How much is Tavis Smiley worth?
| Net Worth: | $10 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional TV Host |
| Date of Birth: | September 13, 1964 (age 57) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.85 m |
About Tavis Smiley
American talk show presenter Tavis Smiley, who was born on September 13, 1964, is also an author with a $10 million estimated net worth. Smiley started out in Gulfport with his mother, Joyce Marie Roberts. Roberts, a single mother, got pregnant at age 18 and gave birth to Smiley. Smiley didn’t know who his biological father was for a very long time.
Emory Garnell Smiley, who became his stepfather after Roberts married him in 1966, was a great father figure for him. Emory served in the U.S. Air Force as a non-commissioned officer. While Smiley was still a baby, his job required him to move the little family to Peru, Indiana and Grissom Air Force Base.
And Smiley didn’t grow up alone for very long. The Smiley family adopted five orphaned nieces and nephews shortly after relocating to Peru. The family, which included Mr. and Mrs. Smiley, had eight children of their own, making a total of 15 people live there.
Politics in use
Smiley first fell in love with politics at the age of thirteen. The political bug struck while he was at a fundraiser for U.S. Senator Birch Bayh. Smiley used student council and debate in high school to transform that itch into a fulfilling career.
Smiley enrolled to Indian University Bloomington after graduating. However, not without some difficulty. Smiley went to college with $50 in his pocket since his parents refused to provide financial aid for him. Smiley was able to enroll in classes and become a full-time student with some assistance from the school administration.
Soon after, Smiley became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, a Greek fraternity. Then he made a U-turn and joined student senate before being appointed director of minority issues and business manager of his dorm.
Engaging the Mayors
Denver Smith, a friend of Smiley’s from college, was killed by police. Smiley wasn’t convinced that the police’s claim that they acted in self-defense was the whole truth. To try to correct that potential wrong, he orchestrated and led protests. His enthusiasm and organizational prowess caught the attention of the Mayor’s office in Bloomington. Smiley quickly became heavily involved in a work-study program, assisting the mayor with research, neighborhood outreach, and more.
A vacation to Los Angeles during his junior year turned out to be coincidental. Smiley met NFL star Jim Brown, who introduced him to George Hughley, another player who knew Tom Bradley, the mayor of Los Angeles. Smiley’s persistence paid off. Smiley quickly began pursuing his political objectives in Los Angeles after a protracted letter-writing campaign to obtain an internship with the Mayor’s office.
Speaking the truth
Following his internship, Smiley was hired on as a full-time employee of the nearby radio station KGFJ, where he created one-minute pieces dubbed “The Smiley Report.” That evolved into a radio talk program, and Smiley’s incisive political commentary caught the attention of the Los Angeles Times. From then, he entered the local television market and soon after, he was a part of the well-known, nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show.
“The State of the Black Union.” town hall meetings were organized by Smiley and Joyner. On C-SPAN, the meetings were televised. At about the same time, Smiley debuted BET Tonight, a conversation show on Black Entertainment Television about current events. Politicians and celebrities chatted with Smiley about a range of trending issues, including racial profiling and hip-hop.
Smiley joined National Public Radio (NPR) and presented The Tavis Smiley Show until 2004 after his contract with BET was not renewed. Smiley quit NPR and moved his program to Public Radio International, citing an inability to reach a large and diverse audience (PRI). The one-hour show turned into a two-hour one. Dr. Cornel West and Smiley hosted the second half.
Because of the success of his radio show, Tavis Smiley on Public Broadcasting Service was adapted for television (PBS).
Taylor Smiley (2004-2017)
Tavis Smiley, a political commentator, made his talk show debut in January 2004 after a successful run as a radio commentator. It was the first West Coast chat program for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) network because of its Los Angeles base.
The Los Angeles radio station KGFJ hired Smiley for his first full-time position as an on-air personality, where he created one-minute pieces dubbed “The Smiley Report.” This resulted in a radio talk program where Smiley shared his astute political observations and ideas. Local television followed the radio show, and soon after, Smiley joined the well-known, widely broadcast Tom Joyner Morning Show.
Soon after, Smiley became the anchor of BET Tonight, a conversation show on Black Entertainment Television about current events. Politicians and celebrities chatted with Smiley about a range of trending issues, including racial profiling and hip-hop.
Smiley joined National Public Radio (NPR) and presented The Tavis Smiley Show until 2004 after his contract with BET was not renewed. Smiley quit NPR and moved his program to Public Radio, citing an inability to reach a large and diverse audience.
International Radio (PRI). The one-hour show turned into a two-hour one. Dr. Cornel West and Smiley hosted the second half.
His radio talk show’s success encouraged him to return to television and launch a new version of it on the Public Broadcasting Service network.
In the TV show, Smiley and his guest are seated in a typical talk show studio with bright lighting, primary colors, and two cozy chairs. Celebrities like Thomas Gibson, intellectuals like scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and politicians like Russ Feingold are among the visitors. Conversations with politicians, celebrities, athletes, authors, and other newsmakers are included on the program, which bills itself as “a unique hybrid of news, issues and entertainment, featuring interviews with politicians, entertainers, athletes, authors and other newsmakers.”
East and West coasts
Tavis Smiley resided in the KCET studios at PBS station during its first eight seasons. Up until 2010, when the Los Angeles-based station severed relations with PBS, KCET co-produced the show. This made it necessary for the show to find a new production company and studio.
Smiley discovered a friend at WNET in New York quite fast. The production was taken over by PBS’s WNET in 2010, but the program didn’t transfer from the West Coast to the East Coast. As an alternative, Smiley completed its ninth season at the KCET studio before relocating to new quarters at Encompass Digital Media Studios in downtown Los Angeles. Today, the majority of the shows are recorded in Los Angeles, with sporadic excursions to New York to record a few. It keeps receiving praise for the way it balances news with entertainment.
The show has won numerous awards, including:
- 2008 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Talk – (Series)
- 2007 NAACP Image Outstanding News, Talk or Information – (Series or Special)
- 2006 NAACP Image Award Outstanding TV News, Talk or Information (Series or Special)
- 2005 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Television News, Talk or Information (Series or Special)
Breach of a Morals Clause
In 2018, Smiley sued PBS for wrongful termination, and PBS responded by suing back, alleging that he had violated a morals provision in his contract. On March 4, 2020, a jury in Washington, D.C., supported the recommendation made to the judge by the television network that Smiley pay PBS $2.6 million.
Quick facts:
- In 1991, Smiley ran for politics and finished fourth out of 15 candidates for a position on the Los Angeles City Council.
- has served as the host of presidential debates for both parties.
- won three NAACP Image Awards in a succession for his BET chat program in the category of best news, conversation, or information series.
- In 1991, the Tavis Smiley Foundation was established. It provides funding for initiatives that support the growth of future black leaders.
- was recognized in 1994 as one of Time’s 50 Most Promising Young Leaders and in 2009 as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.
- Tavis Smiley, a noted author, political analyst, and host of PBS’s Tavis Smiley, was born in the small Mississippian town of Gulfport on September 13, 1964.
For his services to television, Smiley was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2014. Tavis Smiley’s net worth is projected to be $10 million as of 2023. He replaced Tavis Smiley as the show’s host on BlogTalkRadio.
