Legendary CBS Sports golf producer Frank Chirkinian died in March at the age of 84. On Monday, he’ll be posthumously inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. His impact on golf and on sports television really can’t be measured. Some of his innovations, the blimp shot, microphones strategically placed around the golf course, golf scoring, camera placement among others. On Friday, Golf Channel will air a documentary on Frank Chirkinian that will have comments from his friends at CBS and throughout golf. I look forward to seeing this.
The press release from Golf Channel.
Golf Channel Celebrates the Life of Golf Television Pioneer in Frank Chirkinian, The Master Storyteller
Family, Friends and Colleagues Reflect on his Legacy and Recent Passing in 30-Minute Special, Friday, 8 p.m. ET
Industry Greats Honor Chirkinian at World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Airing Monday, 9:30-11:30 p.m. ET
“Frank took a sport that had not really entered the television age, and he found a way to make golf compelling, riveting, dramatic.” – CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz
Video: Jim Nantz Extended Interview – Jim Nantz InterviewIn the control room at the 1964 Masters. Frank Charkinian (far left) Courtesy: CBS Sports
ORLANDO, Fla., May 4, 2011—On the eve of his posthumous induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame, Golf Channel will celebrate the life of Frank Chirkinian – long recognized as “the father of televised golf” – in a half hour special presentation on Friday, May 6 at 8 p.m. ET.
Frank Chirkinian, The Master Storyteller will examine the life and career of the legendary golf producer and director – known somewhat affectionately within the industry as the “Ayatollah” – who passed away in March after a long battle with cancer. As executive producer for CBS Sports’ golf coverage for more than four decades and 38 consecutive Masters tournaments, he is responsible for innovations that are now TV standards.
NEW INTERVIEWS WITH COLLEAGUES, FAMILY AND FRIENDS: The special will feature fresh interviews with many of his colleagues in television and professional golf who knew him best, including longtime CBS Sports associate producer Chuck Will, Hall-of-Famers Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Nick Faldo, PGA TOUR Commissioners Deane Beman and Tim Finchem, CBS Sports coordinating producer Lance Barrow and NBC Sports golf producer Tommy Roy, among others. Longtime members of CBS Sports’ on-air team, including Ken Venturi, Pat Summerall, Jim Nantz, Peter Kostis and David Feherty will share personal experiences and tributes to their longtime boss.
Members of Chirkinian’s family and longtime friends from his hometown of Philadelphia, including his son, Frank Chirkinian Jr and childhood friends Harry Sarkisian and Harry Mirijanian, also will take part.
WORLD GOLF HALL OF FAME INDUCTION: Scheduled to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on Monday, May 9, Chirkinian was elected in an emergency vote in February, spearheaded by Nantz and Finchem, prior to his passing. In addition to Chirkinian, Ernie Els, Doug Ford, Masashi “Jumbo” Ozaki, President George H.W. Bush and the late Jock Hutchison also will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Golf Channel will televise the World Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Monday from 9:30-11:30 p.m. ET.
Chirkinian’s accomplishments and innovations in sports television are many – the invention of the IFB communication devices that all announcers wear in their ear, changing golf’s aggregate scoring system to its current system relative to par and pioneering the use of cameras on blimps. Moreover, he enhanced the audio quality of professional golf tournaments by placing mounted microphones on the tee boxes and near the greens and developed the idea of painting the inside of the holes on putting greens white to enhance the television viewing experience.
Notable Quotes from Documentary:
Arnold Palmer: “Frank Chirkinian could make the game of golf interesting even when it wasn’t interesting. He would say to me, ‘Are you planning on doing something different today,’ or ‘What’s your objective?’ I would kid him back and say, ‘Frank, my objective is to win the golf tournament.’ And he, of course, liked that.”
CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz: “There is a side of me that wants to say that if it wasn’t for Frank Chirkinian, I don’t know where the game of golf would be. Frank took a sport that had not really entered the television age, and he found a way to make golf compelling, riveting, dramatic … As long as there is golf in television anywhere in the world, Frank Chirkinian lives.”
CBS Sports Coordinating Producer Lance Barrow: “The thing that made Frank Chirkinian so great and what he would hammer into me – and I still to this day say it to people – ‘Don’t be a mechanic.’ Which means, try something different … He always had a great saying, ‘I do not run a democracy.’ When he got in the truck, it was his truck and he was going to do it his way and his way only.”
NBC Sports Golf Producer Tommy Roy: “What he did with creating a scoring system that we use in golf now was paramount to making it a viable television product … To be able to produce and direct, I kind of liken that in the modern NFL, starting at quarterback and at middle linebacker. It’s just not going to happen.”
Longtime CBS Sports’ Analyst Ken Venturi: “If you can learn from Chirkinian, you are going to be good. He was the best there ever was.”
CBS Sports’ David Feherty: “I would have been upset if Frank had not insulted me … It was hard not to love Frank, even when you disliked him intensely.”
CBS Sports’ Peter Kostis: “He was the only guy, besides my dad, who would scare the crap out of me with his voice.”
Tom Watson: “I give credit to where we are today to Arnold Palmer and television together. And Frank was in the mix right there. He understood the game of golf. He understood the camera angles. He understood what people wanted to see.”
Former PGA TOUR Commissioner Deane Beman: “He was the one that made Augusta National successful before it went on the air. Augusta was his first significant canvas. He was Michelangelo with what he did.”
Frank Chirkinian, The Master Storyteller will re-air Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET, Sunday at noon ET and Monday at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. ET.
And that’s it.
