Bobby Rivers, best known for his hosting roles on Food Network and VH1, has died at the age of 70.
According WISN 12, Rivers was Milwaukee’s first black film critic on television. He was a VJ on VH1 in 1985 with Rosie O’Donnell and hosted her talk show. See Bobb Rivers in 1988. He then hosted the Food Network show. top 5 in the early 2000s.
In addition to his hosting gigs, Bobby Rivers appeared on several television shows, including The sopranos and The Equalizer. He also had a role as master of ceremonies in Identity crisis in 1989.
Rivers also provided contributed segments for PM Magazine. No details have been provided about Rivers’ death. Following the news of his passing, O’Donnell took to his Instagram to pay tribute to her former VH1 co-star. “IP bobby rivers – smart gay and fabulous gay man I fell in love with in 1988 – when we were whispering gay secrets to each other – sure this truth would ruin our careers – love you bobby.”
Whoopie Goldberg also paid tribute to Bobby Rivers writing, “Everyone salutes this pioneer Bobby Rivers…He brought A LOT to the table. RIP Bobby.”
During an interview with Our lives Magazine, Bobby Rivers talked about the beginning of his media career and how unexpected his success was.
“When I started, I was so nervous you could hear the paper rattling in my hand,” Rivers explained. Among those he interviewed were Dolly Parton, Meryl Streep, Anne Rice, Shirley Mcclain, Whoopi Goldberg, RuPaul, Paul McCartney and Sally Field.
Bobby Rivers also reflected on his childhood and how he didn’t exactly stand out. “I wasn’t the class clown,” he recalled. “I was a semi-popular, overweight kid. And I was shy. I was more of a class satirist. I used humor as a smokescreen. I was afraid of rejection.
She then recalled talking to her parents about the lack of diversity in television or film. “My parents loved old movies. So they really cultivated and encouraged this in me. I was a child in the civil rights era. You never saw black people talking about movies on TV. You never saw black people hosting a television show. And that was always in the back of my mind: why?”
Rivers, who had lived in Los Angeles since birth, added that his first winter in Milwaukee was very different for him. “I had never been in winter in my life. And I’ve never been so cold in my life!
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn