If you followed the 2016 United States election, the name Billy Bush might sound familiar as the man who was talking with Donald Trump in the infamous ‘grab ’em by the p*ssy’ video. While that would most likely be the thing he’s always remembered for, Billy’s life and career have other interesting tidbits. Read on to find out more about the American radio and television host.
Who Is Billy Bush?
There is a famous Bush family in the United States and Billy Bush is a part of it. William Hall ‘Billy’ Bush, who was born on October 13, 1971, is a member of the famous Bush family which includes former American presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, as well as former Governor Jeb Bush
He was born in Manhattan, New York to Jonathan Bush and Josephine Colwell Bush. Billy attended middle school at St. Bernard’s school in Manhattan and attended St. George’s School in Middletown, Rhode Island for his high school education. In 1994, he graduated from Colby College with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Government.
Career
Billy Bush began his career in public media by hosting an afternoon radio show on WLKZ-FM in New Hampshire before later relocating to Washington D.C where he hosted an afternoon show on WARW-FM. In March 1997, the young entertainer relocated to WWZZ-FM where he was the host of Billy Bush and the Bush League Morning Show.
His journey into television work started in January 2003 when he hosted the short-lived NBC primetime version of Let’s Make a Deal. He later joined Access Hollywood as the East Coast correspondent. He was promoted to co-anchor in June 2004. While he worked at Access Hollywood, he had access to and was present at high profile red carpet events. Among his many accomplishments was hosting ABC’s live pre-show for the Academy Awards for several years.
Proving just how talented he is, Billy Bush expanded his correspondence to sports in 2004 when he was a reporter at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the Winter Olympics in 2006 and later, the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Billy Bush further went on to host reality competitions like Grease: You’re The One That I Want on NBC in 2007 and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in April 2008.
Returning to basics, he eventually returned to radio with The Billy Bush Show. The show focuses on top entertainment stories and personalities in the news and features celebrity guests and listener calls. Among his repertoire of events, he hosted Miss Universe and Miss USA four times. Considered one of the best hosts in Hollywood, in July 2005, Esquire Magazine named him one of their ’10 men’.
On October 7, 2016, Billy Bush gained notoriety when The Washington Post released the video footage that featured Donald Trump having an offensive conversation with the radio host. In the footage, Billy is heard laughing over Trump’s failed effort to seduce a married woman, and commenting lewdly about actress Arianne Zucker’s appearance. It was in this video that Trump discussed a failed attempt to seduce Billy Bush’s former co-host, Nancy O’Dell, and further talked about groping women.
Bush received criticism online and calls were made for his resignation from The Today Show, which he hosted on NBC. Though he issued an apology, NBC suspended Bush from Today for his role in the 2005 video on the 9th of October 2016. On October 17, Bush was fired.
Wife and Kids
In April 1998, Billy married his wife, Sydney Davis. The couple have three daughters together – Lillie, Mary and Josephine. On September 19, 2017, the couple publicly announced they were separating and on the 15th of July, 2018, Billy Bush and his wife announced their official divorce due to irreconcilable differences.
What Is He Doing Now?
Billy Bush was left devastated by the Trump video and the loss of his job in the process. He has largely kept a low profile since the incident but the latest report on him suggests he’s done with journalism and currently just wants to make alcohol, whiskey to be specific.
Net Worth
Billy Bush is currently worth a reported $9 Million. The radio and television host had a busy a few years in the entertainment industry before his fall from grace. Having hosted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Let’s Make a Deal and several other shows, it is understandable how he accumulated his $9 Million.
