Steve Thomas (television)
Encyclopedia
Steve Thomas is the professional name of Stephen Thomas, an author and television
personality from the United States
. He is currently the host of Renovation Nation
on Discovery
's Planet Green channel. He was the host of the Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS) home renovation series This Old House
from 1989 to 2003.
, California
, and is the oldest of six children.
from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington
. While at Evergreen, he supported himself as a licensed painting contractor and carpenter.
, France
. Thomas also logged many nautical mile
s sailing a 43 feet (13.1 m) wooden sloop from England
to San Francisco via the Panama Canal
, Galapagos Islands
, Marquesas, and Hawaii
. He moved to Massachusetts
in 1980. In the early 1980s, Thomas journeyed to the remote Micronesia
n island of Satawal
to learn the ancient technique of star path navigation under the master navigator, Mau Piailug
.
(PBS) series Adventure
. In 1989, while researching his next book, on his family's history in the Alaska
n Arctic
, Thomas was approached by people from the PBS series This Old House
who had already screened more than 400 candidates. He was cast to replace Bob Vila
and hosted the show from 1989 through 2003.
Since leaving This Old House, Thomas has contributed to programming on The History Channel, hosting and producing the Save Our History
series, including one program showing George Washington
's estate, and another in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska
.
Thomas is a popular speaker on green renovation for builders and homeowners. He is especially interested in green, energy efficient, and low maintenance technologies and materials. He is often a guest on television shows such as The Early Show
on CBS, The Oprah Winfrey Show
, and Jon & Kate Plus 8
.
Thomas can now be seen hosting Renovation Nation
which can be seen on Discovery
's channel Planet Green.
Thomas renovated an 1836 Colonial Revival for his family in a seaport on the north shore of Boston. He now resides in Rockport, Maine
with his wife and two standard poodles. A recent project involved renovating a cottage and building a timber-frame barn on a small island off the coast of Maine
. This became a two-part special on Renovation Nation
.
of 'Outstanding Service Show Host' for This Old House, plus nine nominations for the same category.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
personality from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He is currently the host of Renovation Nation
Renovation Nation
Renovation Nation is a green home building show starring Steve Thomas. The show can be can now be found on the new Planet Green channel in the US. He recently appeared on Jon And Kate Plus 8 Go Green!...
on Discovery
Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications, Inc. is an American global media and entertainment company. The company started as a single channel in 1985, The Discovery Channel. Today, DCI has global operations offering 28 network entertainment brands on more than 100 channels in more than 180 countries in 39...
's Planet Green channel. He was the host of the Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS) home renovation series This Old House
This Old House
This Old House is an American home improvement magazine and television series aired on the American television station Public Broadcasting Service which follows remodeling projects of houses over a number of weeks.-Overview:...
from 1989 to 2003.
Biography
Thomas was born in 1952 in PomonaPomona, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Pomona had a population of 149,058, a slight decline from the 2000 census population. The population density was 6,491.2 people per square mile...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and is the oldest of six children.
Education
Thomas received his bachelor's degree in philosophyPhilosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
. While at Evergreen, he supported himself as a licensed painting contractor and carpenter.
Sailing and construction
In 1977, Thomas worked as a carpenter on a 75 feet (22.9 m) ketch under construction in AntibesAntibes
Antibes is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.It lies on the Mediterranean in the Côte d'Azur, located between Cannes and Nice. The town of Juan-les-Pins is within the commune of Antibes...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Thomas also logged many nautical mile
Nautical mile
The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...
s sailing a 43 feet (13.1 m) wooden sloop from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to San Francisco via the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, Galapagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
, Marquesas, and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. He moved to Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in 1980. In the early 1980s, Thomas journeyed to the remote Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
n island of Satawal
Satawal
Satawal is a solitary coral atoll of one island located at in the Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia...
to learn the ancient technique of star path navigation under the master navigator, Mau Piailug
Mau Piailug
Pius "Mau" Piailug was a Micronesian navigator from the Carolinian island of Satawal, best known as a teacher of traditional, non-instrument wayfinding methods for deep-sea voyaging...
.
Television
In 1989, Thomas returned to Satawal to film a documentary with Piailug for the Public Broadcasting ServicePublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS) series Adventure
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
. In 1989, while researching his next book, on his family's history in the Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
n Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
, Thomas was approached by people from the PBS series This Old House
This Old House
This Old House is an American home improvement magazine and television series aired on the American television station Public Broadcasting Service which follows remodeling projects of houses over a number of weeks.-Overview:...
who had already screened more than 400 candidates. He was cast to replace Bob Vila
Bob Vila
Robert Joseph "Bob" Vila is an American home improvement television show host known for This Old House , Bob Vila's Home Again , and Bob Vila .-Early life:...
and hosted the show from 1989 through 2003.
Since leaving This Old House, Thomas has contributed to programming on The History Channel, hosting and producing the Save Our History
Save Our History
Save Our History is a program sponsored by The History Channel. It is a national history education and preservation program that raises awareness and support for preserving local and national heritage. It is partnered with Preserve America, a White House initiative created by Laura Bush on March 3,...
series, including one program showing George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's estate, and another in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
Thomas is a popular speaker on green renovation for builders and homeowners. He is especially interested in green, energy efficient, and low maintenance technologies and materials. He is often a guest on television shows such as The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
on CBS, The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, and Jon & Kate Plus 8
Jon & Kate Plus 8
Jon & Kate Plus 8, named Kate Plus 8 from the sixth season on, is an American reality television series airing on TLC. It is produced by Figure 8 Films about the Gosselin family, consisting of parents Jon and Kate and their eight children: fraternal twins and sextuplets...
.
Thomas can now be seen hosting Renovation Nation
Renovation Nation
Renovation Nation is a green home building show starring Steve Thomas. The show can be can now be found on the new Planet Green channel in the US. He recently appeared on Jon And Kate Plus 8 Go Green!...
which can be seen on Discovery
Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications, Inc. is an American global media and entertainment company. The company started as a single channel in 1985, The Discovery Channel. Today, DCI has global operations offering 28 network entertainment brands on more than 100 channels in more than 180 countries in 39...
's channel Planet Green.
Thomas renovated an 1836 Colonial Revival for his family in a seaport on the north shore of Boston. He now resides in Rockport, Maine
Rockport, Maine
Rockport is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,209 at the 2000 census. Rockport is a popular tourist destination and art colony.-History:...
with his wife and two standard poodles. A recent project involved renovating a cottage and building a timber-frame barn on a small island off the coast of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. This became a two-part special on Renovation Nation
Renovation Nation
Renovation Nation is a green home building show starring Steve Thomas. The show can be can now be found on the new Planet Green channel in the US. He recently appeared on Jon And Kate Plus 8 Go Green!...
.
Awards
Thomas received the 1997–1998 Daytime Emmy AwardDaytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
of 'Outstanding Service Show Host' for This Old House, plus nine nominations for the same category.
Books
- The Last Navigator : A Young Man, an Ancient Mariner, the Secret of the Sea (1987)
- This Old House Kitchens: A Guide to Design and Renovation (1992)
- This Old House Guide to American Houses (1999)
External links
- Steve Thomas' official web site
- Renovation Nation at PlanetGreen.Discovery.com
- Steve Thomas' bio at TV.com