Josh Gates (born August 10, 1977) is an American television presenter and television producer. He was the host and co-executive producer of ''

Destination Truth ''Destination Truth'' is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on June 6, 2007, on Syfy. Produced by Mandt Bros. Productions and Ping Pong Productions, the program follows paranormal researcher Josh Gates around the wor ...

'' and '' Stranded'' on Syfy, and currently hosts and co-executive produces

The Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...

(and former

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

) series '' Expedition: Unknown'' and also ''Legendary Locations''. He is also known as the host of multiple live specials for, and a guest investigator on, the television series '' Ghost Hunters'' and its spin-off ''

Ghost Hunters International ''Ghost Hunters International'' (abbreviated as ''GHI'') is a spin-off series of '' Ghost Hunters'' that aired on Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi). The series premiered on January 9, 2008, and ended on April 4, 2012. Like its parent series, ''GHI'' was ...

''. He produces the related '' Ghost Nation'' series along with other paranormal television shows through his production company Ping Pong Productions.

Personal life

Gates was born in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts to Lee and Sonia Gates, and resides in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, co-majoring in archeology and

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

. Gates married ''

'' co-star Hallie Gnatovich in 2014. They have two children. Hallie Gnatovich announced on Instagram in August 2021 that the couple had been separated for about a year and a half and their divorce was finalized on July 13, 2021. He is also a member of

The Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

Career

''Destination Truth''

From 2007 to 2012, Gates was the host of ''Destination Truth'' on Syfy. The series premiered its second season with its best-ever telecast, delivering 1.7 million total viewers and making the show the highest-rated second season performance by a reality series on Syfy. The series ended after its fifth season. In 2008, Gates traveled to

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

to meet with

Joe Rohde Joseph Rohde is the ''Experience Architect'' for Virgin Galactic. Rohde was previously a veteran executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, the division of The Walt Disney Company that designs and builds Disney's theme parks and resort hotels. Rohde's ...

, Executive Designer of

Walt Disney Imagineering Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attra ...

. Gates presented Rohde with a cast of the "Yeti" footprint found during a ''Destination Truth'' episode. The cast is on display at Expedition Everest, a Himalayan-themed, high-speed, coaster-like attraction where guests come face-to-face with a

Yeti The Yeti ()"Yeti"
''

Ghost Hunters'' and its spin-off ''

'' (1 episode). He also acted as a guest investigator on four episodes. He produces the related '' Ghost Nation'' series featuring former ''Ghost Hunters'' members

Jason Hawes Jason Conrad Hawes (born December 27, 1971) is an American plumber and the co-founder of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS), which is based in Warwick, Rhode Island. He is also one of the stars and co-producers of Syfy's '' Ghost Hunters'', w ...

, Steve Gonsalves, and Dave Tango. In 2007, Gates hosted the ''Ghost Hunters Live'' Halloween special, and in 2008 he made a guest-appearance on the mid-first-season finale episode of ''

''. He returned as the host of ''Ghost Hunters Live'' in 2008, where he helmed the live seven-hour broadcast from Ft. Delaware, a civil war POW camp in

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is bordered inland ...

. Both seasons garnered high ratings and 2008's show made Syfy the #1 cable network in prime-time on Halloween night. Gates also returned as host of the ''Ghost Hunters Live'' Halloween specials in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Gates also hosted ''Ghost Hunters Live'' 100th episode special from the stage of Saturday Night Live in 30 Rockefeller Center, during which the TAPS team investigated

Alcatraz Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pris ...

Prison. Gates hosted two round-table interviews with ''Ghost Hunters'' in 2007 ("Revelations") and 2008 ("All Access".) Gates returned as guest investigator on a 2009 episode wherein Essex County Penitentiary was investigated, a 2011 episode wherein

Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum (formerly the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor) is a non-profit founded in 1999 to develop an aviation museum in Hawaii. Part of Senator Daniel Inouye's vision for a rebirth of Ford Island, the museum hosts a vari ...

was investigated, a 2012 episode wherein Hammond Castle was investigated, and a 2013 episode wherein Mission San Juan Capistrano was investigated.

''Expedition Unknown''

Gates is currently the host and executive producer of ''

Expedition Unknown ''Expedition Unknown'' is an American reality television series produced by Ping Pong Productions, that follows explorer and television presenter Josh Gates as he investigates mysteries and legends. The series premiered on January 8, 2015 and o ...

'' on Discovery Channel after having moved from

, which premiered in January 2015 and is in its eighth season as of Oct 2020. In 2020, a

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

at-home variant of the show was created to fill the end of the season, and further network airtime, called ''Josh Gates Tonight'', in which Gates video conferences with guests about travel and life.

''Expedition: Back to the Future''

In 2021, a four-part special of ''Expedition: Unknown'' was created titled ''Expedition: Back to the Future''. In the series, Gates along with actor

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

set out to try and find the six other DeLeorean Time Machines that were used during the filming of the ''Back to the Future'' movies, with the aim of donating it to The Michael J. Fox Foundation to sell off at auction to help raise money for research into

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

Other television

In 2002, Josh Gates was a contestant on '' Beg, Borrow & Deal'', a reality/game show on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

. In 2006, he starred in ''Truly Famous'', a series sponsored by

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrela ...

. In May 2012, Josh was in 2 episodes of '' Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files'' where he investigated paranormal activity. Gates was the creator, executive producer, and narrator of '' Stranded'', a paranormal reality television series that premiered on the SyFy channel in February 2013. Gates produced the show in cooperation with

Jason Blum Jason Ferus Blum "Jason Ferus Blum was born in LA in 1969 to Shirley Neilsen, an art professor, and Irving Blum, an art dealer" (; born 1969) is an American film and television producer. He is the founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions, whic ...

Blumhouse Productions Blumhouse Productions (; also known as BH Productions or simply BH) is an American film and television production company founded in 2000 by Jason Blum. It is known mainly for producing horror films, such as '' Paranormal Activity'', '' Insid ...

. Since relocating to Los Angeles, Gates has appeared in a number of television advertisements like Coke and Ozark Trail. He appeared in a national commercial for BMW as part of a campaign launched by Publicis New York and BMW USA. Gates has also appeared in commercials for

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network ...

video games, Dish Network, and Stanley Tools. bio Gates also works as a voice-over artist and can be heard as the narrator of

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

's audio-book of ''A Brother's Journey,'' a memoir by Richard B. Pelzer. Gates' narration was awarded the Earphones Award by ''Audiofile Magazine'' which celebrates exceptional audio presentations that excel in narrative voice and style, vocal characterizations, appropriateness for the audio format and enhancement of the text. In February 2020, Gates premiered a new show "Expedition X" where fellow paranormal researcher

Jessica Chobot Jessica Chobot (born Jessica Lynn Horn; July 7, 1977) is an American on-camera host and writer. She has hosted the IGN shows ''IGN Strategize'' and ''Weekly Wood'', which also runs on Xbox Live; she previously worked as presenter of the ''IGN ...

and scientist Phil Torres investigate paranormal reports and other mysterious phenomena. In April 2020, Gates premiered a new talk show, "Josh Gates Tonight", where he videoconference interviews people from around the globe, including those previously featured on Expedition: Unknown, and, travel and adventure figures. The new show was created to fill airtime due to the interruption of productions caused by the

, and could be filmed while isolated during lockdown and travel restrictions.

References

External links

*
Official ''Destination Truth'' website

''Expedition: Unknown'' websiteExpedition: Back to the Future website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Joshua 1977 births American explorers American people of English descent Living people Photographers from Massachusetts Participants in American reality television series People from Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni