President Joe Biden awarded several Presidential Medals of Freedom this weekend.
Among the recipients: Seattle’s own “Bill Nye the Science Guy” who, of course, wore his signature bow tie at the White House ceremony.
Nye got his start in television on KING 5’s “Almost Live!” comedy show.
He then went on to win 19 Emmys for his own nationally-syndicated children’s television program produced at Seattle’s PBS station, KCTS, from 1993 to 1999.
Bill Nye, 69, is a former mechanical engineer who hosted “Bill Nye the Science Guy” as a science educator in pop culture.
In the 1970s, Nye was a student at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He developed an interest in science after taking an astronomy class with Carl Sagan.
Before taking on his TV scientist persona, Nye worked as an engineer for Boeing and Sundstrand Data Control near Seattle.
At the Boeing Corporation, Nye invented a hydraulic resonance suppressor tube that was used on 747 jetliners.
In 1986, he left Boeing to launch a comedy career.
He worked as a writer and performer with hosts Ross Shafer and John Keister at KING 5 and regularly conducted wacky scientific experiments.
After his tenure at KING 5, Nye proposed the new children’s television show “Bill Nye the Science Guy” to KCTS.
The show proudly declared a new theme in the discipline of popular science in national syndication with the catch phrase, “Science Rules!”
The program was popular among both children and adults, and was critically acclaimed.
“Science Guy” was nominated for 23 Emmy Awards, winning 19, including “Outstanding Performer in Children’s Programming.”
After production of the show ended, Nye continued to advocate for science.
He became the CEO of The Planetary Society and has written two best-selling books on science: “Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation” (2014) and “Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World” (2015).
He has appeared as a frequent guest on other television programs.
Nye also starred in a documentary about his life and science advocacy in March 2017.
In 2017, the Netflix series, “Bill Nye Saves the World,” started production and ran for three seasons.
His most recent series, “The End Is Nye,” premiered in 2022 on Peacock and Syfy.
Other recipients at the White House ceremony Saturday included former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, actors Denzel Washington and Michael J-Fox, U2’s Bono, soccer superstar Lionel Messi, investor George Soros, fashion designer Ralph Lauren and conservationist Jane Goodall.
