Curtis Sliwa (born March 26, 1954) is an American anti-crime activist, founder and CEO of the Guardian Angels, and a conservative radio talk show host. In February 1979, Sliwa created the "Magnificent 13", a group dedicated to combating violence and crime on the New York City subways. At the time, the city was experiencing a wave of crime as municipal services were cut back to reduce its debt. Today, Sliwa claims that the Guardian Angels operate in nine countries and 82 cities around the world, with approximately 5,000 members. Sliwa went on to become a populist, conservative radio talk show host. In the early 1990s, Sliwa was co-host with his then-wife Lisa Evers, of a show on WABC in New York City.

On June 19, 1992 Sliwa was shot and nearly kidnapped by two gunmen after entering a taxi in Manhattan. A stolen taxi picked up Sliwa near his home in the East Village and a gunman hiding in the front passenger seat fired several shots, hitting him in the groin and legs. The kidnapping was apparently foiled when the taxi hit another vehicle and the driver and gunman fled. Sliwa underwent surgery for internal injuries and leg wounds. Federal Prosecutors charged John A. Gotti, the son of Gambino crime family leader John Gotti, with the attempted murder, saying he was allegedly angered by remarks Sliwa made about his father during his radio talk show. However after three attempts to try him, the last on September 20, 2005, the charges were ultimately dismissed after three separate juries were unable to agree to convict Gotti on the charges brought against him. Jurors later told reporters they did believe he had a role.

After his attempted murder, his WABC radio program was cancelled. Through his friendship with Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sliwa landed a radio program on the then city-owned and operated WNYC. As of 2008, Sliwa is co-hosting an hour on KABC in Los Angeles. Also in 2008, Sliwa made his appearance on truTV`s The Smoking Gun Presents: World`s Dumbest...

Sliwa was born into a Polish-Italian Catholic family in Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York and raised a member of the Assyrian Church of the East. Sliwa attended and was expelled from Brooklyn Prep, a Jesuit Catholic high school, and graduated from Canarsie High School, a New York City public high school in Canarsie, Brooklyn. Prior to founding the Guardian Angels, he was night manager of a McDonald`s restaurant on Fordham Road in The Bronx. His second wife was Lisa Evers,[citation needed] now a television commentator. In 2004 Sliwa married for a third time and became a father to his son, Anthony Chester.