Pat O'Brien (radio and television personality)
| Pat O'Brien | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 14, 1948 Sioux Falls, South Dakota |
| Alma mater | University of South Dakota |
| Occupation | Radio talk show host Sports commentator Anchor/host for TV entertainment news |
| Religion | Lutheran[1] |
| Spouse | Linda (1973-2004?) |
| Children | Sean (born 1987) |
Pat O'Brien (born February 14, 1948 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota) is currently a radio host with Fox Sports Radio as well as an author. He is best known for his time as a sportscaster with CBS Sports (1981–1997) and as anchor/host of Access Hollywood (1997–2004) and The Insider (2004–2008).
O'Brien covered five Olympic Games, two for CBS (1992 Winter and 1994) and three for NBC (2000, 2002 and 2004). He has also covered the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals, and Final Four as a pregame host while at CBS.
He authored the book Talkin' Sports: A B.S.-er's Guide, published in 1998,[2]and will release an autobiography in 2011.
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[edit] Education
Pat O'Brien grew up in Sioux Falls and graduated from Washington High School in 1966.[citation needed] He is a 1970 graduate of the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, where he was a Government major. He was also a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.[3] O'Brien also studied international economics at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.[4] O'Brien was a member of Sioux Falls area rock and roll band Dale Gregory and the Shouters, from 1964-1967 for which he was inducted into the South Dakota Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 25,2010[5]
[edit] Career
[edit] Early career (1970–1981)
O'Brien started his career working for KSOO TV-Radio in his hometown of Sioux Falls.[citation needed] After graduating from college in 1970, he worked as a researcher at NBC News in Washington, D.C.[6] and was a production assistant for The Huntley-Brinkley Report.[7] He then served as an anchor and reporter for WMAQ-TV in Chicago. In 1977 he moved to KNXT-TV (now KCBS-TV) in Los Angeles, where he earned four local Emmy Awards.[6]
[edit] C.B.S. Sports (1981–1997)
Pat O'Brien is perhaps best known for his sixteen-year association with CBS Sports, which he joined in 1981. While at CBS, O'Brien covered the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Draft, NBA Finals, Winter Olympic Games, the N.C.A.A. Men's Basketball Tournament, N.C.A.A. Football Championship and the Final Four. He has also hosted VH1's Fairway to Heaven and Lift Ticket to Ride. In 1990, he was a regular on The NFL Today with Greg Gumbel, Terry Bradshaw and Lesley Visser.
[edit] Entertainment anchor (1997–2008)
From 1997 to 2004 he was the co-host of Access Hollywood. His cohosts included Giselle Fernandez until 1999, and then Nancy O'Dell through 2004. He became the lead host of the Entertainment Tonight spin-off The Insider from its inception in 2004 until 2008.
[edit] Fox Sports Radio (2010)
On August 18, 2010, O'Brien joined Steve Hartman and Vic "The Brick" Jacobs on the Loose Cannons show on Fox Sports Radio, which can be heard from 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. E.S.T.
[edit] Other appearances
In 2000, O'Brien returned to the sports world when he covered the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney for NBC, appearing on the CNBC channel. He also covered the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah appearing on MSNBC. He also anchored the 2004 Games in Athens, Greece for NBC, this time appearing on both the Network and MSNBC. In addition to the Olympics, he also hosted the late night edition of the 2006 U.S. Open Tennis Championships for CBS Sports which was his return to CBS after a 9 year hiatus.[8]
In 2001, O'Brien had a cameo appearance in P. Diddy's Bad Boy For Life music video. In early 2003, Pat O'Brien filled in for Casey Kasem three times on Kasem's radio programs American Top 40 and American Top 20, once in January, once in February, and once in March when Kasem took vacation time. O'Brien also voice-acted in an episode of The Twilight Zone entitled Mr. Motivation. His voice is used for a doll named "Mr. Motivation."
O'Brien has been parodied or targeted on shows like The Simpsons, Home Movies, The Howard Stern Show, South Park, The Soup, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Best Week Ever, The Adam Carolla Show, The Opie and Anthony Show, The Boondocks, Cheap Seats, The Showbiz Show with David Spade, and by Jimmy Fallon on Saturday Night Live. He was also the subject of a TV Funhouse cartoon by Robert Smigel. In 2005 O'Brien appeared on the Adult Swim program Robot Chicken, lampooning himself and his hosting of The Insider.
It was announced on June twenty-ninth, that O'Brien was planning to write an autobiography to be released in the Fall of 2011. [9]
[edit] Personal life
[edit] Family
O'Brien filed for divorce from Linda, his wife of three decades, in August 2004. They have one son named Sean (age twenty-two years as of May 2010).[10]
In July 2008, O'Brien announced his engagement to his girl-friend of five years, Betsy Hoyt Stephens,[11] a clothing and accessories designer.[10][12]
[edit] Alcoholism and voice-mail episode
On March twentieth, 2005, O'Brien issued a written statement announcing that he had been admitted to a rehabilitation facility for alcoholism. Around the announcement of O'Brien entering rehabilitation, a string of sexually graphic voice-mail messages that contained O'Brien's voice started to make the rounds, particularly within the internet community and radio programs The Bubba the Love Sponge Show, The Wendy Williams Experience, The Howard Stern Show and The Opie and Anthony show. The drunk dialing incident consisted primarily of O'Brien, in a state of arousal, repeatedly recording sexually graphic messages, complete with suggestions of drug use, on the cellular vocal mail-box of a woman who continues to remain anonymous.
On May fourth, 2005, O'Brien was interviewed by talk show therapist Phil McGraw, which was featured during a prime time special on CBS. He disclosed the reasons behind his alcohol and drug abuse since the 1960s, as well as his experiences during rehabilitation. O'Brien also expressed remorse for the voice-mail incident and apologized for what his substance abuse did to his family. O'Brien returned to The Insider the next day, and reports from newsblues.com said that O'Brien had been signed to a new deal as host of the show.
On February 8, 2008, it was reported that O'Brien reentered rehabilitation and Donny Osmond would be 'filling in' as the cohost of The Insider[13] along-side Lara Spencer. On March fifth, 2008, it was reported that O'Brien had been removed from The Insider, with Osmond taking his place[14] However, a month later O'Brien resumed his hosting duties after Osmond declined to take a permanent hosting role. On September 18, 2008, O'Brien was officially fired from The Insider for writing a controversial E. mail to coworkers which insulted Lara Spencer, his replacement as anchor.[15]
[edit] Reference
- ^ Famous Lutherans. Accessed 2 January 2010.
- ^ Pat O'Brien (March 31, 1998). Talkin' Sports: A B.S.-er's Guide. Villard / Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-77818-9.
- ^ About Us: Famous Delts. Delta Tau Delta website. Accessed 2 January 2010.
- ^ Pat O'Brien biography. W Business Speakers. Accessed 2 January 2010.
- ^ http://www.southdakotarockandrollmusicassociation.com/inductees/dalegregory.htm
- ^ a b Pat O'Brien biography. Strategic Events International. Accessed 2 January 2010.
- ^ "Transcript of interview with Giselle Fernandez and Pat O'Brien of NBC's "Access Hollywood"". NBC Live. November 4, 1997. http://www.giselle.com/ahchat.html.
- ^ Pat O'Brien returns to CBS Sports to host 2006 U.S. Open late night show. Press Release. CBS Sports. 2006.
- ^ "Pat O'Brien to Write Autobiography on Divorce, Rehab". UsMagazine.com. http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/news/pat-obrien-to-write-autobiography-on-divorce-rehab-2010296.
- ^ a b Gliatto, Tom (May 16, 2005). "Black from the Edge: After a Phone-Sex Scandal and Rehab, Pat O'Brien Talks Candidly About His Downfall and Come Back". People Magazine. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20147585,00.html.
- ^ Jeffrey Slonim (July 15, 2008). "Pat O'Brien to Wed Girlfriend". People Magazine. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20212608,00.html.
- ^ B...for Betsy website. Accessed 2 January 2010.
- ^ Susan Donaldson James (February 12, 2008). "Most Addicts Find Little Tolerance in the Workplace". ABC News / Health. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4273963&page=1.
- ^ "Osmond Reclaims Fame with New TV Gig". AOL Television. http://television.aol.com/news/story/_a/osmond-reclaims-fame-with-new-tv-gig/20080305082909990001.[dead link]
- ^ Paula Froelich (September 19, 2008). "'Insider' Out". New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/seven/09192008/gossip/pagesix/insider_out_129738.htm.
[edit] External links
- Pat O'Brien at the Internet Movie Database
- Pat O'Brien sexual harassment answering machine messages. ScribeMedia.org. November 8, 2006.
- 1948 births
- American infotainers
- American journalists
- American television personalities
- American television reporters and correspondents
- American radio personalities
- Chicago, Illinois television anchors
- American Lutherans
- Johns Hopkins University alumni
- Living people
- Television news anchors in Los Angeles, California
- Major League Baseball announcers
- National Basketball Association broadcasters
- National Football League announcers
- People from Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Tennis commentators
- College basketball announcers in the United States
- College football announcers
- People self-identifying as substance abusers
