George Stroumboulopoulos
| George Stroumboulopoulos | |
|---|---|
 George Stroumboulopoulos (photo credit: Mark Dunne, 2010) |
|
| Born | George Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos August 16, 1972 Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
| Other names | Strombo |
George Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos (pronounced /strɒmbəˈlɒpələs/; born August 16, 1972) is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known as the host of CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight (formerly The Hour; a talk show about the world's current events) and being a VJ for Canadian music television channel MuchMusic. George studied Radio Broadcasting at Toronto's Humber College.
Contents |
Family background [edit]
He was born in Malton, Ontario, to a Greek father from Egypt and a Ukrainian mother.[1] He was raised in Toronto primarily by his mother, and a close-knit extended family.[2]
He is a fan of the Montreal Canadiens.[3]
Career [edit]
Radio broadcasting [edit]
In Spring 1993 George worked at rock radio in Kelowna, B.C. for a few months before getting a job offer at the Toronto radio station Fan 590 AM, working in talk radio for about four years before moving to MuchMusic.[4]
MuchMusic [edit]
From 2000–2004, Stroumboulopoulos worked at MuchMusic as producer and host of The Punk Show, then host of The NewMusic, MuchLOUD and MuchNews.[5][6]
The Greatest Canadian [edit]
Prior to joining The Hour Stroumboulopoulos was featured on CBC television's The Greatest Canadian series as the advocate for Tommy Douglas. More than 1.2 million votes were cast over six weeks, as each of 10 advocates made their case for the Top 10 nominees. George made a personal and passionate case for Tommy Douglas, Canada's "father of medicare," who was later named winner of said contest.
The Strombo Show [edit]
Stroumboulopoulos has hosted a long-running Sunday night talk radio show, The Strombo Show. Originally aired as a talk show on CFRB in Toronto and CJAD in Montreal, the show moved to the Corus network in November 2007 and the format changed to one of mainly music. The Strombo Show broadcast from 102.1 The Edge's Toronto studio and on other radio stations in the Corus Entertainment network, including CFOX-FM in Vancouver, Power 97 in Winnipeg, FM96 in London and Y108 in Hamilton.
The show moved to CBC Radio 2 on November 8, 2009.
George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight/The Hour [edit]
On January 17, 2005, the first episode of The Hour went to air and the name changed to George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight in the seventh season. Currently in its ninth season, George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight is a hybrid of news and celebrity and covers everything from politics, pop culture, the environment, human rights, entertainment, sports and more. It has won eight Gemini Awards. There are a range of guests on the show from world leaders to celebrities and politicians.[7]
CNN [edit]
George Stroumboulopoulos will appear on CNN in summer 2013 with ten one-hour shows filmed before a live audience in Los Angeles and featuring interviews in a format similar to George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight. The new show is slated to air as a weekly series on Fridays.[8]
The One: Making a Music Star [edit]
In July 2006, George Stroumboulopoulos hosted an American reality television talent show, The One: Making a Music Star that aired on ABC in the United States, and CBC Television in Canada. It was advertised as a similar show to American Idol and Rock Star but with the twist that contestants would "live together in a fully functioning music academy", with their actions documented similar to the Big Brother format.
Reportedly the most expensive summer series in the history of the ABC network,[9] its first episode, on July 18, 2006, scored a low audience of 3.08 million viewers.[10] Subsequent episodes had even fewer viewers. The series was cancelled after just two weeks (four episodes) with the final results undecided on July 27, 2006 with no plans for any further episodes.
Charity and public awareness [edit]
George Stroumboulopoulos and The Hour sponsored the 'One Million Acts of Green' Internet Website[11] challenge, calling on Canadians to register environmental acts they've done. The campaign registered over 1.6 million acts on the website. George and his family[12] have been devoted to this cause also supported by Dr. David Suzuki.
Stroumboulopoulos has also been involved with numerous charitable initiatives, such as hosting the 'HipHop4Africa' Mandela Children's Fund Canada and CapAids February 2006 Toronto benefit. He has traveled to the Arctic for a special on literacy, youth culture and the loss of Inuit identity. He has been to Sudan with War Child Canada, and Zambia for a World AIDS Day special documentary. He also supports Make Poverty History. He joined other prominent Canadians in sharing views on global issues in the March 2010 issue of Upstream Journal magazine.
He was executive producer and co-host of Canada for Haiti television with Cheryl Hickey and Ben Mulroney to help the humanitarian crisis in Haiti after a devastating earthquake.
He also presented at Vancouver's EPIC Expo in May 2011 where he showed support for Fair Trade and the work of Fair Trade Vancouver.
George was selected by the world's biggest humanitarian agency, United Nations World Food Program (WFP), as an official ambassador in March, 2011, thus named the first Canadian National Ambassador Against Hunger.
Awards [edit]
 |
This section is outdated. (September 2012) |
- The Hour has won six Gemini Awards.
- In 2006 - Viewers Choice Award - Best Host
- In 2007 - Best Talk Series - Best Host - Best Production/Design
- In 2008 - Best Host
- George Stroumboulopoulos was awarded an honourary Doctor of Laws, from the University of Calgary on November 13, 2007.[13]
- He was also awarded an honourary degree in Communications from Humber College in June, 2009.
- In September 2011, George received the inaugural 'Swarovski Humanitarian Award' at the 5th annual Playback Canadian Film and Television Hall of Fame Gala in Toronto.
- On March 6, 2012, the World Economic Forum announced that George had been selected as a Young Global Leader (YGL) for 2012, and was one of three Canadians to receive the global honour.
References [edit]
- ^ Our Public Airwaves - This Hour has a nose ring
- ^ "The Case for George". Ryerson Review of Journalism. Summer 2007.
- ^ "Hockey Night Online". CBC.ca. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
- ^ "The Man Behind The Punk - Interview with George Stroumboulopoulos". Happygrrls.com. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ "George Stroumboulopoulos - Summary". TV.com. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
- ^ "CBC News - Arts - George Stroumboulopoulos departs MuchMusic - November 12, 2004". CBC. November 12, 2004. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
- ^ Some of The Hour's more notable guests included: Gene Simmons, Al Gore, Sarah Palin, Tony Bennett, Tom Cruise, Ricky Gervais, Bono, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Jane Goodall, Noam Chomsky, Matt Damon, Gordon Ramsay, former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Tim Robbins, Gore Vidal, Spike Lee, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Richard Dawkins, Samuel L. Jackson, Paul Anka, Richard Branson, Barbara Walters, Former President of Mexico Vicente Fox, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Larry King, Bill Maher, Bif Naked, Adrien Brody, Ted Danson, Corey Taylor, Paul Potts, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Chris Jericho, Heather Moyse, Hulk Hogan, Georges St-Pierre, Dave Grohl, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush, The Smashing Pumpkins, Coldplay, Russell Peters, Michael Bublé, Tegan and Sara, David Suzuki, Stephen King, Jason Mewes, Engelbert Humperdinck and Peter H. Gilmore (High Priest of the Church of Satan). On December 31, 2008 The Hour hosted a New Year's Eve Special and interviewed Sarah Palin from Fairbanks, Alaska.
- ^ "CBC's George Stroumboulopoulos to host CNN show". CBCNews. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ Canadian version of The One still possible: CBC executive, CBC.ca, July 28, 2006
- ^ 'One' Miserable Showing: 'Idol' Knockoff Sets a Record, John Maynard, The Washington Post, July 26, 2006
- ^ "Welcome to GreenNexxus". Greennexxus.com. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ "Saving Water". GreenNexxus. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ "Convocation: Nov. 13/07 | University of Calgary". Ucalgary.ca. 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
External links [edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: George Stroumboulopoulos |
- 1972 births
- Canadian game show hosts
- Canadian radio sportscasters
- Canadian people of Greek descent
- Canadian people of Ukrainian descent
- Canadian talk radio hosts
- Canadian television talk show hosts
- Humber College alumni
- Living people
- MuchMusic personalities
- Participants in American reality television series
- Participants in Canadian reality television series
- People from Mississauga
- People from Toronto
- CBC Radio hosts
- CBC Television people
