George Michael (sportscaster)
| George Michael | |
|---|---|
George Michael in 2009.
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| Born |
George Michael Gimpel March 24, 1939 St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
| Died | December 24, 2009 (aged 70) Washington, D.C., United States |
| Cause of death | leukemia |
| Occupation | Disc jockey, sportscaster |
| Years active | 1959–2008 |
George Michael (March 24, 1939 – December 24, 2009) was an American broadcaster best known nationally for The George Michael Sports Machine, his long-running sports highlights television program. Originally named George Michael's Sports Final when it began as a local show in Washington, D.C., in 1980, it was nationally syndicated by NBC from 1984 until its final installment was aired on March 25, 2007. Michael won a Sports Emmy in 1985 for his work on The George Michael Sports Machine.
Michael was born George Michael Gimpel in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 24, 1939, the son of Margaret and Earl Herman Gimpel. He grew up near Tower Grove Park in the city's south side, and graduated from St. Louis University High School. While attending Saint Louis University, he worked as a Midwest promoter for several record labels such as Scepter and Motown. It was also during this time when he made his radio broadcasting debut on a one-hour Sunday night show at midnight on WIL, which invited individual SLU students to be the hosts every week. He earned a full-time job as a disc jockey at the station after he was judged to be the best of the group.
His first radio appointment outside of his hometown was in 1962 at WRIT in Milwaukee, where he worked the 6-to-10 pm shift until he was reassigned to 5-to-9 morning drive time in early 1964. His next stop was at KBTR in Denver later in 1964, working under the name "King" George Michael for the first time. He earned the nickname due to his success in "ruling" evening radio.
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