Bryant Gumbel is one of America’s best-known journalists and sportscasters. He is widely known for co-hosting NBC’s news and talk morning TV show ‘Today‘. He worked 15 years for ‘Today’. Born in 1948, Gumbel began his career at the age of 23, as an editor for the Black Sports Magazine. One year later, he joined television and began working on his career as a sportscaster. Over the years, Gumbel earned several Emmy awards, as well as a huge fanbase. The popular journalist never feared to speak his mind, and he’s put himself in sensitive positions on a few occasions. We’ll briefly talk about that, as well. First of all, let’s have a quick peek at the man’s net worth and annual salary. Then, we’ll talk about his married life, divorce, current wife, and kids.
Net worth and salary
Bryant Gumbel’s net worth is estimated to be around 19 million dollars. He built this net worth mainly by his appearances on TV. Gumbel currently hosts HBO’s ‘Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel’, which began in 1995. LA Times described the show as ‘TV’s best sports program’. That being said, one can imagine what a huge impact the show’s had on the journalist’s net worth. Apart from this show, a great contribution on his net worth was brought by his 15 years at ‘Today’. Although his net worth is based on his career as a journalist, Gumbel has also had two cameos in ‘Seinfeld‘ and ‘The Weather Man‘, starring Nicolas Cage and Michael Caine. The man’s exact annual salary is unknown, but there are some who say he’s earning about $6 million per year.
Caption: Bryant Gumbel hosting his show ‘Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel’
Source: Youtube
Gumbel’s married life
So far, the journalist has been married twice. His first wife was June Baranco, who he married in 1973. Together, they had two kids, Bradley Christopher and Jillian. Their son was born five years after they became husband and wife. Jillian was born six years later. After being married for almost 30 years, the two decided to have a divorce. In 2001, Bryant and his wife, June, were settling this in court. Although his ex-wife walked away with a house, an apartment, and a pretty huge amount of money, Bryant walked out of court with a smile on his face. He said that he was happy to get his life back.
Caption: Bryant Gumbel with his ex-wife June Baranco
Source: Getty Images
One year after the divorce, Gumbel tied the knot for the second time. His second wife’s name is Hilary Quinlan. This marriage seems to go pretty well, as they are still living together as husband and wife. Gumbel also shares his net worth with his children, with whom he has kept a strong connection.
Caption: Bryant Gumbel with current(second) wife Hilary Quinlan
Source: Superior Pics
Health issues
In 2009, Bryant had some health issues. He kept this a secret, revealing it only after he had undergone surgery. The journalist had a malignant tumor, which he had surgically removed in 2009, along with part of his lung. He revealed this to the public two months after the surgery. One year after the surgery, he said that his prognosis was excellent and he was feeling better than ever.
Contribution to the LGBT movement
During the years, the American journalist has made several stories on gay athletes. One good example is late baseball player, Glenn Burke, who was gay. Burke came out as gay in 1982. Shortly after, Bryant had Burke on the ‘Today’ show for an interview. Burke was the first major league player to ever come out as gay. In the interview, Bryant and Glenn talked about how difficult it was being a gay pro athlete.
After doing several stories about gay athletes coming out, Bryant said that at some point, he was fearing not to come out as exploitative. He also said that he is proud to have done so many stories on gay athletes, as they had a very positive impact on the LGBT community.
Bio
The journalist’s full name is Bryant Charles Gumbel. He was born on September 29, 1948, in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father, Richard Dunbar Gumbel, was a judge, and his mother, Rhea Alice, was a city clerk. He has an older brother named Greg Gumbel.
Greg is also a sportscaster. He became the host of ‘Inside the NFL’ in 2014. Prior to that, he worked as a sports announcer for WMAQ-TV, among others. He was the prime time anchor at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games, and he also hosted several Super Bowls. Greg Gumbel currently works for CBS.
Bryant grew up in Chicago, where attended the De La Salle Institute. In 1970, he graduated from Bates College. One year later, he became an editor for Black Sports Magazine, where he worked for a year. He started his television career at KNBC-TV in 1972. Three years later, he got a job at NBC Sports. He worked there until 1982 when he moved to ‘The Today Show’. In 1995, Gumbel became the host of HBO’s ‘Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel’, which still airs today. He has also worked for CBS, hosting ‘Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel’ for one year. In 2006, he joined the NFL Network as a play-by-play announcer. Bob Papa replaced Gumbel two years later, in 2008.
