Bill Geist | |
---|---|
Born | May 10, 1945 Champaign, Illinois, U.S. |
Education | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, '68 B.A. Communications University of Missouri, '71 Master's Communications |
Title | Correspondent, CBS News Sunday Morning |
Children | Willie and Libby |
[CBS bio Official website] |
William "Bill" Geist (born May 10, 1945) is an American author, columnist, and television journalist.
Contents[hide] |
Geist was born in Champaign, Illinois, and graduated from Champaign Central High School. He served in the United States Army as a combat photographer with the First Infantry Division in Vietnam. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, graduating with a BA Communications (1968), and the University of Missouri, graduating with an MA in Communications (1971). He later returned to the University of Illinois, giving the speech at the 2005 commencement.
Geist began his career in 1972 when he joined the Chicago Tribune's Suburban Trib subsidiary, where he worked as a reporter and columnist until 1980. From 1980 until 1987, he was a New York Times columnist; his "About New York" column appeared twice a week during this time. In August 1987, he joined CBS as a correspondent, where he contributes to CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes II and, occasionally, CBS Sports. He appears regularly on CBS Sunday Morning hosted by Charles Osgood, where he offers the Everyman's perspective on American pop culture and current events.[1]
Geist is the bestselling author of a number of books including:
His awards include a 1992 Emmy Award for his report on the 66th anniversary of Route 66 and a 2005 Emmy Award for his report on Greenwood, Mississippi, the headquarters of the Viking Range Company.
On April 15, 2011 he was awarded the 2,437th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, an honor he had applied for himself, two years earlier, as a joke, while doing a story on the Walk for CBS News.[2]
He married his wife Jody in June 1970. They live in New York City and have two children: a son, Willie Geist, who works at MSNBC as a co-host of the show, Morning Joe, and a daughter, Libby Geist, who is an award-winning documentary film producer (Crazy Love, Black Magic, Ring of Fire).
|