Dave Holmes

David Robert Holmes was born on March 14, 1971, in St. Louis, Missouri. His early life included education at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he gained initial experience working at the campus radio station WCHC and interning at WCCA-TV. Holmes first gained national attention in 1998 as the runner-up in MTV’s inaugural “Wanna Be a VJ” contest. Despite not winning the competition, his extensive knowledge of music trivia led MTV to hire him as a VJ shortly thereafter.

Holmes’s career at MTV spanned from 1998 to 2002, where he hosted various shows including “120 Minutes,” “Video Clichés,” and “Say What? Karaoke.” He also served as a co-host and substitute host on “Total Request Live.” Following his departure from MTV in 2002, Holmes expanded his television presence, hosting FX’s “DVD on TV” for ten seasons and Court TV’s “Saturday Night Solution” for six seasons. In 2005, he hosted CBS’s reality comedy series “Fire Me Please.” He has also appeared on Bravo, History, and TV Guide Channel, and held a recurring role as Leslie Frost on Comedy Central’s “Reno 911!” and made appearances on Adult Swim’s “Newsreaders” and “Kroll Show.

Beyond television, Holmes has pursued diverse media endeavors. He has been an editor-at-large for Esquire.com since 2015. His podcasting work includes hosting the LGBTQ-themed “Homophilia” (formerly on Earwolf, now World of Wonder) and the Maximum Fun comedy quiz show “Troubled Waters.” He also co-hosted the “Real World”-themed podcast “Truu Stowray” with Mike Doughty. In 2016, Penguin Random House published his memoir, “Party of One: A Memoir in 21 Songs.” More recently, in October 2021, he created and hosted the 10-episode podcast series “Waiting for Impact,” which delves into the history of the band Sudden Impact and the early 1990s music industry. As of 2022, he also hosts “In Transit” on Very Local, interviewing celebrities about their travel experiences.