He studied Film Journalism and Communications at Marquette University
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He made his professional TV debut as a movie
critic on that city's ABC affiliate in the early 1980s.
One of his last major assignments for VH1 was a one-hour exclusive
interview of Paul McCartney in London.
He's a native of Los Angeles, California and grew up in the South
Central area.
In high school, he made his first national TV appearance. He was the
youngest winner on The Movie Game (1969). The film trivia show was hosted by Army Archerd
and shot at the old Goldwyn Studios in Hollywood.
He was a popular VH1 veejay who became the music network's first
African-American to host his own primetime, weeknight entertainment
talk show. His first guest for the whole half-hour was Kirk Douglas.
During his VH1 talk show years, Stephen Holden of The New York Times
reviewed him as "a master interviewer with a gift for banter." He
earned a CableACE Award nomination for Best Interviewer, but he lost to
Larry King.
Since August 2006, he has been a weekly regular on Whoopi
Goldberg's syndicated weekday morning radio show. (April 2007)