Discovery Channel’s 30th Anniversary – Where Are Their Former Stars Now?
As part of Discovery Channel’s 30th anniversary – yes, they’ve been around for that long! – the Discovery Channel website is taking a look at where many of their former stars wound up in a segment they call, Discovery Channel Stars: Where are they Now?
Some of the Discovery Channel stars’ lives after they left the channel are fairly well-known. For instance, Rick Petko, star of American Chopper which aired on the Discovery Channel from 2002 to 2012 in one form or another, (including American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior), has moved right along with Paul Teutul Sr. to his new Orange County Choppers show on CMT. Rick has his own shop in Pennsylvania, and still makes a daily commute to New York to work at OCC. Petko is married – an event that was featured on Senior vs. Junior – and has a baby girl at home.
Mike Rowe was a regular on the Discovery Channel on a variety of shows by narrating such hits as Deadliest Catch, a few early seasons of American Chopper, American Hot Rod, How the Universe Works and Bering Sea Gold. Of course, Rowe was also the host of the Discovery Channel hit, Dirty Jobs, for seven years. What keeps Mike busiest these days – in addition to being the “voice” of the Discovery Channel – is his foundation which awards scholarships to students looking to careers in skilled trades. Mike is also in production for a new show on CNN called Somebody’s Gotta Do It, the concept of which sounds similar to Dirty Jobs.
Bear Grylls was the host of the Discovery Channel’s Man Vs. Wild, Worst Case Scenario and Mission Everest. These days, Grylls is busier than ever, hosting the Discovery Channel’s Escape from Hell, ITV’s Mission Survive and Running Wild with Bear Grylls on NBC among others.
Paul Brown, the host of Discovery Channel’s Auction Kings and the former owner of the Gallery 63 auction house… that’s right, former owner, has moved on to new things. Auction Kings ran on the Discovery Channel from 2010 to 2013. This past March, Paul decided that he was ready to do something else, and he closed up Gallery 63. He now appears on Good Day Atlanta, assessing antiques for viewers, and is also developing two new television shows.
The feature on the Discovery Channel’s website explains the Where are they Now? details for 19 of its other former stars, including Christopher Lowell, Paul Teutul Jr. and Sr., Vinnie DiMartino, Rebecca Cole, Scottie Chapman and more.
Looking back, over the past 30 years, the network has had quite a few hit shows. What was your favorite show on the Discovery Channel?
[Photos by Jason Merritt, William Thomas Crane, Carlo Allegri, Handout, Mike Coppola/Getty Images, TV Rage, Discovery]
