Don Imus
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

John Donald Imus Jr. (July 23, 1940 – December 27, 2019), also known mononymously as Imus, was an American radio personality, television show host, recording artist, and author. His radio show, ''
Imus in the Morning ''Imus in the Morning'' was a long-running radio show hosted by Don Imus. The show originated on June 2, 1968, on various stations in the Western United States and Cleveland, Ohio before settling on WNBC radio in New York City in 1971. In Octobe ...
'', was aired on various stations and digital platforms nationwide until 2018. In 1968, he began his first radio job, at
KUTY Kuty ( ua, Кути translit. ''Kuty'', german: Kutten, pl, Kuty, yi, קיטעוו translit. ''Kitev'', ro, Cuturi) is an urban-type settlement in Ukraine, on the Cheremosh river, in the Kosiv Raion of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. It is one of the ...
in Palmdale, California. Three years later, he landed the morning broadcast position at
WNBC WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo stati ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Imus was fired from WNBC in 1977, and following a one-year stint at WHK in
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
was rehired by WNBC in 1979. Imus remained at the station until it left the air in 1988, at which time his show moved to
WFAN WFAN (660 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York, carrying a sports radio format known as "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM" or "The Fan". Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the New York metropolitan area while ...
, which took over WNBC's former frequency of 660
kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...
. Following
Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terre ...
's success with national syndication, ''Imus in the Morning'' adopted the same model in 1993. Throughout his later career, Imus was labeled a "
shock jock A shock jock is a radio broadcaster or DJ who entertains listeners and attracts attention using humor and/or melodramatic exaggeration that may offend some portion of the listening audience. The term is used pejoratively to describe provocative o ...
". He was fired by
CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
in April 2007 after describing the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos". In January 2018,
Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...
, in bankruptcy reorganization, told Imus the company was going to stop paying him. His final show aired on March 29, 2018. He died the following year of complications from lung disease.


Early life

Imus was born in
Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...
, to a wealthy family, the son of John Donald Imus Sr. and Frances E. Imus (''née'' Moore) who ran a ranch named The Willows near Kingman, Arizona. He was said to have Welsh, English, and Polish roots. Imus claimed at one time to practice Judaism then later recanted, calling himself, "spiritual." He had a younger brother,
Fred Imus Frederic Moore Imus (January 11, 1942 – August 6, 2011) was an American radio talk show host and the younger brother of radio talk show host Don Imus. He hosted ''Trailer Park Bash'', a weekly country music program launched on May 6, 2006, on Sa ...
(1942–2011). Imus disliked school, moving "from one hideous private school to another" and described himself as a "horrible adolescent". When he was 15, his parents divorced. His father died when Imus was 20. In 1957, while living in
Prescott, Arizona Prescott ( ) is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. The city is the county seat of Yavapai County. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona T ...
, Imus dropped out of high school and joined the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
at Base Camp Pendleton where he was stationed in an
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
unit before transferring to the
Drum and Bugle Corps Drum and bugle corps is a name used to describe several related musical ensembles. * Drum and bugle corps (modern), a musical marching unit * Drum and bugle corps (classic), musical ensembles that descended from military bugle and drum units retu ...
. He left the Marines with an honorable discharge, and secured work as a
window dresser Window dressers are retail workers who arrange displays of goods in shop windows or within a shop itself. Such displays are themselves known as " window dressing". They may work for design companies contracted to work for clients or for department ...
in
San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...
, before he was fired for performing strip teases on the mannequins for passersby. Imus then moved to Hollywood with his brother in an attempt to find success as musicians and songwriters, but they struggled to get radio DJs to play their songs on the air. This left Imus homeless, resorting to sleeping in a laundry and hitchhiking back to Arizona. After dropping out of the University of the Pacific, Imus worked as a
brakeman A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The earliest known use of the term to describe this occupation occurred in 1833. The advent of through brakes, ...
on the
Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
and in a
uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
mine in Arizona. He suffered a mining accident that broke both of his legs.


Career


Early career

In 1966, Imus enrolled at the Don Martin School of Radio and Television Arts and Sciences, in Hollywood, after seeing a newspaper advertisement; he was thrown out for being "uncooperative", but studied enough to obtain a broadcasting license from the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC). Upon winning a talent contest at
Johnny Otis Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes; December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, and talent scout. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He ...
's night club, he worked as a singer-songwriter, with Otis serving as his manager. After hearing a morning radio DJ at
KUTY Kuty ( ua, Кути translit. ''Kuty'', german: Kutten, pl, Kuty, yi, קיטעוו translit. ''Kitev'', ro, Cuturi) is an urban-type settlement in Ukraine, on the Cheremosh river, in the Kosiv Raion of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. It is one of the ...
, in Palmdale, California, Imus went to the station and successfully persuaded the owner to hire him. He signed on the air on June 2, 1968. While at KUTY, Imus debuted his on-air character Billy Sol Hargis, a radio evangelist inspired by and named for preacher
Billy James Hargis Billy James Hargis (August 3, 1925 – November 27, 2004) was an American Christian evangelist. At the height of his popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, his ''Christian Crusade'' ministry was broadcast on more than 500 radio stations and 250 tel ...
and businessman Billie Sol Estes. Imus was an instant success at the station; in two months, he had become number one in ratings for his time slot, and earned a ''Billboard'' Award for Air Personality of the Year in a medium-sized market. Imus then had a brief tenure at
KJOY KJOY (99.3 FM) is a commercial radio station in Stockton, California. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. The radio studios a ...
in
Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...
, from which he was fired due to an incident that some sources attributed to his
Eldridge Cleaver Leroy Eldridge Cleaver (August 31, 1935 – May 1, 1998) was an American writer and political activist who became an early leader of the Black Panther Party. In 1968, Cleaver wrote '' Soul on Ice'', a collection of essays that, at the time of i ...
look-a-like contest in which the winner would be incarcerated for a year. Other sources suggest the firing was because of his saying "hell" and multiple raunchy jokes on-air. Imus moved to KXOA in
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
, whose management team—including general manager Jack G. Thayer and program director John Lund—both left for identical positions at Cleveland station WGAR and took Imus with them. Thayer and Lund were hired by WGAR to revamp the station's old-line middle of the road (MOR) format, and had Imus as the centerpiece for their new
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
format that had been developed at KXOA. Imus's tenure at WGAR lasted for less than 15 months but immediately showed success. The October/November 1970 Arbitron ratings listed Imus at number one in the 18–49 demo, ahead of
WKYC WKYC (channel 3) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. Its studios are located on Tom Beres Way (a section of Lakeside Avenue in Downtown Cleveland named after the station's lon ...
's
Jim Runyon Jim Runyon (January 8, 1931 – April 13, 1973) was an American radio announcer, disc jockey, and sometime actor from the late 1950s to 1973. He was in plays at Cain Park in the early ‘70s Jim Runyon was loved by his radio audience and was k ...
and WJW's Ed Fisher; WGAR as a whole topped both the 25–34 and 25–49 demos. Imus was honored by ''Billboard'' as the number one radio personality for 1971, an honor he shared with KMPC's
Gary Owens Gary Owens (born Gary Bernard Altman; May 10, 1934 – February 12, 2015) was an American radio announcer, personality, disc jockey and voice actor. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offered deadpan recitations of total nonsense, wh ...
. ''Imus in the Morning'' was controversial and satirical, with Imus's existing characters and comedy skits garnering immediate attention. One of his earliest on-air jokes involved promoting the 1958
Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music. He started his car ...
single '' Queen of the Hop'' as "a WGAR exclusive" and talking over it in the mode of a Top 40 deejay. Imus also became infamous for his series of
prank call A prank call (also known as a crank call) is a telephone call intended by the caller as a practical joke played on the person answering. It is often a type of nuisance call. It can be illegal under certain circumstances. Recordings of prank ph ...
s, even dialing
Ohio Attorney General The Ohio Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio Attorney General is Republican Dave Yost. History The office of the attor ...
William J. Brown's publicly listed phone number and inviting him to "join the swinging world of show biz". He once contacted an
Ohio Bell The Ohio Bell Telephone Company, now doing business as AT&T Ohio, is the Bell Operating Company serving most of Ohio and parts of West Virginia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T. Its headquarters is the Ohio Bell Building at 750 Huron Ro ...
phone operator to ask if she was married and if "you mess around", prompting the phone company's lawyers to contact the station. His most infamous prank call was to a
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
restaurant claiming to be an
Ohio National Guard The Ohio National Guard comprises the Ohio Army National Guard and the Ohio Air National Guard. The commander-in-chief of the Ohio Army National Guard is the governor of the U.S. state of Ohio. If the Ohio Army National Guard is called to fed ...
official and ordered 4,000 hamburgers as lunch for the troops. While the phone call was entirely scripted by Imus and Lund (with Lund voicing the McDonald's worker) the segment influenced a later FCC ruling that required all radio DJs to identify themselves when they make phone calls on the air. Imus also devoted one show to help a
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
n immigrant find a bride in order to prevent his deportation after it was discovered he entered the country illegally. Meanwhile, Imus, Jack Thayer, and WGAR were hit with a
defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
lawsuit by television
meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...
Robert Zames after Imus repeatedly questioned Zames's sobriety and joked about it on-air.


1971–1979: WNBC and WHK

On December 2, 1971, less than three years into his radio career, Imus started his morning show at
WNBC WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo stati ...
in New York City, with a $100,000 per year salary which was said to have been double his WGAR salary. On his second day, he overslept and missed the show. Imus was involved in various projects during his time at WNBC. In March 1973, he began a stand-up comedy and stage act called ''Imus in the Evening''; his first shows were held at
The Bitter End The Bitter End is a 230-person capacity nightclub, coffeehouse and folk music venue in New York City's Greenwich Village. It opened in 1961 at 147 Bleecker Street under the auspices of owner Fred Weintraub. The club changed its name to ''The Ot ...
in New York City. By the early 1980s, he was earning as much as $10,000 a performance. Imus retired his stand-up in December 1985. He released three albums containing radio segments and songs: ''1200 Hamburgers to Go'' (1972), ''One Sacred Chicken to Go'' (1973), and ''This Honky's Nuts'' (1974). The latter features material from his stand-up comedy at Jimmy's Club in Manhattan. Imus started to drink heavily during this period, which soon affected his working life. He started to miss work and became increasingly unmanageable. He missed 100 days of work in 1973. In August 1977, WNBC decided to reformat the station and let go of their on-air staff. Imus described himself as "awful" and "a jerk" during this time, and struggled to find a suitable job in New York City that satisfied his salary demands. He returned to Cleveland and began an afternoon drive show on WHK in 1978. He found the experience humiliating, but took the job in order to earn money and "get my act together". During this time, Imus recorded episodes of ''IMUS, plus...'', a late-night talk show on
WNEW-TV WNYW (channel 5) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Secaucus, New Jersey–licensed MyNetworkTV flagship ...
in New York.


1979–1988: WNBC

On September 3, 1979, Imus returned to the air in mornings at WNBC from 5:30 am. By this time, Imus had started to use cocaine; he quit in 1983. He continued to drink, and his on- and off-air behavior became erratic; he turned up for work without shoes and slept on park benches with large amounts of money in his pocket. By 1981, Imus and
Charles McCord Charles McCord (born c. 1942 in Joplin, Missouri) is an American former news anchor and radio personality most notable for his association with ''Imus in the Morning'' for over three decades. Career In his early career, McCord worked as a copy writ ...
secured a deal with
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
that involved the development of three screenplays, including work on '' Joy of Sex''. In April 1981, Imus renewed his contract with WNBC with a five-year deal worth $500,000 a year with bonuses if he surpassed ratings targets. Following the addition of
Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terre ...
in afternoons in 1982, Imus and Stern began a longtime feud though both were paired on WNBC print and television advertisements. In July 1981, Imus released his first book, ''God's Other Son'', a novel about the life of his on-air character Billy Sol Hargis that he wrote with McCord. It was republished in 1994 and spent seven weeks on ''The New York Times'' best seller list. By October 1981, Imus was the most popular radio DJ in the US, reaching 220,000 regular listeners and number one in 12 of 13 demographic categories. Other regular Imus characters included the supposed general manager "Geraldo Santana Banana" (played by doo-wop singer Larry Chance), 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 ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
's ''
Wide World of Entertainment ''ABC's Wide World of Entertainment'' is a late night television block of programs created by the ABC television network. It premiered on January 8, 1973, and ended three years later. The title was based on the long-running broadcast ''ABC's Wid ...
'' program (1973–1976), and he was one of the inaugural
video jockeys A video jockey (abbreviated VJ or sometimes veejay) is an announcer or host who introduces music videos and live performances on commercial music television channels such as MTV, VH1, MuchMusic and Channel V. Origins The term "video jockey" co ...
(VJ) for the launch of
VH-1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communi ...
, sister cable channel to
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
, in 1985.


1988–2007: WFAN and national syndication

On October 7, 1988, after WNBC was sold to
Emmis Broadcasting Emmis Communications is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for Truth (Emet) was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations, including KPWR and WQHT, which ha ...
, the station permanently signed off the air to have
WFAN WFAN (660 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York, carrying a sports radio format known as "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM" or "The Fan". Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the New York metropolitan area while ...
, an all-sports station, move to the station's signal. The entire station staff was let go except Imus and his radio show team, who stayed to become WFAN's morning show. In 1989, Imus signed a five-year deal to continue his show on WFAN. In April 1989, Imus was inducted into the
National Radio Hall of Fame The Radio Hall of Fame, formerly the National Radio Hall of Fame, is an American organization created by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988. Three years later, Bruce DuMont, founder, president, and CEO of the Museum of Broadcast Communicati ...
. Later in 1989, Imus accepted an invitation to become an honorary assistant coach for a basketball game between the Fordham Rams and
La Salle Explorers The La Salle Explorers are the varsity sports teams from La Salle University in Philadelphia. The Explorers compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The men's and women's basketball teams are also participate in the Ph ...
the following January. The show began syndication in June 1993 when it was simulcast on WEEI in Boston, followed by four other stations around the country. They began simulcasting on
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
in 1996. Imus was instrumental in raising over $60 million for the Center for the Intrepid, a Texas rehabilitation facility for soldiers wounded in the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
. The largest technological center of its kind in the country, it is designed to treat disabled veterans and help them with their transition back into the community. Imus also took on the cause of the living conditions at the
Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the United States Army, U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, it se ...
, visiting wounded veterans at the hospital to boost morale. Imus's reporting preceded Army resignations, including that of Lieutenant General Kevin Kiley, then Army Surgeon General. Imus had earlier criticized Kiley's personal fitness for military duty and dedication to wounded soldiers.


2007–2018: WABC and retirement

The program was heard on WABC starting on December 3, 2007. In 2018,
Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...
informed Imus that the company was going to stop paying him because of the bankruptcy reorganization that Cumulus was undergoing. The show aired its final episode on March 29, 2018.


Controversies


Rutgers women's basketball team

Imus characterized the
Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...
team, a team that included nine
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
players, including the five starters, as "rough girls" on April 4, 2007. It occurred during a discussion about the
NCAA Women's Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic ...
where he was commenting on the players' tattoos. His executive producer Bernard McGuirk responded by referring to them as "hardcore hos". The discussion continued with Imus describing the women as "nappy-headed hos" and McGuirk remarking that the two teams looked like the "
jigaboo The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or ot ...
s versus the wannabes" as mentioned in
Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...
's film '' School Daze'', apparently referring to the two teams' differing appearances. In the immediate aftermath of the remarks, public outrage was directed at Imus and
WFAN WFAN (660 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York, carrying a sports radio format known as "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM" or "The Fan". Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the New York metropolitan area while ...
.
Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terre ...
discussed how he had heard Imus make
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
comments which were directed at a black female co-worker while the two were working at WNBC. Management was aware of the comments at the time but had done nothing. Stern's co-host
Robin Quivers Robin Ophelia Quivers (born August 8, 1952) is an American radio personality, author, and actress, best known for being the long-running co-host of ''The Howard Stern Show''. Early life Quivers was born on August 8, 1952, in Baltimore, Maryla ...
confirmed that assertion and added that she had once been the target of Imus's racist remarks herself. Imus dismissed the controversy at first, calling the incident "some idiot comment meant to be amusing". He also stated that "nappy-headed hos" is a term which rap artists use to refer to black women. He said:
That phrase didn't originate in the White community. That phrase originated in the Black community. Young Black women all through that society are demeaned and disparaged and disrespected by their own Black men, and they are called that name in Black hip hop.
In response to mounting public censure, Imus issued a statement of apology: On April 9, Imus appeared on
Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, talk show host and politician. Sharpton is the founder of the National Action Network. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democrati ...
's syndicated radio talk show ''
Keepin' It Real with Al Sharpton ''Keepin' It Real with Al Sharpton'' is a daily national talk radio program by New York City area civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton. While his show is based at New York City's WWRL, ''Keepin It Real with Al Sharpton'' has also been broadcas ...
'' 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." Imus was suspended soon after. Media commentators were divided on the suspension. On MSNBC's ''
Scarborough Country ''Scarborough Country'' is an opinion/analysis show broadcast on MSNBC Monday to Thursday at 9 P.M. ET. It was hosted by former congressman Joe Scarborough. ''Scarborough Country'' made its debut in April 2003. On average, ''Scarborough Country ...
'' on April 10, 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. Comedian Bill Maher said that if a comedian apologizes for stepping over a line, that should suffice. MSNBC media analyst Steve Adubato disagreed, saying that this incident was "not isolated".
Joe Klein Joe Klein (born September 7, 1946) is an American political commentator and author. He is best known for his work as a columnist for ''Time'' magazine and his novel ''Primary Colors'', an anonymously written roman à clef portraying Bill Clinton' ...
made the same charge, referring to Imus's comment about ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reporter
Gwen Ifill Gwendolyn L. Ifill ( ; September 29, 1955 – November 14, 2016) was an American journalist, television newscaster, and author. In 1999, she became the first African-American woman to host a nationally televised U.S. public affairs program ...
14 years before as evidence of a pattern of offensive comments. On '' The View'',
Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series ''Star Search'' ...
spoke out in support of keeping Imus on the air on free speech grounds. Emil Steiner of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' argued that Sharpton used the issue to further divide America along racial lines. The Rutgers basketball team held a news conference at which coach
C. Vivian Stringer Charlaine Vivian Stringer (born March 16, 1948) is an American former basketball coach. She holds one of the best coaching records in the history of women's basketball. She was the head coach of the Rutgers University women's basketball team from ...
stated that the team would meet with Imus to discuss his comments. Several of the players expressed their outrage over his remarks. Team captain
Essence Carson Essence Carson (born July 28, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. She played college basketball for Rutgers University. After a successful college career there, Carson was drafted by the New York Lib ...
said that Imus's remarks had "stolen a moment of pure grace from us". ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' columnist
Clarence Page Clarence Page (born June 2, 1947) is an American journalist, syndicated columnist, and senior member of the '' Chicago Tribune'' editorial board. Early years Page was born in Dayton, Ohio, and attended Middletown High School in Middletown whe ...
had confronted Imus about his characterization of certain black athletes and got him to take a pledge to stop. After the Rutgers team incident, Page said that he would not appear on the show again and said of the original two-week suspension: CBS board member and former
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
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." President of NBC News
Steve Capus Stephen Allan "Steve" Capus (born October 4, 1963) is an Executive Editor of CBS News. He is the former president of NBC News. Early life and career Steve Capus was born in 1963, the son of Jean and Paul Capus. His mother is a teacher's aide; his ...
announced on April 11, 2007, that MSNBC would no longer simulcast ''Imus in the Morning''. The decision came on the same day that a few advertisers left Imus, and the network also said that employee concerns played a role. Capus said:
CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
canceled ''Imus in the Morning'' the next day. CBS President and chief executive officer
Leslie Moonves Leslie Roy Moonves (; born October 6, 1949) is an American media executive who was the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation from 2003 until his resignation in September 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and ...
stated: The day before, CBS chairman
Sumner Redstone Sumner Murray Redstone ( Rothstein; May 27, 1923 – August 11, 2020) was an American billionaire businessman and media magnate. He was the founder and chairman of the second incarnation of Viacom which was dissolved in 2019 (a year before Redst ...
said that he trusted that Moonves would "do the right thing," but he didn't elaborate. Moonves had met with Sharpton and Jesse Jackson shortly before the announcement was made. Moonves said in an internal memo that employee concerns were a factor in the decision to cancel Imus's show, but he also said that the decision was "about a lot more than Imus." Moonves said that CBS had to take Imus off the air in order to change "a culture that permits a certain level of objectionable expression that hurts and demeans a wide range of people."
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
(Imus's biggest advertiser),
Staples Inc. Staples Inc. is an American retail company headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, that offers products and services designed to support working and learning. The company opened its first store in Brighton, Massachusetts on May 1, 1986. By ...
,
GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...
,
Sprint Nextel Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before it Merger of Sprint Corporation and T-Mobile US, merged with T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 ...
, PetMeds,
American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
, and
Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
either pulled their ads outright or suspended advertising on Imus's show to protest his remarks. Bigelow Tea Company expressed uncertainty about renewing their ads with Imus's show. Just hours after the announcement of his firing, Imus met with Stringer and her team at
Drumthwacket Drumthwacket ( ) is the official residence of the governor of New Jersey. The mansion sits at 354 Stockton Street in Princeton, near the state capital of Trenton. It is one of only four official governor's residences in the country not locat ...
, the New Jersey governor's mansion. The three-hour meeting was arranged by Buster Soaries, the former New Jersey Secretary of State and Stringer's pastor. New Jersey governor
Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...
planned to attend the meeting but was injured in a car accident on the way. Imus left without commenting, but Stringer said that the meeting went well. She later commented that they had accepted Imus's apology because he came to the meeting "in spite of the fact that he lost his job. So let's give him credit for that." She also emphasized that the basketball team had not called for Imus to be fired. Senator
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
criticized CBS for being too harsh. He said that a "long suspension" would be "appropriate to pay a price on the airwaves but I'm not sure that it was appropriate to say you're off forever."


Subsequent litigation

Imus hired prominent attorney
Martin Garbus Martin Garbus (born August 8, 1934) is an American attorney. He has argued cases throughout the country involving constitutional, criminal, copyright, and intellectual property law. He has appeared before the United States Supreme Court, as well ...
by May 2, 2007, to pursue a wrongful termination lawsuit against CBS for the remaining $40 million on his five-year contract. The contract contained a clause indicating that CBS hired and supported Imus to produce "irreverent" and "controversial" programming. CBS announced a settlement with Imus on his $40 million contract on August 14. Rutgers basketball player Kia Vaughn filed a suit that same day against Imus, NBC Universal, CBS Corporation, MSNBC, CBS Radio, Viacom, Westwood One Radio, and Bernard McGuirk, citing slander, libel, and defamation of character. She was the only player to pursue legal damages. Vaughn dropped the lawsuit on September 11, 2007, citing her desire to concentrate on her studies and basketball training.


Return to radio and television

On July 8, 2007, the ''
Drudge Report The Drudge Report (stylized as DRUDGE REPORT) is a U.S.-based news aggregation website founded by Matt Drudge, and run with the help of Charles Hurt and Daniel Halper. The site was generally regarded as a conservative publication, though its ow ...
'' indicated that Imus would return to the air before the 2008 presidential election. The ''New York Post'' reported on July 16, 2007, that Imus was in search of a black comedian to join the show upon its return to help cushion racially insensitive comments that he might say on the air. The same paper reported on July 27, 2007, that CBS was close to a buyout of Imus's contract. The report also said that Imus's representatives had contacted
Buckley Broadcasting Buckley Broadcasting (or Buckley Radio) was an American broadcasting company that previously held radio stations in the states of New York, Rhode Island, California and Connecticut. History Buckley Broadcasting Radio was founded in 1954 as Buckl ...
,
Citadel Broadcasting Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country. Only iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media ...
, and Clear Channel Communications. Imus reached a settlement with CBS Radio over his contract on August 14, leaving him free to pursue other media opportunities. On November 1, Citadel announced that they had agreed to a multi-year syndication contract with Imus. The new ''Imus in the Morning'' program would be distributed nationally by Citadel Media and would be based at Citadel-owned WABC in New York City beginning in December. ''The New York Times'' reported on November 14 that Imus had agreed to terms with cable network RFD-TV to air a video simulcast of the new radio program.
Charles McCord Charles McCord (born c. 1942 in Joplin, Missouri) is an American former news anchor and radio personality most notable for his association with ''Imus in the Morning'' for over three decades. Career In his early career, McCord worked as a copy writ ...
and Bernard McGuirk joined him in the new version of the show, and he returned to the airwaves on ABC Radio and RFD-TV on December 3. Sharpton said in an interview, "We'll monitor him; I'm not saying I'm going to throw a banquet for him and say welcome home. He has the right to make a living, but because he has such a consistent pattern with this we are going to monitor him to make sure he doesn't do it again." Interview with Al Sharpton, David Shankbone, ''Wikinews'', December 3, 2007. Jesse Jackson appeared on ''Imus in the Morning'' on April 4, 2008, to discuss the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a booking that would have seemed impossible nearly a year before, when Jackson joined 50 demonstrators in Chicago demanding that "Imus must go", and many media commentators declared Imus's "rehabilitation" complete. In September 2008, Imus signed a multi-year deal with
Fox Business Network Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenu ...
to simulcast his radio show ''Imus in the Morning''.


Adam "Pacman" Jones controversy

Controversy once again surrounded Imus when he made the following statements regarding the suspension of Cowboys' cornerback Adam Jones. In response, Jones said, "I'm truly upset about the comments. Obviously Mr. Imus has problems with blacks. I'm upset, and I hope the station he works for handles it accordingly. I will pray for him." Imus said that his comments were misinterpreted.Gross, Samantha
Imus faces new questions over on-air race remarks
. ''The Washington Times''. June 24, 2008.
"I meant that he was being picked on because he's black." WABC vice president Phil Boyce said that it was unlikely that disciplinary action would be pursued against Imus, and none was.


Joe Barton

For two weeks in fall 2006, Imus delivered ongoing "rants" against
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
Congressman
Joe Barton Joseph Linus Barton (born September 15, 1949) is an American politician who represented in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 2019. The district included Arlington, part of Fort Worth, and several small towns and rural areas south ...
, 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 The Combating Autism Act of 2006 (Public Law No: 109-416) is an Act of Congress public law that was passed by the 109th United States Congress (Senate Bill 843) and was signed into law by President of the United States George W. Bush on December 1 ...
, which would authorize funds for
autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
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, but Barton opposed the Senate bill's stipulation that Centers of Excellence in Environmental Health and Autism investigate "a broad array of environmental factors that may have a possible role in autism spectrum disorders."


Lawsuits

Nichole Mallette sued Imus on November 29, 2004, for wrongful termination and defamation after a Thanksgiving 2003 incident in which she was allegedly fired from her position as nanny 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. One of the doctors who worked at the Imus Ranch, Dr. Howard Allen Pearson, sued Imus for slander and civil assault on July 8, 2005. Dr. Pearson accused Imus of threatening him during a July 13, 2004 confrontation at the ranch, after a disagreement over how to care for one of the children at the ranch. Imus subsequently referred to Pearson several times on the air as "an arrogant fucking doctor who doesn't mind letting a child suffer." Pearson was a world-famous pediatric cancer specialist who was the former chairman of the pediatrics department of the
Yale Medical School The Yale School of Medicine is the graduate medical school at Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. The primary te ...
as well as a co-founder (with
Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...
) of another facility for ill children, the
Hole in the Wall Gang Camp The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, based in Ashford, Connecticut, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, residential summer camp, and year-round center serving children and their families coping with cancer and other serious illnesses and condition ...
. In late 2005, Imus expressed his grievances about the case on the record to journalist Buzz Bissinger, for a '' Vanity Fair'' article which was published in the February 2006 issue. Longtime sports commentator
Warner Wolf Warner William Wolf (born November 11, 1937) is an American television and radio sports broadcaster, perhaps best known as a local news sports anchor in Washington, D.C. and New York City, and for his catchphrase "Let's go to the videotape!" He w ...
was fired in 2016, after ten years on the show, and Wolf subsequently sued Imus and various other parties in New York for age discrimination. Wolf was in his late 70s at the time. The suit was dismissed in 2019 on a technicality: when he was fired, Wolf was a Florida resident who had been doing his segments from a home studio. The Manhattan Supreme Court ruled that the State of New York had no jurisdiction over this matter, and an appellate court agreed.


Defamatory speech

Imus and his crew made offensive remarks both on and off the air. Some examples include: * Imus said in 1984 concerning Howard Stern: "yes, Howard's a slut too, Lloyd. Plus a Jew bastard, and should be castrated, put in an oven." Stern played a clip of this interview in the news section of his November 5, 2007 show. * Imus referred to black sports columnist Bill Rhoden as a "''New York Times'' quota hire". * In the course of a 1998 interview with
Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. He interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspo ...
on ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'', Imus told a producer off-camera that McGuirk was hired to perform "nigger jokes". *
Robin Quivers Robin Ophelia Quivers (born August 8, 1952) is an American radio personality, author, and actress, best known for being the long-running co-host of ''The Howard Stern Show''. Early life Quivers was born on August 8, 1952, in Baltimore, Maryla ...
recounted that he called her a "nigger" to her face when she worked with him at WNBC and also called her a "spearchucker" on the air. Both Howard Stern and Quivers recalled when Imus called a black female co-worker, a secretary named Brenda, a "nigger" during their time at WNBC. * Imus repeatedly referred to Arabs as "ragheads". * The show's routines sometimes contained derogatory epithets for homosexuals, including "faggot" and various terms describing homosexuality. * Imus referred to former Speaker of the House
Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U ...
as "disgusting" and a "fat repulsive pig".


Business interests

Don Imus was also a part owner of Autobody Express stores with his late brother,
Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Ro ...
(who was a frequent caller to the radio show, commenting on
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
races, the NFL and related pop culture matters). The Autobody Express stores were located in Santa Fe, and inside the Mohegan Sun Native American Casino in
Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ea ...
. In 2003, the company failed and both stores closed. Imus owned a small coffee and pastry store also located in the Mohegan Sun casino. The Autobody Express became Imus Ranch Foods, which offered its signature chips and
salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: ...
via online sales and in
Northeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
stores, prior to the discontinuation of the Imus Ranch Foods line in 2014.


Honors

Imus won four Marconi Awards, three for Major Market Personality of the Year (1990, 1992 and 1997) and one for Network Syndicated Personality (1994). He was inducted into the
National Radio Hall of Fame The Radio Hall of Fame, formerly the National Radio Hall of Fame, is an American organization created by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988. Three years later, Bruce DuMont, founder, president, and CEO of the Museum of Broadcast Communicati ...
in 1989.


Personal life


Family

Imus was married twice. Around 1969, he married his first wife Harriet Showalter, who had two daughters from a previous marriage, Nadine and Toni; Don Imus legally adopted Showalter's daughters. The couple had two daughters of their own, Ashley and Elizabeth. They divorced in 1979. Imus married Deirdre Coleman on December 17, 1994, and they stayed together until Imus's death in 2019. Their son Frederick Wyatt was born in 1998. Imus adopted his sixth child, Zach, in the 2010s. At the time of his death, Imus resided in Brenham, Texas, at a ranch he acquired in 2013. He moved there full-time in 2015, after ending his Fox Business television simulcast in New York and from there started broadcasting his show solely on radio with the cast members broadcasting from the WABC radio studios. His former waterfront mansion in
Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census. History ...
, was sold that same year for $14.4 million. According to journalist
Robert D. McFadden Robert Dennis McFadden (born February 11, 1937) is an American journalist who has worked for ''The New York Times'' since 1961. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1996. Biography McFadden was born in Milwaukee, and raised in both Chicago and the small t ...
, Imus was admired for his private charity work. He raised millions for the rehabilitation of wounded veterans of the Iraq war and for children with cancer and siblings of victims of sudden infant death syndrome, who had spent summers since 1999 on his ranch near
Ribera, New Mexico Ribera is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in San Miguel County, New Mexico. Located in the northern part of the state, it is at the foot of Rowe Mesa and along the Pecos River, southeast of Santa Fe. Geography The to ...
.


Imus Ranch

In 1999, Imus and Deirdre founded the
Imus Ranch The Imus Ranch was a working cattle ranch of nearly located in Ribera, New Mexico, southeast of Santa Fe. Between 1998–2014, it was the site of a non-profit charitable program for seriously ill children, founded by long-time radio personal ...
, a working cattle ranch near
Ribera, New Mexico Ribera is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in San Miguel County, New Mexico. Located in the northern part of the state, it is at the foot of Rowe Mesa and along the Pecos River, southeast of Santa Fe. Geography The to ...
, southeast of Santa Fe, for children with
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
. The ranch was used as a tax deduction by Imus, and eventually, due to the personal use of the ranch by the Imus family, saw its property tax exemption reduced to 55%. The ranch was also criticized for the relatively high ratio of cost to each child served, which was over $25,000. The summer program serving children ended in 2014, following a rib injury Imus suffered in a fall from a horse. In the three years from 2014 onward, the ranch reported losses on its
Form 990 Form 990 (officially, the "Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax") is a United States Internal Revenue Service form that provides the public with financial information about a nonprofit organization. It is often the only source of such i ...
, totaling nearly $3 million. The board members of the non-profit were Imus, his wife Deirdre, and Imus's agents, Vincent and Robert Andrews. In October 2014, the ranch was offered for sale with an asking price of $32 million. The ranch failed to sell after repeated efforts to do so, leading Imus to put the property up for auction in May 2017. The ranch was sold to broadcaster Patrick Gottsch in April 2018, for $12.5 million. A spokesperson for Imus stated that the non-profit organization had not been active since 2014.


Health and death

During his early years broadcasting in New York City, Imus battled with
alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
. In 1983, he was persuaded by
Michael Lynne Michael Lynne (April 23, 1941 – March 24, 2019) was an American film executive. Biography Michael Lynne graduated from Brooklyn College (1961) and held a Juris Doctor from Columbia University. After a chance encounter with law-school acquain ...
, then his lawyer, to attend
Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...
. Imus attended meetings and ceased to drink in public, but continued to in private. On July 17, 1987, after a nine-day vodka binge, he attended rehabilitation at a Hanley-Hazelden treatment center in West Palm Beach, Florida, for six weeks and remained sober. By 1991, Imus had adopted a vegetarian diet. In 2000, Imus suffered serious injuries after a fall from a horse at his ranch and broadcast several shows from a hospital. The injuries resulted in chronic breathing problems, especially at higher altitudes, which he spoke about on his program. In March 2009, Imus was diagnosed with stage 2
prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
. He was advised to have radiation treatments, but said he chose to treat the disease holistically. Imus was hospitalized at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in College Station,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, on December 24, 2019. He died three days later, on December 27, at the age of 79, of complications from lung disease. In reporting his death, David Bauder of the Associated Press said, "the quote that might best serve as Imus's epitaph" was the shock jock's statement to ''Vanity Fair'' magazine in 2006: "I talk to millions of people every day. I just like it when they can't talk back."


Discography

;Albums * ''1200 Hamburgers to Go'' (1972, RCA Records) * ''One Sacred Chicken to Go'' (1973, RCA Records) * ''This Honky's Nuts'' (1974, Bang Records) * ''The Imus Ranch Record'' (2008, New West Records) * ''The Imus Ranch Record II'' (2010, New West Records) ;Singles * ''I'm A Hot Rodder/The Boogala'' (credited as Jay Jay Imus & Freddy Ford) (1964, Challenge Records) (Freddy Ford is Imus's brother, Fred) * ''From Adam's Rib To Women's Lib/The Ballad Of Rick'' (1971, RCA Records) * ''1200 Hamburgers To Go/Reverend Billy Sol Hargis'' (1972, RCA Records) * ''Son of Checkers (The Watergate Case)/Oh Billy Sol Please Heal Us All'' (1973, RCA Records) * ''Play That Country Juke Box'' (1975, RCA Records) * ''Everybody Needs Milk (Just Give Me A Bottle Of Wine)'' (1975, RCA Records) * ''The Presidential Debate'' (credited as Road Hog & The Neon Cactus) (1976, RCA Records)


Books

* *


Notes


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Imus, Don 1940 births 2019 deaths American radio DJs American male comedians American people of English descent American people of Jewish descent American people of Polish descent American people of Welsh descent American talk radio hosts Arizona State University alumni Autism activists Comedians from California MSNBC people People from Kingman, Arizona People from Westport, Connecticut Radio personalities from New York City Shock jocks United States Marines Military personnel from California Writers from Riverside, California 2007 controversies in the United States Deaths from lung disease