Chandler, the voice of Cameron, passes away

Dr. Arthur C. Chandler, who served as the public address announcer at Cameron Indoor Stadium for 40 seasons, ending last year, passed away two days ago on Christmas. Born on Valentine's Day in 1933, Chandler's remarkable life included achieving the rank of colonel in the US Army Reserve as a medical director, serving as Professor Emeritus of Comprehensive Opthamology at UNC Chapel Hill and spending many years on the Duke faculty. Chandler called his final game last year after 40 years on the job.

Alex Krinsky profiled Chandler for the Chronicle's Towerview last December, quoted below:

Art Chandler never planned nor aspired to be a P.A. announcer, but his smooth voice combined with his athletic experience and keen intellect made him an ideal candidate to narrate Duke’s evolution from an average college basketball team to a national powerhouse boasting the game’s most famous head coach and most historic arena.

It began with his voice. Chandler was born and raised in Hinton, W.Va., a coal-mining town deep in the Appalachian Mountains, and it was there that he developed his slow Southern accent. “I was blessed with a fairly good voice. I was blessed with a fairly good ability to speak into the microphone. It didn’t scare me,” says Chandler. During college he joined the microphone club that performed radio dramas and sometimes covered sporting events. He began to learn how to effectively use his voice by manipulating the pitch, volume and inflection, and this limited experience in voice control was the perfect foundation for a career as a P.A. announcer—the action on the court rolled off his tongue with precision and the utmost clarity.