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Don Imus

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Don Imus
Occupation(s)Radio talk show host, writer
Spouse(s)Harriet (1st); Deirdre Coleman (2nd)
ChildrenNadine, Toni, Elizabeth, Ashleigh and Wyatt.

John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. (born July 23, 1940) was an American radio talk show host, comedian and writer, best known for his sarcasm and often harsh language. His popular radio show, Imus in the Morning, aired weekday mornings until being canceled on April 12 2007. The show was simulcast on cable television's MSNBC from 1996 until it was canceled on April 11, 2007.

Imus was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989. In 2002, Talkers magazine ranked Imus as one of the greatest radio talk show hosts of all time.[1]

Imus maintains three residences, one in Manhattan, another in Westport, Connecticut, and one in Ribera, New Mexico.[2]

Biography

Don Imus was born in Riverside, California. His father was an alcoholic [citation needed] and his family moved around the American Southwest a great deal. His parents finally separated during this time after multiple affairs occurred.[citation needed]

Imus served in the Marine Corps from 1957 to 1959. According to an interview in Vanity Fair magazine, 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 an incident when he and a friend 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.

In 1994, Imus married Deirdre Coleman (born 1964), his second marriage. He has four daughters from a previous marriage and one son, Frederick Wyatt (known as Wyatt, born 2000), from his current marriage. Deirdre is vegan, and both Imus and Wyatt are vegetarians.

Radio: comedy and music bits

Imus 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 popular 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. [citation needed]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 talk-radio host 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 Hargis, a radio evangelist whose name 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 Hargis, 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 Hargis's adventures. The novel was republished in 1994 and spent considerable time[citation needed] on the New York Times bestseller list. Other regular Imus characters included the supposed 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.

Sobriety

Imus had battled alcoholism during his time in New York, but in 1987 finally pursued effective treatment. (As of 2006, he says that he has remained sober for 18 years[3]). In 1988, with his cocaine and alcohol addictions 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 Hargis 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 founded the Imus Ranch, a working cattle ranch near Ribera, New Mexico, 50 miles southeast of Santa Fe. The Imus Ranch is a charitable organization for children with cancer, as well as siblings of SIDS victims. 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 friend and supporter of Opie and Anthony, also rivals of Howard Stern. 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 remain unreconciled.

Don Imus’ behavior has often 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, made news as did Brewer's response ("cantankerous old fool"). When Tucker Carlson brought up Brewer on the program in 2005, Imus hung up on him, calling him "a bowtie-wearing pussy." Some of his targets have not been so prominent, and his attacks often display a more vindictive quality; see Controversies.

Imus, maintaining his 2007 commitment to the U.S. troops fighting overseas, helped raise over $6 million toward Center for the Intrepid, a Texas rehabilitation facility. Considered to be the largest technological center of its kind in the country, it is designed to help treat disabled veterans and help them with their transition back into the community.

More recently, Imus took on the Veterans Administration when the Washington Post published a story uncovering the deplorable living conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Imus's rants preceded Army resignations, including that of Gen. Kevin Kiley, then Army Surgeon General, who lived adjacent to the troubled building and testified before Congress that he had no idea of the deplorable conditions because performing barrack inspections was not in his job description. This outraged Imus, who unleashed a relentless attack on Kiley's personal fitness for military duty and dedication to his wounded troops.

Allegations of racism, misogyny, and homophobia

See also List of controversial Don Imus quotes on women and minorities

Imus and his crew, Charles McCord and Bernard McGuirk, have been repeatedly accused of racism, misogyny, and homophobia. For example, Imus and his cohorts referred to African American sports columnist Bill Rhoden as a "New York Times quota hire"[4]and PBS anchor Gwen Ifill as a "cleaning lady" over twenty years ago.[5][6]

Imus has repeatedly referred to Arabs as "ragheads."[7] He has berated many female newsreaders, most recently Contessa Brewer, which caused her to leave the show. After she left the show, Imus went on a tirade, saying, “With that fat ass she’s got, she wouldn’t be one of ‘em,” (a beautiful woman). Imus said on the air, "That skank has to spend three hours with makeup in the morning." The tirade was also tied to comments that were overheard of Contessa's calling Imus “a cantankerous old fool” at a dinner in a restaurant in 2005, when she was still newsreader.[8] During Imus's show a producer also poked fun at poet Maya Angelou.[citation needed]

As reported by New York Times columnist Bob Herbert,[9] in the course of a 1998 interview with Mike Wallace on the CBS News 60 Minutes program, Imus allegedly told a producer off-camera that McGuirk was hired to perform racial humor:

Sid Rosenberg

Sid Rosenberg, who provided sports updates on the Imus show, got into trouble when he suggested on air that tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams were animals better suited to pose for National Geographic than Playboy.[10] Rosenberg also stated 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..."[11] He was fired from the Don Imus show after making crude remarks about Australian singer Kylie Minogue's breast cancer diagnosis.[12] Chris Carlin replaced Sid Rosenberg.

Rutgers women's basketball and cancellation

See also Imus in the Morning

On his "Imus In The Morning" show on April 4, 2007, in a conversation with Bernard McGuirk and by phone with former cast member Sid Rosenberg, Imus referred to the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos."[13]

"That's some nappy-headed hos there. I'm gonna tell you that now, man, that's some -- woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like -- kinda like -- I don't know."

There were African-American players on both the Rutgers and Tennessee teams. Imus initially dismissed the incident as "some idiot comment meant to be amusing."[14][15][16]

However, two days later, amid mounting calls for his firing, Imus issued this statement of apology:

"I want to take a moment to apologize for an insensitive and ill-conceived remark we made the other morning regarding the Rutgers women's basketball team, which lost to Tennessee in the NCAA championship game on Tuesday. It was completely inappropriate and we can understand why people were offended. Our characterization was thoughtless and stupid, and we are sorry."

On April 9, Imus appeared on Al Sharpton's syndicated radio talk show to address the controversy. Sharpton called the comments "abominable", "racist", and "sexist", and repeated his earlier demand that Imus be fired. Imus said, "Our agenda is to be funny and sometimes we go too far. And this time we went way too far. Here's what I've learned: that you can't make fun of everybody, because some people don't deserve it."[17]

That same day, Jesse Jackson and about 50 others marched outside the Chicago offices of NBC, which is full owner of MSNBC (and part owner of the network's Web site), carrying signs and shouting "Imus must go." Jackson said that Imus' comments contribute to "a climate of degradation" and stem from a lack of blacks as program hosts. That night, Brian Williams announced on NBC Nightly News that Imus' MSNBC simulcast would be suspended beginning on April 16 for two weeks as a result of the comments.[18]

CBS Radio, owner of WFAN and syndicator of the show, also announced that it suspended Imus for two weeks.[19]

Media commentators were divided on the suspension: on MSNBC's Scarborough Country on April 10,[20] for example, Pat Buchanan said that Imus is "a good guy... [who] made a bad mistake and apologized for it" and that the show should stay on the air. Steve Adubato, an MSNBC media analyst, disagreed, pointing out that it was "not isolated" and Joe Klein also referred to Imus' history of racist remarks such as his comment about New York Times reporter Gwen Ifill.

The basketball team held a news conference where coach C. Vivian Stringer stated that the team will meet with Imus to discuss his comments. Several of the players took the mic to express their outrage over the remarks. Team captain Essence Carson said Imus' remarks' took "a moment of pure grace" from the team.[21][22]

Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page, who once had Imus take a pledge not to engage in further racist talk, said he would not appear on the show again and said of the two-week suspension, "I know other stations... some shock jock who lost his job for less than this, or been at least suspended for a month or two. Why does Don, a repeat offender, keep getting away with it? I want to know."[23] CBS board member and former NAACP president Bruce S. Gordon said that Imus should not be allowed to come back even after the suspension, claiming that his remarks "crossed the line, a very bright line that divides our country."[24]

Staples Inc., Bigelow Tea Company, Procter & Gamble Co., General Motors, GlaxoSmithKline, American Express and Sprint Nextel have all announced that they will either permanently pull their ads or at least suspend them from Imus' morning show to protest his racially charged remarks about the women's basketball team.[25][26]

On April 11, 2007, NBC announced that MSNBC would no longer simulcast Imus in the Morning, effective immediately. While the decision came on the same day that several advertisers deserted Imus, the network also said employee concerns also played a role. Indeed, several of NBC's high-profile African-American personalities, including Al Roker, opposed Imus' return.

In announcing the decision, Steve Capus, President of NBC News, said:

"These comments were deeply hurtful to many, many people. And we’ve had any number of employee conversations, discussions, emails, phone calls. And when you listen to the passion and the people who come to the conclusion that there should not be any room for this sort of conversation and dialogue on our air, it was the only decision we could reach."[27]

On April 12, 2007, Imus was also terminated from CBS Radio, bringing his radio career to an end for the time being.

Other controversies

Howard Stern

Due in part to Howard Stern's historically combative relationship with WNBC, Stern has continued to blast Imus. He 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. No reconciliation has occurred, with the two engaging in an ugly name-calling exchange in late 2003.[28]

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.

Lawsuits

Imus also attracted public attention due to two lawsuits. On November 29 2004 a former nanny, Nichole Mallette, sued Imus for wrongful termination and defamation[29] after a Thanksgiving 2003 incident in which she was allegedly fired and escorted off his property at 4:15 AM. Don and Deirdre Imus were allegedly upset over Mallette's possession of a cap-gun and pocket knife on ranch property.

On July 8 2005 Dr. Howard Allen Pearson sued Imus for slander and civil assault. Imus allegedly threatened Dr. Pearson during a July 13 2004 confrontation at the ranch, and subsequently referred to him on air as "an arrogant (expletive) doctor who doesn't mind letting a child suffer".[30]

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>[31]

Later on, Imus commented on the President saying "Go baby!" while doing radio play-by-play at an Orioles game, and added, "I remember commenting at the time, I bet that's not the first time he's said that."[32]

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 29, 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 had come on the heels of a 2005 declaration by the Centers for Disease Control of an autism epidemic.[33]

Fox News

During the period January 27–February 2, 2007, Imus attended the dedication of the Center for the Intrepid, a privately built rehabilitation center for wounded veterans. Imus aided the building of the center by raising over US$10,000,000 and he personally contributed over US$300,000. The dedication received little coverage in prime time news, a fact that angered him. On his show in this period, he claimed that Fox Network personalities Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity were too cowardly to attend or cover the dedication because they had supported the Iraq war so vigorously. [citation needed]

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). The Autobody Express stores were located in Santa Fe, 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.

Imus is one of the few[citation needed] persons permitted a license to carry a concealed handgun for his protection in New York City. This license was issued by the New York City Police Department.

Honors

Imus won three Marconi Awards, two for Major Market Personality of the Year (1992 and 1997) and one for Network Syndicated Personality (1994).

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).

See also

References and notes

  1. ^ "The 25 greatest radio talk show hosts of all time". Talkers Magazine. September 2002. Retrieved 2006-09-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "Donahue and Thomas put Westport house on market for $25 million". Westport Now.com. 2005-08-16. Retrieved 2006-07-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "Don Imus still sober after 18 years". Associated Press. 2006-01-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ David Carr (2007-04-09). "With Imus, They Keep Coming Back". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
  5. ^ Philip Nobile (July/August 2000). "In the kingdom of Imus, the courtiers are quiet". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2007-04-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ Gwen Ifill (2007-04-10). "Trask Talk Radio". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
  7. ^ Clinton Fein (2005-03-24). "Imus and the Flies". annoy.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ James Joyner (2005-05-01). "Don Imus Berates Contessa Brewer". outside the beltway. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ "Paying the Price". The New York Times. 2007-04-12. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
  10. ^ Sid Rosenberg audio on the Williams sisters.
  11. ^ "Palestinians called 'Stinking Animals' on MSNBC's 'Imus'". The Council on American-Islamic Relations. 2004-11-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ Sid Rosenberg audio on Kylie Minogue.
  13. ^ "Imus called women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos"". mediamatters.org. 2007-04-04. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
  14. ^ "Networks Condemn Remarks by Imus". The New York Times. 2007-04-07. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
  15. ^ McShane, Larry (2007-04-07). "Despite apology, critics want Imus out". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2007-04-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Hill, Jemele (2007-04-06). "Imus should be fired". ESPN.com: Page 2. Retrieved 2007-04-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ "Imus takes his lumps on Sharpton's show". Associated Press. April 9, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ "Rutgers coach: Imus' comments 'despicable'". MSNBC. April 10,2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ "Don Imus Suspended For Two Weeks: No Radio, No TV For Imus". Post Chronicle. April 9, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ Transcript of Scarborough Country 10 April 2007
  21. ^ [1]
  22. ^ Rutgers team speaks out
  23. ^ Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune on PBS' NewsHour April 9,007
  24. ^ Gordon calls for firing
  25. ^ Imus loses sponsors
  26. ^ MSNBC Cuts Don Imus Show as Advertisers Flee
  27. ^ NBC News: 'Only decision we could reach'
  28. ^ Joseph Planta (2003-12-08). "Imus vs. Stern". thecommentary.ca. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ "Nanny Sues Imus Over Ranch Wrangle". thesmokinggun.com. November 30 2004. Retrieved 2007-4-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  30. ^ "Doctor Files Lawsuit Against Don Imus". www.katv.com. July 11 2005. Retrieved 2007-4-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  31. ^ "Imus' speech to the Radio & TV Correspondent's dinner transcript". imonthe.net. Retrieved 2006-09-28. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  32. ^ http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3031440&page=1
  33. ^ Autism bill controversy


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