Bertram van Munster
Although he became an American citizen as an adult, van Munster was born and raised in Holland. He moved to America in the 1990s to launch his television career, initially producing television commercials while also serving as field producer on the long running reality series, "Cops" (Fox 1989-2013). His brainchild "The Amazing Race" debuted on CBS in 2001, just after the surprise success of "Survivor" (CBS 2000-) and became an immediate smash hit. The show was more critically acclaimed than many reality series, eventually going on to earn 14 Emmys, including 7 for van Munster. The success of the show allowed van Munster to expand "The Amazing Race" into new markets, with "The Amazing Race Asia" (AXN 2006-10), "The Amazing Race Australia" (Seven Network 2011-), and "The Amazing Race Canada" (CTV 2013-). In addition to his work on "The Amazing Race," van Munster also served as the executive producer on the reality shows "Take the Money & Run" (ABC 2011) and "The Great Escape" (TNT 2012).