Recently, there have been a lot of news about Chris Matthews, the popular former MSNBC talk-show host and political commentator. It seems like it has been a period of constant controversy, after which Chris Matthews has retired. We have come up with this article to shed more light on the issue with adequate information, background, and more.
Chris Matthews has been on the airwaves for decades now, but his time was abruptly cut short during what was his final appearance as the host of Hardball on MSNBC.
Chris Matthews bio
To understand what happened, check out this in-depth biography.
How old is Chris Matthews?
Chris Matthews birthday is on the 17th of December, 1945. This makes Chris Matthews age 74 years old.
Early life
He was born in the city of Philadelphia, the capital of Pennsylvania. His parents’ names are Mary Teresa (née Shields) and Herb Matthews. He has four brothers: Herb, James, Charles, and Bruce. James is a Republican politician in Pennsylvania.
Education
He attended La Salle College High School. In 1967, he graduated from the College of the Holy Cross, which is situated in the state of Massachusetts’ city of Worcester. He also did graduate work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Apart from these, he also attended Harvard University as a visiting fellow in their Institute of Politics.
Beyond Chris Matthews education, he holds tens of honorary degrees, including the following:
- Doctor of Communication from St. Joseph’s University
- Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from Suffolk University
- Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) from the University of Rochester
- Doctorates from College of the Holy Cross, Drexel University, Fordham University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, La Salle University, Merrimack College, Peirce College
- Doctorate of Humane Letters (DHL) from Quinnipiac University, Howard University, Old Dominion University, Temple University, and Washington University in St. Louis
Career
Between 1968 and 1970, he served as a member of the United States Peace Corps as a trade development advisor in Swaziland. After this, Chris Matthews career as we know it today began.
In politics
He worked as an officer of the U.S. Capitol Police in Washington, D.C. He tried but failed in his run for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
He worked as a speechwriter for former U.S. president Jimmy Carter.
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In newspaper journalism
Between 1987 and 2000, he worked for 13 years as the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for the San Francisco Examiner. He spent an additional 2 years as a nationally syndicated columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, bringing his total number of years in print journalism to 15. He covered topics such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the first all-races elections in South Africa.
In television
He began hosting his show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, in 1997 on America’s Talking before moving to MSNBC. It was a political show with politicians and political pundits as guests. Between 2002 and 2013, he hosted a separate but somewhat similar show, The Chris Matthews Show on NBC. This was a political roundtable with different journalists at the same time and Matthews acting as the moderator.
He covered every major U.S. election and was expected to stay on the current one, with his retirement coming after it was concluded in November.
Controversies
Over recent years, there have been a number of negative stories emerging about him. In 2017, there were details about a settlement from 1999 revolving around inappropriate comments he made about his female producer in front of their coworkers.
In February, Laura Bassett, a political journalist, alleged that he had made inappropriate comments towards her in October 2016, allegedly asking:
Why haven’t I fallen in love with you yet? Keep putting makeup on her, I’ll fall in love with her.She claims this interaction happened before she went on the show to comment about the sexual harassment allegations against Donald Trump.
Also, in February, he came under fire for comparing the presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ win in the 2020 Nevada Democratic caucuses to Nazi Germany’s occupation of France in 1940 during World War 2. The comparison infuriated many since some members of Sanders’ family were killed by the Nazis in the holocaust. He later issued an apology.
Chris Matthews retirement
He was expected to retire in November 2020 after the presidential election was completed. However, on March 2nd, 2020, he announced he was leaving very abruptly while on air. He said the following:
I am retiring. This is the last Hardball on MSNBC … The younger generations ... are improving the workplace, we are talking here about better standards than we grew up with, fair standards. A lot of it has to do with how we talk to each other, compliments on a woman’s appearance that some men — including me — might have once incorrectly thought were okay were never okay. Not then and certainly not today...This statement was followed immediately with a commercial break and Chris Matthews retiring from the show with a different host in his place right after the break.
Family
Chris Matthews wife is the former reporter Kathleen Matthews (née Cunningham) since 1980. Chris Matthews children with Kathleen are Michael, Thomas, and Caroline. Thomas is an actor and producer known for American Hustle, Lost Holiday, and Ghostwritten.
Books
He is the author of:
- Hardball: How Politics is Played, Told by One Who Knows the Game
- Kennedy & Nixon: The Rivalry that Shaped Postwar America
- Now, Let Me Tell You What I Really Think
- American: Beyond our Grandest Notions
- Life's a Campaign: What Politics Has Taught Me About Friendship, Rivalry, Reputation, and Success
- Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero
- Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked
- Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit
Chris Matthews Twitter
His verified Twitter account has over 944,000 followers.
How much is Chris Matthews worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Chris Matthews net worth is estimated to be about $20 million, and Chris Matthews annual salary is $5 million.
How tall is Chris Matthews?
According to IMDB, his height is 6 feet, 3 inches or 1.91 meters.
That concludes our biography of Chris Matthews. Did you find it informative? If so, let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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