Bryant gumbels biography

Television journalist

At a Glance …

Wowed TV Broadcasters

Negative Publicity Mounted

Firmly Anchored on Today

Looked for New Challenges

Sources

Best known as the long-time host of NBC’s Today morning news program, Bryant Gumbel has distinguished himself as one of the most skillful and quick-thinking news hosts on television. He has also become, as was stated by Bill Carter in the New York Times, “the most visible African-American in the world of network news.” Gumbel gained this status during his 15-year tenure on Today and in other high-profile assignments, such as hosting NBC’s coverage of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. A combination of characteristics make Gumbel a tremendous asset on live television: his unfailingly thorough preparation and phenomenal memory are matched with an ability to speak fluently and act calmly when on-air pressures are at their peak. Off-camera, however, Gumbel’s perfectionist qualities have sometimes made him a difficult colleague and his friction with co-workers has resulted in some unflattering headlines. Most notably, when his criticism of Today’s weatherman Willard Scott in a confidential memo was leaked to the press in 1989, it lead to intense media scrutiny into the relationships between the program’s hosts and the labeling of Gumbel as arrogant and mean-spirited. Such stories may have tarnished Gumbel’s image slightly, but they did not diminish his influence on Today or dampen the interest of competing television executives when, in 1997, he left the program to explore new opportunities.

Born in New Orleans in 1948, Gumbel grew up with two younger sisters and older brother Greg—who is now a well-known network sportscaster—in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. His father Richard was a Cook County probate judge who had worked two jobs to put himself through law school at Georgetown University. Ric

Bryant Gumbel was the first African American co-host of the National Broadcasting Company’s (NBC) The Today Show and is well-known as a broadcast journalist and sportscaster. Gumbel was born in 1948 in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Rhea Alice and Richard Dunbar Gumbel, a city clerk and a judge, respectively.  He grew up with two younger sisters and a younger brother in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.

Gumbel graduated from Maine’s Bates College in 1970 with a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts. He first worked as a salesman for Westvaco Corporation, an industrial paper company in New York City. He left the job after six months and, in 1971, became a sports writer for Black Sports magazine. The following year, Gumbel became a sportscaster for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, California. In the fall of 1975, he became a co-host for NBC Sports National Football League’s pre-game show, Grandstand.

In 1982, Gumbel replaced Tom Brokaw and became the first African-American lead anchor for The Today Show. Although The Today Show initially trailed the more popular Good Morning America, Gumbel and his co-host Jane Pauley eventually worked effectively as a team and saw the ratings improve. In 1984, Gumbel led The Today Show on the road to broadcast from various locations worldwide.  The first significant stop was Moscow, where Gumbel interviewed Soviet leaders. That successful trip was followed by others to Vietnam, Vatican City, Europe, and South America. By 1986, The Today Show was once again the most popular morning show for American viewers.

During his 15 years at The Today Show

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, Gumbel served as anchor and host for various other programs such as Major League Baseball, college basketball, the 1988 NBC Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and, in 1990, the Professional Golf Association’s tour. Gumbel departed from The Today Show

American journalist and sportscaster (born 1948)

Bryant Charles Gumbel (born September 29, 1948) is an American television journalist and sportscaster. He was best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's Today. His older brother was sportscaster Greg Gumbel. From 1995 to 2023, he hosted HBO's acclaimed investigative series Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, which has been rated as "flat out TV's best sports program" by the Los Angeles Times. It won a Peabody Award in 2012.

Gumbel was hired by NBC Sports in the fall of 1975 as co-host of its National Football League pre-game show GrandStand with Jack Buck. From 1975 until January 1982 (when he left to do The Today Show), he hosted numerous sporting events for NBC including Major League Baseball, college basketball and the National Football League. He returned to sportscasting for NBC when he hosted the prime time coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics from Seoul and the PGA Tour in 1990.

NBC News made Gumbel the principal anchor of Today beginning September 27, 1982, and broadcast from Vietnam, Vatican City, Europe, South America, and much of the United States between 1984 and 1989. Gumbel's work on Today earned him several Emmys and a large fanbase. He is the third longest serving co-host of Today, after former hosts Matt Lauer and Katie Couric. He left the show on January 3, 1997, after 15 years.

Gumbel moved to CBS, where he hosted various shows before becoming co-host of the network's morning show The Early Show on November 1, 1999. Gumbel was hosting The Early Show on the morning of September 11, 2001. He was the first to announce the September 11 attacks to CBS viewers. Gumbel left CBS and The Early Show on May 17, 2002.

Early life and education

Gumbel was born in New Orleans. He is the son of Rhea Alice (née LeCesne), a city clerk, and Richard Dunbar Gumbel, a judge. Gumbel's paternal great-great-grandfathe