Al Michaels
Biography
Al Michaels is an American sportscaster who has spent decades as a network play-by-play announcer, best known for his NFL work. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Los Angeles, he studied radio and television at Arizona State University before moving into broadcasting. He called Cincinnati Reds games on radio from 1971 and joined ABC Sports full time in 1977, where he became the network's lead baseball announcer and covered college football, basketball, hockey, and the Olympics. His call of the United States hockey team's win over the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics, remembered as the Miracle on Ice, became his signature moment, and he recreated the commentary for the 2004 film Miracle. He spent 20 seasons as the voice of ABC's Monday Night Football starting in 1986 and later called NBC's Sunday Night Football, working eleven Super Bowls. He was nominated for an Emmy for his reporting on the 1989 World Series earthquake.
81years old
Turns 82 on November 12in 31 days
- Born Brooklyn
- Star sign: ScorpioThe sign runs October 23 to November 21
- Also credited as Alan Richard Michaels
Movie Career
- Films
- 4
- Career span
- 30 years1996 to 2026
Every film, newest first
- 2026Miracle: The Boys of '80IMDb rating 7.9
- 2001Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S. Hockey TeamIMDb rating 8.6
- 1998BASEketballIMDb rating 6.5
- 1996Homeward Bound II: Lost in San FranciscoIMDb rating 5.9
Genres
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First role
In 1967 Michaels was hired by the Los Angeles Lakers to handle public relations and work as a color commentator on radio broadcasts with Chick Hearn, but Hearn's displeasure at working with someone so young led to his termination after four games.
First role
Michaels had done just one hockey game eight years before, the gold medal game of the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan. Keith Jackson, Frank Gifford and Howard Cosell, other announcers on the ABC Sports roster, had never done a hockey game.
A change of course
When NBC let Michaels out of his ABC and ESPN contract in 2006, the compensation included NBCUniversal selling Disney the rights to the character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Getting ready for a role
Michaels and Ken Dryden recreated their Olympic commentary for the 2004 film Miracle, but director Gavin O'Connor used the last 10 seconds of Michaels's original 1980 call instead of a recreation.
First role
Michaels began his television career at Chuck Barris Productions, where his work involved picking women to be on The Dating Game.
Al Michaels movies on Netflix
Most often with
Three actors appear in two of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Herb Brooks's page
Jim Craig's page
Mike Eruzione's page
Awards
Three awards and honors.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other honors | |||
| 2002 | Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism | Won | |
| Sports Lifetime Achievement Award | Won | ||
| Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame | Honored | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.