Today, Jimmy Kimmel is one of the most familiar faces on American TV. Yet his path to the late-night desk began far from Hollywood. This is the story of Jimmy Kimmel and his early career, which started behind a radio microphone.
Brooklyn roots, Las Vegas upbringing
James Christian Kimmel was born on November 5, 1967, in Brooklyn, New York. When he was nine, his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. He grew up there and graduated from Ed W. Clark High School. After that, he spent a year at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Then he transferred to Arizona State University.
Jimmy Kimmel’s early career in radio
One of Kimmel’s comedy heroes, David Letterman, also started out in radio. Following that example, Kimmel began working in radio while still in high school. At UNLV, he hosted a Sunday night interview show on the college station, KUNV. Later, while studying in Arizona, he became a well-known regular caller to a popular Phoenix afternoon show.
Over the next years, he worked at stations in several cities. Finally, he landed in Los Angeles. There, he spent five years as “Jimmy the Sports Guy” on the Kevin and Bean morning show on KROQ. As a result, he sharpened the quick, chatty style that TV audiences would later recognize.
The jump to television
Kimmel’s first TV job was co-hosting the Comedy Central game show Win Ben Stein’s Money. He hosted it alongside Ben Stein from 1997 to 2000. In 1999, the pair won the Daytime Emmy for game show hosting.
Kimmel has since shared a charming story from that night. He felt it was unfair to win on his first try. After all, soap opera star Susan Lucci was still waiting for her own Emmy. So he handed his trophy to her from the audience. In fact, Lucci went on to win her long-awaited award later that same evening.
He also co-created and co-hosted The Man Show on Comedy Central. Because of that show, he became a well-known comedy face in the late 1990s.
The launch of his own show
In January 2003, Kimmel left The Man Show to host his own late-night program on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel Live!. More than two decades later, he is still behind that desk. Even now, the chatty style he built in radio remains a big part of his appeal.