History Made Every Day™

DON WILDMAN

Since he was a small boy building forts out of refrigerator boxes, Don Wildman has a spent a lifetime crawling in and out of things, especially the many phases of an eclectic career.

Originally from South Jersey, Don was passionately drawn to travel and outdoor adventure as a kid, inspired in part by what he watched on television—the documentary adventures of Jacques Cousteau and the Calypso. But there was also a lifelong interest in the arts. After attending Earlham College in Indiana, he trained professionally in England as an actor and in these years journeyed throughout Europe—on one occasion even visiting the Soviet Union in the days of The Iron Curtain. Don returned to the United States with a passionate interest in world history and politics. In New York, he found work onstage and in commercials and soon became the recognizable face of many high-profile products; he shared spokes-duties with Candace Bergen as the Sprint "Dime-A-Minute Guy" and appeared in an Oreo cookie spot that remains on-air to this day, seventeen years after production—it is presently dubbed for Italy and Phillippines!

But global travel and adventure was always there. As host of ESPN's MEN'S JOURNAL, Don climbed mountains and paddled raging rivers. He raced road bikes in Death Valley's heat and fished some of the nation's great waters. Off-camera, he headed south to Belize to explore pre-Columbian cave systems and dive the famed Blue Hole. In Baja California, he kayaked with wintering Grey whales. All the while, he has pursued a passion for flying, logging hours towards his small-craft pilot's license.

When not on the road, Don now lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Melissa. He spends a lot of time refurbishing a vintage '73 MG Midget. In a recent interview, he said: "I've never understood why work should restrict us to one thing, why we shouldn't use careers to follow dreams." Indeed, as the host of CITIES OF THE UNDERWORLD, Don Wildman continues this mission, now to darker and more mysterious places than ever before.