Ron Magill
| Ron Magill | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1960 New York City, New York[1] |
| Education | University of Florida |
| Occupation |
Photographer Communications director of the Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens |
| Salary | $93,000 (per year)[1] |
Ron Magill is an American wildlife expert and photographer; he is the communications director of the Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens, and makes regular television appearances across local South Florida networks. Magill has won three Emmy Awards for his work on the nature documentary programs; Dreams of Alaska, The Amazon & Beyond, and Dreams of the Rain Forest.[2][3][4]
Magill was born in New York City, New York, but moved to Perrine, Florida at the age of 12, where he later attended Miami Palmetto High School[5] and obtained an associate's degree at the University of Florida.[1][6] His first job was working at the Miami Serpentarium, which no longer exists. In 1980, he became a zookeeper at Miami MetroZoo and gradually became lead zookeeper, senior zookeeper and then assistant curator.[5]
Today, Magill remains at the renamed Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens, as its communications director and makes regular appearances on television shows such as Good Morning America, Sábado Gigante, Late Show with David Letterman, and The Today Show. He has a regular segment on the ESPN Radio's The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, where listeners can call in and ask him questions. He has also appeared on several documentaries for the Discovery Channel and the History Channel, and, during the 1980s, handled all the animals used on the Miami Vice television series.[6]
In 2006, Magill received the Wildlife Ambassador Award in recognition of his efforts on wildlife preservation. Magill was also director for the Cheetah Conservation Program. Magill is also a Nikon Ambassador see http://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/nikon-ambassadors/index.page
Early life
Ron's father Guillermo Magill was a tall man of six-foot-three. Guillermo spoke no English when he moved from Santiago, Cuba to New York and met his wife Lorraine. Born in 1960, Ron Magill was living in Queens, New York. Ten years later, his family moved to Los Angeles and then to Miami and back to New York City, but he had purchased a five-acre land in Homestead, Florida, to grow mangoes and advocados. Even though Ron's first language was Spanish, he would forget it in school because he was bullied by students about his height which he was the tallest student in class, they would call him Lurch, Frankenstein or names like "Magilla Gorilla. His unwanted attention pushed him into books and he had skipped fourth grade. Ron had moved to Florida in 1972 and lived in the land that was purchased and started to care for the animals that Guillermo would bring home.
References
- 1 2 3 Hanks, Douglas (April 30, 2015). "The face of Zoo Miami enjoys a star turn in Havana". Miami Herald. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
- ↑ Engoren, Jan (February 4, 2015). "Spend Valentine's Day at Everglades festival". The Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- ↑ "FilMiami's Shining Star: Ron Magill". FilmMiami. Miami-Dade County. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- ↑ http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/zoo-miamis-ron-magill-has-earned-his-place-in-the-spotlight-7766015
- 1 2 Biermisth, J.R. (2005-11-16). "Interview: Ron Magill - Miami Metrozoo (Comm. Director & Photographer)". Miamist. Retrieved 2006-09-09.
- 1 2 Bai, Cinnamon (2003). "Too Cool". UF Today Magazine. University of Florida. Retrieved 2006-09-09.