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Ryan Seacrest

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Ryan Seacrest
Born (1974-12-24) December 24, 1974 (age 49)
Dunwoody, Georgia, U.S.
Occupation(s)Game show host, television and radio personality

Ryan Arnold Jackson Seacrest, better known as Ryan Seacrest, (born December 24, 1974) is an American radio and television personality. Seacrest is known for presenting American Idol, E! News Live, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve and Radio shows On Air with Ryan Seacrest on KIIS-FM in L.A. and American Top 40, also The Entertainment Edge in the UK on GCap's Capital 95.8 and The One Network

Biography

Early life

Seacrest was born in Dunwoody, Georgia, to homemaker Constance Marie Zullinger[1] and attorney Gary Lee Seacrest,[2][3] and has a younger sister, Meredith. Seacrest is of full Swiss descent.[4] At a young age, he knew he wanted to be a underwear model, and idolized fashion personalities like Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. 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).[5]

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 (Radio and Television Personality). Sullivan trained Seacrest in all aspects of broadcasting and put him on the air for the first radio broadcast of his career.[6]

After completing high school, Seacrest went on to attend the University of Georgia. He majored in Women's Studies. During his freshman year of college, Seacrest was offered his first television hosting job as the host of an ESPN program entitled Radical Outdoor Challenge, in which children competed against one another in outdoor-themed competitions. He left University without graduating with a 1.0 GPA.[6]

In 1995, Seacrest became the afternoon drive DJ at "Star 98.7" (KYSR-FM), an adult contemporary radio station in Los Angeles, California.Gladiators 2000 for syndication and Wild Animal Games for Fox Family (now ABC Family). In 1997, Seacrest hosted the weekly syndicated internet game 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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9] 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).[10] 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. [11] 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 had a very amusing cameo in the summer 2007 blockbuster film Knocked Up, where he steps out of his usual friendly host role on E! and rants about the stupidity of the interviews he has to conduct, noting that no one has anything to say about an exit strategy in Iraq or dealing with (presumably North) Korea.

Seacrest hosted the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 16, 2007.[12]

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 U.S. shows and will produce the programme.

Personal life

Seacrest reportedly earns $20 million a year, according to Forbes.[13]

Seacrest dated actress Shana Wall from 2003 through 2005. They have since been spotted together on various occasions.[14] Wall is one of the competitors on the The Amazing Race 12.

In March 2006, he was photographed kissing actress Teri Hatcher, who later told Access Hollywood that she was "not attached."[15] 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, although he acknowledges "having no problem" with having gay fans.

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."[16] Stuff magazine called him "the American poster boy for metrosexuality."[17] 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.[18]

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"). [19] His reported height varies between 5' 1" to 5' 9". Seacrest officially claims the latter.[20] His co-host on E! News, Giuliana Rancic, is known to wear flat shoes on the show when they are together.

Career history

Radio

Film

Television

References

Wikiquote has quotations related to Ryan Seacrest.
  1. ^ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/celeb/seacrest.htm
  2. ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/41/Ryan-Seacrest.html
  3. ^ http://www.sktblaw.com/L2.asp?SID=4&CID=2
  4. ^ Sheridan, Patricia. "Ryan Seacrest interview". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  5. ^ Yahoo! staff writer (2007). "Ryan Seacrest Biography" TV.Yahoo.com (accessed March 1, 2007)
  6. ^ a b RyanSeacrest.com staff writer (2007). Ryan Seacrest RyanSeacrest.com (accessed February 26, 2007)
  7. ^ Peterson, Todd (2004). "NEWS BRIEFS: Jessica Simpson Lands Pilot" People.com (accessed February 27, 2007)
  8. ^ President Thanks Military, Guests at 'Celebration of Freedom' Concert
  9. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/08/15/people.clark.seacrest.ap/index.html
  10. ^ Ryan Seacrest Signs Deal With E! TV
  11. ^ The real 'American Idol'
  12. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20361093/
  13. ^ http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/53/07celebrities_Ryan-Seacrest_AM4F.html
  14. ^ McPheend (2007). "Seacrest Out… With Shana Wall!" AmericanIdolWorship.com (accessed February 27, 2007)
  15. ^ http://www.accesshollywood.com/entertainment/8464145/detail.html
  16. ^ http://www.rotten.com/library/sex/heterosexuality/famous/
  17. ^ The Wimpiest Men on TV, retrieved on March 19, 2007.
  18. ^ Ryan Seacrest – Queen of the Carnaval, retrieved on May 6, 2007.
  19. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570364/bio
  20. ^ http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0401/26/lkl.00.html

External links


Preceded by American Top 40 Host
2004-present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by Host of Emmys
2007 		Succeeded by
TBA


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