Richard Wilkins (TV presenter)
Richard Wilkins | |
|---|---|
 Wilkins in August 2011 | |
| Born | Richard Stephen Wilkins 19 June 1954 |
| Other names | Richard Wilde |
| Occupation | Television presenter |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Known for | Nine Network & Today Entertainment Editor (1994–present) Sydney New Year's Eve (1995–1998); (2000–2006) |
Richard Stephen Wilkins (born 19 June 1954 in New Zealand) is a television presenter based in Australia.
Wilkins is currently Entertainment Editor for the Nine Network and Today.
Career
In New Zealand, Wilkins graduated from teacher's college, majoring in English and Music. Wilkins (or Richard Wilde as he was then known) became one of New Zealand's top pop stars and PolyGram signed him to a worldwide deal.[1]
In 1980, he brought his band Wilde And Reckless to Australia and released some singles and a six track EP and toured with Grace Jones. He left the music stage to work behind the scenes as Promotions and Marketing Manager for Sydney radio stations 2Day FM and 2UW (which is now known as Mix 106.5), when he then moved to television.
Wilkins was the original host of Australian series of MTV when it was broadcast on Nine, hosted a game show called Keynotes in 1992. Keynotes at the time was a summertime replacement for Sale of the Century. In 1999 he hosted the Australian version of Entertainment Tonight and for almost ten consecutive years since inception (minus the 1999–00 event), hosted the Sydney New Year's Eve telecast.
Wilkins files daily reports on Today, presents the Nine Network's coverage of The Academy Awards, and covers the Oscars and Golden Globe red carpets and other special events.
In 2006 Richard returned to the stage, wining acclaim for his role as Vince Fontaine in the mega-production “Grease: the Arena Spectacular”.
On 16 April 2007, on Today, he was paid tribute for his 20 years service to the Nine Network and footage of his involvement over the years was aired.[2]
On 7 July 2007, Wilkins presented at the Australian leg of the Live Earth concert.
Reporting live on the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson on 26 June 2009, Wilkins erroneously reported the death of actor Jeff Goldblum on Today, although later in the program this was verified as a hoax.[3][4] This was later joked about by Jeff Goldblum and Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report.[5]
In September 2011, Richard released his autobiography ‘Black Ties, Red Carpets, Green Rooms’ in two fantastic celebrations in Sydney and Melbourne.
By December 2011, the book had not only become a best seller but also reached #1 status, adding yet another monumental ID to Richard’s catalogue of achievements.
In 2012, Richard Wilkins was congratulated and honoured with the accolade of contributing and being involved with Channel 9 for 25 years of news and entertainment.
References
- ^ "Richard Wilkins". Today official website. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Tribute to Richard". Today official website. 2007-04-16. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Richard Wilkins's massive Jeff Goldblum blunder on Today". livenews.com.au. 2009-06-26. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- ^ Hurst, Daniel (2009-06-26). "Website hoax: Jeff Goldblum not dead". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Goldblum Lives! Or, The Trade In Celebrity Death". theenthusiast.com.au. 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
External links
Template:TodayPresenters Template:Sydney New Year's Eve Hosts
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