DiMaggio
Reportedly 'Livid'
Hall of Famer Saw NBC's False Report of His Death
NEW YORK
(AP)--Joe DiMaggio is reportedly "livid" about Sunday's erroneous
NBC report that he had died.
His lawyer, Morris Engelberg, said he and DiMaggio were watching a videotape
of "Gunfight at the OK Corral" when they stopped the film and
saw the report of his demise on a "crawl" across the screen
during "Dateline NBC" at about 7:30 p.m. EST.
"He was livid," Engelberg said Monday. "Then I made him
laugh. I said, 'Joe, we must be in heaven together.'"
NBC blamed a technician who accidentally pressed a wrong button for its
airing of the report. The
report was corrected about 20 minutes after it was broadcasted.
NBC's incorrect message read ``This is an NBC News Special Report. Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio has died at his Florida home. He was 84 years old and had.'' The message was then cut off.
An NBC employee had typed the report and stored it in NBC's computer earlier in the day after reading a New York Daily News report that DiMaggio was in grave condition and using a ventilator. News organizations prepare obituary material in advance for quick publication when a major public figure dies.
A technician in NBC's New York control room inadvertently sent the message out live to all the network's East Coast affiliates, spokesman Cory Shields said.
``He just hit the wrong button,'' said Shields. He would not identify the technician.
NBC ran another crawl about 20 minutes later, saying its previous report that DiMaggio had died was inaccurate. ``Mr. DiMaggio remains in stable condition at his Florida home,'' the report said, running over a taped Katie Couric interview with actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
NBC delivered
an apology to DiMaggio to Engelberg's office Monday, Shields said.
In a
statement to the Associated Press Monday, Dr. Earl Barron said DiMaggio
"is progressing nicely since his discharge from Memorial Regional
Hospital one week ago. Over the weekend, his physical therapy has progressed
to the point that he is walking. Reports of his
condition worsening are not true."
Engelberg added "And he will be at opening day."
DiMaggio spent 99 days in intensive care at Memorial Regional Hospital
in Hollywood, Fla., after contracting lung cancer.
To go
back to the top, click here.
To go back to the baseball page, click here.
Today's Lineup | Sports
Pages | Features | Newsstand
| Sports Links
Speak Out | Mailing
List | Scouting Dept. | About
Us | Home
Contact us at Info@ArmchairQB.com
