O'Brien, Pat 1948-

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O'BRIEN, Pat 1948-

PERSONAL: Born February 14, 1948, in Sioux Falls, SD; married; children: Sean. Education: University of South Dakota, graduated; attended Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.

ADDRESSES: Offıce—c/o Access Hollywood, NBC-TV, 3000 West Alameda Ave., Trailer "E," Burbank, CA 91523-0001. Agent—William Morris Agency, One William Morris Place, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

CAREER: Sportscaster and television journalist. Huntley-Brinkley Report, National Broadcasting Company (NBC), production assistant; KCBS-TV, Los Angeles, CA, journalist; WMAQ-TV, Chicago, IL, journalist; Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), host of sporting events, 1981—; host of television series, including (with others) Entertainment Tonight (also known as E.T. and Entertainment This Week), syndicated, 1990—; Overtime . . . with Pat O'Brien, CBS, 1990; How'd They Do That?, CBS, 1992-94, Learning Channel, 1996-98; and Access Hollywood, syndicated, 1997—. Appeared in television specials, including (as guest) Life's Most Embarrassing Moments, CBS, 1983; (as reporter) The U.S. Open Tennis Championships, CBS, 1985, 1986; The Quest for the Crown—The NBA's 41st Season, CBS, 1986; (as reporter) The U.S. Open Tennis Championships, CBS, 1988; Share a Moment with the World, CBS, 1992; The Grand Opening of Euro Disney, CBS, 1992; (as late-night host) The 1992 Winter Olympics, CBS, 1992; (as host) How'd They Do That? Special: "Fire," CBS, 1993; (as reporter) Ice Wars: The U.S.A. vs. the World, CBS, 1994; (as host) Beyond Belief . . . Amazing True Stories, CBS, 1994; (as late-night host) The 1994 Olympic Winter Games, CBS, 1994; (as host) The Tournament of Roses Parade, CBS, 1995; (as host) Too Hot to Skate, CBS, 1995; (as host) Superstar American Gladiators, American Broadcasting Companies (ABC), 1995; (as reporter) Ice Wars: The U.S.A. vs. the World, CBS, 1995; (as host) Fox's Rock n' Roll Skating Championships, Fox, 1995; (as host) The Fiesta Bowl Parade, CBS, 1995; (as host) Beyond Belief . . . Amazing True Stories, CBS, 1995; (as host) The Orange Bowl Parade, CBS, 1996; (as host) Nothing but Net, syndicated, 1996; (as host) America's Choice: The Great Skate Debate, 1996; (as host) The Road to Olympic Gold, syndicated, 1996; (as host) What's Wrong with Sports in America?, Comedy Central, 1997; (as host) The 1999 Emmy Awards Pre-Show, Fox, 1999; (as host) Snowfest 2000, PAX, 2000; (as host) Access Hollywood's Top Ten of 2000, NBC, 2000; (as CNBC host) 2000 Olympic Games, NBC, CNBC, and MSNBC, 2000; (as host) The 111th Tournament of Roses Parade, NBC, 2000; The Great American History Quiz: Fifty States, History Channel, 2001; and (as Olympic Medals Plaza host) XIX Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony, NBC, 2002. Appeared as himself in films, including BASEketball, MCA/Universal, 1998; Dill Scallion, 1999; Welcome to Hollywood, PM Entertainment Group, 2000; Big Fat Liar, MCA/Universal, 2002; Frank McKlusky, C.I., 2002; and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, 2004. Guest star as himself on television series, including Murphy Brown, The Larry Sanders Show, Picket Fences, Everybody Loves Raymond, Early Edition, Late Night with Carson Daly, (as voice) The Simpsons, and The Bernie Mac Show; also appeared in episodes of Arli$$ and The Twilight Show. Other television appearances include (as guest host) Later, NBC; (as host) CBS Sports Show, CBS; (as panelist) The List, VH1; and (as host) Krypton Factor, Fox. Contributor to the Tony Bruno Show and to other programming, Fox Sports Radio Network, 2001—. Appeared in P. Diddy, Black Rob & Mark Curry's music video "Bad Boy for Life."

WRITINGS:

Talkin' Sports: A BS-er's Guide, Villard (New York, NY), 1998.

Contributor of sports columns tor New York Daily News, Inside Sports, and Live!; contributor of guest column to TV Guide; contributor of entertainment column to Ego; "gadget editor" for Gear and L.A. Confidential; also contributor to Men's Health.

SIDELIGHTS: Pat O'Brien's journalism career has been long and varied. His first job on television was as a production assistant on the acclaimed hard-news program The Huntley-Brinkley Report, and his educational background includes graduate studies in international economics at Johns Hopkins University. After leaving The Huntley-Brinkley Report, however, O'Brien worked exclusively as a sportscaster for many years and is still a fixture on broadcasts of such large events as the olympics games. However, to non-sports fans, O'Brien is probably better known as the anchor of the entertainment news show Access Hollywood.

O'Brien's first book, Talkin' Sports: A BS-er's Guide, draws on his experiences as a sportscaster. Because he covered such a wide range of sports, O'Brien had to know enough about each of them to be able to fill the time between segments with informative patter. Over the years many sports-ignorant people asked O'Brien to recommend a book that would give them just enough information about sports for them to be able to participate in conversations with their sports-mad co-workers or clients. O'Brien didn't know of one, so he created his own. Organized month-by-month, each chapter of Talkin' Sports contains facts and anecdotes relevant to the major events occurring in the athletic world at that time. "None of these tidbits will make anyone a sports genius," Kevin F. Sherry wrote in the Los Angeles Daily News, but the book "should give them enough ammunition to fill the dead time during a commercial or while a team changes pitchers."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Boston Herald, March 19, 1997, Jim Baker, "Play by Play: O'Brien All Set for March Madness," p. 10.

Broadcasting & Cable, September 1, 1997, Joe Schlosser, "O'Brien Goes Hollywood," pp. 24-25; October 20, 1997, Joe Schlosser, "Access Fights Back with Pat," pp. 47-48.

Cincinnati Post, October 28, 1997, "Sports Forever," p. 14A.

Daily News (Los Angeles, CA), October 4, 1998, Keven F. Sherry, "O'Brien Trades Hoops for Scoops," p. L7.

Entertainment Weekly, February 28, 1992, Ken Tucker, review of The Winter Olympics, pp. 40-41.

Fresno Bee, August 31, 1997, "Accessible O'Brien," p. 5.

Houston Chronicle, August 9, 2003, David Bauder, "Reeling in the Stars: The Battle of the 'Gets' Blurs Line between News and Entertainment," p. 10.

Mediaweek, February 5, 2001, Anne Torpey-Kemph, "Fox Sports Radio Adds Big-Name Talent," p. 40.

New York Post, October 15, 2003, "Who's Next?," p. 14.