Jay Diamond is a former American
talk radio host from the
Manhattan Beach neighborhood of
Brooklyn, New York City who began his move to the radio by being a frequent caller to other radio programs, especially
New York City's popular
Bob Grant's show.
He broadcast for several years in the 1990s and early 2000s in New York City, first on
WABC (then home to Bob Grant, who at the time considered Diamond a sort of protégé. Having started in the left of center before moving to the right, by the mid-2000s he had moved back to the political left, on
WEVD, and finally on
WOR. His last scheduled broadcast was in
Boston, Massachusetts, his ''Jay Diamond Show'' appearing on
WRKO until 2005.
He is a voice
impressionist
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
and has given short radio plays performed by "The Mighty Diamond Art Players," all of whom are himself. One of his famous impersonations was of
Al Sharpton. Diamond also
parodied
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
the speaking style of other New York City politicians, such as then-Governor
Mario Cuomo and former Mayor
Ed Koch.
In 2009 he wrote an opinion essay for the ''Buzzflash'' site, "Talk Radio is a Cancerous Blight on the Nation, Not 'Entertainment.'"
His last time hosting a radio program was in February 2013 when he and Frank Morano filled in on
CRN Digital Talk Radio Networks.
See also
*
WABC (AM)
*
WEVD
*
WOR
*
Talk radio
External links
Diamond's Twitter page
References
1956 births
American impressionists (entertainers)
American talk radio hosts
People from Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn
Radio personalities from New York City
Living people
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