Don Imus

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John Donald Imus, Jr. (born July 23, 1940 in Riverside, California) is an American radio talk show host, best known for his sarcasm and harsh language. His popular radio show, Imus in the Morning, airs daily.

Imus was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989. In 2002, Talkers magazine ranked Imus as the third-greatest radio talk show host of all time, behind Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern, respectively. ^[1]

Imus maintains two residences, one in Manhattan and another in Westport, Connecticut.^[2]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Radio: comedy and music bits 3 Sobriety 4 Business interests 5 Controversies 5.1 Howard Stern 5.2 Robert Frank 5.3 Racism, misogyny and homophobia 5.4 Sid Rosenberg 5.5 Lawsuits 5.6 Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner speech 5.7 Joe Barton 6 Honors 7 Books 8 See also 9 References and notes 10 External links

[edit] Early life

Don Imus was born in Riverside, California. His father was an alcoholic and his family moved around the American Southwest a great deal. As a child, Imus escaped family tensions by reading books and listening to deejay Wolfman Jack on the radio. In high school, he was impeached as class president for behaving like a dictator. His parents finally separated during this time.

Imus served in the Marine Corps from 1957-1959. According to an interview in Vanity Fair, he dropped out of school while living in Prescott, Arizona and joined the Marines, transferring from an artillery unit to play the bugle in the Drum and Bugle Corps. According to the article, Imus received an honorable discharge, despite the time when he and a buddy stole the stars off a general's jeep and put them on their own vehicle.

Imus subsequently had a series of unsuccessful jobs as a miner, gas station attendant, railway brakeman and aspiring rock star.

[edit] Radio: comedy and music bits

Imus then found his calling when he started as a radio disc jockey in 1968 at KXOA in Sacramento, California. His on-air pranks, such as calling up a restaurant and ordering 1200 hamburgers, made his show immensely popular and boosted ratings.

After a stint at WGAR-AM in Cleveland, Ohio, Imus moved to New York City and WNBC in 1971, where he gained a reputation as a loose cannon who often favored crude humor. During his first stint at WNBC, Imus recorded three record albums, two for the RCA Victor label (1200 Hamburgers to Go, including some of his more enjoyable humor from KXOA, WGAR and WNBC broadcasts, and One Sacred Chicken to Go, a primarily studio-created album centering on his satirical character, The Right Rev. Dr. Billy Sol Hargis), and one for the Bang label (This Honky's Nuts, an album of his standup comedy act at the Manhattan nightclub "Jimmy's"). In 1977, WNBC fired Imus for his cocaine and vodka habits and unprofessionalism; he had missed a hundred days of work in one year. Imus then went to work in Cleveland and cleaned up his act. In 1978, Imus commuted between Cleveland and New York to tape a TV talk show, Imus Plus at WNEW-TV. (The show was nationally syndicated by Metromedia, which owned WNEW at the time). Imus was reinstated in September 1979 as WNBC's morning drive time host.

From 1982 to 1985, the station also employed shock jock Howard Stern, and WNBC heavily promoted the pair in print and television ads, which often featured the slogan "If We Weren't So Bad, We Wouldn't Be That Good." Although Stern's show aired later in the day, Imus and Stern often made brief appearances on each other's shows, giving the audience an occasional glimpse of an on- and off-air rivalry that continues to this day.

During this period, Imus was best known for satirical character Billy Sol Hargus, a radio evangelist who was a cross between infamous real-life radio and television preacher Billy James Hargis and real-life Texas fertilizer swindler Billie Sol Estes. As Billy Sol Hargus, Imus touted on-air the merits of the "First Church of the Gooey Death and Discount House of Worship". Imus published the 1981 novel God's Other Son that further depicted Hargus's adventures. The novel was republished in 1994 and spent considerable time on the New York Times bestseller list. Other regular Imus characters included the alleged general manager "Geraldo Santana Banana", and "Moby Worm", a monstrous creature who devoured local schools (which was reported on the show's "breaking news updates").

Imus was also the utility announcer for Geraldo Rivera's monthly TV series Good Night, America, which aired as a recurring segment of ABC's Wide World of Entertainment program. Imus was also the inaugural video jockey for the launch of the VH-1 cable network in 1985.

In 1988, WNBC-AM was sold to Emmis Broadcasting, and consequently, WNBC-AM permanently signed off the air and Emmis's WFAN-AM was moved from 1050 AM to WNBC's former spot, 660 AM. Imus in the Morning remained at 660 AM among WFAN's sports programs. Imus's music and comedy bits were the staples of the program.

[edit] Sobriety

Imus had battled alcoholism during his time in New York, but in 1987 finally found the personal resolve to pursue effective treatment. (As of 2006, he has remained sober for 18 years^[3]). In 1988, with his battle with cocaine and alcohol now part of his self-publicity, Imus reshaped his show into a forum for political issues, charitable causes and news-based parodies, while the Billy Sol Hargus routines were phased out. The radio show became nationally syndicated in 1993, and began simulcasting on MSNBC in 1996.

In the 1990s, Imus and his wife Deirdre founded the Imus Ranch, a working cattle ranch near Ribera, New Mexico, 50 miles northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Imus Ranch is a charitable organization for children with cancer, as well as siblings of SIDS victims. Imus has four daughters from a previous marriage and son Frederick Wyatt from his current marriage. Because Deirdre is vegan, both Imus and Frederick have become vegetarians. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day each year, the Imus family goes to the New Mexico ranch during which Imus broadcasts from a studio on the ranch, while the rest of his cast broadcasts from New York and New Jersey. In 2000, Imus suffered serious injuries after a fall from a horse at his ranch, and broadcast several shows from a hospital.

He wears a signature cowboy hat during his broadcasts; during his interview on Larry King Live, Imus and Deirdre both wore Western clothing and cowboy hats.

Still keeping to his "shock jock" roots, Imus is a huge friend and supporter of Opie and Anthony. He occasionally wears an Opie and Anthony XM Radio T-shirt during MSNBC broadcasts. Imus has joked that Opie could be his illegitimate son. Imus and Howard Stern, on the other hand, remain unreconciled.

Don Imus’s behavior has increasingly drawn the attention of the press. He famously called Rush Limbaugh "a fat, pill-popping loser" and Lesley Stahl a "gutless, lying weasel". His exchange of insults ("fat pig") regarding his show’s former news reader, Contessa Brewer, recently made news as did Brewer's response ("cantankerous old fool"). When Tucker Carlson brought up Ms Brewer on the program in 2005, Imus hung up on him, calling him "a bowtie-wearing pussy". More recently, his targets have not been so prominent, and his attacks have displayed a more vindictive quality; see Controversies.

[edit] Business interests

Don Imus was also a part owner of the Autobody Express with his brother, Fred Imus (a frequent caller to the radio show, commenting on NASCAR races, the NFL and related cultural matters with a drawl even slower than Don's). The Autobody Express stores were located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and inside the Mohegan Sun Native American Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. In 2003, the company failed and both stores closed.

Imus still owns a small coffee/pastry store also located in the Mohegan Sun casino. The Autobody Express became Imus Ranch Foods, which offers its signature chips and salsa via online sales and in Northeastern U.S. stores. The proceeds from Imus Ranch Foods help fund the work of the Imus Ranch.

Like former coworker and fellow broadcaster Howard Stern, Don Imus is licensed to carry a concealed handgun for his protection. This license was issued by the New York City Police Department.

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Howard Stern

Due in part to Howard Stern's historically combative relationship with WNBC, Stern has continued to blast Imus. Stern takes special offense to the developments in Imus's career that mimicked Stern's earlier moves; i.e., playing less music, creating a staff of adversarial characters that discuss their real lives, expanding the audience via syndication, and bringing TV cameras into the radio studio. Whether or not Imus's moves were influenced by Stern, there is no doubt that his WNBC show and style of comedy changed after Stern's arrival. However, it is important to note that Imus was an established radio personality well before Stern's success. No reconciliation has occurred, with the two engaging in an ugly name-calling exchange in late 2003.^[4]

In relation to the storied Imus-Stern relationship, Imus has recently formed a de facto alliance with syndicated and XM Satellite Radio hosts Opie and Anthony. Much like Imus, Opie and Anthony have had their own storied past with Stern [1], and are currently engaged in a war of words with the Sirius satellite radio host.

[edit] Robert Frank

Imus threatened Wall Street Journal reporter Robert Frank with unending harassment for his article that raised questions about New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's tax inquiry into the Imus Ranch in New Mexico. ^{[citation needed]} The Journal's editor and publisher have editorialized on what has been called Imus’ "intimidation game" against Frank.

[edit] Racism, misogyny and homophobia

Imus and his crew, Charles McCord and Bernard McGuirk, are frequently accused of racism, misogyny and homophobia. Imus referred to sports columnist Bill Rhoden as a "New York Times quota hire" and PBS anchor Gwen Ifill as a "cleaning lady".^[5] Imus has repeatedly referred to Arabs as "ragheads."^[6]

[edit] Sid Rosenberg

Carlin replaced Sid Rosenberg, who provided sports updates on the Imus show. Rosenberg suggested on air that tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams were animals better suited to pose for National Geographic than Playboy^[7] and that Palestinians mourning the death of Yasser Arafat were "stinking animals upon whom the Israelis "ought to drop the bomb right there, kill 'em all right now..."^[8] He was fired from the Don Imus show after making crude remarks about Australian singer Kylie Minogue's breast cancer diagnosis, despite the hysterical laughter from his crew.^[9]

[edit] Lawsuits

Imus also attracted public attention due to two recent lawsuits, one filed by a former nanny, Nichole Mallette[2], 24, who was thrown out of his New Mexico home at 4 am, and the other filed by Dr. Howard Allen Pearson[^{[citation needed]}An insurance adjuster in California has even set up a web site, somewhat cryptically entitled "New Ruskin College," to document Don Imus’ ongoing (and dubious) harassment of him through what he believes to be coded messages broadcast over the air.^[10]

[edit] Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner speech

On March 21, 1996, Imus delivered a speech at the Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C., which Imus and his fans call "The Speech From Hell".

The dinner was attended by President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton. Imus was expected to deliver a gently humorous speech and not stray into topics considered sensitive for the President or the First Lady. Imus chose not to observe this convention. The initial line of Imus's speech was considered a direct reference to Hillary Clinton, who was at the time involved in a specific aspect of the Whitewater scandal concerning billing records that were discovered just a few weeks before on a table in the resident section of The White House.

<audience applause> "Thank you very much."

"Um.. this is kind of interesting, these don't appear to be my notes. <picking up papers from the lectern> (You still have the folder I gave you? Where did this come from?)" <gesturing with the papers>

"Well, nobody just leaves stuff like this just layin' around." <audience laughter, then slowly looks at Hillary, audience laughs hysterically> ^[11]

[edit] Joe Barton

For two weeks in the Fall of 2006, Imus delivered ongoing 'rants' against Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX), describing him as "a lying fat little skunk from Texas," a "pipsqueak," and a "coward and a crybaby." Imus also called Barton a "congressional dirtbag," because Barton used his position as a committee chair to prevent passage of the Combating Autism Act, which would authorize funds for autism research. In the weeks before congress recessed on September 29th, 2006, Barton used his chairmanship to prevent the legislative proposal from coming to a vote in the House, rousing the ire of Imus and his wife, staunch supporters of autism research. The bill already had been passed unanimously by the Senate, and come on the heels of a 2005 declaration by the Centers for Disease Control of an autism epidemic.[3]

[edit] Honors

Imus won three Marconi Awards, two for Major Market Personality of the Year (1992 and 1997) and one for Network Syndicated Personality of the Year (1994).^[12] He was inducted into Radio Hall of Fame in 1989^[13] and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1996.^[14]

[edit] Books

• Imus, Donald. God's Other Son. Simon & Schuster, 1994. (ISBN 0-684-80166-3). (Originally published in 1981 (ISBN 0-671-22537-5).)
• Imus, Donald, and Imus, Fred. Two Guys Four Corners: Great Photographs, Great Times, and a Million Laughs. Villard, 1997. (ISBN 0-679-45307-5).
• Imus, Deirdre. The Imus Ranch: Cooking for Kids and Cowboys. Rodale Press, 2004. (ISBN 0-87596-919-4).
• Reed, Jim. Everything Imus: All You Ever Wanted to Know About Don Imus. Birch Lane Press, 1999. (ISBN 1-55972-504-4).
• Tracy, Kathleen. Imus: America's Cowboy. Carroll & Graf, 1999. (ISBN 0-7867-0608-2).

[edit] See also

• Imus in the Morning
• List of talk radio personalities

[edit] References and notes

[edit] External links

• Don Imus' Internet Movie Database Credits
• The Imus Ranch Official Website
• The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology Oncology
• Palestinians Called 'Filthy Animals' on MSNBC's 'Imus' Council on American-Islamic Relations
• Imus and the Flies By Clinton Fein, Annoy.com
• Don Imus: Not-So-Hidden Bigotry, Racism, Sexism and Homophobia By Philip Nobile, TomPaine.com