Tom Bergeron (born
May 6,
1955 in
Haverhill, Massachusetts) is an
American television personality and
game show host, best known to the public as the host of
America's Funniest Home Videos (2001 - Present) and
Hollywood Squares (1998 - 2004). He also is currently the host for the
ABC reality series
Dancing with the Stars (2005 - present), and a fill-in host for
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He is a
Daytime Emmy winner.
Biography
Career
Bergeron's first job in broadcasting was as a
disc jockey at local radio station
WHAV, in his home town. He was an extremely popular radio DJ in the
Seacoast area of
New Hampshire in the early 1980s on
Portsmouth's WHEB, where he played comedy records along with music and offbeat interviews. His professional voice and warm personality landed him additional TV and radio auditions.
One of his first jobs on television was as host of a local game show,
Granite State Challenge, on New Hampshire Public Television (produced at NHPTV flagship station
WENH-TV). He moved to the Boston market in February 1982, joining
WBZ-TV as a general on-air personality. His early roles at the station included being a contributor on
Evening Magazine, hosting brief informational and show preview segments known as
4 Today, every 30 minutes during WBZ's daytime lineup, and landing the hosting spot on
Lottery Live, the nightly drawings of the Massachusetts State Lottery games. By January 1987, while still working in these roles, Bergeron added
People Are Talking to his duties. He replaced former hosts
Nancy Merrill and
Buzz Luttrell on the early afternoon talk show, and gained even more popularity with this role. (Ron Cantera had already replaced Bergeron as the presenter of
4 Today in 1986, and Bergeron remained lottery host until drawings moved to
WNEV-TV in September 1987.) By the early 1990s Bergeron was seen as a solid figure in Boston television, and WBZ continued to capitalize on his talents by featuring him on
WBZ Radio. It was there he had an early-morning radio show called
The Tom Bergeron Show. When
People Are Talking ended a successful 13-year run in June 1993, Bergeron remained on WBZ-TV as commentator and lifestyle reporter for the station's expanded hour-long noon newscast.
