Ryan Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an
American radio and television personality. Seacrest is also a former children's game show host, who gained prominence as the host of the reality
television amateur-search series American Idol. In 2004, he replaced
Casey Kasem as the host of American Top 40,
and he has co-hosted Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with
Dick Clark since 2005.
Biography
Early life
Seacrest was born in Dunwoody, Georgia, to homemaker Constance Marie Zullinger[1] and attorney Gary Lee Seacrest.[2][3] He has a younger sister,
Meredith. At a young age, he knew he wanted to be a DJ, and idolized radio personalities
like Casey Kasem and Dick Clark. At the age of twelve,
he made business cards for work, and handed them out when he met people. Ryan also hosted the morning announcements at his high
school, Dunwoody High School, from which he graduated in 1993. During High School
Seacrest was a journalist on the school paper, a member of the model UN club and captain of the Dunwoody High School Swim Team
(The Aquanots).[4]
1990s
Seacrest began his career in 1990 at age 15 with Atlanta radio station WSTR/Star 94 FM while
still in high school by interning with nighttime personality Tom Sullivan. Sullivan trained Seacrest in all aspects of
broadcasting and put him on the air for the first radio broadcast of his career.[5]
After completing high school, Seacrest went on to attend the University of
Georgia. He majored in journalism. During his freshman year of college, Seacrest was
offered his first television hosting job as the host of an ESPN program in which athletes competed
against one another for cash prizes. He left the University of Georgia without graduating.[5]
In 1995, Seacrest became the afternoon drive DJ at "Star 98.7" (KYSR-FM), an adult contemporary
radio station in Los Angeles, California. Despite all of his other projects, he
remained committed to that DJ role until 2003. Also during his early twenties, Seacrest hosted a few short-lived game shows. His
first TV gig was Gladiators 2000 for syndication and Wild Animal Games for
Fox Family (now ABC
Family). In 1997, Seacrest hosted the weekly syndicated internet game show, Click, which lasted only two seasons. Also from time to time he became a substitute host for
E! Talk Soup.
2000-present
Seacrest appeared as the host of the fictional game show "Lover's Lane" on "Beverly Hills 90210" in The Final Proof.
Seacrest's first major television job was as the host of The New Edge, a weekend
morning show created by CNET showcasing new technology. Seacrest's career took a turn in the right
direction[citation needed] when he accepted the position
as co-host of the hit reality TV series American Idol in 2002 with comedian
Brian Dunkleman.
American Idol went on to become a success when the ratings went through the roof. This put Seacrest in the national
spotlight. The following year, he became the sole host when Dunkleman left the show. (In a 2005 interview on the syndicated
Howard Stern Show, Dunkleman insisted that it was his idea to leave Idol,
to pursue his career as an actor, but he was bitter at Seacrest's occasional put-downs after Dunkleman's departure.) In 2003,
Seacrest hosted the spin-off show, American Juniors.
In January 2004, Seacrest launched a daily entertainment/variety/talk syndicated television program, On Air with Ryan Seacrest. Due to low ratings, the show
was cancelled and aired its last episode on September 17, 2004. In January of 2004, Seacrest became the new host of the legendary radio program
American Top 40, created and formerly hosted by Casey Kasem. The show was syndicated by Premiere Radio
Networks. Before he took over as host on AT40, he was a substitute host four times in 2003. In February 2004, Seacrest
became host of popular Los Angeles radio station KIIS's morning show, replacing long-time host Rick Dees.[6] This show, also known as On Air With Ryan Seacrest, remains on the
air.
Every day I've showed up at a radio station, and every day I've essentially talked on the radio. I mean every
day of my life - Monday through Friday - since I was 15. So for me, I'm so used to walking into a studio and having interesting
conversations people can relate to. It's my job.
Ryan Seacrest (Beverly Hill [213] magazine, 2006[citation needed] |
In January 2005, Seacrest hosted the "Celebration of Freedom" concert in Washington,
DC for President George W. Bush, the Bush
family and the United States Military.[7]
In late April 2005, Seacrest received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at
the age of 30, citing his contributions as a radio personality, and not for his television work. In August 2005, it was announced that Seacrest would become executive producer and co-host of
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, and that he would be the
legendary producer-host's eventual successor.[8] On
December 31, 2005 Seacrest performed much of the show's
hosting duties. Dick Clark's role was limited by speech and mobility issues due to his
recovery from a stroke. It was also announced that Seacrest will be co-hosting a revamped version of American Bandstand, alongside game show host John
O'Hurley, a job that Clark has hosted for 37 years. Seacrest also occasionally serves as a substitute host on the
CNN television program Larry King Live.
In January 2006, U.S. cable channel E! announced a three-year, $21 million deal for Seacrest to
host and produce various programs, including E! News and its red carpet awards show coverages (E!'s signature piece of
original programming).[9] An Associated Press profile portrayed Seacrest as using both the deal with E! and the Dick Clark's New
Year's Rockin' Eve involvement as a springboard towards a long-lasting career in television production and ownership.
[10] In April 2006, he
won a Daytime Emmy Award for co-hosting the 2005 Walt Disney World Christmas Day
Parade with Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa.
Seacrest hosted the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 16, 2007.[11]
Ryan Seacrest has been signed up to host a new celebrity show on Capital 95.8 and
GCap Media's One Network in the UK. His new two-hour show, The Entertainment Edge, will premiere on
London station Capital 95.8 at 11am on
September 15 then It will be repeated the next day at 10am on the One Network, which
comprises 42 regional radio stations in the UK with a total of 7 million listeners. The weekly show will comprise music and
celebrity interviews and news updates and it has been put together by GCap Media and
Premiere Radio Networks, which air Seacrest's US shows and will produce the
programme.
Personal life
Seacrest reportedly earns $14 million a year, according to Forbes.[12]
Seacrest dated actress Shana Wall from 2003 through 2005. They have since been spotted
together on various occasions.[13]
Seacrest has been also spotted with playmate Lauren Michelle Hill.
In March 2006, he was photographed kissing actress Teri Hatcher, who later told
Access Hollywood that she was "not attached."[14] Seacrest also stated on the May 2,
2006 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show
that he, "went out with Teri Hatcher a couple times, but that was it." Due to his
longtime-bachelor status, rumors have persisted that Seacrest may be gay, due partly to the sometimes flirtatious banter between
Seacrest and American Idol judge Simon Cowell. To date, Seacrest has steadfastly
denied ever having a gay relationship, while he does acknowledge having gay fans, and "having no problem with that."
In a 2003 interview, Seacrest answered gay rumors in an interview with the weekly entertainment magazine Steppin' Out, "I'm trying to think of the best way to describe the feeling I get when I hear
that particular rumor. I am a certain way. I am relatively clean cut and I do like to shop for clothes. If I had to break it down
stereotypically, that would be a gay male habit. Well for me
it's not. It's a straight male habit."[15] Stuff
magazine called him "the American poster boy for metrosexuality."[16] While denying the gay rumors, he does not shy away from activities that might
further fan the rumors' flames. In 2005, Seacrest sat as "Queen" of the annual Halloween Carnaval in West Hollywood, California, a city known for its large gay male population.[17]
Seacrest's height appears to be a constant source of humor for the media including E! News's
E! channel sister show The Soup. One clip showed The
Soup host Joel McHale and Seacrest together at the 2006 Emmy Awards, Seacrest visibly stepping on a platform to get on equal footing with McHale. "Here's the scary
part," McHale commented, "I'm five foot-three." (in reality, McHale is 6' 3"). [18] His reported height varies between 5' 1" to 5' 9". Seacrest officially claims the latter.[19] His co-host on E! News,
Giuliana Rancic, is known for wearing flat shoes on the
show when they are together.
Career history
Radio
Film
Television
References
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
- ^ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/celeb/seacrest.htm
- ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/41/Ryan-Seacrest.html
- ^ http://www.sktblaw.com/L2.asp?SID=4&CID=2
- ^ Yahoo! staff writer (2007). "Ryan Seacrest Biography" TV.Yahoo.com (accessed March 1, 2007)
- ^ a b RyanSeacrest.com staff writer (2007). Ryan Seacrest RyanSeacrest.com (accessed February
26, 2007)
- ^ Peterson, Todd (2004). "NEWS BRIEFS: Jessica Simpson Lands
Pilot" People.com (accessed February 27, 2007)
- ^ President Thanks Military, Guests at 'Celebration of Freedom' Concert
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/08/15/people.clark.seacrest.ap/index.html
- ^ Ryan Seacrest Signs Deal With E! TV
- ^ The real 'American
Idol'
- ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20361093/
- ^ http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/53/07celebrities_Ryan-Seacrest_AM4F.html
- ^ McPheend (2007). "Seacrest Out…
With Shana Wall!" AmericanIdolWorship.com (accessed February 27, 2007)
- ^ http://www.accesshollywood.com/entertainment/8464145/detail.html
- ^ http://www.rotten.com/library/sex/heterosexuality/famous/
- ^ The Wimpiest Men
on TV, retrieved on March 19, 2007.
- ^ Ryan Seacrest –
Queen of the Carnaval, retrieved on May 6, 2007.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570364/bio
- ^ http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0401/26/lkl.00.html
External links
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