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Dave Karger

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Dave Karger
Karger in 2014
Born (1973-04-04) April 4, 1973 (age 51)[1]
Yorktown, New York, U.S.
Alma materDuke University (BA)
Occupations
Years active1995–present
Employer(s)Entertainment Weekly (1995–2012)
Fandango Media (2012–2016)
Warner Bros. Discovery (2018–present)
PartnerTerry Clark[2]

Dave Karger (born April 4, 1973) is an American author, entertainment journalist, and television host for Turner Classic Movies.

Early life

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Karger was born on April 4, 1973, in Yorktown, New York, within Westchester County, to Tom and Mary Jane "MJ" Karger.[2] Karger's father was employed with the Fresh Air Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization helping underprivileged children in New York. His mother serves as the co-chair for the GLSEN Hudson Valley Chapter, a nonprofit national education organization.[3][4] At eleven years old, in 1985, Karger watched his first Academy Awards ceremony. He remembered the documentary The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) winning the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.[5]

A self-described "child of the 80s", Karger grew up watching films directed by John Hughes.[6] In 1991, he began attending Duke University as an English major. There, he discovered classic cinema after he enrolled in an elective film course called "Hollywood Film Music," which included a screening of the 1944 film noir, Laura.[7]

Karger deeply admired the film, including the instrumental score by David Raksin. He stated, "His score for Laura really turned me on to classic film music, and film scores in general."[7] He later told his parents about the course, to which he remembered: "They told me years later that they thought I was absolutely crazy and asked themselves why they were paying all this money for my Duke tuition..."[7] In 1995, Karger graduated cum laude with dual degrees in English and psychology.[3][8]

Career

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1995–2016: Entertainment journalist

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In 1994 he was hired by Entertainment Weekly as an intern.[9] He was eventually promoted to senior writer, publishing over 50 cover stories for the magazine. In 2000, he began appearing on the Today show as an "entertainment expert", discussing the Academy Awards and weekend box office numbers.[10] In 2011, he began serving as the Academy's official red carpet greeter on Oscar night, appearing on E!'s Live from the Red Carpet and ABC's Countdown to the Oscars. By this time, he became the third person to hold the position.[11] The previous two were Variety columnist Army Archerd and Robert Osborne, the host of Turner Classic Movies (TCM).[12] The 2011 online broadcast, known as the Oscars Digital Experience, was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media.[13] Karger retained the position a year later until he was replaced by Chris Connelly in 2013.[14]

In 2010 Karger moved to Los Angeles; there, his Entertainment Weekly colleague Sean Smith left his position as host for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival's (SBIFF) Virtuosos ceremony to join the Peace Corps in Africa. Karger replaced Smith as the new host,[15] and has held the position as recently as 2024.[16] In 2015, Karger was the recipient of the Publicists Guild Press Award honoring the year's outstanding entertainment journalist.[17] The entertainment website TheWrap called him "this generation's mass-media cinematic ambassador".[18]

In September 2012 Karger left Entertainment Weekly and joined Fandango Media as a chief correspondent, and made appearances on Today, Access Hollywood, and E! Entertainment.[19][20] He also hosted the online web series Weekend Ticket and The Frontrunners, the latter of which was nominated for Best Variety & Reality Series at the 2013 Webby Awards.[21][22] In 2016, Karger left Fandango Media. Karger told The Hollywood Reporter: "After a fantastic three and a half years launching original video content at Fandango, the time was right to try something new."[23]

2018–present: Turner Classic Movies

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In 2007 Karger made his first appearance on Turner Classic Movies, co-hosting a marathon of Best Picture-winning films with Robert Osborne.[3][24] In 2016, he began guest hosting for the network when Osborne became ill.[10][25][26] With Osborne's blessing,[10] he first introduced a marathon block of Olivia de Havilland's films on her centennial birthday.[27] In 2018, Karger and Alicia Malone were jointly announced as full-time hosts for the network,[13] in which he made his official hosting appearance on March 5.[28] In 2022, Karger began hosting the programming block Musical Matinee on Saturday afternoons Eastern Time, with its first installment airing Singin' in the Rain (1952).[26] As of 2024, he hosts the primetime lineup on Mondays and the afternoon lineup on Saturdays.

In 2024 Karger published his first book 50 Oscar Nights. In an interview with The Desert Sun, he explained, "I came up with this concept of '50 Oscar Nights' because I thought it would be a different type of Academy Awards book, and also because I thought it would be fun to do." For the book, he interviewed 50 past Academy Award winners from the past 60 years, detailing how they prepared, how they were feeling throughout the ceremony and what they did to celebrate their wins.[29]

Personal life

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In 1997 Karger came out as openly gay;[4] in 2014, he was named as one of Out magazine's "Out100".[30][22] His partner is Terry Clark.[2] He has multiple residencies in Palm Springs, Los Angeles, and New York.[11]

Publications

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  • 50 Oscar Nights: Iconic Stars & Filmmakers on Their Career-Defining Wins. Running Press. 2024. ISBN 978-0-762-48633-5.

References

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  1. ^ Karger, Dave (April 4, 2023). ""Soon you'll be a 50-year-old kid." —Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024 – via Facebook.
  2. ^ a b c Karger 2024, p. 258.
  3. ^ a b c Grifiths, John (2020). "Class Acts". Emmy Magazine. No. 3. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Meet Charter Member — Mary Jane Karger". Broadview Senior Living. July 13, 2020. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  5. ^ Ring, Trudy (March 9, 2024). "Out TCM host Dave Karger dives into 50 Oscar winners' big nights in new book". The Advocate. Archived from the original on March 9, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  6. ^ Anderson, Kyle (August 17, 2018). "Looking for Classic Cinema? TCM's Dave Karger Says You Need Just One". Nerdist. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Willman, Chris (June 17, 2024). "TCM's 'Great Composers' Series Turns a Spotlight on the Movies' Maestros". Variety. Archived from the original on June 17, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  8. ^ "Dave Karger". Duke University. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  9. ^ Dobin, Marenah (January 11, 2015). "Who's Dave Karger? Learn More About the E! Host". Bustle. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Duffy, Steve (March 5, 2021). "Obsessed with Movies – Talking with TCM's Dave Karger". Edge Media Network. Archived from the original on June 3, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Member Profile: Dave Karger". Critics Choice Association. Archived from the original on August 22, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  12. ^ Pond, Steve (February 23, 2011). "Dave Karger Takes Army Archerd's Old Red-Carpet Oscar Post". TheWrap. Archived from the original on May 15, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Gardner, Chris (March 2, 2018). "Alicia Malone, Dave Karger Join TCM as Full-Time Hosts". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  14. ^ Gillman, Greg (February 20, 2013). "Chris Connelly Chosen as the Academy's Red Carpet Greeter at the Oscars". TheWrap. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  15. ^ Drown, Michelle (January 14, 2020). "Dave Karger Talks to the Virtuosos". Santa Barbara Independent (Interview). Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  16. ^ Karger, Dave. "My annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival class photo with our fabulous Virtuoso Award winners. I love hosting this event every year". Retrieved September 10, 2024 – via Instagram.
  17. ^ "Publicist Guild Awards Winners Announced". Deadline Hollywood. February 20, 2015. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  18. ^ Glazer, Mikey (February 26, 2017). "Oscars: Guide to Hollywood's Top Viewing Parties". TheWrap. Archived from the original on February 21, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  19. ^ Fleming Jr., Michael (September 27, 2012). "Fandango Lures EW's Oscar Guru Dave Karger". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 30, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  20. ^ "Fandango Appoints Dave Karger, 17-Year Entertainment Weekly Veteran & Oscars Expert, As Its Chief Correspondent" (Press release). Fandango. September 27, 2012. Archived from the original on April 9, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024 – via PR Newswire.
  21. ^ "Variety & Reality — 2013". Webby Awards. Archived from the original on September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  22. ^ a b Bromberger, Brian (March 22, 2022). "And the Oscar goes to... TCM host Dave Karger on film faves and Academy Award best bets". Bay Area Reporter. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  23. ^ Feinberg, Scott (April 28, 2016). "Dave Karger, Awards Expert and On-Air Personality, Exits Fandango (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 9, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  24. ^ Turner Classic Movies (April 14, 2024). "Before he was a TCM host, Dave Karger appeared on the network with Robert Osborne in 2007. He presented a night of Best Picture Academy Award winning films". Retrieved April 24, 2024 – via Facebook.
  25. ^ "Dave Karger". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on April 9, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  26. ^ a b "TCM To Launch New Franchise Musical Matinee Hosted by Dave Karger" (Press release). Warner Bros. Discovery. October 20, 2022. Archived from the original on April 9, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  27. ^ @davekarger (July 26, 2020). "My very first @TCM hosting assignment was our Star of the Month tribute to Olivia de Havilland for her 100th birthday in 2016. The Snake Pit. The Heiress. To Each His Own. In This Our Life. I was then and will forever be mesmerized by her beautifully expressive face" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2024 – via Twitter.
  28. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (April 9, 2019). "TCM at 25: Ben Mankiewicz on How to Make the Perfect Introduction". Variety. Archived from the original on April 9, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  29. ^ Sasic, Ema (January 24, 2024). "Ahead of Rancho Mirage Writers Festival, Dave Karger talks writing '50 Oscar Nights'". Desert Sun. Archived from the original on January 25, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  30. ^ "OUT100: Dave Karger". Out Magazine. November 10, 2014. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
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