Richard Wiese

Last updated
Richard Wiese
Born
Richard Wiese

(1959-07-13) July 13, 1959 (age 64)
Long Island, New York, United States
Occupation(s)Explorer, host, producer, author

Richard Wiese (born July 13, 1959) is an American explorer, the longest serving President of The Explorers Club, [1] and Executive Producer and Host of the multiple Emmy Award-winning ABC and PBS program, Born to Explore. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Wiese was born on Long Island, New York. His father, Richard Wiese, Sr., was the first man to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean in an aircraft. [3] Richard first climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania at the age of 11. [4] He attended St. Anthony's High School in Smithtown NY, and then Brown University. At Brown, he was a brother in the Phi Psi fraternity, subsequently graduating in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in Geology and Biology. He also studied Applied Physiology at Columbia University and completed the USDA Graduate Program in Meteorology. [5]

Expeditions

As a teenager, Wiese helped create the first artificial reef in the Long Island Sound in 1977. He has worked in Mexico's Yucatán jungle, placing satellite collars on jaguars. He also climbed and recovered samples from Tanzania's volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai, and also participated in two expeditions to Antarctica to core glaciers for climatological studies. [6] [5]

In 2006, he co-discovered 202 species in the first microbial survey of Central Park in New York, and founded the Central Park "Bio Blitz": a 24-hour cataloging of all life forms in the park. [7] [6] [8]

During the same period, Wiese joined a medical expedition on Mount Everest. He also skied cross-country to the North Pole, and was a member of a 2004 expedition to Yeronisos island in Cyprus, which consisted of an archaeological dig to find the birth temple of Caesarion, son of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. [7] [9] [8] [6] [10]

In addition, he led a 2009 expedition to bio-prospect for extremophiles and new life forms in Mount Kilimanjaro's Ngorongoro Crater, resulting in the discovery of 29 species. That expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro also involved placing the first weather station on its slopes, which has been crucial for tracking the effects of global warming. [10] [11]

In 2020, Wiese traveled to the sub-arctic territory of the Yukon in Canada with HRH Prince Albert of Monaco to retrace the last 42-kilometre leg of the 1934 expedition to Telegraph Creek by his grandfather. [7]

The Explorers Club

In 2002, Wiese was elected as the youngest club president in the organization's history and has also been elected president to more terms (7) than any other president in its 118-year history. [7] As the President of The Explorers Club, he developed and negotiated multi-year partnerships with Rolex, Microsoft, and Discovery Networks to name a few. [11]

During his tenure he established the first annual Global Exploration Summit in partnership with the nation of Portugal, which is often referred to as the "Davos of Exploration." [9] [8] [6] [10]

He is also the founder of The Explorers Club 50 - "Fifty people who are changing the world, that the world needs to know about", as well as the organization's first Diversity and Inclusion program. He also negotiated a three-book deal with Crowne/Random House. Wiese was invited and spoke at the United Nations on Global Climate change in 2019. [6] [8] [12] He also climbed and sampled Tanzania's volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai and participated in two expeditions to Antarctica to core glaciers for climatological studies. [9] [8]

Media

Television series

Born to Explore with Richard Wiese was one of six original half-hour educational/informational (E/I) programs on Litton's Weekend Adventure. The series aired Saturday mornings on ABC stations in the United States and was distributed internationally on National Geographic by Rive Gauche Television. The series premiered on September 3, 2011 and aired its final show on September 24, 2016. In January 2017, Born to Explore debuted on American Public Television (APT) stations nationwide.

In 2012, Wiese won the Cronkite Award for Excellence in Exploration and Journalism and the series received a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Children's Series. In 2013, Born to Explore was nominated for 2 Daytime Emmys, including Outstanding Travel Program and won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Single Camera Photography. In 2014, the series received 5 Emmy nominations for Outstanding Travel/Adventure series, Outstanding Host in a Lifestyle/Travel Program, Outstanding Directing in a Lifestyle/Culinary Travel Program, Outstanding Writing Special Class, and Outstanding Music Composition and Direction. In 2015, the series was nominated for Outstanding Travel program and Outstanding Writing Special Class and won the Daytime Emmy® for Outstanding Sound Mixing. In 2016, Born to Explore received two nominations for Outstanding Travel and Outstanding Sound Mixing. The series has been honored with the Parents’ Choice Gold Award for teens 13–16, the CINE Golden Eagle and numerous Telly awards. [13] [14] [15] [16]

The production team filmed in Botswana, Uganda, Iceland, England, Morocco, Australia, Canada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Chile, Cyprus, South Africa, Namibia, India, British Columbia, and South Dakota. Other locations included Scotland, Indonesia, India, South Africa, Namibia, Arizona, Maine and New York City.

From 2018 to 2019, Richard hosted 38 episodes of Weekend With Yankee on PBS's Create.

TV and film

Wiese appeared in two feature films: in 1981, in a brief scene with Brooke Shields in Endless Love and in 1986, as ‘Chris’ in Club Paradise . He was host of Exploration with Richard Wiese, a TV series that was syndicated in the U.S. and distributed internationally. He also hosted Hell on Earth, which aired on Discovery in the U.S. and BBC in the UK. He also hosted NOW ( Network of the World) in London with Brian Cox. [13] [14]

Wiese also occasionally appeared in various skits on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s.

In 2003, he was named as one of People Magazine's "Hottest Bachelors." He has appeared on Late Night with Craig Ferguson, CNN, Dateline, FOX News, BBC, MSNBC, ABC News, CBS Morning Show, Good Morning America, WB11's Morning Show, and many other programs, as well as in USA Today, the New York Times, Newsday, People, Esquire, Science, the Washington Post, National Geographic, the Los Angeles Times, the Times of London, Wine Spectator, and Forbes. [15] [16]

Print

Wiese is the author of the guidebook, Born to Explore: How to Be a Backyard Adventurer, published by Harper in 2009.

Honors

In 2006, the American Museum of Natural History Expeditions named Wiese as an ‘Explorer in Residence.’ He was honored at the 2005 Boy Scout National Jamboree, where he addressed 90,000 people and had a camp named after him. By invitation of King Mohammad VI, he was the U.S. representative to the Moussem de Tan Tan, a gathering of 45,000 nomadic Arabs in Morocco, and he received a Special Lifetime Achievement Award by the Science Museum of Long Island. As a journalist, he has received numerous honors, including multiple Emmy Awards, a Genesis Award, an Associated Press Folio Award, and a Golden Halo Advertising Award for Best Environmental/Wildlife Campaign. [17]

Personal life

Wiese lives in Weston, Connecticut with his wife and three children.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daytime Emmy Awards</span> American TV award

The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Daytime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming. The first ceremony was held in 1974, expanding what was originally a prime time-themed Emmy Award. Ceremonies generally are held in May or June.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Corwin</span> American biologist

Jeffrey Corwin is an American biologist and wildlife conservationist, known for hosting Disney Channel's Going Wild with Jeff Corwin, The Jeff Corwin Experience on Animal Planet, ABC's Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin/Ocean Treks with Jeff Corwin and Wildlife Nation with Jeff Corwin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samantha Brown</span> American television presenter

Samantha Elizabeth Brown is an American television host, notable for her work as the host of several Travel Channel shows including Girl Meets Hawaii, Great Vacation Homes, Great Hotels, Passport to Europe, Passport to Latin America, Great Weekends, Green Getaways, Passport to China, and Samantha Brown's Asia. As of 2012 Samantha Brown has made her own travel luggage called Samantha Brown: Travel America. She has visited 62 countries. In January 2018, she began hosting Samantha Brown's Places to Love on PBS. It is shown on PBS stations nationwide and is on the PBS website and app.

Les Guthman is an American director, writer, editor and production executive, who has the distinction of both having produced three of the 20 Top Adventure Films of All Time, according to Men's Journal magazine, and having won the National Academy of Sciences' (U.S) nationwide competition to find the best new idea in science television, which led to his film, Three Nights at the Keck, hosted by actor John Lithgow.

Ernie Manouse is an American television host, radio personality, writer and producer. He currently hosts the interview show InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse, produced by HoustonPBS. His work with HoustonPBS has met critical acclaim in the southern United States, earning him numerous KATIE awards and regional Emmy Awards.

<i>WordGirl</i> Animated TV series

WordGirl is an American children's Flash animated superhero television series produced by the Soup2Nuts animation unit of Scholastic Entertainment for PBS Kids. The series began as a series of shorts entitled The Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl that premiered on PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go! on November 10, 2006, usually shown at the end of Maya & Miguel; the segment was then spun off into a new thirty-minute episodic series that premiered on September 3, 2007 on most PBS member stations. The series of shorts consisted of thirty episodes, with 130 episodes in the full half-hour series.

Equitrekking is the Emmy award-winning equestrian themed travel television show on public television. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina native Darley Newman, the show's host, writer and producer, and a 2001 graduate of George Washington University, takes viewers to locations around the world for horseback riding and other adventure activities with local people. The show features tourist-friendly ranches, trail rides, horse breeds, and equestrian events, as well as a variety of locations in the United States and abroad. The series visits off the beaten path destinations with local people to give viewers a greater sense of the history and culture of each locale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Ridgeway</span> American adventurer

Rick Ridgeway is an American mountaineer and adventurer, who during his career has also been an environmentalist, writer, filmmaker and businessman. Ridgeway has climbed new routes and explored little-known regions on six continents. He was part of the 1978 team that were the first Americans to summit K2, the world's second-highest mountain. From 2005 until he retired in 2020 he oversaw environmental affairs and public engagement at the outdoor clothing company Patagonia. He has authored seven books and dozens of magazine articles, and produced or directed many documentary films.

<i>Antiques Roadshow</i> (American TV program) American television program

Antiques Roadshow is an American television program broadcast on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Public television stations. The program features local antiques owners who bring in items to be appraised by experts. Provenance, history, and value of the items are discussed. Based on the original British Antiques Roadshow, which premiered in 1979, the American version first aired in 1997. When taping locations are decided, they are announced on the program's website raising the profile of various small to mid-size cities, such as Billings, Montana; Biloxi, Mississippi; Bismarck, North Dakota; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Hot Springs, Arkansas; and Rapid City, South Dakota. Antiques Roadshow has been nominated 16 times for a Primetime Emmy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Explorers Club</span> International multidisciplinary professional society

<i>The Daytripper</i> American TV series or program

The Daytripper is a Texas travel program, hosted by Chet Garner as he travels the state with his crew. The Daytripper is a 13-time Lone Star Emmy Award winning travel show airing on PBS that highlights the culture, outdoors and food of a single tourist destination or area within each episode.

Mark Watters is an American composer of music for film and television.

Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin is a television program that follows host Jeff Corwin's travels and works in conjunction with the Georgia Aquarium. It aired from 2011 to 2016 on Saturday mornings on ABC affiliates as part of the nature-oriented programming block called Litton's Weekend Adventure, along with complementary shows Jack Hanna's Wild Countdown, Born to Explore with Richard Wiese, and Sea Rescue.

Joseph Mazzarino is an American actor, puppeteer, writer and director. He is best known for his roles on Sesame Street as Murray Monster, Stinky the Stinkweed and other Muppets, and being Head Writer and Director on Sesame Street, winning 22 Emmy Awards for his work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Burke</span>

Samuel Burke is a business and technology correspondent who has anchored programs on both CNN International and CNN en Español. He is host of the CNN series "Suddenly Family - DNA Discoveries with Samuel Burke." He's also hosted the program iReport in English and the Cyber Café daily on the Spanish-language morning program CafeCNN. Previously, he served as producer for war correspondent Christiane Amanpour. In 2014, he won an Outstanding Entertainment Program Emmy Award for his reports on the technology show CLIX. In 2016, he won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Morning Program for his role hosting Café CNN.

Joseph Rosendo is an American travel journalist, broadcaster, television personality and public speaker. Since 2007 he has been the executive producer, host, director and writer of the American Public Television series Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope which has aired on PBS and Public Television Stations in the United States and Canada with 117 episodes in distribution. Season 10 was released in the spring of 2018 and Season 11 followed in August, 2019.

The 41st Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony, which honors the crafts behind American daytime television programming, was held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles on June 20, 2014. The event was presented in conjunction with the 41st Daytime Emmy Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The nominations were announced on May 1, 2014.

The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography is given by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the US for single-camera work in daytime television. The Daytime Emmy Awards are among the more prominent categories of Emmy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pati Jinich</span> Mexican chef and author (born 1972)

Patricia Jinich is a Mexican chef, TV personality, cookbook author, educator, and food writer. She is best known for her James Beard Award-winning and Emmy-nominated public television series Pati's Mexican Table. Her first cookbook, also titled Pati's Mexican Table, was published in March 2013, her second cookbook, Mexican Today, was published in April 2016, and her third cookbook, Treasures of the Mexican Table, was published in November 2021.

Articulate is an American weekly public television documentary series on the creative arts hosted by Irish-American journalist Jim Cotter.

References

  1. Benjamin, Nell, The Explorers Club, OCLC   1004792397 , retrieved 2022-10-09
  2. Wiese, Richard (2009). Born to Explore: How to Be a Backyard Adventurer. ISBN   978-0-06-144958-1.
  3. Magazine, Smithsonian; Glenshaw, Paul. "The Accidental Record Setter". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  4. "TV explorer aims to spark interest in discovery". Reuters. 2011-10-28. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  5. 1 2 "The Explorers Club Aims to Shed Its Rich, White, Colonialist Image". Bloomberg.com. 16 February 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 MacEacheran, Mike. "The secret travel club that's been everywhere". www.bbc.com.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Richardson, Lynda (3 December 2004). "Explorers Club: Less 'Egad' and More 'Wow!'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Born to Explore with Richard Wiese | Series Broadcast Times | NHPBS Schedule". NHPBS.
  9. 1 2 3 "Richard Wiese". borntoexplore.
  10. 1 2 3 "Born to Explore: Richard Wiese on Cultural Exploration and His Hardest Expedition Yet–Fatherhood". Adventure. September 8, 2011.
  11. 1 2 "Explorer Richard Wiese Takes Kilimanjaro With the Epson P-7000 Multimedia Storage Viewer". Epson Newsroom. Epson America. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  12. "Richard Wiese".
  13. 1 2 "About Richard Wiese".
  14. 1 2 "Born to Explore with Richard Wiese | PBS" via www.pbs.org.
  15. 1 2 "A Lot to Learn with Austin Rogers: What is The Explorers Club? (With President Richard Wiese & Explorer Aleksandr Rikhterman) on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts.
  16. 1 2 "Dinner that took place more than a century ago! " Explorersweb". July 9, 2018.
  17. "Richard Wiese - Aggressor Adventures". January 30, 2021.