Matt Gallant
Encyclopedia
Matt Gallant is an American
television host. He is well-known as the former host of the Emmy Award
-winning The Planet's Funniest Animals
on Animal Planet
. He has also served as a guest judge on various other television shows featuring animals and pets. Gallant in, co-hosted Xbox Live
: Launch Party and Game On (2002), and hosted Simon Cowell's American Inventor
in 2006. Matt Gallant is now featured on Direct TV's Help/Information Channel.
and raised in Westport, Connecticut
, Gallant studied communications
and theatre
at the University of Rhode Island
in the U.S.
state of Rhode Island
. In his senior year, Gallant worked in the sports information department and broadcasted university basketball
and football
games. He held an internship covering sports news at Channel 6 in Providence, Rhode Island
.
After graduating, Gallant moved to New York
where he became a page at NBC
and filled audiences for shows such as Late Night with David Letterman
. He then hired an agent who managed to get him minor roles in television ads and soaps
. He then moved on to Los Angeles
where he auditioned for some small roles. Eventually, Gallant hosted a few shows, including X-Treme Energy, The Planet's Funniest Animals, and American Inventor
.
Gallant is currently active in children's organizations such as the Make a Wish Foundation where he helps out and spends time with children.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television host. He is well-known as the former host of the Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning The Planet's Funniest Animals
The Planet's Funniest Animals
The Planet's Funniest Animals is a United States television program featured on the Animal Planet cable channel.-Background:Following a similar format as America's Funniest Home Videos and others, the program shows a series of home movies on video submitted by viewers featuring humorous and odd...
on Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
. He has also served as a guest judge on various other television shows featuring animals and pets. Gallant in, co-hosted Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
: Launch Party and Game On (2002), and hosted Simon Cowell's American Inventor
American Inventor
American Inventor is a reality television series based on a competition to be named America's best inventor. It was conceived by UK entrepreneur Peter Jones, who appears on the British version of the somewhat similar programme Dragons' Den, a format originated in Japan where it is owned by Sony....
in 2006. Matt Gallant is now featured on Direct TV's Help/Information Channel.
Early career
Born in Syracuse, New YorkSyracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
and raised in Westport, Connecticut
Westport, Connecticut
-Neighborhoods:* Saugatuck – around the Westport railroad station near the southwestern corner of the town – a built-up area with some restaurants, stores and offices....
, Gallant studied communications
Communication studies
Communication Studies is an academic field that deals with processes of communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols over distances in space and time. Hence, communication studies encompasses a wide range of topics and contexts ranging from face-to-face conversation to speeches to mass...
and theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
at the University of Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
. In his senior year, Gallant worked in the sports information department and broadcasted university basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
games. He held an internship covering sports news at Channel 6 in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
.
After graduating, Gallant moved to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where he became a page at NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and filled audiences for shows such as Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
. He then hired an agent who managed to get him minor roles in television ads and soaps
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
. He then moved on to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
where he auditioned for some small roles. Eventually, Gallant hosted a few shows, including X-Treme Energy, The Planet's Funniest Animals, and American Inventor
American Inventor
American Inventor is a reality television series based on a competition to be named America's best inventor. It was conceived by UK entrepreneur Peter Jones, who appears on the British version of the somewhat similar programme Dragons' Den, a format originated in Japan where it is owned by Sony....
.
Gallant is currently active in children's organizations such as the Make a Wish Foundation where he helps out and spends time with children.