The celebrity interviewer, TV personality, and film critic Bobby Rivers has passed away. Rivers rose to fame when he hosted the program Watch Bobby Rivers on VH1 and most recently, he hosted Top 5 on the Food Network. He was 70 years old.
Rivers passed away Tuesday night in St. Paul Minnesota where he had been living for a while. He died in the Minneapolis hospital. The Hollywood Reporter was told by his sister, Betsy, that Rivers had suffered a series of mini-strokes paired with a recurring appearance of lung cancer.
The oldest of three kids, Rivers was surrounded by film and television his whole life as he was born and raised in Los Angeles. In an interview with Our Lives magazine, he recalled his early influence from his parents regarding his pursuit of media and entertainment. He said, “both my parents loved old films, so they really cultivated and encouraged this in me.”
Rivers attended Marquette University in Milwaukee where he studied and majored in broadcasting. When he was living in Milwaukee he wrote newscasts for WRIT-FM, became a beloved personality on the air with his morning show on WQFM, and even hosted events throughout the town itself. Once he was done with the world of radio, he then moved on to television with film reviews for WISN-TV. With this, he also hosted a talk show titled More. After his time was done in the town of Milwaukee, he made the trek to New York in 1985 where he worked for WPIX-TV and then eventually went on to have his own show in 1987 titled Watch Bobby Rivers where he interviewed several celebrities such as Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, Sully), Mel Gibson (Braveheart), Paul McCartney and Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada, Mamma Mia). He then later hosted Food Network’s Top 5.
Survivors also include Tony, his brother.