One of television's key pundits during the 1990s and 2000s, Tim Russert entered broadcast journalism from the political arena, where he held sway as press secretary to multi-term New York governor Mario Cuomo and chief of staff to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynahan, also of New York State. Russert shifted careers in 1984 by joining NBC News as a regular correspondent, and broke new ground in the venue of American television by featuring one of the first-ever network broadcast appearances of the Pope (filmed live from Vatican City in the mid-'80s), and by emceeing week-long broadcasts from international locations including China and Oceania. Russert is perhaps best known, however, for his 17-year tenure (1991-2008) emceeing the said network's Sunday-morning discussion program Meet the Press, in which he interviewed political movers and shakers with an unusual degree of bluntness and directness. Russert died from a heart attack in 2008, at the age of 58.
Tim Russert
Active - 2000 - 2011 |
Born - May 7, 1950 in Buffalo, New York, United States |
Died - Jun 13, 2008 |
Genres - Historical Film, Sports & Recreation, War
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Biography by AllMovie
Factsheet
- Served as special counsel in the United States Senate from 1977 to '82, and as counselor in the New York Governor's office from 1983 to '84.
- Named NBC News' Washington bureau chief in 1989.
- Took over as moderator of NBC's Meet the Press---the longest-running series in TV history---in 1991.
- Twice recognized as Father of the Year: in 1995 by the National Father's Day Committee and in 2001 by the National Fatherhood Initiative.
- Shared the 2001 Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in Television Journalism for a 2000 interview with Sen. John McCain.
- Released two best-selling books: 2004's Big Russ and Me and 2006's Wisdom of Our Fathers.
- Received more than 40 honorary doctorate degrees from American universities and colleges.