Pat O'Brien (radio and television personality)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Pat O'Brien (disambiguation).

Pat O'Brien
Born
Patrick John O'Brien

(1948-02-14) February 14, 1948 (age 76)
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of South Dakota
Johns Hopkins University
Occupation(s)Author, radio host
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Linda O'Brien
​
​
(m. 1973; div. 2004)​
PartnerBetsy Hoyt Stephens (2008–present)
Children1

Patrick John O'Brien (born February 14, 1948) is an American author and radio host, best known for his work as a sportscaster with CBS Sports from 1981 to 1997, as well as his work as the anchor and host of Access Hollywood from 1997 to 2004, and The Insider from 2004 to 2008.

O'Brien covered six

Final Four
as a pregame host while at CBS.

He wrote the book Talkin' Sports: A B.S.-er's Guide, published in 1998,[1] and released an autobiography, I'll Be Back Right After This, in 2014.

Education

Pat O'Brien grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He attended Axtell Park Middle School before graduating from Washington High School in 1966.[citation needed] O'Brien received a degree in government from the University of South Dakota (where he was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity) in 1970.[2] He subsequently earned a master's degree in international economics from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.[3] O'Brien was a member of Sioux Falls area rock and roll band Dale Gregory and the Shouters, from 1964 to 1967 for which he was inducted into the South Dakota Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 25, 2010.[4] Subsequent to the Shouters, he was the lead band personality in the local band Those of Us, a compilation of the Shouters and the X-Men.

Career

Early career (1970–1981)

O'Brien started his career working for

The Huntley-Brinkley Report.[6] He then served as an anchor and reporter for WMAQ-TV in Chicago. In 1977, he moved to KNXT-TV (now KCBS-TV) in Los Angeles, where he earned four local Emmy Awards.[5]

CBS Sports (1981–1997)

Pat O'Brien is perhaps best known for his sixteen-year association with

Final Four. While at CBS he hosted the short-lived (3 weeks) late night talk show Overtime...With Pat O'Brien. He has also hosted VH1's Fairway to Heaven and Lift Ticket to Ride. In 1990, he was a regular on The NFL Today with Greg Gumbel, Terry Bradshaw and Lesley Visser
.

Entertainment anchor (1997–2008)

From 1997 to 2004 he was the co-host of Access Hollywood. His co-hosts included Giselle Fernandez until 1999, and then Nancy O'Dell through 2004. He became the lead host of the Entertainment Tonight spin-off The Insider from its inception in 2004 until 2008.

Fox Sports Radio (2010–2013)

On August 18, 2010, O'Brien joined Steve Hartman and Vic "The Brick" Jacobs on the Loose Cannons show. Subsequently, Vic left the show and it was renamed Primetime on Fox Sports Radio, which could be heard from 3 p.m. to 7 pm. E.S.T. Throughout O'Brien's show, he was often condescending about a Los Angeles–based newspaper sports writer, Tom Hoffarth. A memo sent to some people at Sherman Oaks–based Fox Sports Radio with a new lineup for early 2014, changes that left Pat O'Brien and Steve Hartman without a show. [7]

Other appearances

In 1997 O'Brien appeared as himself in Season 2 Episode 7 of

2006 U.S. Open Tennis Championships for CBS Sports which was his return to CBS after a 9-year hiatus.[8]

In 2001, O'Brien had a cameo appearance in

P. Diddy's Bad Boy For Life music video. In early 2003, Pat O'Brien filled in for Casey Kasem three times on Kasem's radio programs American Top 40 and American Top 20, once in January, once in February, and once in March when Kasem took vacation time. O'Brien also voice-acted in an episode of The Twilight Zone
entitled "Mr. Motivation". His voice is used for a doll named "Mr. Motivation".

O'Brien has been parodied or targeted on shows like

The Boondocks, Cheap Seats, The Showbiz Show with David Spade, and by Jimmy Fallon on Saturday Night Live. He was also the subject of a TV Funhouse cartoon by Robert Smigel. In 2005, O'Brien appeared on the Adult Swim program Robot Chicken
, lampooning himself and his hosting of The Insider.

He was featured on the Adult Swim show Hot Package.

O'Brien made a cameo appearance in the 1998 comedy BASEketball as himself.

Personal life

Family

In August 2004, O'Brien filed for divorce from Linda, his wife of three decades. They have a son named Sean.[9]

In July 2008, O'Brien announced his engagement to his girlfriend of five years, Betsy Hoyt Stephens,[10] a clothing and accessories designer.[9][11]

O'Brien enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles for addiction studies in 2014.[12]

Alcoholism and voice-mail episode

On March 20, 2005, O'Brien issued a written statement announcing that he had been admitted to a

The Opie and Anthony Show. The drunk dialing incident consisted primarily of O'Brien, in a state of arousal, repeatedly recording sexually graphic messages, complete with suggestions of drug use, on the cellular voicemail
box of a woman who remains anonymous.

On May 4, 2005, O'Brien was interviewed by talk show therapist

drug abuse since the 1960s, as well as his experiences during rehabilitation. O'Brien also expressed remorse for the voice-mail incident and apologized for what his substance abuse did to his family. O'Brien returned to The Insider
the next day, and reports said that O'Brien had been signed to a new deal as host of the show.

On February 8, 2008, it was reported that O'Brien reentered rehabilitation and Donny Osmond would be "filling in" as the co-host of The Insider[13] alongside Lara Spencer. On March 5, 2008, it was reported that O'Brien had been removed from The Insider, with Osmond taking his place.[14] However, a month later O'Brien resumed his hosting duties after Osmond declined to take a permanent hosting role. On September 18, 2008, O'Brien was officially fired from The Insider.[citation needed]

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-679-77818-9
    .
  2. ^ About Us: Famous Delts Archived May 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Delta Tau Delta website. Accessed January 2, 2010.
  3. ^ Pat O'Brien biography Archived December 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. W Business Speakers. Accessed January 2, 2010.
  4. ^ "South Dakota Rock and Roll Music Association - Inductee "Dale Gregory & the Shouters"". Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Pat O'Brien biography Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Strategic Events International. Accessed January 2, 2010.
  6. ^ "Transcript of interview with Giselle Fernandez and Pat O'Brien of NBC's "Access Hollywood"". NBC Live. November 4, 1997.
  7. ^ "Fox Sports Radio changes leave Steve Hartman, Pat O'Brien without a show". Los Angeles Daily News. December 18, 2013.
  8. ^ Pat O'Brien returns to CBS Sports to host 2006 U.S. Open late night show Archived October 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Press Release. CBS Sports. 2006.
  9. ^
    People Magazine
    .
  10. ^ Jeffrey Slonim (July 15, 2008). "Pat O'Brien to Wed Girlfriend". People Magazine.
  11. ^ B...for Betsy website. Accessed January 2, 2010.
  12. ^ Horgan, Richard (July 3, 2013). "SO WHAT DO YOU DO, PAT O'BRIEN, CO-HOST OF FOX SPORTS PRIMETIME?". Mediabistro. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  13. ^ Susan Donaldson James (February 12, 2008). "Most Addicts Find Little Tolerance in the Workplace". ABC News / Health.
  14. ^ "Osmond Reclaims Fame with New TV Gig". AOL Television.[dead link]

External links

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Media offices
Preceded by Studio Host of
College Basketball on CBS
1990–1997 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Late Night Host of the Winter Olympic Games
1992–1994 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Host of Access Hollywood
1997–2004
Served alongside: Giselle Fernández, Nancy O'Dell 		Succeeded by
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