- Mike Rowe
-
For other people named Mike Rowe, see Mike Rowe (disambiguation).
Mike Rowe 
Born March 18, 1962
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.Occupation Television host
NarratorWebsite http://www.mikeroweWORKS.com Michael Gregory "Mike" Rowe (pronounced /ˈroʊ/) (born March 18, 1962[1]) is an American media personality best known as the host of the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs. He can also be heard as narrator on a variety of series and has appeared in recurring commercials for Ford Motor Company.
Contents
Early life
Rowe was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Rowe has said in commercials for Dirty Jobs that the show is a tribute to his father and grandfather. Rowe became an Eagle Scout on January 2, 1979 in Troop 16 in Baltimore.[2] During his service project for Eagle Scout at the Maryland School for the Blind, he read aloud to students, and he cites this as one of the reasons he became interested in narrating and writing.[2][3] On being an Eagle Scout he said "The Eagle Award is not really meant for people who need to be dragged across the finish line. It's meant for a select few... ."'[2]
Rowe attended Kenwood Presbyterian Church when he was younger in Baltimore, Maryland. His parents still regularly attend. Rowe attended Overlea High School, where he excelled in both theatre and singing under the tutelage of choir director Freddie King, whom Rowe credits for first interesting him in performing.[4] An early stutterer, Rowe was able to overcome the handicap while in school.[5] After graduation from high school, he attended Essex Community College,[4] and briefly sang with the Chorus of the Chesapeake, which at the time was directed by King. He later graduated from Towson University[6] with a degree in Communication Studies.[7]
Rowe sang professionally with the Baltimore Opera.[8][9] He says about this job:
I joined the opera to get my union card and meet girls. I was a saloon singer, so I went down to the Baltimore Opera and learned an aria and auditioned. I figured I'd do one show and quit. But the girls were everywhere and the truth is, the music was really decent.[10]
Television career
As host
In the early 1990s Rowe was an on-air host for the shop-at-home TV channel QVC. When interviewed, Rowe relates how he got the job at QVC:
I was in the opera at the time. I walked across the street with a buddy of mine (during a performance) - we're dressed as Vikings and we have a drink. The TV is turned to QVC. ... My buddy bets me $100 I can't get a call back. So ... I crashed the audition and got a job on the spot. I basically turned the whole thing into my own stupid David Letterman show - I made fun of the callers and made fun of the products.[10]
Rowe claims that QVC fired him three times.[10] When told in a 2008 episode of Dirty Jobs that the gourds he was working on would be sold via QVC, he stated he was familiar with the corporation and proceeded to ad-lib a sales pitch for them.[11]
Rowe has hosted Your New Home for WJZ in Baltimore, Worst Case Scenarios for TBS, On-Air TV for American Airlines, The Most for The History Channel, No Relation for FX, New York Expeditions for PBS, Channel 999 instructional guide for the now defunct PrimeStar satellite television service, and the CD-ROM music trivia game Radio Active (as "Bobby Arpeggio") for now-defunct Sanctuary Woods.
From 2001 to 2005 Rowe hosted Evening Magazine on KPIX-TV in San Francisco. During this time, he appeared in a news segment called "Somebody's Gotta Do It", profiling a number of unpleasant professions; this concept later grew into Dirty Jobs. Rowe's first work with Discovery included a trip to the Valley of the Golden Mummies to host Egypt Week Live!, where he explored ancient tombs live on air with Dr. Zahi Hawass, an Egyptian archaeologist.
As narrator
In addition to hosting programs, Rowe has an extensive background as a narrator. His work with Discovery Channel includes narrating American Chopper, American Hot Rod, Deadliest Catch, Wild Pacific, and Ghost Lab, as well as other Discovery specials and series, and Syfy's Ghost Hunters. Rowe has hosted the Discovery Channel's annual "Shark Week" in 2006 and 2008, along with hosting the special You Spoof Discovery, an amateur parody video special which poked fun at some of the popular series on the Discovery Channel's lineup.[12]
On Dirty Jobs, Rowe frequently mocks his seeming omnipresence on Discovery Channel; when a segment on firefighting and salvage was unable to be completed in a single day, he assured his firefighter host that he would "send over the MythBusters ... maybe the American Chopper boys ... [to finish the job]".
Mike Rowe poses for a photo during filming at Skulls Unlimited International.
Rowe was originally tapped to be the on-screen host of the Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch, a show about crab fishing in the Bering Sea, and shot footage aboard several crab boats in addition to narrating the series. When Dirty Jobs was picked up by Discovery, he was told to choose which show he wanted to appear in on-screen. Rowe claims he was told by Discovery that the shows would air back-to-back on the same night: "We can't have you telling us stories about six dead fishermen on camera and making a fart joke with your arm in a cow's ass".[13] Rowe chose to host Dirty Jobs and narrate Deadliest Catch; the footage of him on the boats was not used in the series, although he did appear in a season finale of Deadliest Catch, interviewing the boat captains. Rowe hosted a related show about life on the Bering Sea, a 2007 miniseries, After the Catch.
Other narration work by Rowe includes Mystery Diagnosis, Drydock: A Cruise Ship Reborn, Southern Steel, Powertool Drag Racing, Scavengers Rock (Animal Planet), and the opening of Ghost Hunters, a Syfy series from the producers of American Chopper. Additionally, Rowe has done voiceover work for the reality television show The Ultimate Fighter and the NASCAR pre-race show for The 2009 Chase on ESPN.[14]
On December 21, 2009, Rowe became the announcer on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer.[15]
Additional appearances
On October 7, 2007 Rowe appeared on Fox's American Dad! as the voice of a meter maid.[16]
Rowe appeared on an episode of Sesame Street (Season 39) in a segment called "Dirtiest Jobs With Mike Rowe", which aired on October 13, 2008. Rowe visits Sesame Street to find the dirtiest job, which happens to belong to Oscar. Rowe must do all the things Oscar does. His tasks include finding and counting stinky cheese, sorting trash, and giving his pet pig, Spot, a mud bath. To Oscar's chagrin, Rowe does not want to stop, as he is having too much fun.[17]
Mike Rowe spoke to over 70,000 scouts, leaders, and visitors at the 2010 National Scout Jamboree in Fort AP Hill, Virginia. Rowe, an Eagle Scout, spoke to the crowd about the importance of being physically and mentally clean, but emphasized the need for all scouts to get dirty.[18]
As pitchman
In 1998, Rowe was the television spokesperson for Epic Pharmacy, a Baltimore-area association of independent pharmacies.
In 1999, Rowe was the radio spokesperson for Al Edwards Oatmeal, a short lived product sold exclusively in the Tidewater region of Virginia.
Beginning in March 2007, he was featured in several Ford Motor Company F-Series truck commercials, presented in a style similar to Dirty Jobs, including one for Ford Sync.[19][20] In the summer of 2009, he appeared in advertisements for Ford and Lincoln-Mercury vehicles that used the tagline: "Why Ford. Why Now."[21]
In 2008, Rowe partnered with W. W. Grainger, a Chicago-based Fortune 500 industrial supply company.
In 2010, Rowe appeared in internet spots for Motorola iDEN combined radios/mobile phones, explaining that the phones were used "by real people, for real work" as they were used for Dirty Jobs-type applications.
In 2010, Rowe partnered with Lee Premium Select Jeans and appeared in television spots wearing jeans that "make my butt look good".
On July 26, 2010, Rowe became the spokesperson for Caterpillar. Rowe will work with dealers and customers "to get a real world perspective on their jobs".[22] These interactions will be featured at Cat dealers as well as on the Caterpillar website and mikeroweWORKS website.
In 2011, Rowe appeared with his parents in television spots for Viva paper towels.[23]
Trade activism
On Labor Day 2008, Rowe launched a website, MikeRoweWorks.com, which is focused on the decline in the blue collar trades and the crumbling state of the infrastructure. A trade resource center has been launched and provides information, resources, and forums for people interested in learning about, or pursuing a career in, the trades[2], as well as a new blog aggregator for the trades and construction industry called the "Trades Hub", which launched in April 2011.
On September 19, 2010, Mike Rowe and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers started a grassroots campaign called “I Make America”. The campaign aims to create jobs in the manufacturing sector by encouraging infrastructure investment and export agreements. The group argues that this will improve the economy and global competitiveness of the United States.[24]
Mike Rowe has contributed video content to The Alabama Construction Recruitment Institute's trade-worker recruiting campaign GoBuildAlabama.com, culminating in an Iron Bowl-themed commercial broadcast on local CBS affiliates during Thanksgiving weekend 2010.[25]
In May 2011, Rowe testified on the issue before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.[26]
Personal life
Rowe currently resides in San Francisco, California.[27]
References
- ^ "Mike Rowe's World: Mike's Bio". http://dsc.discovery.com. Discovery Communications, LLC. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20110629001543/http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/dirtyjobs/bio/bio.html. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
- ^ a b c d "It's A Dirty Job And He Gets to Do It!". Eagletter (Irving, Texas: National Eagle Scout Association, Boy Scouts of America) 35 (2): 3–5. Fall 2009.
- ^ "Transcript of March 7, 2006, Online Chat with Mike Rowe". Discovery Channel. 2006-03-07. http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/dirtyjobs/chat/transcripts/06march07/06march07.html. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
- ^ a b "Mike Rowe Interview". Barbershop Harmony Society. http://www.barbershop.org/news-a-events-main/46-mike-rowe-interview.html. Retrieved April 2010.
- ^ Adam Carolla Show (Podcast), 2010/10/19
- ^ "You Ask, He Answers (Dirty Jobs FAQ)". Discovery Channel. http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/dirtyjobs/boards/faqs/faqs_03.html. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
- ^ "The Towerlight - The Dirt on Mike Rowe". The Towerlight. http://www.thetowerlight.com/blog/2009/11/the-dirt-on-mike-rowe/. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
- ^ Banks, Susan (28 January 2007). "TV Review: Mike Rowe dishes up "Dirty Jobs"". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07028/757080-237.stm. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
- ^ "Mike Rowe bio" on Discovery.com
- ^ a b c "Sure it's a dirty job, but...". http://www.sptimes.com/2006/09/05/Artsandentertainment/Sure__it_s_a_dirty_jo.shtml. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
- ^ The Complete Dirty Jobs Show Guide from Discovery Channel.com
- ^ You Spoof Discovery (2007) (TV)
- ^ Collis, Clark (21 June 2007). "Shock And Awe: The stars of Survivorman, The Deadliest Catch, and Dirty Jobs share jaw-dropping tales from their brave work". Entertainment Weekly. Time, Inc.. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20043289_20043293_20043300_3,00.html. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
- ^ "1st Race of the 2009 Chase" on mikeroweworks
- ^ "A much cleaner job for Mike Rowe, the voice of World News with Diane Sawyer" on MediaBistro
- ^ "American Dad!" Meter Made (2007)
- ^ Sesame Street episode on which Rowe appeared
- ^ Bowes, Mark (5 August 2010). "2010 Scout Jamboree comes to an end". Richmond Times-Dispatch. http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2010/aug/05/jamb05-ar-413430/. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
- ^ "The commercial in which Rowe was featured". http://www.microsoft.com/auto/customervideos.mspx.
- ^ Bernstein, Marty (2007-03-01). "Dirty Jobs’ Mike Rowe To Tout Ford Trucks as Spokesperson". The Auto Channel. http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2007/03/01/038719.html. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
- ^ Greenberg, Karl (2009-10-12). "Mike Rowe Doing Tidy Job For Ford Trucks". MediaPost. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/index.cfm?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=115227. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- ^ Kenny, Kate (2010-07-26). "Mike Rowe Is Ready to Hit the Dirt with Caterpillar Customers and Dealers". Caterpillar. http://www.cat.com/cda/files/2411931/7/072610%20Mike%20Rowe%20is%20ready%20to%20hit%20the%20dirt.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
- ^ "Mike Rowe and His Parents Join Viva Brand Towels to Tackle Tough Messes". Kimberly-Clark. 2011-02-14. http://www.digitalnewsrelease.com/?q=KCC_Mike_Rowe. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
- ^ 'I Make America' Campaign Kicked Off by AEM and Mike Rowe of 'Dirty Jobs'
- ^ "Dirty Jobs" host in Iron Bowl-themed commercial
- ^ "Testimony of Mike Rowe". http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/dirtyjobs/mike-rowe-senate-testimony.html.
- ^ Mirabella, Lorraine. "Mike Rowe, host of TV's 'Dirty Jobs,' tackles toughest task," The Baltimore Sun, Tuesday, January 18, 2011.
External links
- Mike Rowe's official website
- Mike Rowe at the Internet Movie Database
- Mike Rowe #4 on Maxim.com's 2007 list of Top Dudeliest Dudes
- Mike Rowe presenting at the 2008 EG conference
- Discovery, Realization and Lamb Castration at The Entertainment Gathering, December 2008
Categories:- 1962 births
- Living people
- Ford Motor Company
- American television personalities
- American voice actors
- People from Baltimore, Maryland
- People from San Francisco, California
- Towson University alumni
- Eagle Scouts
- San Francisco, California television personalities
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