Jimmy Kimmel is the last person he would expect to be embroiled at the center of political debate. The host is also the last person he would expect to be taking a big share of late-night viewers. The affable kid born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Las Vegas has found something good to say about every juncture of his life. He even praises the weather while passing someone digging through garbage on Hollywood Boulevard. As a kid, he never even imagined that the reign of his own TV heroes would ever come to an end, much less plow a place for himself in the late-night landscape.

No matter how happenstance came to create a place for Jimmy Kimmel, the “Live” host knows he has a platform, and he chooses to use it to voice the needs and thoughts of many who never get a platform. Most of all, he discusses needs without sides, not Republican or Democrat, not liberal or conservative, but family issues that are a struggle for every mom and dad, and every child.

The health struggles of his youngest son, Billy, have brought clarity and peace of mind to his topical discussions, and a deeper commitment to fatherhood. Jimmy Kimmel would love if everyone “with a television” watched his show, but if he loses a certain segment of viewers for bringing serious issues to the fore, he still makes no apologies.

Hitting home hard

“I'm nobody's moral arbiter,” the host insisted to Tracy Smith during their “CBS Sunday Morning” conversation on October 15. Kimmel reiterates that the option of the “off” switch is eternal, as are other channels, so “nobody has to listen” to his personal appeals. Healthcare became very personal for the entire Kimmel family when Billy was born last April with heart defects and had to have surgery even before leaving the hospital.

Billy will need more procedures and watchful medical care throughout life.

When it hit the dad, Jimmy Kimmel that the only reason his son is recovering well is due to his position and ample income, he went public his personal story, and the world listened. Having roots in Las Vegas, the shooting that took 58 lives along with the assailant and left 500 injured had much more punch to Kimmel’s gut than just another violent headline.

He knew that his latest mantra that “nobody needs 10” automatic weapons in a hotel room, or anywhere else, would turn some viewers away. He brought up a combination poll/research study that showed how he was equally liked between Republicans and Democrats before the past six months. There is now a 30% decline on the Republican side. The multigenerational father realizes that those numbers are far from “ideal” but says, “I probably wouldn't want to have a conversation with them anyway."

From ‘riddance’ to revering

Jimmy was asked if it was a case of “good riddance” to the disapproving group. He replied, “Well, not good riddance, but riddance,” adding that he would make the same stand again “in a heartbeat.”

Kimmel paid homage to David Letterman throughout his youth, birthday cakes and license plates, and genuinely never saw “a time when Johnny Carson or David Letterman would go off the air.” He was never aiming for any late-night gig as a radio host, and just fell into the hosting world for “Win Ben Stein's Money” on Comedy Central, and then “The Man Show” with sidekick Adam Corolla, which oddly cultivated around 40% female viewership, perhaps as an “educational” tool with its satirical take.

The original spin with ABC giving him the late prime time spot was a disaster, and Jimmy was “waiting for the show to be canceled” before celebrity friends and fun gags started to catch on with an audience, and the move to late-night for “Live” was a perfect match.

“Who deserves anything?” Kimmel asks, admitting his greatest delights are having all his kids, Kevin 24, Katie, 26, and Jane, 3, along with Billy being part of his show, and rich blessings of life for the 50-year-old.

Jimmy Kimmel is confident that there is no “next” after his current show, very aware of the stakes in speaking out, and that “This is it.”
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