NYC Radio: Don Imus Apparently A Budget Cut

Longtime WABC 770 AM and nationally syndicated radio personality Don Imus has reached the end of a iconic career.

According to a Tweet, the 77-year-old Imus will host the final 'Imus On The Morning' show will air on March 29, 2018.

March 29th, 2018, will be the last 'Imus in the Morning Program.' Turn out the lights...the party's over.

— Imus in the Morning (@TheImusShow) January 22, 2018

Imus indicated that he was not vacating his chair by choice. The 77-year-old said Cumulus Media, which syndicates Imus in the Morning, declined to renew his contract.

The move will also affect the show’s six-member staff, who the host paid out of his own multi-million dollar contract. He said he was announcing his retirement early to give them a chance to find work.

It’s unclear whether one of Imus’ cohorts will take over for him, though producer Bernard McGuirk and sportscaster Sid Rosenberg have taken on increased on-air roles in recent years. Imus broadcasts the show from his Texas ranch, while the rest of his crew works from WABC in New York.

He began his career as a radio disc jockey on June 28, 1968 at radio station KUTY in Palmdale, California. He stayed at the station until 1969 when he left for a job at 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 1220 AM in Cleveland, Imus moved to New York City and WNBC radio in December 1971. 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 with Anthrax, a primarily studio-created album centering on his satirical character, The Right Rev. Dr. Billy Sol Hargis. There was also a 1973 RCA Victor single, "Son of Checkers," issued by Imus. The single reached #123 in the Record World survey..

Imus was fired from WNBC in August 1977 along with several of the station's other personalities, in an effort to revamp the station's sound and boost ratings. In 1978 he returned to Cleveland radio as afternoon drive host on WHK, making the front page of the Cleveland Plain Dealer on his first day back in town. During that year, Imus commuted between Cleveland and New York to tape a TV talk show, Imus Plus at WNEW-TV.

In a surprise change of fortune Imus was rehired by WNBC in September 1979, and revived his morning drive show. 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 So 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 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 Hargis, Imus touted on-air the merits of the "First Church of the Gooey Death and Discount House of Worship". Imus published the 1981 best-selling novel God's Other Son that further depicted Hargis' adventures.

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, and he was one of the inaugural video jockeys for the launch of the VH-1 cable network in 1985.

In 1988, WNBC radio was sold to Emmis Broadcasting; on October 7, 1988, WNBC permanently signed off the air and Emmis' WFAN 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.

Here's a ABC-TV profile of Imus from 1991...



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



Imus, a former US Marine, was instrumental in raising over $60 million for the Center for the Intrepid, a Texas rehabilitation facility for soldiers wounded in the Iraq War. 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. Imus has also taken on the cause of the living conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, visiting wounded veterans at the hospital to boost morale.

On April 4, 2007, during a discussion about the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship, Imus characterized the Rutgers University women's basketball team players as "rough girls," commenting on their 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 hoes."

In the immediate aftermath of the remarks, public outrage was directed at Imus and WFAN.

On April 9, Imus appeared on Al Sharpton's syndicated radio talk show, Keepin' It Real with Al Sharpton, 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."

In an internal memo, CBS President and CEO Les Moonves said that employee concerns were a factor in the decision to cancel Imus's show, but 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.

On July 8, 2007, the Drudge Report indicated that Imus would return to the air before the 2008 presidential election. The New York Post reported on July 27, 2007, that CBS was close to a buyout of Imus's contract. On August 14, Imus reached a settlement with CBS Radio over his contract, leaving him free to pursue other media opportunities.

On November 1, Citadel (now Cumulus Media) announced they had agreed to what was reportedly 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.