Willie Geist
| Willie Geist | |
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| Born | William Russell Geist May 3, 1975 Evanston, Illinois, U.S. |
| Education | Vanderbilt University |
| Occupation | Television personality |
| Title | Way Too Early with Willie Geist Host, Morning Joe Co-Host, MSNBC.com's Zeitgeist Host |
| Family | Bill Geist and Jody Geist |
| Spouse(s) | Christina Sharkey Geist |
| Children | Lucie Joy, George William |
| Ethnicity | German-American |
| Official website | |
William "Willie" Geist (born May 3, 1975) is host of MSNBC's Way Too Early with Willie Geist, a co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe and contributor to several NBC News programs. Geist also hosts a satirical video blog on MSNBC.com called Zeitgeist.[1] Geist also is a frequent fill in for Matt Lauer on the Today Show.
Geist is the author of the New York Times bestselling book American Freak Show, released on October 12, 2010, and of Loaded! Become a Millionaire Overnight and Lose 20 Pounds in 2 Weeks or Your Money Back!, a satire of the popular self-help genre, released on May 10, 2011.
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[edit] Personal life
Geist was born in Evanston, Illinois, to author, columnist, and current CBS News correspondent Bill Geist and social worker Jody Geist.
He attended Ridgewood High School in Ridgewood, New Jersey, where he was captain of the football and basketball teams. He later went on to graduate from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. While at Vanderbilt, he was an editor of the university’s official student newspaper, The Vanderbilt Hustler.[1]
On May 24, 2003, Geist married his high-school sweetheart, Christina Sharkey, in Humacao, Puerto Rico.[2] The couple has a daughter, Lucie Joy Geist (b. June 14, 2007) and a son George William Geist (July 8, 2009).
Geist is the older brother of Libby Wildes, the Peabody Award-winning documentary film producer (Crazy Love, Black Magic, Ring of Fire), who is married to Kevin Wildes of ESPN, "Mr. Half Baked Ideas." [3]
Geist is the great-grandson of Herbie Lewis, who captained the Detroit Red Wings to two Stanley Cups and is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.[citation needed]
[edit] Career
Geist began his career as an editor and producer for CNN Sports Illustrated and subsequently a field producer and reporter for CNN Sports, where he covered The Super Bowl, The NCAA Final Four, and The Masters.[1]
In 2004, he became a writer and producer for I, Max, a short-lived sports commentary show hosted by Max Kellerman on Fox Sports Net. He joined MSNBC television in April 2005 as a senior producer of The Situation with Tucker Carlson.
Geist began substituting as a co-host on MSNBC's 6-9 a.m. morning time slot almost immediately after Don Imus was fired in late April, 2007. Geist was named permanent co-host of Morning Joe, along with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski in September, 2007. In late July, 2009, Geist began hosting his own 30-minute program Way Too Early with Willie Geist. The show currently airs from 5:30-6 a.m. (immediately before Morning Joe) on MSNBC.[4] In 2010, Geist began substituting for Matt Lauer as host of the Today TV program and as the show's newsreader. Geist also has co-hosted the 3rd hour and 4th hours of Today.[citation needed]
[edit] Hosting credits
- Way Too Early with Willie Geist (2009–present)
- Morning Joe (2007–present)
- Zeitgeist (2006–present)
- Scarborough Country (2006–2007)
- Tucker (formerly The Situation with Tucker Carlson) (2005–2008)
- I, Max, Writer/Producer (2004–2005)
[edit] Popular culture
In its "Best of NYC 2009" issue, The Village Voice declared Geist the "Best TV Sidekick Who Deserves His Own Show," writing, "Memo to MSNBC: Instead of "Countdown" reruns at 10 p.m., give Willie a proper talk show—you might have a contempo Dick Cavett on your hands." On December 28, 2009, Way Too Early with Willie Geist was listed by The Daily Beast as one of "25 Ways To Get Smarter in 2010". The Daily Beast compared Geist's combination of news and humor to Jon Stewart's on the Comedy Central network and Rachel Maddow's on the MSNBC network, calling Way Too Early "2010's must-watch cable news show."
Willie Geist was also featured in the popular television show The Daily Show hosted by Jon Stewart on June 30th, 2011. His glare of disapproval has since become a meme.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c MSNBC (2007-04-05). "Willie Geist: MSNBC contributor". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17241176. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ Shannon Donnelly (2003-06-01). "Wedding Vows/Celebrations". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06E4DF1730F932A35755C0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ "The B.S. Report: 5/11". http://espn.go.com/espnradio/grantland/player?id=6528378.
- ^ Skowronski, Lauren (2009-07-15). "WAY TOO EARLY WITH WILLIE GEIST to Debut July 27 on MSNBC". http://nbcumv.com/msnbc/release_detail.nbc/msnbc-20090715000000-034waytooearly.html. Retrieved 2009-07-16.[dead link]
[edit] External links
- Tucker official website at MSNBC
- Willie Geist biography at MSNBC
- Willie Geist at the Internet Movie Database
- Zeitgeist official website at MSNBC
- Zeitgeist Archive official website at MSNBC
- Morning Joe official website at MSNBC
- Willie Geist on Twitter
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