Bill Geist

William Geist (born May 10, 1945) is an American author, columnist, and television journalist.

Early life
Geist was born in Champaign, Illinois, and graduated from Champaign Central High School. He served in the United States Army as a combat photographer with the First Infantry Division in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, graduating with a BA in Communications (1968), and the University of Missouri, graduating with an MA in Communications (1971).

Career
Geist began his career in 1972 when he joined the Chicago Tribune's Suburban Trib subsidiary, where he worked as a reporter and columnist until 1980. From 1980 until 1987, he was a New York Times columnist; his "About New York" column appeared twice a week during this time. In August 1987, he joined CBS as a correspondent, where he contributed to CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes II and CBS Sports. He appears regularly on CBS Sunday Morning hosted by Charles Osgood, where he offers the Everyman's perspective on American pop culture and current events.

Geist is the bestselling author of a number of books including:
 * Toward a Safe & Sane Halloween & Other Tales of Suburbia (1985)
 * The Zucchini Plague and Other Tales of Suburbia (1987)
 * City Slickers (1990)
 * Little League Confidential: One Coach's Completely Unauthorized Tale of Survival (1992)
 * Monster Trucks and Hair in a Can: Who Says America Doesn't Make Anything Anymore? (1994)
 * The Big Five-Oh: Facing, Fearing, and Fighting Fifty (1997)
 * FORE! PLAY: The Last American Male Takes Up Golf (2001)
 * Way Off the Road: Discovering the Peculiar Charms of Small Town America (2007)

Awards and honors
Geist won an Emmy Award in 1992 and 2005. In 2011, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2005, Geist was the commencement speaker at the University of Illinois.

Personal life
Geist and his wife Jody, who were married in June 1970, live in New York City and have two children: Willie Geist, a television personality on NBC and MSNBC, and Libby Geist Wildes, a two-time Peabody Award-winning documentary film producer at ESPN.

On July 1, 2012, Geist confirmed on CBS Sunday Morning that he has Parkinson's disease.