Alma mater Vanderbilt University Name Willie Geist Siblings Libby Geist Political party Independent Spouse Christina Geist (m. 2003) | Years active 1997–Present Height 1.93 m Role Television Personality | |
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Full Name William Russell Geist Born May 3, 1975 (age 48) ( 1975-05-03 ) Evanston, Illinois, United States Notable credit(s) Morning Joe Co-Host
Today Show third hour Co-Anchor
NBC News Correspondent Children Lucie Joy, George William Parents Jody Lewis Geist, Bill Geist TV shows Today, Morning Joe, Way Too Early, Skyscraper Live, Skywire Live Similar People Natalie Morales, Tamron Hall, Savannah Guthrie, Matt Lauer, Al Roker Profiles | ||
Occupation Television personality | ||
Willie geist
William Russell Geist (born May 3, 1975) is an American television personality, journalist and humorist. He is co-anchor of MSNBC’s Morning Joe and anchor of Sunday Today with Willie Geist. Geist also frequently serves as fill-in anchor on Today for Matt Lauer. Geist is a Correspondent for NBC News and NBC Sports, hosting and contributing to NBC's Olympic coverage.
Contents
- Willie geist
- Willie geist s first day at today the meredith vieira show
- Personal life
- Career
- Career timeline
- Popular culture
- References
Geist is the author or co-author of two humor books that have appeared on The New York Times bestseller list: Good Talk, Dad – written in 2014 with his father Bill Geist – and American Freak Show: The Completely Fabricated Stories of Our New National Treasures, released on October 12, 2010. His third book, the self-help satire Loaded! Become a Millionaire Overnight and Lose 20 Pounds in 2 Weeks or Your Money Back! released on May 10, 2011.
Willie geist s first day at today the meredith vieira show
Personal life
Geist was born in Evanston, Illinois, to author, columnist, and current CBS News correspondent Bill Geist and social worker Jody Geist.
He attended Ridgewood High School Ridgewood, New Jersey, where he was captain of the football and basketball teams. He later went on to graduate from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. While at Vanderbilt, he was an editor of the university's official student newspaper, The Vanderbilt Hustler and a member of Phi Delta Theta.
On May 24, 2003, Geist married his high-school sweetheart, Christina Sharkey, in Humacao, Puerto Rico. The couple has a daughter, Lucie Joy Geist (born June 14, 2007), and a son, George William Geist (July 8, 2009).
Geist is the older brother of Libby Wildes, the Academy Award-winning documentary film producer (O.J.: Made in America, Crazy Love, Black Magic, Ring of Fire), who is married to Kevin Wildes of ESPN, "Mr. Half Baked Ideas."
Geist is the great-grandson of Herbie Lewis, who captained the Detroit Red Wings to two Stanley Cups and is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Career
Geist began his career as an editor and producer for CNN Sports Illustrated and subsequently a field producer and reporter for CNN Sports, where he covered The Super Bowl, The NCAA Final Four, and The Masters.
In 2004, he became a writer and producer for I, Max, a short-lived sports commentary show hosted by Max Kellerman on Fox Sports Net. He joined MSNBC television in April 2005 as a senior producer of The Situation with Tucker Carlson.
Geist began substituting as a co-host on MSNBC's 6–9 a.m. morning time slot almost immediately after Don Imus was fired in late April 2007. Geist was named permanent co-host of Morning Joe, along with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski in September 2007. In late July 2009, Geist began hosting his own 30-minute program Way Too Early with Willie Geist, which airs at 5:30 a.m. immediately before Morning Joe on MSNBC. In 2010, Geist began substituting for Matt Lauer as host of the Today Show and as the show's newsreader. In November 2012, Geist became an official co-host of Today and left Way Too Early. In 2016, Geist was made solo-host of the new Sunday Today that launched in April. Additionally Geist contributed to NBC Sports and NBC News's coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
Geist anchored NBC's hours-long coverage of the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting on the morning of June 12, 2016. Geist was on the air for seven successive hours in an NBC News Special Report that aired across the United States.
Willie Geist later did voice work in Kung Fu Panda 3 where he voiced Sum opposite of Al Roker's Dim where their characters are twin panda brothers who are related to Po.
Career timeline
Popular culture
In its "Best of NYC 2009" issue, The Village Voice declared Geist the "Best TV Sidekick Who Deserves His Own Show," writing, "Memo to MSNBC: Instead of "Countdown" reruns at 10 p.m., give Willie a proper talk show—you might have a contempo Dick Cavett on your hands." On December 28, 2009, Way Too Early with Willie Geist was listed by The Daily Beast as one of "25 Ways To Get Smarter in 2010". The Daily Beast compared Geist's combination of news and humor to Jon Stewart's on the Comedy Central network and to Rachel Maddow's on the MSNBC network, calling Way Too Early "2010's must-watch cable news show." He was also featured in the television show, The Daily Show, hosted by Jon Stewart on June 30, 2011.