Mike Rowe

Michael Gregory Rowe (born March 18, 1962) is an American television host and narrator.

He is known for his work on the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs and the series Somebody's Gotta Do It originally developed for CNN.

He hosted a series produced for Facebook called Returning the Favor in which he found people doing good deeds and did something for them in return.

He also hosts a podcast titled The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe.

Rowe has narrated programs on the Discovery Channel, The Science Channel, and National Geographic Channel such as Deadliest Catch, How the Universe Works, and Shark Week.

He has also appeared in commercials for firms such as the Ford Motor Company.

Rowe was born and raised in Baltimore County, Maryland, to John and Peggy Rowe, who were both teachers.

In commercials for Dirty Jobs he stated that the show is a tribute to his father and grandfather.

He became an Eagle Scout in 1979 in Troop 16 in Overlea, and he read to students at the Maryland School for the Blind during his service project for Eagle Scout.

He cites this as one of the reasons that he became interested in narrating and writing.

Rowe attended Kenwood Presbyterian Church in Nottingham, Maryland, which his parents still regularly attend.

He graduated from Overlea High School in 1980, where he excelled in theater and singing.

He then studied at Essex Community College.

In 1985, he graduated from Towson University with a degree in communication studies.

Rowe has hosted On-Air TV for American Airlines, No Relation for FX, and New York Expeditions for PBS.

In the early 1990s, Rowe hosted the CD-ROM music trivia game Radio Active (as "Bobby Arpeggio") for defunct Sanctuary Woods.

During the same period, he was an on-air host for the home-shopping TV network QVC.

In the 1990s, Rowe hosted Channel 999 instructional guide for the defunct PrimeStar satellite television service.

Rowe has claimed that QVC fired him three times, rehiring him each time until he finally left of his own accord in 1993.

From 2001 to 2004, Rowe hosted The Most for The History Channel.

From 2001 to 2005, Rowe hosted Evening Magazine on KPIX-TV in San Francisco.

During this time, he appeared in a news segment called "Somebody's Gotta Do It", profiling a number of unpleasant professions; the concept later grew into Dirty Jobs.

Rowe's first work with the Discovery Channel included a trip to the Valley of the Golden Mummies to host Egypt Week Live!, where he explored ancient tombs live with Zahi Hawass, an Egyptian archaeologist.

In 2002, Rowe hosted Worst Case Scenarios for TBS.

Rowe hosted the Discovery Channel's annual Shark Week in 2006 and 2008, and has hosted the special You Spoof Discovery, an amateur parody video special which poked fun at some of the popular series on the Discovery Channel's lineup.

Rowe was originally tapped to be the on-screen host of the Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch, a show about crab fishing in the Bering Sea, and shot footage aboard several crab boats in addition to narrating the series.

When Dirty Jobs was picked up by Discovery, he was told to choose which show he wanted to appear in on-screen.

Rowe chose to host Dirty Jobs and narrate Deadliest Catch; the footage of him on the boats was not used in the series, although he did appear in a season finale of Deadliest Catch, interviewing the boat captains.

Rowe hosted a related show about life on the Bering Sea, a 2007 miniseries, After the Catch, a show which has continued after each season of Deadliest Catch.

Other narration work by Rowe includes Mystery Diagnosis, Drydock: A Cruise Ship Reborn, Southern Steel, Powertool Drag Racing, Scavengers Rock (Animal Planet), Airplane Repo and the opening of Ghost Hunters, a Syfy series from the producers of American Chopper.

When told in a 2008 episode of Dirty Jobs that the gourds he was working on would be sold via QVC, he said he was familiar with the corporation and proceeded to ad-lib a sales pitch for them.

Additionally, Rowe has done voiceover work for the reality television show The Ultimate Fighter and the NASCAR pre-race show for the 2009 Chase on ESPN.

In September 2012, Rowe hosted a three-part series How Booze Built America on the Discovery Channel.

CNN announced on April 10, 2014, that Rowe would host Somebody's Gotta Do It, a new "Original Series" that began in the fall of 2014 lineup.

The final season aired on the TBN in 2018.

Rowe highlights "unique individuals" in their respective passionate undertakings, whether it be work, hobby, or fanaticism.

Somebody's Gotta Do It is produced by Craig Piligian's Pilgrim Studios.

In mid-July 2020, Discovery Channel aired Dirty Jobs: Rowe'd Trip, a four-episode miniseries, billed as "part reunion, part road-trip, part look-back-special".

In addition to hosting programs, Rowe has an extensive background as a narrator.

His work with Discovery Channel includes narrating American Chopper, American Hot Rod, Deadliest Catch, Wild Pacific, Silver Rush, Ghost Lab, How the Universe Works, and Syfy's Ghost Hunters.