Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Michael Riviera; July 4, 1943) is an
American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and
former television host. He hosted the tabloid talk show Geraldo from
1987 to 1998. He gained popularity with the live TV special The
Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults. Rivera hosted the newsmagazine program
Geraldo at Large, hosts the occasional broadcast of Geraldo Rivera
Reports (in lieu of hosting At Large), and appears regularly on Fox
News programs such as The Five.Rivera was born at Beth Israel Medical
Center in New York City, New York, the son of Lillian (née Friedman;
October 16, 1924 â€" June 3, 2018) and Cruz "Allen" Rivera (October 1,
1915 â€" November 1987), a restaurant worker and cab driver
respectively. Rivera is a Stateside Puerto Rican; his father was a
Puerto Rican Catholic, and his mother was of Russian Jewish descent.
He was raised "mostly Jewish" and had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony. He grew
up in Brooklyn and West Babylon, New York, where he attended West
Babylon High School. Rivera's family was sometimes subjected to
prejudice and racism, and his mother took to spelling their surname as
"Riviera" to avoid having bigotry directed at them (and only his
sister Sharon did not have her surname misspelled).From 1961 to 1963,
he attended the State University of New York Maritime College, where
he was a member of the rowing team. Afterwards, he transferred to the
University of Arizona, where he continued his involvement in athletics
as a goalie on the lacrosse team and graduated with a B.S. in business
administration.
American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and
former television host. He hosted the tabloid talk show Geraldo from
1987 to 1998. He gained popularity with the live TV special The
Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults. Rivera hosted the newsmagazine program
Geraldo at Large, hosts the occasional broadcast of Geraldo Rivera
Reports (in lieu of hosting At Large), and appears regularly on Fox
News programs such as The Five.Rivera was born at Beth Israel Medical
Center in New York City, New York, the son of Lillian (née Friedman;
October 16, 1924 â€" June 3, 2018) and Cruz "Allen" Rivera (October 1,
1915 â€" November 1987), a restaurant worker and cab driver
respectively. Rivera is a Stateside Puerto Rican; his father was a
Puerto Rican Catholic, and his mother was of Russian Jewish descent.
He was raised "mostly Jewish" and had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony. He grew
up in Brooklyn and West Babylon, New York, where he attended West
Babylon High School. Rivera's family was sometimes subjected to
prejudice and racism, and his mother took to spelling their surname as
"Riviera" to avoid having bigotry directed at them (and only his
sister Sharon did not have her surname misspelled).From 1961 to 1963,
he attended the State University of New York Maritime College, where
he was a member of the rowing team. Afterwards, he transferred to the
University of Arizona, where he continued his involvement in athletics
as a goalie on the lacrosse team and graduated with a B.S. in business
administration.
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