On Sunday, a fast-talking sports radio host named Gerry Vaillancourt, who was well-known in Charlotte since the late 1980s, died at the age of 72.
His daughter, Kelly Vaillancourt, tells the world that he has died. On Friday, January 17th. Too many people like him and care about him. His career was closely tied to the Charlotte Hornets, and he has many fans all over the world. Their fans want to know what happened to him and why he died. So let’s talk briefly about what happened to him and why he died.
Kelly Vaillancourt, Gerry Vaillancourt’s daughter, said that her father died because of a heart disease that he had known about 25 years ago. Kelly Sia said in an interview on Sunday that we never thought he would live more than 25 years after the disease was found. He never did anything that the book said he should do. “You never knew what you were going to do with him every day, but you always knew it would be fun.” He worked in the Charlotte media market for many years, starting in the late 1980s, when the real Charlotte Hornets were born.
What happened to Gerry Vaillancourt?
From 1990 to 2002, he ran the TV and radio broadcasts for the Hornets and also hosted sports talk radio shows on other local stations. Vaillancourt has two daughters, Kelly Vaillancourt and Shannon Vaillancourt D’Alton, as well as two sisters and too many grandchildren to count. In 2017, he comes back to Charlotte to host a radio show on ESPN 730 after being gone for a long time. He said on social media that his contract will end when he leaves ESPN 730 after more than two years and radio after more than 30 years.
Jim Szoke, a longtime coworker and friend of WBT and Charlotte Hornets radio broadcasts, said, “When sports talk in Charlotte first started, Gerry was one of the realities. He was funny, entertaining, and knew everything there was to know about basketball. I liked it when Hubie Brown came as a regular guest and listened to them talk about basketball in detail. In a statement about his death released Sunday, the Hornets say that they are sad to hear about Gerry Vaillancourt’s death. We will miss his analysis a lot, and we want his family, friends, and coworkers to know how much we care.
Also Read: What Caused Comedian Raju Srivastav Death? Obituary Details And Tribute Explored
Who is Gerry Vaillancourt?
Gerry Vaillancourt will be on the Hornets broadcast team for the 19th time. Vaillancourt is the color analyst for all radio broadcasts of the Hornets.
In his current job, Vaillancourt not only gives commentary for 82 games, but he also hosts the Hornets’ “Final Buzz” post-game call-in show and all Hornets Sportsline shows on 106.7 KMEZ. While the team was in Oklahoma City, he hosted the “Gerry V” show on New Orleans’s 1280 AM. He still does the same thing on New Orleans’s 99.5 FM.
In 2001-02, he was both a TV analyst and the host of the halftime and post-game shows. During Hornet timeouts, he reported on the game from inside the huddle.
From 1994 to 1999, Vaillancourt hosted the team’s studio show. Before that, he was the team’s color commentator on TV for two years and on radio for two years. From 1989 to 1991, he was also the sports director for WCCB-TV, which showed Hornets games at the time.
Vaillancourt made a name for himself in the Charlotte sports talk radio scene for 10 years. In 1998, 1999, and 2000, Creative Loafing magazine named him Talk Show Host of the Year. He first went on the air in Charlotte in 1991 as the host of “Sports Talk” on WCNT. He did the same job for two years at WFNZ. In April 1996, he switched stations and started his own drive-time sports talk show on WBT called “The Gerry V Show.” After all Carolina Panther NFL games, he also ran a call-in show for NFL fans on WBT.
Vaillancourt played basketball at Gardner-Webb University and has worked as a coach at Bishop McGinnis High School in Winston-Salem, N.C., James Madison University in Virginia, Davidson College, and Appalachian State University. He also spent summers coaching a team in the Charlotte Pro-Am Summer League and has given talks at the Five-Star Basketball Camp several times each summer.
Vaillancourt spends a lot of time doing things like basketball clinics, motivational seminars, and public speaking at banquets, businesses, and corporations. In the summer, the Gerry V Basketball Academy is held at Vaillancourt, which is in New Orleans.
Vaillancourt is from New York City, but he now lives in River Ridge, La., with his wife Tracy and 12-year-old son Mason. He also has Kellie and Shannon, who are his daughters.
Gerry Vaillancourt, a longtime sports announcer who called Charlotte Hornets games for more than a decade, died on Sunday at the age of 72.
His daughter, Kelly Vaillancourt, told the Charlotte Observer newspaper that he died because of a heart condition.
Since the late 1980s, Vaillancourt worked for several radio and TV stations in Charlotte. From 1990 to 2002, he was best known for calling Charlotte Hornets games on radio and TV. When the Hornets moved to New Orleans in the early 2000s, he moved there so he could keep calling their games.
In 2017, Vaillancourt had a show on WZGV that brought him back to the Charlotte radio market (730 AM, The Game).
“For listeners in Charlotte and beyond, he was a donut-loving, coffee-drinking, opinionated on-air personality. For us, he was all of those things and more,” a WZGV representative said in a social media post on Sunday.
Coworkers thought of Vaillancourt as a reliable broadcaster who was always happy to share his vast sports knowledge with listeners.
Jim Szoke, who works at radio station WBT (1110 AM, 99.3 FM), said in an interview that Gerry was one of the first people to do sports talk in Charlotte. He was funny, entertaining, and knew everything there was to know about basketball.
The Hornets’ public relations department made the first public announcement about Vaillancourt’s death on Sunday.
The Hornets said, “His analysis and opinions will be sorely missed, and we send our condolences to his family, friends, and coworkers.”
What happened to Gerry Vaillancourt?
Gerry Vaillancourt was one of the first people to talk about sports on the radio in Charlotte. He also worked for the Charlotte Hornets and the New Orleans Hornets. When the Hornets moved from Charlotte to New Orleans after the 2001-2002 season, he went with them.
From 1990 to 2002, Vaillancourt worked as an analyst and studio host for the Hornets on TV and radio. While he was in Queens, he wrote about legendary Hornets players like Dell Curry and Muggsy Bogues. The team made the playoffs seven times during his time there. In 2017, he went back to work for Charlotte media and kept the same job.
Also Read: What Caused CTI Records Founder Creed Taylor Death? The Jazz Record Producer Obituary Details
Career of Gerry Vaillancourt
He was born in 1950 and worked as a sports radio host in Charlotte. Many people would have had to work hard to become well-known in their field. It all takes hard work and a good attitude.
In the same way, Gerry Vaillancourt may have had a lot of problems in his career. Some people will also be remembered after they die. Gerry Vaillancourt is one of those people who will be remembered as long as we live.
Gerry Vaillancourt gets a tribute
In a post on Facebook, Jim Fisher said, “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to write this, but I just found out that Gerry Vaillancourt died this morning. We worked together for about two years, from 2014 to 2016. Those were my last two years in radio. During those few years, Gerry and I worked together for hours every day to try to build an audience and make a show that was watched by more than just a few people on the edge. He had no fear. He was insistent. He was kind. The years I worked with Gerry were the best years of my career and the most satisfying years of my life. Gerry was a big man and one of the best people I knew.
Mike Scott wrote, “I was saddened to hear about the death of the one and only Gerry Vaillancourt today. He was the voice of the Charlotte Hornets (and the team before it became the New Orleans Pelicans), a TV and radio personality in New Orleans, and a great person all around. He was funny, silly, and knew how to wear a hat well. Big guy, I miss you and love you.”
Read More: How Did Pathologist Joseph Sonnier Die? Death Cause And Obituary Details Explored
ncG1vNJzZmismJrBorjKrKuonJGue6S7zGiuoaddrK60ecaeqauxXauuqrjLmqWcp6WnwW6%2Fz6ipratdp66ltc5mn6irpGK9or%2FSnqpmmaeWxm60zrBknaGUYrWmecOinGg%3D