Geraldo Rivera is an exceptional journalist, lawyer, talk show host, and author. He has been recognized for his good work and achievements in life. The award-winning station was also not too far from controversy. From the beginnings of a controversial show in the mid-1980s to his escapades in Iraq, Geraldo’s has never been far from the news. Read on for the details.
Geraldo Rivera Bio (Age)
Geraldo was born on 4 July 1943 at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, New York, USA, as Gerald Rivera. His mother is Lillian Rivera and his father Cruz “Allen” Rivera. Geraldo is of mixed descent – Puerto Rican from his father’s lineage, while his mother is of Ashkenazi Russian Jewish descent. His mother was a restaurant worker, while his father Cruz was a taxi driver. Geraldo has four siblings, two sisters and two brothers – Irene, Sharon, Rivera, and Craig Rivera.
He grew up in Brooklyn and went to school at West Babylon High School in West Babylon, New York. From September 1961 to May 1963, Geraldo attended the State University of New York Maritime College. During this time he was part of the rowing team. Later, in 1965, he graduated from the University of Arizona with a B.Sc. in Business Administration. Geraldo had, even more, to study when he enrolled at Brooklyn Law School in 1966 and graduated in 1969.
The following year, Geraldo Rivera became a member of the news team at New York station WABC-TV. Dissatisfied with how “Gerald” sounded when he was offered the job by WABC-TV, he chose “Geraldo”, which sounded more Latin American. During his time there he was able to start working for both 20/20 and Good Morning America. Just three years after beginning his journalistic career, he won the Peabody Award for a story about patient abuse at Willowbrook State School, a New York mental health facility.
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His career at ABC has been instrumental in shaping Geraldo’s reputation. He was one of the hosts of Good Morning America, which at that time usually dealt with many controversial issues. The topics ranged from drug use, historical films, the status of conscientious objectors in the Vietnam War, etc. Geraldo’s time on the station ended in October 1987 when he criticized ABC President Roone Arledge for refusing to broadcast a report by his colleague Sylvia Chase on the relationship between actress Marilyn Monroe and President John F. Kennedy. Geraldo was fired.
In 1986, Geraldo Rivera hosted the infamous program The Mystery of the Vaults by Al Capone, which was broadcast live on April 21, 1986. The show was eagerly anticipated and was designed to reveal details about the infamous Al Capone – an Italian-born immigrant who ran one of the country’s most dangerous criminal and drug cartels from a hotel room.
The much-praised show had agents and doctors on standby, expecting to find Al Capone’s hidden treasures and perhaps somebodies. When the vault was finally opened, to the surprise of the watching nation, all they found was an empty whiskey bottle.
After the failure of the Al Capone show in 1987, he began hosting a daily talk show Geraldo from 1987 to 1998, which was known for being filled with controversial topics and guests. Geraldo hosted black activists, racist skinheads, and white racists when a violent brawl broke out on the show once and Rivera got her nose broken.
In 1994, he signed with CNBC and launched Rivera Live. Geraldo was expelled from Iraq when he revealed troop movements on camera after he went to the Middle East as a war correspondent.
Wife, Daughter (Children)
Rivera’s married. He’s been married five times. The first time was in 1965 when he married his ex-wife Linda Coblentz. They were divorced in 1969. Then he married Edith Vonnegut (1971-1975), Sheryl Raymond (1976-1984), Cynthia Cruickshank Dyer (1987-2000). To date, he has been successful in staying with a woman, having been with Erica Michelle Levy from August 2003 until today. Rivera admitted to having had an affair with Marian Javits, the wife of Senator Jacob K. Javits of New York, for several years until 1985.
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From his five marriages, he had five children, although only three of these women had his children. His first child is Gabriel Miguel Rivera, born in 1979 and Cruz Grant Rivera was born in 1987. Two of his daughters, Isabella Holmes Rivera and Simone Cruickshank, were born by Cynthia in 1992 and 1994 respectively. His youngest daughter Solita was born in 2005 by his current wife Erica.
Height
Geraldo Rivera has never really distinguished himself by his physique, as he stands 9 inches at a height of 1.5 meters. (177 cm). Not much information is available about his weight and other physical data.
