Everything about Bill Nye totally explained
William Nye (born
November 27,
1955 in
Washington, D.C.) also known as "
Bill Nye the Science Guy," is an
American comedian,
television host,
science educator and
mechanical engineer.
Education
Nye holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from
Cornell University. He was awarded honorary doctorate degrees by
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and
Goucher College.
Aeronautics career
Nye began his career at Boeing where, among other things, he starred in training films and developed a
hydraulic pressure resonance suppressor still used in the
Boeing 747.
Later, Nye worked as a
consultant and in the
aeronautics industry. Nye was also a member and fellow of the
Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Nye told the
St. Petersburg Times in 1999 that he applied to be a
NASA astronaut every few years but was always rejected.
Entrance into entertainment
After winning a
Steve Martin look-alike contest, Nye began a dual career as an engineer by day and
stand-up comic by night. This eventually transitioned into an exclusive entertainment career. Nye got his television start performing on a Seattle-area sketch comedy show called
Almost Live!, and appeared regularly on the show for many seasons. It was on this show that "Bill Nye the Science Guy" was born. He left the show to start producing
Bill Nye the Science Guy in 1993. Once famous, Bill returned as a guest-star for an episode that opened with a skit of Nye not being recognized and having trouble entering the
KING-TV building. Nye was also the assistant of
Emmett "Doc" Brown in the live-action segments of (1991–1993). In one episode, Bill corrected Doc Brown on the pronunciation of
gigawatt (not
jigawatt), only for Doc Brown to fire back with "Who are you, Bill Nye the
science guy?"
The Science Guy
Nye appeared in a series of segments on
Almost Live!, a local Seattle television show which aired on
NBC affiliate
KING-TV (channel 5) immediately before
Saturday Night Live. It was in these appearances that he was first called "The Science Guy."
Nye later hosted the educational
television program Bill Nye the Science Guy from 1993 to 1997. Each episode (100 in all) aimed to teach a specific topic in
science to a
preteen audience, yet it garnered a wide adult audience as well. The show was somewhat popular as a school resource and is still used to this day. He has written several books as
The Science Guy. In addition to hosting the show, he was also a writer and
producer for it.
Bill Nye has appeared alongside
Ellen DeGeneres and
Alex Trebek in
Universe of Energy, an attraction playing since 1996 inside
Epcot at
Walt Disney World.
Post Science Guy career
Nye remained interested in science education through entertainment. He created a
PBS KCTS-TV 13-episode series about science, called
The Eyes of Nye, aimed at older audiences than his previous show. Airing in 2005, it often featured episodes based on politically relevant themes such as
genetically modified food,
global warming, and
race. Nye held the boom
microphone during four episodes of
Popular Mechanics for Kids, a Canadian-produced show that debuted after his series ended.
Nye played the role of a science teacher in Disney's
Principal Takes a Holiday. Though a small role, Nye goes on to make a
hovercraft to demonstrate science in an unusual classroom manner. From 2000 to 2002, Nye was the technical expert in
BattleBots. In 2004 & 2005, Bill Nye hosted
100 Greatest Discoveries, an award-winning series produced by
THINKFilm for
Discovery Channel-spinoff
The Science Channel and in high definition on the
Discovery HD Theater.
Nye has guest starred in several episodes of the crime drama
Numb3rs as an engineering faculty member. A lecture Nye gave several years ago on exciting children about math was an inspiration for creating the
Numb3rs show.
Nye was a regular in
TV Land discussions. He has also made guest appearances on the
VH1 reality show
America's Most Smartest Model.
Nye also appears in segments of
The Climate Code on
The Weather Channel (United States) telling his personal ways of saving energy. He still makes regular appearances on the show, often asking quiz questions.
Life outside television
In the early 2000s, Nye assisted in the development of a small
sundial that was included in the
Mars Exploration Rover missions. Known as
MarsDial, it included small colored panels to provide a basis for
color calibration in addition to helping keep track of time. Nye was also the vice president of the
Planetary Society, an organization that advocates
space science research and the exploration of other planets, particularly
Mars.
He held several
patents, including one for
ballet shoes and another for a
magnifying glass that used
water.
From 2001-2006 Nye served as
Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 University Professor at Cornell University. Since 2006, Nye lives in Los Angeles in a 1930's stucco home with ecologically-friendly modifications.
Nye announced his engagement during an appearance on
Craig Ferguson's Late Late Show, and was married to his fiancée of five months,
Blair Tindall, author of
Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music
, on
February 3,
2006. The ceremony was performed by
Rick Warren at The Entertainment Gathering, which took place at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in
Los Angeles.
Yo-Yo Ma provided the music. Nye left the relationship seven weeks later when the marriage license was declared invalid; their impromptu ceremony that preceded the license purchase violated California state law, said Tindall in a radio interview.
(External Link)
When
Pluto was
reclassified from a
planet to a
dwarf planet by the
International Astronomical Union in 2006, Nye came out in favor of the change.
Nye also narrates an audio tour for The
Sagan Planet Walk, a walking scale model of the solar system in
Ithaca, NY. The model begins at the
Ithaca Commons and ends at the
Sciencenter. The audio tour can be heard
online, or reached at the telephone number 703 637-6237.
As of July 2007, Nye and environmental activist
Ed Begley, Jr. are engaging in a friendly competition "to see who could have the lowest carbon footprint," according to Begley. In a 2008 interview, Nye joked that he wants to "crush Ed Begley" in their environmental competition. But Nye and Begley are neighbors in Los Angeles, and sometimes dine together at a local vegetarian restaurant.
Cultural references
Further Information
Get more info on 'Bill Nye'.
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