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The Opie & Anthony Show
File:Opieanthony.jpg
Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia
GenreTalk, Comedy
Running time5-6 hours per episode, Monday through Friday
Country of originUnited States United States
Home stationThe Virus (XM202/Sirius197)
StarringGregg "Opie" Hughes
Anthony Cumia
Jim Norton
Created byGregg Hughes
Anthony Cumia
Executive producer(s)Steve Carlesi
Original releaseMarch 27, 1995 –
present
Opening theme"The Ecstasy of Gold" by Ennio Morricone and
"Street Fighting Man" by Rage Against the Machine
Ending theme"Street Fighting Man" by Rage Against the Machine
Websitehttp://opieandanthony.com
Podcastaudible.com

Opie (Gregg Hughes, born May 23, 1963) and Anthony (Anthony Cumia, born April 26, 1961) are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in The United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. It is co-hosted by stand up comedian Jim Norton. The show is currently based in New York City; it was previously on WXRK-FM and WNEW-FM in New York, and before that, on WAAF-FM in Boston.

The Opie & Anthony Show airs weekdays live from 6am through 12pm ET exclusively on XM Radio Channel 202 and Sirius Radio Channel 197 "The Virus". Unless the live show is running long, a "worst-of" segment is broadcast from 11am to 12pm. Replays are available throughout the day on their XM and Sirius channels.

On April 26, 2006, Opie and Anthony returned to the terrestrial airwaves after a four year absence, replacing CBS Radio's short-lived David Lee Roth Show, which aired mainly on the eastern coast of the United States. The terrestrial part of the show ran until March 9, 2009, despite losing huge markets along the way such as California, Michigan, Florida, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York. They were finally fired by WXRK-FM who then flipped formats from rock to Top 40.

Background and history

Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia were raised on Long Island, New York, in Centerport and Elwood respectively. Hughes graduated from SUNY Geneseo and for the next seven years, interned and worked at several upstate New York radio stations such as WCMF in Rochester (where he first worked for Brother Wease) and WUFX in Buffalo. Opie eventually found his way back home to rock station WBAB on his native Long Island. Although not initially doing a talk-show, Hughes did experiment with certain talk elements, including a recurring character named "Spuds Buckley". Cumia was a high school dropout barely earning a living as an HVAC duct worker when he began performing songs with his brother Joe. Cumia showed remarkable skills at doing impressions. In August 1994, Hughes received an entry during an O.J. Simpson parody song contest. The song was titled "Gonna Electric Shock OJ" (sung to the tune of Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay") by a local band known as Rotgut, of which Cumia was the lead singer. The song was a hit on Hughes' show, and he invited the Cumia brothers to the studio to play live in September 1994. This sparked several more appearances, where "Ant & Brother Joe" jumped at any opportunity to be on the air. In December 1994, Cumia also appeared on The Howard Stern Show during an impression contest in which he imitated Jackie the Jokeman, Beavis and Butt-head, and Sam Kinison. Soon afterward, Hughes and Cumia became a radio team. Hughes' show was called "The Nighttime Attitude", which aired from 8 pm-midnight on WBAB.[1] Shortly after Cumia's arrival, he and Hughes requested that the show be moved to morning or afternoon drive, the two most listened-to timeslots in radio. When the station refused, Hughes and Cumia moved the show to afternoon drive on WAAF in Boston, where they premiered on March 27, 1995 as Opie & Anthony (O&A).

WAAF-FM

Among Opie and Anthony's most notable Boston stunts was when they hyped a giveaway of "100 Grand" for weeks. When they finally gave away the prize, the winning caller laid into the duo with biting invective after he realized the repairs he needed to make to his truck would be un-affordable with a 100 Grand candy bar instead of $100,000.[2] Listen to the prank

The duo was fired in April 1998 from WAAF for an April Fool's Day prank involving Mayor Thomas Menino. Opie and Anthony told their listeners Menino died in a fiery car accident while vacationing solo in Florida. Many believed the story, leading Menino to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, as the FCC prohibits the broadcast of knowingly false information if it causes public harm.[3] WAAF suggested that the duo have pies thrown at them while being held in town square stocks. The idea was summarily dismissed by the mayor's office. Facing a possible license challenge, WAAF fired them, but Opie and Anthony promised that they would return to Boston and get revenge. During the early days of XM Anthony stated that the intent of the April Fool's prank was to allow the duo to be released from their contract with WAAF. He also stated that the duo had been having illegal meetings with WNEW prior to the April fools prank. He preceded these comments with "The statutes of limitations must be up on this."[4]

WNEW-FM

In June 1998, O&A were back on New York station WNEW-FM, where they became a top 10 afternoon drive show in New York by 2000.[5]

In November 2000, sixteen people associated with the show (including comedian Lewis Black and future show member Jim Norton) were arrested during a promotion for "The Voyeur Bus," a mostly glass bus carting naked women through Manhattan with a police escort.[6] The stunt was harshly condemned by Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

O&A hosted the short-lived "XFL Gameday" - the pregame show for Vince McMahon's startup football league - for four weeks in February 2001. The half-hour show aired nationally on Saturday nights on select NBC affiliates prior to the evening's games. The show was taped on Wednesdays at the WWF's theme restaurant in Times Square, and was open to the public. It featured analysis by WNBC sportscaster Bruce Beck and New York/New Jersey Hitmen head coach Rusty Tillman, but also featured plenty of raunch. One particular segment featured O&A as chefs, inserting a cucumber in between two melons. O&A were almost banned from Giants Stadium for life during the filming of one episode when they imitated a proposed XFL rule where first possession was determined by placing the ball at midfield and having two opposing team-members attempt to get it. O&A did this as God Bless America began to play before a game [3]. They said that the $100,000 cost of making each new show was the cause of its demise, though no official reason was given for its cancellation.

In 2001, O&A signed a syndication deal with Infinity to syndicate their show on 22 stations nationwide, including WBCN in Boston, longtime rival of WAAF. By this time, show friend Andrew Dice Clay had introduced O&A to Jim Norton, a comedian who toured with and opened for Clay. Norton was a hit on O&A and soon became a regular on the show, appearing three or four days per week.

Sex for Sam

One of O&A's stunts was "Sex for Sam", a yearly contest where the goal was to have sex in notable public places in New York City. Couples from various states would be selected to be trailed by a comedian or member of the show, who would call the program to report the location. The contest was sponsored by Boston Beer Company, maker of Samuel Adams beer; prizes included trips to Boston concerts sponsored by the beer company. The contest was approved by the station and had no major problems for the first two years.

However, in "Sex for Sam 3", comedian Paul Mecurio encouraged Brian Florence and Loretta Harper, a Virginia couple visiting Manhattan, to have sex in a vestibule at St. Patrick's Cathedral on August 15, 2002. When a security guard ordered Mecurio and the couple to leave the church immediately, Mecurio began to argue with the guard, who then contacted police. The couple was arrested and charged with public lewdness. Intense media scrutiny led to the Catholic League demanding that Opie and Anthony be fired. The Catholic League also threatened to get WNEW's license revoked.

O&A broadcast the next day, but were ordered not to directly address the incident for legal reasons. The show went into re-runs the following week. On August 22, Infinity suspended Opie and Anthony for the duration of their contract, and canceled the show. However, the company continued to pay the duo to stay off the air for the balance of their contract. The Catholic League immediately dropped its bid to revoke WNEW's license.

The repercussions of the incident were widespread:

  • Infinity was fined $357,000 by the FCC--the maximum amount allowed by law, and the second-largest indecency fine in American radio history. It refused to pay the fine.[7]
  • WNEW's ratings, already dreadful aside from Opie and Anthony, dropped even lower than those of noncommercial stations and never recovered. The station returned to the music format in January 2003, starting with an adult contemporary format, later switching to a classic dance music format before returning to the AC format, at which point the station's call letters were changed to WWFS.
  • Harper pleaded guilty a month later to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to seven days of community service.[8] Her partner, Brian Florence, died of a heart attack on September 25, 2003.

XM Satellite Radio

Opie and Anthony returned to the air on October 4, 2004 exclusively for XM Satellite Radio after two years off the air. Initially, the show was offered to XM subscribers at a premium cost of $1.99 a month, to which they encountered some resistance. In April 2005, "High Voltage" became part of the basic XM subscription. There are no numbers available with respect to the number of premium subscribers. Hughes gave some indication, however, when he told the Long Island press in 2006, "We went from having a show that was syndicated in 17 major markets to having a few thousand", which did not help to remove the discrepancy.[9]

On April 17, 2006, DirecTV ceased airing XM 202 (The High Voltage Channel) on their satellite TV service, citing subscriber requests for more music channels and less talk and sports channels. However, less than a week elapsed before inside sources stated that, due to overwhelming audience (and the Pests) demands that O&A return to DirecTV, the channel would be restored on April 26, 2006.[10]

Opie & Anthony frequently mentioned on the air that they hated the name "High Voltage", which was selected by one of the company lawyers. They had been trying to change the name but were unsuccessful for the first 2 years until Eric Logan announced on their October 4, 2006 broadcast that High Voltage would be renamed "The Virus" on November 20, 2006, due to the demands of hardcore O&A fans, known as "The Pests".

A big part of the XM show was the "Assault on the Media", led by "The Pests" to give the show additional exposure. On May 19, 2005, show intern Nathaniel showed up behind Arthur Chi'en of WCBS-TV. The disruption caused Chi'en to shout "What the fuck is your problem, man?" while the cameras were still rolling. Chi'en was fired a few hours later. (The situation brought the show nationwide press.)

On May 15, 2007, XM suspended Opie & Anthony for 30 days, in response to a broadcast featuring a homeless and derranged man who had wandered into the studio. Opie and Anthony dubbed the man "Homeless Charlie" and among the topics he discussed was the possibility of raping Condoleezza Rice and Laura Bush.[11] Charlie spoke wildly for nearly twenty minutes, commenting on a wide variety of news topics. A blogger posted a ten second excerpt of the discussion, and was later posted to The Drudge Report, with no context given to the audio. Commentary on the incident was especially incendiary from commentator Bill O'Reilly, who called the situation "the worst I have ever seen." (O'Reilly had once had the boys on his show.) [citation needed] CBS (terrestrial) radio continued to air the show from 6:00 am–9:00 am Eastern time, and had a decidedly more subdued sound, due to greater scrutiny.

Fans reacted to the news by canceling their XM Radio subscriptions. The number of subscriptions, which were rumored to only be in the hundreds, had little effect on XM management.[12] Moreover, some sponsors pulled their advertising off XM, in protest of the suspension.[13]

The duo's month-long suspension from XM ended on June 15, 2007, and they returned to XM's airwaves on that date. Shortly after the suspension was lifted, Opie closed on a $3.35 million 2,088-square-foot (194.0 m2) apartment in Trump Place owned by Donald Trump.

Return to broadcast radio 2006-2009

On July 17, 2006, Opie and Anthony signed a deal with Citadel Broadcasting in which the first three hours of the show would be broadcast on nine of Citadel's rock stations.[14]

After an 18-month run on XM, The Opie & Anthony Show began simulcasting on XM Radio and various terrestrial radio stations from 6 am to 9 am EST. From 9 am to 11 am (and on some days up to noon), the show will be broadcast exclusively on XM Radio. XM listeners are able to hear the show uncensored the entire time (except when the main feed is "self-censored" by the hosts), however from the 6-9 slot, the FM-only listeners will hear an FCC-compliant version of the show.[15] In the initial Arbitron ratings released since their move to terrestrial radio, The Opie & Anthony Show doubled Free FM's ratings in the New York City market in the month of May.[16] In Philadelphia O&A achieved a threefold increase in the month of May over David Lee Roth's April performance with listeners, ages 18–34.[17][18] In Boston, they doubled the listeners of all ages and achieved an even larger increase in younger demographics.[19] According to the winter 07 arbitron ratings, O&A have doubled Roth's ratings with their target of 18- to 34-year-olds. But so far that's only meant going from 2% to about 4% of the audience, a third of Stern's old numbers in NYC.[20] Following the Summer 07 Arbitron ratings, O&A's 18- to 34-year-olds ratings slipped, while their morning drive rating in NYC of 2.1 left them only ahead of sports based WFAN network in the morning.[21] In the spring 2008 under the new Portable people meter ratings system, Opie and Anthony again failed to crack the top ten in morning drive, and their flagship station WXRK ranked 20th out of 24 stations in overall ratings and out of the top ten in the coveted 25-54 demographic.[22]

Rockstar Games gave the cast and crew of the show voice roles in the Play Station Portable game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, including Club Soda Kenny as the voice of Derek the Dodo. The only exception was Jimmy Norton because he was already given a voice role in another Rockstar game Bully.

On October 23, 2007, WYSP in Philadelphia cut Opie and Anthony from their lineup in favor of rock music, to which format the station had changed in September.[23]

During the summer of 2008, the Show featured a romance between Anthony Cumia and Jill Nicolini. Nicolini, a model/actress who currently does traffic for a local NY-based TV station, and Cumia were often photographed together at various events. A regular running bit on the show focused on whether this May-December romance is in fact real or not. While many initially doubted the beautiful Nicolini would really date Cumia, the relationship appeared to grow over time, until it ended disastrously in August 2008.

In 2008, as part of Rockstar Games' newest addition to the Grand Theft Auto series, Cumia performed the viral "Pisswasser" (or "Piss Water") commercial for Grand Theft Auto IV, as a parody to Budweiser's "King of Beers" campaign. It was later performed by Cumia on the Opie and Anthony Show. Other members of the show's cast appear as characters in GTA IV.

During their tenure on broadcast radio, almost all of their affiliates (many of which were in major markets) systematically dropped the show, either due to format changes or lack of ratings. By November 30, 2008, Opie and Anthony remained in only three major cities - New York, Boston and Cleveland. The following day, however, WBCN in Boston dropped them in favor of their local Toucher & Rich show, while WKRK-FM switched to a jockless alternative rock format.

On December 29, 2008, WZNE in Rochester, New York announced on air that Opie and Anthony would no longer be syndicated on their station. Two days later, WPXC in Hyannis, MA also ceased syndication.

On March 9, 2009, Opie & Anthony were heard on WXRK for the last time. Most of their final show was spent talking about the impending format change, and how their services were "no longer needed" at the station. Their executive producer for the FM portion, Michael "Stuntbrain" Opelka, was let go the following day.

On March 30, 2009, WROX-FM in Norfolk, Virginia ceased airing the show, along with Mancow's Morning Madhouse. WROX was the final station to drop Opie and Anthony, well after WXRK's format change.[24]

Run-ins with the FCC

The Federal Communications Commission has twice fined O&A for broadcasting material deemed in violation of decency standards. The first fine involved several November 2000 - January 2001 airings of a jingle produced by Dru Boogie, a DJ/producer who regularly produces content for the show. The $21,000 fine also involved a segment of "Guess What's In My Pants", as well as a song titled, "I'm Horny for Little Girls".[25] O&A's second FCC violation - the "Sex for Sam" broadcast - set a precedent for being the first time that a fine was issued to each individual station airing the alleged indecent material.[26] The total was $357,500; $27,500 against each of the thirteen CBS Radio/Infinity-owned stations that broadcast the show.[27] Infinity appealed both fines, after which its parent company Viacom made a $3.5 million settlement which canceled all pending indecency violations.[28] The show has not been in trouble with the FCC since that time.

Program content

Opie and Anthony often comment on American sociopolitical and popular culture. Their "cringe" style of entertainment sometimes leads people to categorize them as "shock jocks", a term created and popularized by wildly popular, and legendary radio personality Howard Stern. Hughes, Cumia and Norton broadcast for approximately five hours per day. Generally speaking, Opie sets the daily flow of the show and introduces topics, while Cumia and Norton provide color commentary. The show has few limits, and covers a wide array of topics interactively, with a great deal of time devoted to callers, and sound bites sent in from listeners. Some of the more hardcore O&A fans, nicknamed "Pests", have been known to go to extreme grassroots efforts to promote the show.

Friends and regular guests on the show include Adam Ferrara, Jim Jeffries, Louis C.K., Bill Burr, Patrice O'Neal[29], Brian Regan, Robert Kelly, Otto & George, Bob Saget, Rich Vos[30], Colin Quinn, and Nick DiPaolo[31] all of whom have substituted for Norton when he has left New York to pursue his stand-up comedy and acting. Frequent guests include Doug Stanhope, Stephen Lynch, Jim Jeffries, Joe Rogan, Jay Mohr, Kevin Smith and Mike Birbiglia. Host Anthony Cumia does impressions of various personalities such as Charlton Heston, Don West, Sylvester Stallone, Fred Flintstone, Bill Cosby, Ben Stein, Richard Nixon, Sam Kinison, Andrew Dice Clay, Tom Brokaw, Ronald Reagan, Mike Tyson, Tony Danza, Christopher Reeve, Robert Reed, Regis Philbin, Vince McMahon, Neil Diamond, Robin Williams, Winnie the Pooh, Popeye the Sailor, Don Imus, Marty McFly, The Greaseman and Howard Stern. O&A's style and jokes typically target males in the 18-49 demographic.

The song played at the beginning the show is Rage Against the Machine's song "Street Fighting Man", a cover of the Rolling Stones' song of the same name.

Film references

O&A's show features many inside jokes that a new listener may not immediately understand.[32] There are many references to films,[33] The Shining being one of the most prominent. Other referenced films include Fargo,The Silence of the Lambs, Pulp Fiction, The Accused, Predator, Boogie Nights, American Psycho, Blazing Saddles, Apocalypse Now, Bad Lieutenant, Ed Wood, Jaws, Platoon, A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, Death Wish, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Schindler's List, Caddyshack, The Godfather, My Baby is Black, Mondo Topless, The Shawshank Redemption, Back to The Future, Sling Blade, and anything starring Robert De Niro (most notably The King of Comedy).

Staff

  • Steve Carlesi, Executive Producer (aka Martini Steve, Steve C, Steven Carr, Steve the Bear, Foundry Steve, Hybrid Steve) - Steve has worked on FoundryMusic [4] since 1998, which covers music (especially metal) news, and porn industry news and features Cam Girls. Steve was the lead singer of the band Foundry, which recorded "Pendulum," a song often mocked on-air. His acting ability and complete lack of improvisational skills are often showcased on the daily broadcast for humorous effect.
  • Danny Ross, Senior Producer - Former intern who became a regular staff member. Danny originally started as a writer for Foundry Music and Carlesi brought him on board as an intern. Also produces the 'Saturday Night Virus'.
  • Erik Nagel, Senior Producer (aka E-Rock, Sex Bagel, Hawk, Tank Hankerous, Hoagie Boy) - Hired from Day 1 of the show coming to XM Radio. Erik is often a target of ridicule on the show.
  • Travis Tefft, Producer - Former intern who became a regular staff member. Travis typically acts as the phone screener as well as providing minute to minute research.
  • Derek Blair, Production Director - Former intern who became a regular staff member. Derek does not appear on the show to the same extent as the rest of the staff, as his primary responsibilities include show production i.e. sweepers, promos and intros.
  • Sam Roberts, Associate Producer (aka Prime Time Sam Roberts, Conglomerated Sam, Young Sam, Creepy Gay Kid) - Former intern who became a regular staff member. Also former co-host of The Than and Sam Show until he was fired on the air by Than on the night of Saturday January 17, 2009. He now co-hosts the Sam and Dave show, with "East Side" Dave often airing on the Saturday Night Virus.
  • Intern David, a semi-autistic, 26 year old, Jewish intern who preceded to become a recent fan favorite on the show. He has preceded to star alongside Bobo, another fan of the Opie and Anthony Show. David would say he's a fan, he's a fan. David often proceeds to annoy Ron Bennington.
  • John "Club Soda Kenny" Feder, Security - A 22-year retiree of the West Orange, New Jersey Police Department, Feder met O&A while working for Andrew Dice Clay. Feder was cleared of departmental charges for conduct unbefitting of an officer when a videotape of his off-color act was sent to his superiors. Feder faced losing his 25-year pension.[34] Feder's defense was that he kept his real name and law enforcement ties secret while performing comedy. This story was also featured in a episode of 'Penn & Teller's BullSh*t' on Showtime. Was part-time member of O&A's security staff since the summer of 2004, and joined O&A full-time in 2006 following his fully-reinstated retirement. Is often ridiculed for his "oafish" demeanor.

"Characters" of the show

  • Pat from Moonachie (Patrick Philbin) - A 44-year old, 340-pound self-employed courier with 9 toes (due to diabetes), who became a friend after winning O&A's first annual Eggnog Drinking Contest. Philbin consumed 71 double shots of egg nog and subsequently vomited. He is a competitive eater, ranked 16th in the world by the I.F.O.C.E[35] and placed 10th in Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. The "Baby Bird" video which came about from the 2006 Eggnog Drinking Challenge earned him infamy and caused him to be barred from the I.F.O.C.E for his "effluvic interchange." Philbin's banishment was rescinded and he was eventually re-instated on December 6, 2006.[36]
  • Stalker Patti - A 52-year old virgin who is often subjected to degrading humiliation on the show. She lived in the WNEW studio under the stairs for some time. Since then she got a job at Godiva Chocolates but was fired when new management used her as a fall girl. She also appeared on the Maury show in November 2005. Recently she pleasured herself on air.
  • Big A (Andrew) - A tall, overweight Bronx cab driver with a speech impediment (he has a severe stutter, especially when trying to say words that begin with the "st" sound).
  • Sandy Kane - A local cable personality in New York who was a stripper. Sandy is known on the show for Twatto (a genital wart) and a hemorrhoid that made guest Robert Kelly vomit. She claimed to have had sex with Demond Wilson of Sanford and Son, and claimed to have been raped by Richard Pryor and Phil Spector.
  • Steve from Yellowstone - (AKA Ben from Boston, Danny from W-Town, Jimmy from New Jersey, Erik from Breathtown, Po from Jersey, etc.) Fake characters that are voiced by Norton. Occasionally used to mock and insult bad guests on the phone or in the studio.
  • Ted Sheckler - A fake character voiced by Jim Norton. Ted is a multi-emporium owner. He often recommends callers to his emporiums for specific items. He also enjoys various, random activities such as ghost hunting and serial killing by blowing second hand smoke into crowds of people. Ted recently revealed his last name when referring to his band.
  • Tippy Tom - A homeless man from the streets of New York. Tippy Tom is a drunk homosexual, who once claimed to have AIDS, but has retracted that statement. O&A once had him showered, given fresh clothes, a fresh haircut, and a shave. Currently, he remains homeless, he is "AIDS free" and has introduced Grey Wolf to the show. He is known to sing old songs and has been a part of "Homeless Radio" and the "Homeless Shopping Spree".
  • Tom - Tom is a recent addition to the show's characters, who was discovered after they took a call from "an elvish sounding man". He is now the focus of "Is Tom alive? Friday", as Tom has a fatal lung disease, was kicked out of his apartment, and has had a broken back and lesioned spinal column; he was told by his doctor that he is now likely in his last year of life, however Tom has repeatedly claimed he will commit suicide to avoid the pain accompanying his passing. On June 12 of 2008 Tom called into the show to thank Opie and Anthony for the show and planned to kill himself. After talking with Tom, Opie, Anthony and Jim convinced him to unload his weapons and come on the show the following day.[37]
  • Paul Harghhis - (AKA Uncle Paul) A fake character voiced by Jim Norton. Uncle Paul is a child molester who sports a creepy voice that would most likely cause an adult victim of child molestation to have recurring nightmares, or at least some horrific flashbacks. Note that the "H" in Mr. Harghhis' name is silent, his name is of Swedish decent.

Other enterprises

Demented World

A CD released in November 1997 which includes a compilation of bits done on WAAF.

The Opie & Anthony Traveling Virus

Main article: Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus Comedy Tour (2006)
Main article: Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus Comedy Tour (2007)

The Traveling Virus is a comedy tour headlined by Opie and Anthony, as well as friends of the show, that began in 2006. In its first year, it spanned several locations in the eastern United States during the summer. In 2007, it visited 10 cities through the spring and summer. It was an event they had discussed for many years, but were never able to bring it to fruition until they made their latest deal with CBS radio.

The 2008 Traveling Virus Tour was canceled in favor of one show, held at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey on August 2, 2008. On the morning of Monday, August 4, 2008, Opie stated that the August 2nd show in New Jersey would be "the last Traveling Virus show ever", due to the crowd consistently booing new comedians off the stage, causing established comedians to refuse to appear at the venue. [38] Lack of ticket sales in 2008 was another speculated reason for announcing not doing any future Virus shows. Lawn seat ticket holders with automatically upgraded to free seats upon entering the show in 2008.

Search and Destroy

On the morning of March 26, 2008, Opie & Anthony revealed they had taped the pilot episode of a new series for Comedy Central. The show is entitled Search & Destroy and will consist of teams of comedians performing various tasks throughout New York City.[39] Although Opie and Anthony considered the pilot a success, Comedy Central has yet to pick the show up and put it into production.

Controversies

  • April Fool's Day: On April 1, 1998, while still on WAAF in Boston, O&A, over the course of their show, announced that the mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, was in a fatal car accident in Florida. Things came to a head after Menino's daughter called the station believing the story to be true. The radio duo was terminated the following week. During the early days of XM Anthony stated that the intent of the April Fool's prank was to allow the duo to be released from their contract with WAAF. He also stated that the duo had been having illegal meetings with WNEW before the April fools prank. He preempted these comments with "The statutes of limitations must be up on this." Despite the controversy that was started by this April Fool's Day prank, the duo was hired by WNEW-FM in New York City less than five months later.[40]
  • W.O.W.: During their WAAF years, O&A established "W.O.W.", short for "Whip 'em Out Wednesdays", which encouraged women to flash their breasts to anyone with a W.O.W. sign. As a result, it was common around Massachusetts to see cars with W.O.W. stickers, signs and even painted lettering. This campaign came to an end on WAAF in the summer of 1997, when the station forced the duo to discontinue the stunt and suspended the show for 3 weeks. W.O.W. has since been reintroduced to the show, but the level of its promotion varies depending on each syndicated affiliate's willingness to promote it. W.O.W. stickers and signs are more common in O&A's biggest markets, New York and Boston. They are less visible in other markets, such as San Francisco, that are more reluctant to back the W.O.W. promotion.
  • Voyeur Bus: Several members of the show, including frequent guest Lewis Black, third microphone Jim Norton, and then-producer Rick Delgado were arrested for being on the transparent "Teen" Voyeur Bus, where six young teenage women were flashing all over Manhattan in 2000. Mayor Rudy Giuliani called the Voyeur Bus stunt "stupid".[41]
  • Homeless Shopping Spree: In late 1999, shortly before Christmas, O&A held the first "Homeless Shopping Spree", which has since become an annual event. The bit involves a dozen of New York's homeless, each given several hundred dollars by the show and much more by the fans, and are taken to a posh shopping mall, most notably the Mall at Short Hills in Short Hills, New Jersey. They are allowed to buy what they want including warm clothes and other items they would not normally afford, while being cheered on by the thousands of listeners who show up. During the first Homeless Shopping Spree, the mall's reaction was to close many of the nicer stores, and eventually force the twelve homeless men out of the mall. The event was repeated at the same mall on December 16, 2006. Boston mayor Thomas Menino claimed outrage at the event, and declared that the Homeless Shopping Spree degraded and humiliated the contestants, and that it was immoral to hold such an event on the same day the city was to do a census count of the homeless townspeople.[42]
  • "100 Grand": Early in their radio career together, O&A declared a contest one afternoon at WAAF that the 107th caller would receive "100 Grand". They continued this bit throughout the show, careful of never saying "$100,000", only "100 Grand". When the 107th caller got through, he was ecstatic, thinking he had actually won $100,000. He shouted happily that he was planning on buying a new truck and could barely speak, due to his surprise at winning. He was furious when Opie told him it was only the 100 Grand candy bar and proceeded to curse loudly on the air, famously calling the duo "a bunch of douche bags."[2]
  • T&A with O&A: Opie and Anthony held a station-promoted beach party on the shores of Angola, NY (a suburb of Buffalo) on Saturday July 13th, 2002. Controversy ensued when several female attendees turned the event into a lesbian orgy, which included the insertion of vegetables into various orifices. Being the event was held on a public beach, the officials from the city of Buffalo quickly dispersed the crowd and warned O&A and their staff not to return lest they endure legal action. Additionally, FCC complaints were filed despite the event not being broadcast on any medium. Homemade multimedia from the event can be found on the internet.[43]. The aftermath of this event went unrealized as it was overshadowed by the more serious "Sex For Same 3" incident roughly a month later.
  • The Eggnog Drinking Challenge: An annual challenge where contestants have to drink as many shots of eggnog as possible before vomiting. On December 1, 2006, during the Challenge, Pat from Moonachie drank 75 double-shots of egg nog and subsequently vomited all over prospective intern Pat Duffy's mouth. This has been dubbed the "Baby Bird", and became a hit on both the O&A website as well as Break.com due to Youtube's initial refusal to carry the video.[44]
  • Condoleezza Rice, Laura Bush & Queen Elizabeth II: A homeless man making a guest appearance on the XM version of the show described how he would like to rape the United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, First Lady Laura Bush, also calling Queen Elizabeth II "horse-faced".[45] In the wake of the Don Imus firing, there has been speculation that O&A may be fired following that segment that aired on their program May 9, 2007. On their Friday show, Opie and Anthony apologized for the bit by saying, "We apologize to the public officials for comments that were made on our XM show on May 9. We take very seriously the responsibility that comes with our creative freedom and regret any offense that this segment has caused."[46] On May 15, 2007, XM suspended Opie and Anthony for 30 days.[11]
  • Donald Trump has called Opie and Anthony "two slobs" and swore never to appear on the show again.[47][48] Trump was supposed to call the show on January 10, 2008, but did not.
  • Sex Tape: On April 23, 2008, an article in the New York Post stated that the fiancee of Gregg "Opie" Hughes was present in a sex tape involving Bam Margera. Opie denied the accusations, and Margera called in on April 24 to deny the existence of any such sex tape. The Post printed a full retraction on May 5, 2008, after it was revealed that Chaunce Hayden of Steppin' Out Magazine had supplied false information about the existence of the tape. Hughes himself offered a cash reward to anyone who provided proof of the sex tape's existence, stating that it didn't even need to be the original tape, just simply a copy of the tape. Since then, no one has come forward with proof of any kind of the tape's existence. On June 23, 2008, Hughes filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against the New York Post company, Page Six writer Richard Johnson, and Chaunce Hayden for the April 23 article.[49]

Stations

The O&A Show can be heard exclusively on Sirius XM Radio, live from 6 AM - 12 PM Eastern on XM channel 202, The Virus or on Sirius channel 197.

References

  1. ^ FoundryMusic.Com Media: The Very First O&A Show EVER - 1
  2. ^ a b Deitz, Corey. "Radio Bloopers, Screwups, Outtakes and Embarrassments - Series 2". Your Guide to Radio. About.com. Retrieved 2007-04-14.
  3. ^ "FCC hoax policy". 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  4. ^ Andrea Adelson (1998-08-13). "On-Air Prank Earns Pair A Shot at Radio Big Time". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  5. ^ "Opie & Anthony Return To CBS Radio Beginning Wednesday, April 26". CBS Radio. 2006-04-24. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  6. ^ RASHBAUM, WILLIAM (2000-02-12). "Escort of Voyeur Bus Suspended by Police". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-07-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ McConnell, Bill (2003-11-24). "Infinity to FCC: We Won't Pay Fine". Broadcasting Cable. Retrieved 2007-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Woman sentenced in cathedral sex case". CNN. 2003-11-07. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  9. ^ "Raging Bulls". Long Island Press. 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  10. ^ "Opie & Anthony Return To DirecTV". FMQB. 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  11. ^ a b "XM Radio Suspends Opie & Anthony". XM Satellite Radio. 2007-05-15. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  12. ^ Listeners shocked by XM hosts' suspension
  13. ^ "Sponsors pull advertising over O&A suspension". Orbitcast. 2007-05-17. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  14. ^ Boyle, Mike (2007-08-17). "Opie and Anthony Ink Deal With Citadel". MediaWeek. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  15. ^ "Behind The Opie & Anthony Deal With XM EVP/Programming Eric Logan". FMQB. 2006-04-25. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  16. ^ "Opie & Anthony Move Ratings Needle For CBS Radio". FMQB. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  17. ^ "Reuters".
  18. ^ "Newsday.com".
  19. ^ Simon, Clea (2006-06-24). "Opie and Anthony give 'BCN a boost". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  20. ^ Hinckley, David (2007-05-01). "With Stern gone, Elvis leads a market that's all shook up". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  21. ^ Hinckley, David (2007-10-26). "Ratings bring morning glory again to WINS". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  22. ^ On the Radio: Listen up, WLTW's still leader of pack
  23. ^ Klein, Michael (2007-10-23). "'Opie & Anthony' dumped by WYSP". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  24. ^ "In Brief - April 2, 2009". FMQB. 2009-04-02. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
  25. ^ http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2002/DA-02-1336A1.html
  26. ^ "FCC Issues Fine in Opie & Anthony St. Patrick's Cathedral Case". Concerned Women for America. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  27. ^ http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2003/FCC-03-234A1.html
  28. ^ http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2004/FCC-04-268A1.html
  29. ^ Yursik, Patrice (March 13, 2008). "What's in a Name?". www.MiamiNewTimes.com. Retrieved 2008-11-28. {{cite web}}: More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
  30. ^ Lohnes, Kate (March 28, 2008). "'Last Comic Standing' comedian Rich Vos in area". www.limaohio.com. Retrieved 2008-11-28. {{cite web}}: More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
  31. ^ Serico, Chris (November 27, 2008). "Nick Di Paolo: Home for the holiday". www.LoHud.com. Retrieved 2008-11-28. {{cite web}}: More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
  32. ^ C, Steve (2004-11-30). "REQUIRED VIEWING: ESSENTIAL FILMS FOR THE OPIE AND ANTHONY SHOW". Retrieved 2007-04-14.
  33. ^ "Movie Quotes and References". OAPedia.com. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  34. ^ Parry, Wayne (2006-02-14). "Raunchy nightclub comedy act gets police sergeant suspended". The Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved 2009-23-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  35. ^ "Patrick Philbin Eater Profile". Retrieved January 26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ "Eater Review Panel Recommends Philbin Reinstatement". Retrieved January 26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  37. ^ Radio show host Opie talks listener out of suicide attempt
  38. ^ http://923krock.com/pages/1420414.php#mon[1]
  39. ^ http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/03/comedy_central_working_on_show.php Comedy Central has yet to pick up the show, and Opie and Anthony believe that it may have been to graphic ever for cable television.[2]
  40. ^ Hinckley, David (September 2, 1998). "BRAVE NEW WORLD TWO UPSTARTS FROM THE OFFBEAT GENERATION BRING TOP ROCK STATION INTO THE SHOCK MARKET". Daily News. Retrieved 2008-11-28. {{cite news}}: More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
  41. ^ "'VoyeurBus' performers to sue NYC over arrest". Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  42. ^ A 2008 version of the shopping spree was planned but quickly dumped as the gang was informed by the over-protective lawyers that they could do the spree only if they got permission from the mall they planned on attending. No holiday humor in radio pair’s jollies over degrading homeless Boston Herald
  43. ^ Saturday T&A / O&A in Buffalo Video with Monday NYC Show Audio
  44. ^ "2006 EGG NOG CHALLENGE: Photos and Videos". FoundryMusic. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  45. ^ "Outrage as guest on 'Opie' show sez he'd rape Condi & Laura". Retrieved May 11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  46. ^ Shock Jocks "Opie And Anthony" Still To Air On Monday After Broadcasting Homeless Man's Remarks About Raping Public Figures, AHN, May 14, 2007
  47. ^ Abelson, Max (2007-07-10). "Opie lands Trump Place condo for $3.35M". New York Observer. Retrieved 2007-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  48. ^ "WHO CALLS WHOM". New York Post. 2007-01-24. Retrieved 2007-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  49. ^ http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0626082opie1.html Opie Gal's Sex Tape Lawsuit

See also

Official Sites
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