Richard Bangs

Richard Bangs

Richard Bangs in 2013
Born Richard Johnston Bangs
(1950-08-24) August 24, 1950
New Haven, Connecticut
Nationality USA
Alma mater Northwestern University, B.A., 1972
University of Southern California, M.A., 1975
Occupation writer, traveler, TV host, explorer, producer
Parent(s) Lawrence Cutler and Louise Bangs
Website http://www.richardbangs.com/

Richard Johnston Bangs (born 1950) is an American author and television personality focusing on international travel. He is the host and executive producer of a series of American Public Television specials, including Richard Bangs Quests and Richard Bangs Adventures with Purpose[1]

River exploration and travel career

Richard Bangs rafting

Bangs' college summers were spent as a Colorado River guide in the Grand Canyon. After college, Bangs and some friends concocted a plan to run wild rivers in Ethiopia. In February 1973, he and his crew successfully ran the Awash River in Ethiopia. His identity as a river guide was solidified at that point.

Bangs and his penniless friends figured they could finance a return trip or two by taking clients along. And so they did – on the Omo in Ethiopia – and Sobek Expeditions (co-founded with John Yost) was born, named in gratitude for the Egyptian crocodile god who may have spared their lives on those early first descents. Sobek became a river-running exploratory company via which Bangs and fellow guides racked up 35 first descents. Sobek Expeditions merged with Mountain Travel to become Mountain Travel Sobek in 1991. Bangs served as president of Outward Bound (2001–2002).

Media career

Writing and books

Bangs' articles and essays have appeared in many places, including in The New York Times, Slate and The Huffington Post.[2] Bangs has authored 19 books. His book The Lost River: A Memoir of Life, Death and the Transformation of Wild Water won the National Outdoor Book Award in the literature category, and the Lowell Thomas Award for best book. Adventures with Purpose won the 2007 best book award from NATJA. Recent books are Quest for the Sublime (2008) and Quest for the Kasbah (2009).[3]

Internet

Bangs was founder and editor-in-chief of Mungo Park,[4] a pioneering Microsoft travel publishing effort. He also founded www.terra-quest.com. He was part of the founding executive team of Expedia.com, and served as its Editor-at-Large. He was creator and publisher of Expedia Travels Magazine (published in partnership with Ziff-Davis), and executive producer of Expedia Radio, and founder and executive director of Expedia Cafes. He founded the Well Traveled feature (Dispatches From The Front Lines of Travel) for Slate, and was founding editor and executive producer of Great Escapes at MSNBC.com. He also ran and founded First and Best for MSN, and in 2005 founded and headed up Richard Bangs Adventures for Yahoo! News.[5]

Movies

In 1981 Bangs was hired as a stuntman for the film, Killing at Hells Gate, where a whitewater rafting party is terrorised during a trip down the river. In 1991 Bangs executive produced River of the Red Ape. In 1997 Bangs Executive Produced The Last Wild River Ride,[6] a Turner Original Production about a team exploring Ethiopia's Tekeze River. In 2005 he co-directed the IMAX Film, Mystery of the Nile.[7] Mystery of the Nile tells the story of a team of explorers, led by Pasquale Scaturro and Gordon Brown, that spend 114 days making their way along all 3,260 miles of the river to become the first in history to complete a full descent of the Blue Nile from source to sea.

Television

After the conclusion of the Richard Bangs Adventures series on Yahoo! News in 2006, Bangs launched a public TV series of specials known as Richard Bangs Adventures with Purpose all shot on location in Egypt, New Zealand, Switzerland, Morocco, Norway, India, Greece, Hong Kong, and Costa Rica. The goal of this series was to combine adventure with travel that makes a difference; travel that positively impacts the world. In 2012, Bangs launched "Richard Bangs Quests"; a White Nile Media, Inc. production. The pilot show, Richard Bangs South America: Quest for Wonder, was carried by KQED and American Public Television.

Awards and Nominations

References

  1. ↑ "Our Hosts – American Public Television". American Public Television. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  2. ↑ Bangs, Richard. "Article List". http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-bangs/. External link in |newspaper= (help)
  3. ↑ Meet Richard Bangs
  4. ↑ Kelly, Gerri (March 8, 2006). "Mungo Park: Microsoft's Online Adventure Magazine To Unleash Sneak Preview Edition September 5". USA Today (Press release). Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  5. ↑ Staff Writer, CNET News (October 24, 2005). "Yahoo, Richard Bangs team for adventure content". CNET. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  6. ↑ "The Last Wild River Ride Production Synopsis". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Mystery of the Nile Film Credits". Macgillivray Freeman Films. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
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