Smiley, Tavis 1964-

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Smiley, Tavis 1964-

PERSONAL

Born September 13, 1964, in Gulfport, MS; son of Emory G. and Joyce M. Smiley. Education: Indiana University, graduated, 1986.

Addresses:

Office—The Smiley Group, Inc., 3870 Crenshaw Blvd., Suite 391, Los Angeles, CA 90008. Agent— International Creative Management, 10250 Constellation Way, 9th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90067.

Career:

Television show host and actor. The Smiley Report, commentator, 1990-2001; contributor to CNN and HuffingtonPost.com, 2001; ABC-TV, special correspondent, 2001; Tom Joyner Morning Show, commentator; Smiley Group, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, president and chief executive officer. Assistant to Mayor Tomilea Alison, Los Angeles, CA, 1984-85; special assistant to the executive director, Los Angeles, CA, 1987-88; council aide, Los Angeles, CA, 1987; administrative aide to Mayor Tom Bradley, Los Angeles, CA, 1988-90. Young Black Profiles, chairman of operations committee, 1988-90; United Way Greater Los Angeles, member of steering committee, 1989-90; Inner City Foundation for Excellence in Education, member of board advisory boards, 1989-91; After Class Scouting, Scouting USA, member of advisory board, 1991; Martin Luther King, Jr., Non-Violent Social Change, member of advisory board, 1992-93; Tavis Smiley Foundation, founder, 1999; Challengers Boys and Girls Club, member of board of directors; Black College Tour, Los Angeles, CA, member of board of directors.

Member:

Kappa Alpha Psi.

Awards, Honors:

Outstanding Business Profiles Award, Dollars & Sense Magazine, 1992; Image Award, best news, talk or information series, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 1997, 1998, 1999, all for BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley; President's Award, Image Awards, 2000; Image Award, outstanding television news, talk or information series or special, 2006, for Tavis Smiley; Mickey Leland Humanitarian Award, National Association of Minorities in Communications; numerous honorary degrees including honorary doctorate from Indiana University.

CREDITS

Film Appearances:

Himself, Letter to the President (documentary), Image Entertainment, 2005.

Television Appearances; Series:

Host, BET Talk, Black Entertainment Television, 1996.

Host, EmergeTV, Black Entertainment Television, 1997.

Host, BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley (also known as BET Tonight), Black Entertainment Television, 1997-2001.

Host, Tavis Smiley, PBS, 2004—.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Himself, One Special Moment, Black Entertainment Television, 2001.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Host, Race in America: A Multicultural Dialogue, Black Entertainment Television, 1998.

Presenter, The 30th NAACP Image Awards, Fox, 1999.

Tavis Smiley Presents: The Road to Health—Obesity & Our Children: Parts 1 & 2," 2007.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Himself, "The Last Auction Hero," For Your Love, The WB, 1999.

Himself, "Election 2000," The Parkers, UPN, 2000.

"It's Not Just a Word: Part 1," Any Day Now, Lifetime, 2001.

Thurgood Marshall, "What Dreams May Come," American Dreams (also known as Our Generation), 2004.

The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (also known as The Late Late Show), CBS, 2004.

Real Times with Bill Maher, HBO, 2004, 2006.

Hardball with Chris Matthews, HBO, 2006.

Television Work; Series:

Supervising producer and managing editor, Tavis Smiley, PBS, 2004.

WRITINGS

Nonfiction:

Hard Left: Straight Talk About the Wrongs of the Right, 1996.

Doing What's Right: How to Fight for What You Believe and Make a Difference, 2000.

How to Make Black America Better: Leading African Americans Speak Out, 2002.

(With David Ritz) What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America, Doubleday Publishing, 2006.

The Covenant with Black America, 2006.

Also wrote On Air: The Best of Tavis Smiley on the Tom Joyner Morning Show; Keeping the Faith: Stories of Love, Courage, Healing, and Hope from Black America.