Earle Hackett

Dr Earle Hackett (26 April 1921 – 5 April 2010) was an Irish-born pathologist and haematologist who migrated to Australia, where he held several responsible administrative positions. He is best remembered as a radio broadcaster on medical subjects, particularly on The Body Program for ABC which he wrote and presented from 1971 to 1982. He was the author of a number of books based on those programmes, and several biographies for the Australian Dictionary of Biography.

History Hackett was born in Cork, Ireland, son of a successful general practitioner. He was the founding chairman of the Irish National Blood Transfusion Service.

He migrated to Adelaide, South Australia in 1958 to take up a position as deputy director of the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science (IMVS) at the University of Adelaide.

Broadcasting As a distraction from his administrative duties, he sent some scripts to Dr. Peter Pockley, director of science programs for the ABC, which resulted in five talks on "blood" for the radio science program Insight commencing January 1967. His weekly "The Body Program" running from 1971 to 1982, was well received, with its amalgam of medical information, poetry, wit, irreverence and bawdiness, all delivered with Hackett's friendly cultured voice.

Personal life Hackett married a nurse, Eileen Carroll, born in Swaziland of Irish parents. They had three children, Jane, Susan and Johnjames. He was survived by his three children, his second wife, Karin Lemercier and a brother, Ronald, in County Cork.