''Geraldo'' is an American daytime television

tabloid talk show A tabloid talk show is a subgenre of the talk show genre that emphasizes controversial and sensationalistic topical subject matter. The subgenre originated in the United States and achieved peak viewership from the mid-1980s through the end of t ...

hosted by

Geraldo Rivera Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Riviera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and former television host. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He gained publicity with the liv ...

that aired in

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

from September 7, 1987, to June 12, 1998. The last two seasons aired under the title ''The Geraldo Rivera Show''. The series was a production of Investigative News Group and distributed by

Tribune Entertainment Tribune Entertainment (formerly Mid-America Video Tape Productions, WGN Continental Productions, Tribune Productions and Tribune Entertainment Company) was a television production and broadcast syndication company owned and operated by Tribune Br ...

. For its first three seasons,

Paramount Domestic Television Paramount Domestic Television (PDT) was the television distribution arm of American television production company Paramount Television, once the TV arm of Paramount Pictures. It was formed in 1982 originally as Paramount Domestic Television and ...

served as co-distributor. For its final two seasons,

King World Productions King World Productions, Inc. (also known as King World Entertainment, King World Enterprises, or simply King World) was a production company and syndicator of television programming in the United States independently established in 1964 until ac ...

assisted Tribune as co-distributor.

Controversy

On November 3, 1988, an episode involving

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...

, Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice, black activists, and Jewish activists was aired. A confrontation between John Metzger (the son of

Tom Metzger Thomas Linton Metzger (April 9, 1938 – November 4, 2020) was an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi skinhead leader and Klansman. He founded White Aryan Resistance (WAR), a neo-nazi organization, in 1983. He was a Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux ...

) and Roy Innis (in which Metzger goaded Innis by referring to him as "

Uncle Tom Uncle Tom is the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel, ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''. The character was seen by many readers as a ground-breaking humanistic portrayal of a slave, one who uses nonresistance and gives his life to protect ...

") led to Innis walking over showing signs of aggression and forcefully grabbing Metzger by the neck after Metzger stood up, and subsequently, a full-scale brawl broke out. Audience members, several stage hands, and Rivera himself got involved. In the process, Rivera was struck in the face by a chair and wound up with a nasal fracture. He did not press charges, saying he did not wish to be "tied up with the roaches", and also claiming "if there ever was a case of deserved violence, this was it". The ratings for this show increased as news of the fight attracted attention to the episode even before it aired. In August 1992, Rivera scuffled with KKK members again at a Klan rally in

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat and largest city in the county. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison–Jan ...

. Rivera suffered cuts and a bite to his left thumb.Charges against Geraldo Rivera dropped
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Parodies/In popular culture

*The animation studio

Marvel Productions New World Animation Ltd., formerly known as Marvel Productions, was the television and film studio subsidiary of the Marvel Entertainment Group, based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It later became a subsidiary of New World Entertainment ...

featured a character named Hector Ramirez throughout a number of their cartoons, including ''

Inhumanoids ''Inhumanoids'' is the title of an animated series and the name of a Hasbro toy property that were both released in 1986. In the tradition of other Hasbro properties such as ''Transformers (toy line), Transformers'', and ''G.I. Joe'', the show wa ...

'', ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel ...

'', ''

GI Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), ...

'', ''

Jem and the Holograms ''Jem'', also known as ''Jem and the Holograms'', is an American animated musical television series that ran from 1985 to 1988. The series is about record company owner Jerrica Benton, her singer alter-ego Jem, and the adventures of Jem and her ...

'' and ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, su ...

''. Ramirez was the host of the fictional news show ''20 Questions'' and was usually portrayed as publicity seeking and often antagonistic towards the main characters. Writer

Buzz Dixon Buzz Dixon (December 7, 1953) is an American writer of comic books, film, and cartoons. He has written comics for multiple companies, including Eclipse Comics (where he wrote '' Destroyer Duck'' alongside Steve Gerber), Marvel Comics, and a ''B ...

, the character's creator, has commented that he was intended to be a satire of Geraldo Rivera. *The 1989 film '' UHF'', starring

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specif ...

, parodies ''Geraldo'', including the infamous 1988 brawl. *"What Comes Around", a song by the

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar, programming). ...

from their 1989 album ''Paul's Boutique'', features the lyric, "You're all mixed up like pasta primavera/Yo why'd you throw that chair at Geraldo Rivera?" *The season 2 opener of ''

Saved by the Bell ''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in primetime, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United States ...

'' features Kelly's

dream sequence A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some othe ...

in which Screech Powers (

Dustin Diamond Dustin Neil Diamond (January 7, 1977 – February 1, 2021) was an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his role as Samuel "Screech" Powers throughout the ''Saved by the Bell'' franchise. Early life and family Diamond was born i ...

) is now Geraldo Screech at Bayside, which takes place at The Max. *The ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their c ...

'' episode " Fifteen Minutes of Shame", which featured the Griffins appearing on a talk show, parodied the infamous 1988 brawl by having Peter shout "Who are you calling 'Uncle Tom'?!" and throwing a chair. *In a season five episode of ''

Empty Nest ''Empty Nest'' is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to April 29, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls'' by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Ri ...

'' titled "Dirty Harry", Rivera appears as himself and mocks the brawl. In the episode, Harry, Carol, and Charlie appear on the talk show; during their appearance, Harry inadvertently hits Geraldo in the nose with a coffee mug. *In the '' Perfect Strangers'' Season 4 episode "The Gift of the Mypiot", when a character attempts to use a Christmas gift to hit another character, Balki intervenes, saying, "This is not ''Geraldo''!" *In the 1990 demonic horror movie ''

The First Power ''The First Power'' is a 1990 American neo-noir horror film written and directed by Robert Resnikoff, and starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Tracy Griffith, Jeff Kober and Mykelti Williamson. The film received mostly negative reviews, but was a fin ...

'', a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

says about the Satanic themed murders in their city (Los Angeles), "Next thing you know, we'll all be on ''Geraldo''", in reference to his October, 1988 special on Satanism. *In the 1991 film ''

Thelma & Louise ''Thelma & Louise'' is a 1991 American road crime comedy-drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. It stars Susan Sarandon as Louise and Geena Davis as Thelma, two friends who embark on a road trip that ends up in unfore ...

'', the two title characters mention not wanting "to end up on the Geraldo Show" concerning their criminal exploits.

References

External links

Episodes publicly available at Geraldo's website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Geraldo (Tv Series) 1987 American television series debuts 1998 American television series endings 1980s American television talk shows 1990s American television talk shows English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Television series by Tribune Entertainment Television series by King World Productions