Who Is Bryant Gumbel? 5 Things to Know About the Former 'Today' Co-Host

Before becoming a sportscaster and TV host, Bryant Gumbel was just an ordinary kid growing up in New Orleans.

Born on September 29, 1948, Gumbel graduated from De La Salle Institute in Chicago and earned a degree in Russian history from Bates College.

He worked as a salesman in Manhattan after his college graduation and became the editor of Black Sports in 1971.

Gumbel wed his first wife, June Baranco, in 1973. They split in 1997 and finalized their divorce in 2001.

During their almost three decades of marriage, Gumbel and Baranco welcomed two children together: Bradley Christopher (born in 1979) and Jillian (born in 1983).

"It's true that Daddy's known, but there's never been a day when Daddy wasn't on TV — so Brad and Jillian are used to it," Gumbel told the Tampa Bay Times in June 1990. "And I'm hardly a stranger at home. I'm there every night for dinner and spend every weekend with the kids, taking Brad to his basketball game, cooking breakfast and dinner for the family, shopping for their clothes and helping them with homework."

In 2002, the TV host wed his second wife, Hilary, at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla., following their December 2021 engagement.

They worked together on Season 27 of Real Sports, which ran from 1995 to 2023, during the COVID-19 pandemic. While Gumbel was hosting the show, his wife "managed remote camera operations, sound, and lighting" and produced "high-quality media content" for the show.

While working for Black Sports, someone "who thought he spoke well" suggested he audition for the position of KNBC's weekend sports anchor in Los Angeles. The opportunity soon opened doors for him at NBC Sports.

"It never occurred to me, quite frankly, that I would be on TV," said Gumbel. "I grew up in an era where you'd never saw somebody who looked like me on television. It was really just a kind of happenstance and being in position to understand that there was an opportunity."

He began hosting the Today show in 1982 after leaving NBC Sports.

From being a sports guy, Gumbel became a full-time TV host when he anchored live Today broadcasts from Moscow during the Cold War beginning in 1984.

Before ending his 15-year stint, he helped launch Real Sports in 1995 and hosted the HBO show until 2023.

"We've had the opportunity to tell complex stories about race, gender, class, opportunity and so much more," he said when the show ended. "Being able to do so at HBO for almost three decades has been very gratifying. I'm proud of the imprint we've made, so I'm ready to turn the page. Although goodbyes are never easy, I've decided that now's the time to move on."

Gumbel also moved to CBS to host different shows, including Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel and The Early Show.

In 2009, OK! learned Gumbel had been diagnosed with lung cancer after the host revealed his health issue on Live! With Regis & Kelly. At the time, he said he was receiving treatment after undergoing surgery to remove a malignant chest tumor.

"We had told a few people, we told my family, obviously. I even kept it from my staff at Real Sports. So I'm okay for the time being," he said. "I'm hoping they greenlight me to play golf again."

Sources told a news outlet that the veteran TV personality was taken to the emergency room via ambulance following a "medical emergency" in New York City around 9 p.m. on October 20.

He remains hospitalized as of the afternoon of October 21. It remains unclear what exactly happened to the former Today show host.