It was an emotional Monday when Jimmy Kimmel went public with his newborn son’s heart condition. In a 13-minute long monologue he revealed that his son William John Kimmel was born on April 21 with a serious heart issue. “He appeared to be a healthy normal baby until about three hours after he was born. It’s a terrifying thing… You know, my wife is back in the recovery room, she has no idea what is going on and I’m standing in the middle of a lot of worried looking people, like right now, who were trying to figure out what the problem is,” he said, adding that his son had to undergo an open-heart surgery at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “It was the longest three hours of my life,” he said.
But with his son Billy now out of danger, he had his usual quips to fall back on. “Poor kid… Not only did he get a bad heart, he got my face,” he joked.
However, what got the attention of all his viewers and received notice from global media, were his comments on the importance of health coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and his thoughts on health care policy. “If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make. I think that is something that whether you are a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?’ he asked the viewers.
For the legion of Jimmy Kimmel fans, the answer was an obvious ‘yes’. Having aced his television career with the popular Jimmy Kimmel Live, he is a household name, in America as well as elsewhere around the world and his words are sacred for his fans everywhere.
James Christian ‘Jimmy’ Kimmel is the host and executive producer of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’, the late-night talk show that premiered on ABC in 2003. Before this, the 49-year old American television host, comedian, writer, and producer was best known as the co-host of Comedy Central’s ‘The Man Show’ and ‘Win Ben Stein’s Money’; he has also produced shows such as ‘Crank Yankers’, ‘Sports Show with Norm Macdonald’, and ‘The Andy Milonakis Show’.
He started his career very early in life. He was still in high school when he began working for radio, hosting a Sunday night interview show. It was in 1989 that he got his first paying job as morning drive co-host of ‘The Me and Him Show’. Kimmel later went on to host his own show at KCMJ in Palm Springs, California. Following this, he spent five years as ‘Jimmy The Sports Guy’ for the Kevin and Bean morning show.
Kimmel is a star in every possible way. He was one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2013 and has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6840 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on January 25, 2013.
However, he minces no words when he says talk shows are all about sponsorships than about the host or the guests – “The truth is, we have this idea that late night is about creativity and being cool, but that’s not our job. Our job is to get as many people watching the commercials in between our show. That’s the reality of it.”