Frank Gifford Biography

1930-

American football player

In the national spotlight for over half a century, Pro Football Hall of Famer and Emmy-winning broadcaster Frank Gifford enjoyed a successful transition from professional athlete to respected television journalist. His fame as an anchor of ABC's Monday Night Football from 1971 to 1998 even transcended his reputation as one of the biggest stars of the National Football League (NFL) in its early days as a nationally televised sport in the 1950s. After two failed marriages, Gifford also seemed to find personal satisfaction with his relationship with television talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford, whom he married in 1986. Yet his image as a loving husband suffered in 1997 when his extramarital affair with Suzen Johnson was exposed in the Globe, a tabloid that had paid Johnson $75,000 to document one of their trysts. The Giffords publicly proclaimed their intention to remain married, but the incident tarnished his reputation. The year after the scandal, Gifford's Monday Night Football role was reduced to delivering pre-game commentaries and in 1998 he left the show for good.

SELECTED WRITINGS BY GIFFORD:

(With Harry Waters) The Whole Ten Yards, Random House, 1993.