Details About Howard Cosell: Net Worth, Death, Children, Family

Known for movies

Short Info

Date Of Birth	March 25, 1918
Died	April 23, 1995, New York City, New York, United States
Spouse	Mary Abrams
Mark	Strange accent, exaggeratedly impeccable diction, and snarky demeanor
Fact	Was openly against the hiring of ex-athletes for sportscasting roles solely based on their playing fame. He felt that many qualified candidates who never played sports were being unfairly overlooked for these positions. He used the term "jockocracy" to describe this.

Howard Cosell was born on March 25, 1918, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. His parents, Harry and Nellie Cosell, were of Jewish descent. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a homemaker. He had one sister, Dorothy. Cosell’s family was not religious, but he did have a Bar Mitzvah. Cosell’s father died when he was 10 years old, and his mother died when he was 12. This had a profound effect on him, and he later said that it made him “more mature than my years.”

Cosell graduated from New York University Law School in 1940. He began his career as a lawyer, but he soon found that he was more interested in sports than in the law. In 1945, he began working as a sports broadcaster for ABC Radio. He quickly became one of the most popular broadcasters in the country.

Cosell is best remembered for his work as a broadcaster on ABC’s “Monday Night Football.” He was known for his brash style and his controversial opinions. He was also known for his catchphrases, such as “Tell it like it is” and “That’s the way it is.”

Cosell retired from broadcasting in 1984. He died in 1995 at the age of 77.

Cosell was married twice. His first wife was Mary Edith Abrams, with whom he had two children: Jill and Courtney. His second wife was Emmy Award-winning journalist Marilyn Berger. Cosell also had two stepchildren from his second marriage: Andrea and Roger.

Cosell was known for his distinctive voice and his New York accent. He was also known for his love of cigars. He smoked up to 10 cigars a day.

General Info

Full Name	Howard Cosell
Date Of Birth	March 25, 1918
Died	April 23, 1995, New York City, New York, United States
Height	1.85 m
Profession	Journalist, Sports commentator, Lawyer, Author, Talk show host, Soldier, Actor, Newscaster, Radio personality
Education	New York University School of Law, New York University
Nationality	American

Family

Spouse	Mary Abrams
Children	Jill Cosell, Hilary Cosell
Parents	Nellie Cohen, Isidore Cohen
Siblings	Hilton Cosell

Accomplishments

Awards	Arthur Ashe Courage Award, Sports Lifetime Achievement Award
Nominations	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement In Sports Programming
Movies	Fol-de-Rol
TV Shows	Battle of the Network Stars, Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell, Monday Night Football, 30 for 30

Social profile links

IMDB	http://imdb.com/name/nm0181763

Marks

#	Marks / Signs
1	Commanding, nasally voice
2	Strange accent, exaggeratedly impeccable diction, and snarky demeanor

Quotes

#	Quote
1	In a December 1976 Playboy interview with OJ Simpson - He's got the most spontaneous reflexes of anyone I've ever seen, he has an uncanny ability to lead his blockers and find that extra inch that will allow him to knife through...
2	On O.J. Simpson's running style, in the 1974 George Romero documentary "Juice on the Loose": "[O.J. has] an uncanny instinct for sensing when to make the move, when to make the cut. He can kill you with a headfake, he can kill you with the swiftness of his legs and the ability to be in a direction at any single second. He also kills you with his variation of speed..."
3	[While announcing an Monday Night Football game] "Films from tonight's game should be taken to schools all across the country as an example of a study in futility."
4	I'm telling it like it is.

Facts

#	Fact
1	Had a special friendship with boxer Muhammad Ali, which included being one of the first journalists to address him by his Islamic name after changing it from Cassius Clay.
2	Uncle of NFL analyst and NFL Films producer Greg Cosell.
3	He was a frequent target of mockery by Mad Magazine.
4	Ranked #5 by the American Sportscasters Association in its list of the Top 50 Sportscasters of All-Time (January 2009).
5	Inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
6	Was said to be a very devout family man who never recovered from his wife's death.
7	Was openly against the hiring of ex-athletes for sportscasting roles solely based on their playing fame. He felt that many qualified candidates who never played sports were being unfairly overlooked for these positions. He used the term "jockocracy" to describe this.
8	Inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.
9	Inducted into the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame in 1993 with Marty Glickman.
10	In 1983, during a Monday Night Football matchup between the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys, he referred to Redskins wide receiver Alvin Garrett as a "little monkey." Following two months of intense public pressure, he resigned from the MNF broadcast team.
11	He co-wrote with Peter Bonventre a book called "I Never Played The Game" in which he coined the word "jockocracy" to describe how athletes were given announcing jobs that they had not earned.
12	After his law career, he started out as a radio sports reporter before he was hired by ABC to cover sports for TV.
13	On Dec. 8, 1980 at 11:30 pm while broadcasting a game between the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots on NFL Monday Night Football (1970), he was the first person to publicly announce the death of John Lennon. This was long before there was the Internet and 24-hour news channels. Concidentally, Lennon had appeared in the broadcast booth on NFL Monday Night Football (1970) exactly five years earlier (Dec. 8, 1975).
14	Was a lawyer before becoming a sports announcer.

Pictures

Movies

Actor

Title	Year	Status	Character
Tall Tales & Legends	1986	TV Series	Ernie
Broadway Danny Rose	1984		Howard Cosell
The Fall Guy	1983	TV Series	Commentator
Fol-de-Rol	1972	TV Movie	The Storyteller
Nanny and the Professor	1971	TV Series	Miles Taylor
Bananas	1971		Howard Cosell

Producer

Title	Year	Status	Character
Run to Daylight	1964	producer

Soundtrack

Title	Year	Status	Character
The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour	1973	TV Series performer - 1 episode

Thanks

Title	Year	Status	Character
The 8-Bit Cup	2014	Documentary short in memory of
When We Were Kings	1996	Documentary in memory of

Self

Title	Year	Status	Character
Muhammad Ali: The Whole Story	1996	TV Movie documentary	Himself
When We Were Kings	1996	Documentary	Himself - ABC Sports
The 1995 ESPY Awards	1995	TV Special	Himself - Honoree
The 10th TV Academy Hall of Fame	1994	TV Movie documentary	Himself
Monday Night Football: 25th Anniversary	1994	Video	Himself
Muhammad Ali's 50th Birthday Celebration	1992	TV Special	Himself
ESPN Outside the Lines Primetime	1991	TV Series	Himself
Night of 100 Stars III	1990	TV Movie	Himself
Monday Night Madness: The Very Best of Monday Night Football (20th Anniversary)	1989	Video	Himself
The Billy Martin Celebrity Roast	1989	TV Movie	Himself
Battle of the Network Stars XIX	1988	TV Special	Himself - Host
Johnny Be Good	1988		Himself
Late Night with David Letterman	1982-1987	TV Series	Himself
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson	1972-1985	TV Series	Himself
Saturday Night Live	1985	TV Series	Himself - HostVarious
CBS News Sunday Morning	1985	TV Series documentary	Himself
Battle of the Network Stars XVII	1984	TV Special	Himself - Host
The 12th Annual International Emmy Awards Gala	1984	TV Special	Himself - Presenter
1984 American League Championship Series	1984	TV Series	Himself - Color Commentator
XVlll Summer Olympic Games Los Angeles	1984	TV Movie	Himself
1984 MLB All-Star Game	1984	TV Special	Himself - Color Commentator
Battle of the Network Stars XVI	1984	TV Special	Himself - Host
Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Mr. T	1984	TV Special	Himself
NFL Monday Night Football	1970-1983	TV Series	Himself - Color Commentator / Himself - Color Commentator NBC
Battle of the Network Stars XV	1983	TV Special	Himself - Host
1983 World Series	1983	TV Mini-Series	Himself - Color Commentator / Pregame Host
Happy Birthday, Bob!	1983	TV Special	Himself
Battle of the Network Stars XIV	1983	TV Special	Himself - Co-Host
1982 National League Championship Series	1982	TV Mini-Series	Himself - Color Commentator
Battle of the Network Stars XIII	1982	TV Special	Himself - Host
1982 MLB All-Star Game	1982	TV Special	Himself - Color Commentator / Pregame Analyst
Greatest Sports Legends	1982	TV Series	Himself
Battle of the Network Stars XII	1982	TV Special	Herself - Host
Night of 100 Stars	1982	TV Special	Himself
ABC's Wide World of Sports	1965-1981	TV Series	Himself / Himself - Ringside Commentator / Himself - Presenter
Stand Up and Cheer for the National Football League's Sixtieth Year	1981	TV Special	Himself
Battle of the Network Stars XI	1981	TV Special	Himself - Host
1981 World Series	1981	TV Mini-Series	Himself - Color Commentator / Pregame Host / Pregme Host
The 33rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards	1981	TV Special	Himself
Battle of the Network Stars X	1981	TV Special	Himself - Host
Fighting Back: The Story of Rocky Bleier	1980	TV Movie	Himself
Battle of the Network Stars IX	1980	TV Special	Himself - Host
1980 National League Championship Series	1980	TV Series	Himself - Color Commentator
1980 MLB All-Star Game	1980	TV Special	Himself - Color Commentator / Pregame Analyst
Battle of the Network Stars VIII	1980	TV Special	Himself - Host
Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran II	1980	TV Movie	Himself
Battle of the Network Stars VII	1979	TV Special	Himself - Host
1979 World Series Video: Pittsburgh Pirates vs Baltimore Orioles	1979	Video	Himself - Color Commentator / Pregame Analyst
Battle of the Network Stars VI	1979	TV Special	Himself - Host
Battle of the Network Stars V	1978	TV Special	Himself - Host
Bob Hope's Salute to the 75th Anniversary of the World Series	1978	TV Special	Himself
1978 American League Championship Series	1978	TV Series	Himself - Color Commentator
1978 MLB All-Star Game	1978	TV Special	Himself - Color Commentator / Pregame Analyst
Happy Birthday, Bob	1978	TV Special	Himself
Battle of the Network Stars IV	1978	TV Special	Himself - Host
ABC's Silver Anniversary Celebration	1978	TV Special	Himself
Battle of the Network Stars III	1977	TV Special	Himself - Host
1977 World Series	1977	TV Mini-Series	Himself - Color Commentator
The Magic of ABC	1977	TV Special	Himself - Guest
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries	1977	TV Series	Himself
Battle of the Network Stars II	1977	TV Special	Himself
Bob Hope's All-Star Comedy Spectacular from Lake Tahoe	1977	TV Special	Himself - Cameo
Monday Night Baseball	1976	TV Series	Himself (1976-1985)
Carpenters Very First Television Special	1976	TV Special	Himself (uncredited)
Battle of the Network Stars	1976	TV Special	Himself - Host
Two-Minute Warning	1976		Himself
1976 American League Championship Series	1976	TV Mini-Series	Himself - Color Commentator
Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Dean Martin	1976	TV Special	Himself
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Muhammad Ali	1976	TV Special	Himself
Celebration: The American Spirit	1976	TV Movie	Himself
Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell	1975	TV Series	Himself / Himself - Host
The Mike Douglas Show	1972-1975	TV Series	Himself - Sports Broadcaster / Himself - Sportscaster / Himself - Special Guest Host
Muhammad Ali vs. Ron Lyle	1975	TV Movie	Himself - Ringside Commentator
Dinah!	1975	TV Series	Himself
The Odd Couple	1972-1975	TV Series	Himself
O.J. Simpson: Juice on the Loose	1974	TV Movie documentary	Himself
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Telly Savalas	1974	TV Special	Himself
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Bob Hope	1974	TV Special	Himself
Frank Sinatra: The Main Event	1974	TV Movie documentary	Host
Dinah's Place	1974	TV Series	Himself
1973 Sugar Bowl	1973	TV Movie	Himself - Color Commentator
The Dean Martin Show	1971-1973	TV Series	Himself
Bobby Riggs vs. Billie Jean King: Tennis Battle of the Sexes	1973	TV Movie	Himself - Commentator
RCA's Opening Night	1973	TV Movie	Himself
The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour	1973	TV Series	Himself / Various Characters
The Connection	1973	TV Movie	Himself
The Bob Hope Show	1973	TV Series	Himself
The World's Greatest Athlete	1973		Himself - Announcer
Flip	1973	TV Series	Himself
The Wacky World of Jonathan Winters	1973	TV Series	Himself
The 500 Pound Jerk	1973	TV Movie	Himself
Laugh-In	1972	TV Series	Himself
The Merv Griffin Show	1972	TV Series	Himself - TV Personality
The Partridge Family	1971	TV Series	Himself
The David Frost Show	1971	TV Series	Himself / Himself - Guest Host
Fight of the Century	1971	TV Movie	Himself - Audience Member
The Dick Cavett Show	1971	TV Series	Himself
World Heavyweight Championship Fight: Muhammad Ali vs. Oscar Bonavena	1970	TV Movie	Himself - Ringside Commentator
The 1970 NBA Finals	1970	TV Mini-Series	Himself - Pregame Host / Trophy Presentation
The Joe Namath Show	1969	TV Series	Himself
Eyewitness News	1968	TV Series	New York Sportscaster (1968-1970)
World's Heavyweight Championship Fight: Floyd Patterson vs. Ingemar Johansson	1961		Himself
World's Heavyweight Championship Fight: Ingemar Johansson Versus Floyd Patterson	1960	Short	Himself - Ringside Reporter
Report to New York	1959	TV Series	Himself - Sportscaster (1961-1962)
World's Heavyweight Championship Fight: Floyd Patterson Heavyweight Champion of the World versus Ingemar Johansson Heavyweight Champion of Europe	1959	Documentary short	Himself (uncredited)
1958 Bluegrass Bowl	1958	TV Movie	Himself

Archive Footage

Title	Year	Status	Character
Extra	2016	TV Series	Himself
60 Minutes	2016	TV Series documentary	Himself - Sports Announcer (segment "The Greatest")
The Seventies	2015	TV Series documentary	Himself - ABC News / Himself - ABC Sports
Sinatra: All or Nothing at All	2015	TV Mini-Series documentary	Himself
30 for 30	2009-2013	TV Series documentary	Himself / Himself - ABC Sports
The Real Rocky	2011	TV Movie	Himself
Six O'Clock News	2011	TV Series	Himself
Renée	2011	Documentary	Himself
Lombardi	2010	TV Movie documentary	Himself (uncredited)
Facing Ali	2009	Documentary	Himself (uncredited)
Thrilla in Manila	2008	TV Movie documentary	Himself (uncredited)
Mike Douglas: Moments & Memories	2008	Video	Himself
The Bronx Is Burning	2007	TV Mini-Series	Himself
Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith	2006	TV Series	Himself
Biography	2003	TV Series documentary	Himself
ESPN SportsCentury	2000	TV Series documentary	Himself
Ali-Frazier I: One Nation... Divisible	2000	TV Movie documentary	Himself - Audience Member (uncredited)
Howard Cosell: Telling It Like It Is	1999	TV Movie documentary	Himself (uncredited)
One Day in September	1999	Documentary	Himself
Summer of Sam	1999		Himself - 1977 World Series Announcer (uncredited)
The Sweet Science	1999	TV Series documentary	Himself
The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts	1998	TV Movie documentary	Himself - Roaster
Wide World of Sports 35th Anniversary Special	1996	TV Movie documentary	Himself
Sonny Liston: The Mysterious Life and Death of a Champion	1995	TV Movie documentary	Himself
Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson	1993	TV Movie documentary	Himself
ABC's Wide World of Sports 30th Anniversary Special	1991	TV Movie	Himself
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color	1983	TV Series	Announcer
Sleeper	1973		Himself - on Wide World of Sports (uncredited)
The Dick Cavett Show	1973	TV Series	Himself - Commentator
a.k.a. Cassius Clay	1970	Documentary	Himself