This from All Access:

--------------Longtime Seattle Sportscaster Bill O'Mara Dies--------------

Condolences to longtime SEATTLE-area sportscaster BILL O'MARA, who died SATURDAY in EDMONDS, WA at 92. O'MARA, known as the longtime voice of SEATTLE's popular hydroplane racing, was the oldest active sportscaster when he retired from BERRY ENTERTAINMENT Adult Standards KLKI-A/ANACORTES, WA in JULY, 2007; he spent most of his career at SEATTLE-area stations, including KING-TV, KTVW (TV), KOL-A, KWYZ-A, and KFKF, and became well known for his broadcasting of the tragic 1951 Gold Cup hydroplane race in which a crash killed the driver and mechanic; he joined KLKI in 1985 at age 68.

In lieu of flowers, donations are being accepted to support the HYDROPLANE AND RACEBOAT MUSEUM, 5917 S. 196th St., KENT, WA 98032.

This from NWCN:

Broadcasting Legend Bill O'Mara Dies:
http://www.nwcn.com/topstories/stories/NW_032109WAB-bill-omara-obit-SW.5a1d4cd2. html

I first heard Bill O'Mara on KFKF (1540 Bellevue) when I was a kid. The next I heard of him was when he was briefly news director at KTVW Channel 13 in the early 1970s when Blaidon Mutual Investors tried (and failed) to make a go of the station.

My twin sister and I used to crack up watching Bill because he would close every newscast on 13 with the same kind of smile that Ted Baxter did on the Mary Tyler Moore Show... :-)

On the Puget Sound radio web site can be found a rather touching tribute to Bill that was written by Dori Monson of KIRO radio.. It can be found at http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1237697368/

A couple more thoughts about Bill O'Mara: The next time I heard him on the air, he was on KWYZ 1230 AM in Everett.

He sounded like a very interesting person and I think I would have enjoyed meeting him, but I apparently just missed that opportunity, because he came to work at KLKI in Anacortes right after I had ended seven years as editor of the weekly Anacortes American newspaper there.

I read that during both his KWYZ and KLKI jobs, he actually lived at the stations. Broadcasting was what he lived and breathed to do...

Ya,

I remember Bill O'Mara when I was just a little kid in the mid 50s on" First in the Northwest, K I N G-TV Channel 5 , Seattle " . At the same time as Kieth Jackson was on KOMO.

Boy those days were sure full of Seattle talent huh ?

Bill was doing basketball pbp all the way up to 2007. That's called "doing what you love".

Kennewickman mentioned Keith Jackson on KOMO. Former WSU grad, as was Edward R. Murrow. In fact, WSU provided numerous northwest broadcasters, as well as many who went on to other big markets. Great broadcasting program at one time, not sure about recently, maybe someone can shed some light on that.

But back to O'Mara. What a different world TV news was in the 50's. Most big city staffs had just a handful of people, the reporter often shot a story, wrote it, and reported it. (Kind of like small markets still do today!) Live reports from the field were non-existent, (probably a good thing, instead of some reporter today standing in front of a scene where a news event happened 7 hours ago!) and filmed reports were rare. It was, in essence, "radio on tv".

In Seattle, it all seemed to change when KIRO-TV became aggressive with their "Eyewitness News" format, a copter, video tape (I think they called it the "Instant News Camera"). I'm thinking around 1972-73, but I could be off a few years.

Another northwest broadcaster, out of WSU was my old college prof, Ralph Rogers, PD of KGW and KEX, when they were in the same building, Don Ameche's announcer in Hollywood and responsible for "Franz Bread, the Good Bread: Flavor Beyond Compare!".