Don Imus!

Don Imus was under fire, his job was in jeopardy, and his big mouth was to blame.

This was 1969, at a small radio station in Stockton, Calif., and the nascent disc jockey was the target of outrage for rattling local sensibilities by uttering a bad word on the air: hell. Imus was fired, but in what became a continuing pattern the controversy only boosted his profile and career prospects.

The up-and-down arc of Imus nearly 40 years in broadcasting bottomed out Thursday after his mouth finally went too far. The veteran DJ, who mingled political punditry with his penchant for pushing the boundaries of bad taste, was fired for ridiculing the Rutgers womens basketball team as nappy-headed hos.

Critics demanded his resignation. Advertisers bailed from the program. And Imus, whose sharp tongue and biting barbs were hallmarks of his broadcasting ascension, was reduced to a series of endless apologies.

The 66-year-old Imus was born on a California cattle ranch, with his family moving to Arizona when he was young. Imus served in the Marines before taking jobs as a freight train brakeman and a uranium miner; it wasnt until he was 28 that he found his niche at a small radio station in Palmdale, Calif.

After moving on to Stockton and getting fired, Imus jumped to a larger station in Sacramento and earned Billboards Disc Jockey of the Year award for medium-sized markets after a stunt where he ordered 1,200 hamburgers to go from a local McDonalds.

His next stop was Cleveland, where he won DJ of the year for large markets. By 1971, he was doing the morning drive-time show on WNBC-AM in New York. Imus developed a destructive taste for vodka, along with a reputation for an irascible personality.

John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. (born July 23, 1940) is an American comedian, writer, and former radio talk show host. His radio show, Imus in the Morning, aired weekday mornings in the drive time slot from 1979 until it was canceled on April 12, 2007 following public objections to comments he made on-air, referring to the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos." Numerous sources called this comment a "racial and sexual insult." Imus later apologized and the apology was accepted by the team.

Don Imus Biography

Don Imus Personal life

Don Imus was born in Riverside, California. He served in the Marine Corps from 1957 to 1959. When interviewed in Vanity Fair magazine, Imus stated that he dropped out of school while living in Prescott, Arizona and joined the Marines, transferring from an artillery unit to play the bugle in the Drum and Bugle Corps. According to the interview, he received an honorable discharge, despite an incident when he and a friend stole the stars off a general's jeep and put them on their own vehicle. He subsequently had a series of unsuccessful jobs as a miner, gas station attendant, railway brakeman and rock musician.

Imus had battled alcoholism during his early career in New York, but in 1987 finally pursued effective treatment. (As of 2006, he says that he has remained sober for 18 years). In 1988, with his cocaine and alcohol addictions now part of his self-publicity, Imus reshaped his show from strictly comedy into a forum for political issues, charitable causes and news-based parodies.

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

Don Imus Ranch

In 1999, Imus and his wife founded the Imus Ranch, a working cattle ranch near Ribera, New Mexico, 50 miles southeast of Santa Fe. The Imus Ranch is a charitable organization for children with cancer, as well as siblings of SIDS victims. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day each year, the Imus family goes to the New Mexico ranch and Imus broadcasts from a studio there, while the rest of his cast broadcasts from New York and New Jersey. In 2000, Imus suffered serious injuries after a fall from a horse at his ranch, and broadcast several shows from a hospital.

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

Imus is licensed to carry a concealed handgun for his protection in New York and New Mexico.

Don Imus Early career

Imus began as a radio disc jockey in 1966 at radio station KUTY in Palmdale, California. After hearing the morning disc-jockey, he went to the nearby station and convinced the owner to hire him, saying he could do a better job. At the time, he was a brakeman on the Southern Pacific Railroad. He stayed at the station for about two years, leaving in 1968. He was hired by KJOY, a small radio station in Stockton, California. He was later fired for saying "hell" on air. After being fired in Stockton, he went to KXOA in Sacramento, California. His on-air pranks, such as calling up a restaurant and ordering 1200 hamburgers to go, made his show immensely popular and boosted ratings.

After a stint at WGAR-AM in Cleveland, Ohio, Imus moved to New York City and WNBC in 1971, where he gained a reputation as a loose cannon who often favored crude humor. During this first stint at WNBC, Imus recorded three record albums, two for the RCA Victor label, (1200 Hamburgers to Go, including some of his more popular humor from KXOA, WGAR and WNBC broadcasts, and One Sacred Chicken to Go, a primarily studio-created album centering on his satirical character, The Right Rev. Dr. Billy Sol Hargis) and one for the Bang label (This Honky's Nuts, an album of his stand up comedy act at the Manhattan nightclub "Jimmy's"). In 1977, WNBC fired Imus for unprofessionalism and abusing cocaine and alcohol; he had missed one-hundred days of work in one year.

Imus then returned to work in Cleveland and cleaned up his act somewhat. In 1978, Imus commuted between Cleveland and New York to tape a TV talk show, Imus Plus at WNEW-TV. (The show was nationally syndicated by Metromedia, which owned WNEW at the time.)

Imus in the Morning

Imus was reinstated in September 1979 as WNBC's morning drive time host. From 1982 to 1985, the station also employed talk-radio host Howard Stern, and WNBC heavily promoted the pair in print and television ads, which often featured the slogan "If We Weren't So Bad, We Wouldn't Be That Good." Although Stern's show aired later in the day, Imus and Stern often made brief appearances on each other's shows, giving the audience an occasional glimpse of an on-and-off-air rivalry that continued for many years.

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

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

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

The radio show became nationally syndicated in 1993, and began simulcasting on MSNBC in 1996. He wore a signature cowboy hat during his broadcasts.

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

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

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

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

Don Imus Remarks lead to cancellation of show

On April 4, 2007, Imus referred on-air to the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos". during a racially-charged discussion about the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. At 6:00 p.m. that evening, Media Matters for America became the first news outlet to report the remarks, transcribing:

IMUS: So, I watched the basketball game last night between -- a little bit of Rutgers and Tennessee, the women's final. ROSENBERG: Yeah, Tennessee won last night -- seventh championship for Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, I-Man. They beat Rutgers by 13 points.

IMUS: That's some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and --

McGUIRK: Some hard-core hos.

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

McGUIRK: A Spike Lee thing.

IMUS: Yeah.

McGUIRK: The Jigaboos vs. the Wannabes -- that movie that he had.

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

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

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

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

Imus's incident sparked a national debate on race relationsIt was then announced that Imus would be suspended. Media commentators were divided on the suspension: on MSNBC's Scarborough Country on April 10, for example, Pat Buchanan said that Imus is "a good guy... who made a bad mistake and apologized for it" and that the show should stay on the air. Comedian Bill Maher, a longtime friend of Imus's, said that if a comedian apologizes for stepping over a line, that should suffice. Steve Adubato, an MSNBC media analyst, disagreed, pointing out that this incident was "not isolated" and Joe Klein also referred to Imus's history of racist remarks such as his comment about New York Times reporter Gwen Ifill which was made over 14 years ago, as evidence of a pattern of offensive comments. On The View, Rosie O'Donnell spoke out in support of keeping Imus on the air on free speech grounds.

The basketball team held a news conference where coach C. Vivian Stringer stated that the team would meet with Imus to discuss his comments. Several of the players expressed their outrage over the remarks. Team captain Essence Carson said Imus's remarks had "stolen a moment of pure grace" from the team.

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

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

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

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

The next day, CBS fired Imus and canceled Imus in the Morning, effective immediately. CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves stated: "From the outset, I believe all of us have been deeply upset and revulsed by the statements that were made on our air about the young women who represented Rutgers University in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship with such class, energy and talent. There has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society. That consideration has weighed most heavily on our minds as we made our decision."

The day before, CBS chairman Sumner Redstone said he trusted Moonves would "do the right thing," but didn't elaborate. Moonves had met with Sharpton and Jesse Jackson shortly before the announcement was made.

In an internal memo, Moonves said that employee concerns were a factor in the decision to fire Imus. However, he said that the firing 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."

Seven sponsors had either pulled their ads outright or suspended advertising on Imus's show to protest his remarks--General Motors (Imus's biggest advertiser) Staples Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Sprint Nextel, PetMed Express, American Express and Procter & Gamble. One other advertiser, Bigelow Tea, expressed uncertainty at renewing their ads, with Imus' show.

Just hours after the announcement of his firing, Imus met with Stringer and her team at Drumthwacket, 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 planned to attend the meeting but was injured in a car accident shortly beforehand. Imus left without commenting, but Stringer said the meeting went well. She later commented that they had accepted Imus's apology, and "It would sadden me for anyone to lose their job,... And 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.

Don Imus Other controversies

Allegations of racism, misogyny, and homophobia

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

Imus and his crew, Charles McCord and Bernard McGuirk, have been repeatedly accused of racism, misogyny, homophobia and anti-semitism. For example, Imus and his cohorts referred to African American sports columnist Bill Rhoden as a "New York Times quota hire"and PBS anchor Gwen I fill as a "cleaning lady."

Imus has repeatedly referred to Arabs as "ragheads." He has berated many female newsreaders, most recently Contessa Brewer, which caused her to leave the show. After she left the show, Imus went on a tirade, saying, With that fat ass shes got, she wouldnt be one of em, a beautiful woman. Imus said on the air, "That skank has to spend three hours with makeup in the morning." The tirade was also tied to comments that were overheard of Contessa's calling Imus a cantankerous old fool at a dinner in a restaurant in 2005, when she was still newsreader. During Imus's show a producer also poked fun at poet Maya Angelou.

As reported by New York Times columnist Bob Herbert, in the course of a 1998 interview with Mike Wallace on the CBS News 60 Minutes program, Imus admitted telling a producer off-camera that McGuirk was hired to perform "nigger jokes."

On his December 15, 2004, show, Imus referred to publishers Simon & Schuster as "thieving Jews", and later in the show issued a mock apology, saying the phrase was "redundant". In October 1998 he described media critic Howard Kurtz as "that boner-nosed . . . beanie-wearing little Jew boy.

Imus' routines were full of anti-gay epithets, including "faggot", "lesbo", and various terms for gay sex.

Imuss defenders say that he is actually an equal-opportunity offender. He has been noted to make fun of not only African Americans and gays, but Irish, Roman Catholic, Italians, and other assorted peoples as well.

Don Imus and Howard Stern

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

Don Imus and Joe Barton

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

Don Imus Lawsuits

Imus was sued by Boston Herald columnist and radio talk show host Howie Carr in 1998 after Imus made sexually explicit remarks about Carr's wife and boxer Riddick Bowe . Imus made the remarks after being told that Carr had said that Imus "would die before his kid got out of high school", Carr denies making those remarks. Carr, represented by Alan Dershowitz, received an out of court settlement from Imus.

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

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

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

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

Don Imus Thank you very much

"Um.. this is kind of interesting, these don't appear to be my notes.picking up papers from the lectern>(You still have the folder I gave you? Where did this come from?)" gesturing with the papers>"Well, nobody just leaves stuff like this just layin' around." audience laughter, then slowly looks at Hillary, audience laughs.

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

Don Imus and Robert Frank

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

Don Imus Business interests

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

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

Don Imus Honors

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

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

Don Imus Books

Imus, Donald. God's Other Son. Simon & Schuster, 1994. (Originally published in 1981

Imus, Donald, and Imus, Fred. Two Guys Four Corners: Great Photographs, Great Times, and a Million Laughs. Villard, 1997.

Imus, Deirdre. The Imus Ranch: Cooking for Kids and Cowboys. Rodale Press, 2004. (ISBN 0-87596-919-4).

Reed, Jim. Everything Imus: All You Ever Wanted to Know About Don Imus. Birch Lane Press, 1999. (ISBN 1-55972-504-4).

Tracy, Kathleen. Imus: America's Cowboy. Carroll & Graf, 1999..