Geraldo RiveraAmerican lawyer, reporter, author and talk show host
Country: USA
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Content:
- Geraldo Rivera: Controversial Talk Show Host, Reporter, and Lawyer
- Early Life and Education
- Legal and Journalistic Career
- The Geraldo Show
- War Correspondent and Controversy
- Personal Life
Geraldo Rivera: Controversial Talk Show Host, Reporter, and Lawyer
Geraldo Rivera is an American lawyer, reporter, author, and talk show host. He is best known as the former host of the long-running tabloid talk show "Geraldo," which garnered four Emmy nominations. However, the sensationalistic nature of the show led some to dismiss it as "trash television."
Early Life and Education
Born on July 4, 1943, in New York City, Rivera is the son of Lillian, a restaurant worker, and Cruz "Allen" Rivera, a taxi driver. His father was a Catholic Puerto Rican, while his mother was an Ashkenazi Jew of Russian descent. Raised in a "predominantly Jewish" home, Rivera had a bar mitzvah.
Rivera attended New York State University Maritime College from September 1961 to May 1963, where he was a member of the rowing team. He graduated from the University of Arizona in 1965, where he participated in track and field and played goalie on the lacrosse team.
After working in various jobs, including clothing salesman and cafeteria cook, Rivera enrolled in Brooklyn Law School in 1966. He earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1969.
Legal and Journalistic Career
As a member of the National Lawyers Guild, Rivera assisted the Puerto Rican activist group the Young Lords, which led him to switch to private practice. In 1970, he caught the attention of Al Primo, news director for WABC-TV, and became a reporter for "Eyewitness News."
In 1972, Rivera received a Peabody Award for his exposé on the appalling treatment of mentally disabled patients at Willowbrook State School. John Lennon, after seeing the report, invited Rivera to host the "One to One" benefit concert at Madison Square Garden on August 30, 1972.
During this period, Rivera also hosted ABC's "Good Night America," which tackled topical issues such as marijuana use and the status of Vietnam War draft dodgers. In 1975, an episode featuring Dick Gregory and Robert J. Groden marked the first showing of the Zapruder Film on national television.
The Geraldo Show
In October 1987, Rivera was fired by Roone Arledge after publicly questioning the journalistic integrity of ABC, accusing Arledge of being compromised by his friendship with the Kennedy family. However, in a 2015 interview with Megyn Kelly on Fox News, Rivera revealed that the actual reason for his dismissal was a violation of ABC policy: Rivera had allegedly donated $200 to an independent candidate for mayor.
On April 21, 1986, Rivera hosted a live special, "The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults," that documented the excavation of an alleged secret vault beneath the former Lexington Hotel in Chicago. Millions watched as two hours of digging yielded nothing but broken glass.
In 1987, Rivera launched his syndicated daytime talk show, "Geraldo." The show's bizarre guests and theatrical atmosphere led Newsweek magazine and several U.S. senators to label it "trash TV." In 1988, Rivera produced an episode on Satanism that featured footage of Charles Manson's ritual murders, the arrest of "Son of Sam" David Berkowitz, and the "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez.
During a 1988 "Geraldo" special, Rivera suffered a broken nose in a brawl involving white racists, skinheads, Jewish activists, and black activist Roy Innis. Rivera hosted "Rivera Live" from 1994 to 2001.
War Correspondent and Controversy
Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Rivera joined Fox News Channel as a war correspondent. He traveled to Afghanistan, bringing his brother Craig along as his cameraman.
In 2001, during the Afghanistan War, Rivera was ridiculed for his "friendly fire" report, which was actually 300 miles away from the fighting. The reporter dismissed the discrepancy as "a minor matter of geography."
While embedded with the U.S. 101st Airborne Division in Iraq in early 2003, Rivera went on the air to reveal details of the upcoming military operation, including drawing a map in the sand for Fox News viewers. His gaffe jeopardized the operation, and Rivera was asked to leave Iraq. He announced two days later that he would cover the Iraq conflict from Kuwait.
In 2005, Rivera clashed with the New York Times, which accused him of trying to portray himself as a hero by pushing a member of a rescue crew out of the way and posing for a photo with a wheelchair-bound Hurricane Katrina victim. The reporter demanded a retraction and threatened legal action.
In 2007, Rivera engaged in a public feud with Fox colleague Michelle Malkin. She announced that she would not return to "The O'Reilly Factor" because Fox News had sided with Rivera, who had made disparaging comments about her in an interview with the Boston Globe.
Challenging Malkin's views on immigration, Rivera said, "Michelle Malkin is the most vile, hateful commentator I've ever met in my life. She actually believes that people should snitch on each other and that we should round up people and deport them." He added, "It's a good thing she's in Washington, and I'm in New York. If I ever saw her, I'd spit on her." Rivera later apologized for the remarks.
Personal Life
Rivera has been married five times. He has been married to Erica Michelle Levy since August 2003. They have one daughter, Solita Liliana. He has one son, Gabriel Miguel, from his third marriage, and two daughters, Isabella Holmes and Simone Cruickshank, from his fourth marriage.
The reporter has acknowledged a long-term affair with Marian Javits, the wife of New York Senator Jacob K. Javits, that lasted until 1985. Rivera also has a son, Cruz Grant, but the identity of his mother is unknown.
A friend of Donald Trump, Rivera initially claimed that he did not vote for the Republican in the 2016 election because of Trump's offensive comments about Mexicans and other immigrants. However, Rivera later explained that his choice was influenced by "wife pressure."