When Michael Gelman took over the reins of the most popular New York morning show in 1987 and helped orchestrate its transition to a national ratings powerhouse a year later, he became the youngest producer of a national talk show. Today. as executive producer of “LIVE.” he has the longest tenure at the helm of any of the top syndicated shows. In that time he’s overseen two additional successful transitions – the search that resulted in Kelly Ripa joining “LIVE” in 2001, and, most recently, Ryan Seacrest’s selection as the show’s co-host.
Since its inception more than two decades ago. “LIVE” has enlivened morning television with its hilarious Host Chat and A-list celebrity guests. As the chief strategist and team leader for ‘LIVE,” Gelman has earned accolades from the industry and the audience, illustrated by the show’s extraordinary ratings success, twenty-four Emmy nominations and 2012 Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show/Entertainment. Now in its 28th season in national syndication, “LIVE ” remains a stronghold in daytime television, continuing to entertain viewers nationwide.
As executive producer, Gelman is responsible for virtually every aspect of the show. He is well known for his audience warm-ups and regularly appears on-set. complementing the daily Host Chat segment.
Gelman first joined ‘LIVE’ as a freelance production assistant on what was then known as “The Morning Show.” Soon after, he was hired as a staff production assistant and later named associate producer, working in that role for two years. He left the show to pursue freelance opportunities and produced original “LIVE” host Regis Philbin’s highly-rated primetime variety program. “The Regis Philbin Show,” which aired on Lifetime. In 1987, Gelman returned to “The Morning Show” as executive producer. The following year, the show went into national syndication as ‘Live with Regis & Kathie Lee.’
Gelman discovered his interest in the communications field as a youngster. His father’s photographic equipment business provided him with all of the necessary tools to produce 8-millimeter films and learn still-camera techniques. During high school in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. Gelman studied theater, directed plays and learned stage-production techniques.
Gelman earned a degree in broadcast production management from the University of Colorado’s School of Journalism. While attending college, he worked as a cameraman, field producer and editor, covering pre-Olympic trials all over the country for the U.S. Ski Association. During the summer of his junior year, Gelman was a college intern at WABC-TV in New York, working on the program that directly preceded Philbin’s debut with “The Morning Show.-
Gelman and his wife, television personality Laurie Gelman, live in New York with their daughters Jamie and Misha.
