Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an
American media personality,
television producer, and
entrepreneur. He is the host of the
Fox reality show American Idol, and of two other television programs:
E! News on
E!, and the annual
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest broadcast on
ABC.
Biography
Ryan Seacrest was born in
Dunwoody, Georgia, the son of Constance Marie (
née Zullinger), a homemaker, and Gary Lee Seacrest, an attorney.
descent.
After graduating from Dunwoody High School, Seacrest went on to attend the
University of Georgia in the fall of 1993. There, he would host his first radio show at a local Athens station. Seacrest left UGA at age 19 and moved to
Hollywood to continue his broadcasting career.
Career
Early years
In 1993, Seacrest hosted ESPN's
Radical Outdoor Challenge.
In 1994, a kids show called Gladiators 2000 was created as a spinoff television show of American Gladiators. It was hosted by Ryan Seacrest for the first season.
Seacrest appeared as the host of the fictional game show
Lover's Lane on
Beverly Hills, 90210 in "The Final Proof".
2002
Seacrest's first major television job was as the host of Merv Griffin's teen gameshow, "Click", as well as
The New Edge, a weekend morning show created by
CNET showcasing new technology. Seacrest accepted the position as co-host of the hit reality TV series
American Idol in 2002 with comedian
Brian Dunkleman.
2003
At American Music Awards 2003, he ripped open comedian
Kathy Griffin’s blouse and showed everyone her bra. The move led Kathy to complain Seacrest “physically assaulted” her. “That bit was unscripted,” he admitted.
Controversy continued as Seacrest jokingly referred to a 12 year old girl sitting in the front, which resulted in presenter
Patricia Heaton walking out in disgust.
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.
2004
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 2004, Seacrest became the new host of the 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.
[Peterson, Todd (2004). "NEWS BRIEFS: Jessica Simpson Lands Pilot" People.com . Retrieved February 27, 2007.] This show, also known as
On Air With Ryan Seacrest, remains on the air.
2005
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.
In August 2005, it was announced that Seacrest would become executive producer and co-host of
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest, and that he would be the producer-host's eventual successor.
[[1]] 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. Seacrest also occasionally serves as a substitute host on the
CNN television program
Larry King Live.
2006
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).
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.
[The real 'American Idol'] 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 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.
2007
Seacrest hosted the 59th
Primetime Emmy Awards on September 16, 2007.
This is also the same year the reality show he produced
Keeping Up With The Kardashians premiered with mostly negative critical reaction, but favored among viewers.
2008
In 2008 it was announced he has 2 new shows:
Bromance, a reality show on
MTV featuring
Brody Jenner,
and an untitled scripted series he is producing with
Paris Hilton.
In May 2008, reports said Seacrest would be executive producer for a new reality dating show,
Momma's Boys, for NBC. According to a casting announcement, the series will follow mothers as they work with their sons to find their perfect match.
Seacrest is also the executive producer of E! reality show
Denise Richards: It's Complicated which premiered on May 26, 2008. The show has received numerous negative reviews. The
Boston Herald rated the show a D. Its critic Mark A. Perigard said of the first episode:
"Denise Richards’ life is one steaming pile of pig poop...Literally".
In August 2008, ABC picked up the option in Seacrest's contract to extend him as co-host of New Year's Eve through 2010, ringing in 2011, also renaming the program 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest', to reflect Seacrest's success as co-host, said in a statement by Orly Adelson, president of Dick Clark Productions.
Also in August, Seacrest named his longtime William Morris Agent, Adam Sher, as C.E.O. of Ryan Seacrest Productions
and inked an expansive deal with the Comcast Entertainment Group, keeping him on E! Entertainment Television through early 2012. Comcast also gets first-look rights at all Ryan Seacrest Productions products.
2009
In July, Seacrest inked a deal with CKX for $45 million, making him the highest paid reality television host to date.
Stalking incidents
In 2009, a man was arrested for twice
stalking and being a threat to Seacrest
Credits
Radio
Film
Television
