Chris Berman Bio, Net Worth, Career
Who is Chris Berman?
Chris Berman, also known as Boomer, is a well-known American sportscaster.
Anchor for SportsCenter on ESPN since 1979, Chris Berman has hosted ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown program, Monday Night Countdown, U.S. Open golf, the Stanley Cup Finals, and other various sports programs on ESPN and ABC Sports.
Chris Berman has been honored with the National Sports Media Association’s “National Sportscaster of the Year” award six times.
Quick Facts
| Full Name | Christopher James Berman |
| Nickname | Boomer |
| Birthdate | May 10, 1955 |
| Age | 68 years old |
| Sun sign | Taurus |
| Traits | Positive – Understanding, honest, and intelligent Negative – Lazy, stubborn, and materialistic |
| Birthplace | Greenwich, Connecticut, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Ethnicity | Caucasian |
| Gender | Male |
| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
| Height | 6 feet 4 inches |
| Education | Bachelors Degree from Brown University |
| Parents | James Keliner Berman (father) Peggy Shevell (mother) |
| Marital status | Widower |
| Name of Wife | Katherine Berman |
| Children | Douglas Berman (son) Meredith Berman (daughter) |
| Profession | Sportscaster |
| Net Worth | USD 30 million |
Fun Facts
- Chris Berman is one of ESPN’s longest-tenured employees since he is the only remaining SportsCenter anchor from 1979.
- Boomer was the host of Sunday NFL Countdown for 31 years and Monday Night Countdown for 10 years.
- Chris Berman often adopts the persona of his alter ego, “The Swami” on Sunday NFL Countdown where he makes game predictions.
- He is known for the “Whoop!” sound that he makes during highlights. He makes the sound whenever a player makes a quick move or causes some other player to make a blunder.
- Boomer is known for famously calling The Raiders as “Da Raaaaaaaaaaaaadaaaaaaas!”.
Early Life, Parents, and Siblings
Chris Berman was born on May 10, 1955. He was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. As of 2023, Chris Berman is 68 years old.
Chris Berman’s mother is Peggy Shevell. She used to work as a reporter-researcher for Time magazine.
His father’s name is James Keliner Berman. James Berman was a corporate executive vice president.
Although Berman was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, he spent the majority of his childhood in Irvington, New York. When it comes to siblings, Boomer has a brother named Andy Berman.
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Educational Background
Chris Berman studied at the Hackley School. After finishing his high school studies, Berman enrolled at Brown University.
He graduated from Brown in 1977 with a degree in history. From his university days, Berman started getting involved in the field of sports journalism. He was appointed the sports director of WBRU, Brown’s radio station.
Height, Measurements, and Appearance
The legendary sportscaster has quite a towering height. Chris Berman stands tall at the height of 6 feet and 4 inches.
While Berman’s exact measurements are unavailable, judging by his pictures, the National Sportscaster of the Year winner appears to be quite chubby. Berman was comparatively fit and slim when he was young.
Boomer is fair-skinned and has brown-colored eyes. Previously, Berman kept his hair short. He was known for his light brown hair and receding hairline.
However, in 2020, Boomer sported a new blonde hairstyle at the halftime of Monday Night Football which many viewers found odd. In fact, many fans even trolled the sportscaster on his new hairstyle.
A Twitter user wrote,
“What happened to Chris Berman’s real hair? Is he planning on being a scarecrow for Halloween?”
Another user hilariously roasted Berman’s new hairdo and wrote,
“Chris Berman looks like the love child of Bill Belichick and Danny DeVito.”
Chris Berman Wife
Chris Berman is a widower. The famous sportscaster was the husband of Katherine Alexinski, a school teacher.
Berman and Alexinski tied the knot in 1983. After her marriage, Katherine adopted her husband’s surname.
The happy couple were enjoying marital bliss and even welcomed two wonderful children. Unfortunately, Chris Berman and Katherine Berman’s happy marriage came to an abrupt end when Katherine passed away in a tragic car accident in Woodbury on May 9, 2017.
Chris Berman’s wife tragic death
Katherine met her tragic end just a day before Boomer’s 62nd birthday. The accident not only killed Katherine but also ended up taking the life of the driver of the other car with which Katherine’s car collided.
Police reports confirmed that Katherine was driving drunk. Katherine was visiting the Market Place Kitchen & Bar in Waterbury, Connecticut, where she had lunch with her sister. Her blood-alcohol level was three times higher than the legal limit, and she was driving at approximately 82 miles per hour.
Furthermore, Katherine was driving out of the lane and did not apply brakes to stop the collision. As a result, her car crashed badly into another car driven by an elderly man named Edward Bertulis, who was returning home after visiting his late wife’s graveyard.
According to the police investigation, Katherine Berman died from blunt force trauma and drowning. Her car went off the road and flipped over into a lake. Since both the drivers were dead, the state police closed the investigation and did not file any charges.
Nevertheless, Edward Bertulis’ family filed a lawsuit against restaurant owner, Elias Hawli. The Bertulis family demanded more than $50,000 from Hawli.
When he was informed about his wife’s demise, Chris Berman was in the middle of a New York Mets versus San Francisco Giants game. He could barely speak as he was shocked to hear the news of his wife’s demise.
Following the unfortunate incident, Chris Berman and his children released a statement. The statement read:
“We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and sympathy from so many folks we know, and so many others we look forward to knowing. Kathy Berman had a huge heart, and this would have warmed hers beyond belief. It certainly warmed ours. All of us need to keep the family of Edward Bertulis in our thoughts and prayers as well.”
Presently, Chris is a single man. Instead of seeking a romantic relationship, Berman has mostly focused on his career with ESPN. After Katherine’s death, Berman became a regular panelist on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown.
Children
Chris Berman is the proud father of two wonderful children. He has a son named Douglas Berman and a daughter named Meredith Berman. After the birth of their children, Chris Berman and Katherine Berman moved to Cheshire, Connecticut, and raised their lovely kids in a Jewish household.
Like their famous father, both Douglas and Meredith attended Ivy League universities. While Douglas Berman is a married man, Meredith Berman is unmarried and is a cancer survivor.
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Career
Chris Berman started his career as a sportscaster when he began working as a weekend sports anchor for Hartford’s WVIT-TV. Berman joined the American cable sports channel ESPN just a month after its initiation in 1979.
Boomer hosted Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown for 31 years. He also worked as the anchor of the evening SportsCenter alongside Herm Edwards. Edwards replaced Tom Jackson for the 2016 season.
In addition to this, Berman is the host of “Chris Berman’s two-minute drill”. These brief segments appear on Sportscenter from midnight to 1 a.m. From 1988 to 1989, Berman hosted Boardwalk and Baseball’s Super Bowl of Sports Trivia which was ESPN’s first game show ever.
Owing to such remarkable work, by 1993, Berman was widely recognized as the leader of the ESPN team and became one of the most famous and well-respected sportscasters. Describing the legendary sports journalist, ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann said,
“The true test is when Chris is on, turn down your TV and open your window. You will hear him. The microphone is nothing but a prop.”
Additionally, Norby Williamson, ESPN’s vice president of production described Berman as “the face of ESPN”. Although Berman had initially expressed his desire to retire from ESPN on his 55th birthday, his contract was extended by ESPN in April 2010 for an undisclosed period of time. Later, it was stated that Berman’s contract would expire in 2016.
From 1995 to 2006, Berman hosted the live coverage of three Super Bowls for ABC Sports. In October 2018, Berman became the on-field anchor for Thurman Thomas’s number retirement ceremony.
Being such a powerful personality known for his explosive remarks, Berman has received his fair share of criticism over the years. However, Berman is apparently well aware of his critics. In an interview, Berman gave a message to his detractors and said,
“I don’t poo-poo it, but as long as any of us do the job to the best of our ability… It’s like if you met me on the street, [and] probably on the air, it’d sound like we’ve been for the last 40 minutes.”
Boomer reunited with his co-host Tom Jackson in 2019 for a revival of NFL Primetime which was streamed exclusively on ESPN+. The dynamic duo also hosted the “fastest three minutes” segments on the Monday Night Football halftime show.
As Berman has transitioned into a semi-retirement phase in his career with ESPN, the sports network has described the sportscaster as “not retired, but serving in public-facing roles”.Apart from this, Berman has also made several guest appearances in many movies and TV shows.
Chris Berman Movies and TV shows
Berman had a cameo in the 1998 comedy film The Waterboy. He also had a part in Adam Sandler’s 2005 movie The Longest Yard, where he appeared as himself and portrayed the role of the play-by-play announcer of the prison football game.
Likewise, Berman appeared as himself in Necessary Roughness, The Program, Little Big League, and Eddie and Kingpin. He had a cameo role in the video for the 1995 hit “Only Wanna Be With You.” by Hootie and the Blowfish.
Berman has also been a part of several commercials. He appeared in Nutrisystem commercials along with other popular names such as Don Shula, Dan Marino, Terry Bradshaw, and Mike Goli. In addition, Berman has appeared in commercials for repair insurer Carshield.
Awards and Achievements
Boomer has been honored with several awards in the duration of his prolific 42-year-long career. The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association National Sportscaster of the Year awarded him six times.
Likewise, the Brown University graduate is a three-time winner of the American Sportscasters Association Sportscaster of the Year – Studio Host award. Berman won the CableACE Award for Best Cable Sportscaster in the years 1987, 1988, and 1990.
In 1997, Berman was named “TV’s Most Fascinating Stars” by People. In 2001, the ESPN host received the Maxwell Football Club’s Reds Bagnell Award.
He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 24, 2010. Moreover, Berman won the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award on July 12, 2010.
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Chris Berman Health Problems
Despite being in his mid-60s, Boomer is doing fairly well for his age. However, many fans of the legendary sportscaster expressed concerns over his seemingly deteriorating health during Super Bowl 53, where Berman interviewed players and coaches from the New England Patriots.
The fans noted that Berman’s speech was slurred while he was speaking to coach Bill Belichick. Many people wondered whether the ESPN legend was drunk or having a stroke.
A Twitter user commented on Berman’s speech and wrote,
“Me thinks Chris Berman had several rounds of drinks during the mostly boring game… even his colleagues are looking at him like a nutball.”
Likewise, another user noted,
“Chris Berman may be mid-stroke. I’m only kind of kidding.”
Social Media
Despite being a notable media personality, Boomer has kept a safe distance from social media. He is not active on major social networking platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Chris Berman Net Worth
As of 2023, Chris Berman’s net worth is USD 30 Million. The sportscaster’s salary is approximately USD 8 million. Owing to such impressive net worth and salary, there is no doubt that Chris Berman’s lifestyle is quite lavish.
