Geraldo Rivera is an American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and former television host who is well known for hosting his own television talk show, “Geraldo”(1987-98). With his work in the live TV special, “The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults”, Rivera gained much popularity later hosting the news magazine program, “Geraldo at Large”.
Having his career started initially as a lawyer even working with the Puerto Rican activist group, the Young Lords, Rivera managed to come a long way up entering the completely different world of entertainment in 1970 as a reporter for Eyewitness News and now becoming one of the popular talk show hosts.
He also appears regularly on the Fox News program, “The Five”. He is also an author and has released his book titled “HisPanic: Why Americans Fear Hispanics in the U.S.”. Besides, Rivera has got involved in several controversies as back in March 2020, during a segment of Fox & Friends, he started the false claim of holding breath for 10 seconds to check if a person is infected with COVID or not.
Recently, on April 8, 2021, he got involved in a shouting match with Leo Terrell while discussing St. Louis mayor-elect Tishaura Jones. Besides, he has over 332k followers on Twitter: @GeraldoRivera.
What is Geraldo Rivera Famous for?
- Famous as a host of talk show, “Geraldo”(1987-98).
Source: @geraldo
Where is Geraldo Rivera From?
Geraldo Rivera was born on July 4, 1943, in New York City, United States. His birth name is Geraldo Rivera. His nationality is American. Rivera belongs to mixed ethnicity while Cancer is his zodiac sign.
Born as the son of his mixed ethnic parents; Cruz “Allen” Rivera(father) and Lilian(mother), Rivera grew up in a secular environment mostly Jewish along with his sister. His father was a Puerto Rican cab driver while his mother, Lilian was a Russian Jewish restaurant worker.
Growing up in Brooklyn and West Babylon, New York, Rivera attended West Babylon High School after which she attended the State University of New York Maritime College later graduating in 1963. He then got transferred to the University of Arizona, eventually graduating with a B.S. degree in business administration.
He then performed several odd jobs before getting enrolled at the Brooklyn Law School in 1966. During his time there, Rivera also held internships under the Harlem Assertion of Rights and the legendary crime-fighter Frank Hogan. He received his J.D. in 1969. He began working as a lawyer and was involved with Manhattan-based Community Action for Legal Services for a while. He also frequently worked with the Puerto Rican activist group, the Young Lords.
Source: @Wikipedia
Geraldo Rivera’s Career Highlights
- Geraldo Rivera started his career initially working as a reporter for Eyewitness News at WABC-TV in 1970.
- He garnered national attention for his report on the neglect and abuse of patients with intellectual disabilities at Staten Island’s Willowbrook State School even winning a Peabody Award in 1972.
- He also started appearing on ABC’s ‘Nightline and ‘20/20’ in 1972.
- He then served as a host and executive producer of ABC’s late-night newsmagazine program ‘Good Night America’.
- On April 21, 1986, Rivera hosted “The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults” which was watched by millions of people worldwide.
- He got his breakthrough when he started producing and hosting the daytime talk show, “Geraldo” in 1987. The show ran for 11 long years establishing him as one of the popular hosts.
- He then hosted CNBC’s evening news and interview show, “Rivera Live” from 1994 to 2001.
- After leaving CNBC in November 2001, he went on to become a Fox News war correspondent during which he even reported on the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq conflict.
- In 2008, Rivera’s released her first book titled “Hispanic: Why Americans Fear Hispanics in the U.S.”. Following year, he released his second book titled ‘The Great Progression: How Hispanics Will Lead America to a New Era of Prosperity.
- He then began hosting a weekday radio talk show on WABC (770 AM) in New York, N.Y., and KABC (790 AM) in Los Angeles in 2012.
- In 2015, Rivera competed on the 14th season of the television series The Celebrity Apprentice.
- In 2016, Rivera participated in the reality TV show, “Dancing with the Stars”, however, he got eliminated at first from the show.
- He released another book, “The Geraldo Show, A Memoir” in 2018.
- He currently serves as the host of the newsmagazine program, “Geraldo at Large” and also appears regularly on Fox News Channel.
- He also hosts the radio program, “Geraldo Show” on WABC 770.
- On September 6, 2020, in honor of his 50-year television career, Fox News presented a one-hour special segment “I Am Geraldo”.
- Besides he has got involved in several controversies including one during a segment of Fox & Friends on March 13, 2020, where he stated false claims about holding breath for 10 seconds to know if one is infected with COVID-19 or not.
Source: @gettyimages
Geraldo Rivera’s Wife
Geraldo Rivera has been married five times to date. His first marriage was with Linda Coblentz with whom she was married for 4 years from 1965-69. After divorcing her, Rivera went on to marry popular painter Edith Vonnegut in 1971 however he divorced Vonnegut in 1975. Following year, he got married to his third wife, Sherryl Raymond, with whom he had a son Gabriel. Their marriage lasts for 8 years till 1984.
His fourth marriage was with Cynthia Cruickshank Dyer with whom he had two daughters, Isabella and Simone. Their marriage lasted for 13 years from 1987-2000. He has been married to his fifth wife, Erica Michelle Levy for over 18 years now since 2003. They even share a daughter named Sol Liliana. He currently resides in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Besides his marriage, Rivera has also admitted to having a long-term affair with Marian Javits, the wife of New York Senator Jacob K. Javits. Also back in 1991, actress and singer, Bette Midler accused Rivera of groping her.
Source: @gettyimages
Geraldo Rivera’s Net Worth
Geraldo Rivera has quite good earnings from his professional career as a journalist and television host. Having his career started in 1970 as a reporter for Eyewitness News, he has managed to come a long way up becoming the host of many popular shows spending his 50 years in television.
He also makes money from his books and also his appearances on several shows. His net worth is estimated to be around $20 million.
Geraldo Rivera’s Height
Geraldo Rivera is a good-looking man in his 70s. He stands tall with a height of 5ft. 9inch.(1.70m) while his body weighs around 71kg. He has a fair complexion with a long mustache, brown eyes, and black hair.
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