]

Career

O'Callaghan's career in radio started in 1951 when he joined 2SM as an office boy, aged 17. He did his first on-air work within a few weeks. This began what the Daily Telegraph newspaper called "one of the most distinguished careers in the history of Australian broadcasting".^[4] Early in his career, in the 1950s, he was notable for his exclusive coverage^[2] of the Cold War defection that became known as the Petrov Affair.^[1][5] He joined 2UE in 1956, where he was known for his long running, and ratings winning, breakfast show. He stayed with 2UE until retirement in 2003, then had a short time at 2KY during Kerry Packer's ownership of 2UE. He moved back to the mid north coast of NSW where he continued to work at 2MC.^[2]

Awards

O'Callaghan became a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), was named Father of the Year, and won the Queen's Jubilee Medal.^[4] He was an Australian Commercial Radio Awards Hall of Fame inductee in 2004.^[2][6]

Later life

O'Callaghan and his wife Dorothy lived at Wauchope, New South Wales, on the NSW Mid North Coast, near Port Macquarie.^[2]