The radio sensation, McDonnell, has kept out of public life since he had surgery. He had such a big influence when he was around and most people followed his shows no matter what they were dealing with. He was like an angel and everything he touched “turned gold”.

Everyone wanted to be associated with him be it the athletes, the sources and the funs. He was just phenomenal. Believe it or not he weighed 740 pounds, enough to make the news.

This meant that he was given special treatment wherever he went, his chairs never had arms, had to be given a special table to use as the normal ones were inadequate, his size basically was part of his name.
Big Joe or the Big Nasty they called him. From the early 1980s he was the dominant force in the whole of the Los Angeles as far as the sporting fraternity was concerned.

He was simply the best the whole region had to offer and the best they have ever seen in the industry. The fans worshipped him and the bosses loved him.

The worst thing of it all was that as he grew in popularity he failed to check on his health which was simply growing as fast as his popularity. To put it otherwise he was growing outside and dying inside.

In the course of time he had to face the reality; it is not the profession that matters but the personality. And sooner than later the hour of reckoning came, and faced with only two choices, life or death, he chose life.

He had to go under the surgeon’s knife six years ago. He underwent the gastric bypass surgery to have his weight reduced knowing it had an effect on his career.

That has seen his weight reduce to 298 pounds and is healthier. He has no plans of returning to the industry he served. Image Credit: