Hosts With a Common Thread
Monday, June 09 2008 | Comments (0)
Some say Kelley and Cooper resemble
each other.
Great news that The Mole found its way back to the ABC network after a four-year hiatus. This season marks the fifth and the show is trying on a new host – Jon Kelley, 42, the third man to lead show contestants through grueling physical and mental challenges. Kelley follows the footsteps of two men with similar backgrounds, Ahmad Rashad, a former NFL football player and sportscaster, and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.
Cooper, 41, the son of designer heiress Gloria Vanderbilt and writer Wyatt Emory Cooper, was the original host of The Mole for the first two seasons. A Yale graduate, Cooper has experienced more than his fair share of family loss, losing his father to a heart attack when he was 10 and his brother who committed suicide at the age of 23.
His journalistic career began with a slow start, but his creative efforts were eventually rewarded with a correspondent position with ABC. He has since channeled his talents into becoming the host of CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360.
Cooper and Kelley share the same journalistic and television bug, both having been anchors, show hosts and are close in age -- both with summer birthdays. But, could they be related?
Kelley said in his blog he found humor in one fan's observation that he and Cooper resemble each other, that they must be "brothers from another mother."
Kelley responded, "That is CLASSIC! For those of you who might get us mixed up, I’ll help you out with a little hint: if you look very closely, I have a small freckle under my right eye. He doesn’t. So as
long as you stay aware of that, you should be good. Oh, and I’m black."
So, it's pretty clear that Kelley and Cooper share some traits, but not parents.
Rashad and Kelley were both running
backs.
Although almost two decades apart in age, Rashad, 59, and Kelley, have a lot in common -- when talking about sports. Both Rashad and Kelley were football running backs, Rashad for the NFL and Kelley for the University of Nebraska. Both have guest-hosted a few talk and variety shows, and they were both sportscasters.
Rashad's credits also include acting stints, such as a guest role on The Cosby Show with his one-time wife Phylicia Ayer Rashad. (According to Internet Movie Database, it's reported that O.J. Simpson was his best man at the wedding to Phylicia in 1985.)
While there have been no reports of marriage for Kelley, chances are that if and when he makes a jaunt down the marital avenue, O.J. won't be his best man.
Each of the former hosts gave the show two seasons, Rashad's were celebrity contestant seasons. Only time will tell if Kelley is fated to share that same statistic. Good luck, Jon.
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