Former ‘Entertainment Tonight’ co-host John Tesh says his faith is his inspiration.

John Tesh doesn’t aspire to be famous. And he doesn’t really like television. That’s a bit ironic for a man who once pulled down seven figures as host of one of the most popular entertainment shows on TV.
   
And it’s also a bit ironic for a man who just taped a New Year’s Day television special for the Inspirational Network in Charlotte.
   
But ironies aside, Tesh seems to be clear-minded about what he is trying to do. “I’m not Billy Joel or Elton John,” he says. “I’m just a knuckle-brain who used to read the celebrity birthdays on Entertainment Tonight. I’m totally normal and very average. I just happen to have a big opportunity to spread the gospel.”
And it’s that opportunity — to spread the gospel — that seems to now drive the career of the man who once had fame and fortune in the palm of his hand.
   
Tesh, 51, grew up loving music, but didn’t originally pursue it as a career.
   
Instead, he decided to pursue broadcasting and spent a few semesters at North Carolina State University in the 1970s before making his move to television. He found success in jobs in local TV news and eventually as a sportscaster at CBS.
   
In 1986, he landed the job that made him a household name: co-host of “Entertainment Tonight,” a highly popular, nightly broadcast with news from the entertainment world. Nearly 10 years would pass before Tesh would realize his dream job was actually more like a bad dream.
   
“Television is a nasty world,” he said. And he increasingly found the shallow, often immoral content of the show he hosted in conflict with his Christian faith. That realization dawned on him slowly and became stronger as he became active in the church of his wife, Connie Sellecca, whom he married in 1991.
   
In 1996, Tesh said his career and his life reached a turning point when he attended a Promise Keepers rally in California. “Tony Evans was speaking, and he was telling us to stop being closet-Christians,” Tesh said. “It was at that point that I said, ‘What am I doing on ‘Entertainment Tonight?’ I don’t even believe in what I’m doing.’”
   
Six months later, he walked away. People thought he was crazy. The media lambasted him. But Tesh said it was the best move of his life.
   
It was undoubtedly a bold move, but Tesh said that was the idea. “I want to be an inspiration to others to be bold about their faith,” he explained.
   
Boldness has come in degrees for Tesh, who at first recorded secular music, but in recent years has recorded albums exclusively devoted to worship music. His boldness hasn’t stopped there. When invited on “Live with Regis and Kelly” recently, Tesh performed the popular worship song, “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever.” He also chose worship music for appearances on “Larry King Live” and in casino halls.
   
Engaging the culture is something Tesh seems determined to do. He is currently host of “The John Tesh Show,” a daily radio program in 160 markets across the country, including some Alabama cities. Instead of griping about the questionable content on television, Tesh said he decided to “create something as an alternative.” (EP)