This article will answer every question you have about Bryant Gumbel. Below are some of the frequently asked questions about him.
- What does Bryant Gumbel do for a living?
- Who are Bryant Gumbel’s parents and siblings?
- What are Bryant Gumbel’s interests and hobbies?
- Is Bryant Gumbel married or does he have a girlfriend?
- Does Bryant Gumbel have any children?
- Where is Bryant Gumbel now?
- How tall is Bryant Gumbel?
- How much money does Bryant Gumbel earn?
- What is Bryant Gumbel’s net worth?
N/B: Please read the entire post to have all your questions answered.
Who is Bryant Gumbel?
Bryant Gumbel is an American television journalist and sportscaster, best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC’s Today. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel. Since 1995, he has 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.
Bryant Gumbel’s Career
NBC
NBC Sports
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.
One of Gumbel’s more memorable moments during his time at NBC Sports occurred when he was on-site for the “Epic in Miami” NFL playoff game between the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins. At the end of the game, he told the viewers, “If you didn’t like this football game then you don’t like football!” This would be one of his final assignments for NBC Sports, as he began co-hosting Today two days later.
Today
Gumbel began his affiliation with Today as the program’s chief sports reporter contributing twice-weekly features to the program, including a regular series entitled “Sportsman of the Week,” featuring up-and-coming athletes. In June 1981, NBC announced that Tom Brokaw would depart Today to anchor the NBC Nightly News with Roger Mudd beginning in the spring of 1982. The search for Brokaw’s replacement was on, and the initial candidates were all NBC News correspondents, including John Palmer, Chris Wallace, Bob Kur, Bob Jamieson, and Jessica Savitch. The candidates auditioned for Brokaw’s job throughout the summer of 1981 when he was on vacation.
Gumbel became a candidate for the job just by chance when he served as a last-minute substitute for Today co-anchor Jane Pauley in August 1981. He so impressed executive producer Steve Friedman and other NBC executives that he quickly became a top contender for the Today anchor position. While Friedman and other NBC executives favored Gumbel as Brokaw’s replacement, another contingent within the NBC News division felt strongly that he should be replaced by a fellow news correspondent, not a sports reporter. Wallace was the favored candidate of then-NBC News president Bill Small. NBC News decided to split the difference, selecting Gumbel as the program’s anchor and Wallace as the Washington-based anchor. Pauley would remain co-anchor in New York. Brokaw signed off of Today on December 18, 1981, and Gumbel replaced him on January 4, 1982.
Mod Squad
The Gumbel–Pauley–Wallace arrangement, known internally as the “Mod Squad”, lasted only nine months. It was an arrangement that proved intriguing on paper but unwieldy on television. Gumbel served as the show’s traffic cop, opening and closing the program and conducting New York-based interviews, but Pauley and Wallace handled news reading duties, and Wallace conducted all Washington-based hard news interviews. With ABC’s Good Morning America in the first place and expanding its lead, NBC News made Gumbel the principal anchor of Today beginning September 27, 1982, with Pauley as his co-anchor. Wallace became the chief White House correspondent covering President Ronald Reagan, and John Palmer, previously a White House correspondent, became Today’s New York-based news anchor.
CBS
Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel
After 15 years on Today, Gumbel moved to CBS to host a new primetime news-magazine called Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel during the 1997–1998 television season. The episode “The Reckoning” won a Peabody Award in 1998. It lasted just one season before being canceled. It aired on Wednesday nights at 9 pm ET before moving to Tuesdays at 9 pm ET.
The Early Show
After leaving the Today and Dateline NBC in 1997, 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 left The Early Show (and CBS that same year) on May 17, 2002. 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. In the spring and summer of 2010, he served as a special guest moderator of ABC’s The View for multiple days.
How Old is Bryant Gumbel?
Gumbel was born on September 29, 1948, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is currently 72 years old.
Bryant Gumbel‘s Family
Who are Bryant Gumbel’s parents?
Gumbel’s parents are Rhea Alice, a city clerk, and Richard Dunbar Gumbel, a judge.
Does Bryant Gumbel have siblings?
Gumbel does not have any siblings.
Bryant Gumbel‘s Education
Gumbel attended and graduated from De La Salle Institute in Chicago while growing up on the South Side of the city; his family had moved north when he was a child. He graduated from Bates College in 1970 with a degree in Russian history.
Bryant Gumbel‘s wife
Gumbel married, June, in semi-rural Waccabuc, north of New York City. In 2001, he divorced her to marry Hilary Quinlan.
Bryant Gumbel‘s Children – Kids
Gumbel has two children.
Bryant Gumbel’s Net Worth
Gumbel has an estimated net worth of $6 million.
Height/Measurements
Gumbel’s height is 5 ft 8 in tall.