Farewell, Don Imus

[ifmanis5]

The I-man will finally sign off a week from today, ending 50 years in radio.

http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/don-imus-to-sign-off-for-the-last-time/360083
https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/celebrities/don-imus-howard-stern-1.17614269

A long HOF career with many high and low lights but I will remember him as the person who made WFAN possible. His show there from when he started to roughly when he started begging for money for his ranch was one of the best things I'd heard. He championed both Russo and Francesa and made Mike and the Mad Dog possible as well. He also later became an irrelevant bore with his ranch charity, endless pleas for money (Eddie Andelman kind of ended up here too) and sadly, later on a horrible racist. I really hate when he became but I will also very fondly remember his peak years and his influence on how people talk about politics and pop culture. He was very creative and original, an act Howard Stern largely copied.

 

[Buck Showalter]

I'm going to miss the I-Man. Each of my mornings - for many, many years - began with Imus on WFAN and now WABC.

It's where you could hear Thomas Friedman, Douglas Brinkley, Michael Beschloss on the same day as John McCain and Joe Biden.

Then when deliberate silly-time was pushed-forward you'd get Fred Imus, Kinky Friedman, Mike Breen (yes that Mike Breen) and on-and-on.

By way of his love for country music it's where I heard about Levon Helm and Hayes Carll (whom I met after a concert in Manhattan where he expressed his appreciation for Imus).

I know I'm leaving so much out - especially on the sports-side.....but he's just a giant in the history of radio.

http://www.imus.com/guests/

 

[B H Kim]

I would have bet any amount of money that he had retired at least a decade ago.

 

[Time to Mo Vaughn]

I would have bet any amount of money that he had retired at least a decade ago.

Yeah, was pretty from the title that this thread meant he died.

 

[Mystic Merlin]

The I-man will finally sign off a week from today, ending 50 years in radio.

http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/don-imus-to-sign-off-for-the-last-time/360083
https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/celebrities/don-imus-howard-stern-1.17614269

A long HOF career with many high and low lights but I will remember him as the person who made WFAN possible. His show there from when he started to roughly when he started begging for money for his ranch was one of the best things I'd heard. He championed both Russo and Francesa and made Mike and the Mad Dog possible as well. He also later became an irrelevant bore with his ranch charity, endless pleas for money (Eddie Andelman kind of ended up here too) and sadly, later on a horrible racist. I really hate when he became but I will also very fondly remember his peak years and his influence on how people talk about politics and pop culture. He was very creative and original, an act Howard Stern largely copied.

The very typing of this sentence probably inspired an inexplicable wave of rage to pass over Howard, who I can only imagine is playing chess.

The Howard reaction should be entertaining.

 

[Reverend]

I was teaching at Rutgers at the time of the "nappy headed hoes" comment so I was besieged with questions, requests for thoughts, opinions, etc. This was also at a key moment in the emerging new front of the culture wars and the PC thing and debates about if it was censorship or just public approval or what was wrong with what he said or did he have a right...

This was the most interesting, useful, and efficient statement on it I found--written by an old friend of Imus's who was ultimately banned from the show--and I have gone back to it many a time in the years since as perhaps the most insightful statement on so much of what is happening in America today:

"This is what I think about Imus. I think somewhere along his life journey he confused cruelty with satire. Satire is the witty skewering of pretension, arrogance and foolishness. Satire is holding up the actions of the powerful and the famous to the standards of common sense and reason. Satire is iconoclasm, but its focus is on the foolish things people in power do. Cruelty is humiliating people for what they are, and what they cannot change, and what does not have any moral significance whatsoever. Whether a person is fat or black or Jewish or gay or homely just does not matter, but sadly it matters to Imus, and this is the root of his problem now. He has turned mean. This has led him to have little or no sensitivity to racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, misogynist statements that creep into the program with annoying frequency. He has forgotten what to make fun of and what to respect."

Imus may have been one of Vonnegut's canaries--I don't know.

 

[Rusty13]

The very typing of this sentence probably inspired an inexplicable wave of rage to pass over Howard, who I can only imagine is playing chess.

The Howard reaction should be entertaining.

I guarantee you Fred plays "Imus am I Dead or Alive?" over and over again in the coming days.

 

[Dotrat]

His show was regular listening for me in the early '90s. Though by the end of that decade, the schtick was wearing thin, during its best days the show was informative and amusing, often at the same time. It's a shame that, like Eddie Andelman, he devolved into a sad caricature of his best broadcasting self.

 

[ifmanis5]

I guarantee you Fred plays "Imus am I Dead or Alive?" over and over again in the coming days.

Fred Imus is dead. So there's that.

 

[edoug]

NM

 

[Dan Murfman]

Fred Imus is dead. So there's that.

Fred Norris isn’t

 

[Clears Cleaver]

Friends with White Faces was incredible

 

[thurin68]

Loved when Mike Breen did his sports schtick. Especially when he referred to Michael Jordan as “that ball hog”

 

[dcmissle]

Loved John Cardinal O’Connor —

 

[TheoShmeo]

Imus was part of my drive into work for many years. I'm not sure when but at some point before he left WFAN, I grew tired off and his mean streak. I never once tuned into him at WABC. Some of the comedy bits -- Cardinal O'Connor in particular -- slayed me, and I liked his longer and more in depth interviews. I will listen in next week...if I can take it.

 

[Rusty13]

Fred Norris isn’t

Ha, yes, I should have been more clear on which "Fred" I was referring to. My bad.

 

[8slim]

I listened to Imus in the late 90s when I first started working in NYC. Like others said, his act got stale and his incessant talk about his ranch, plus his crusade against vaccinations because of his loopy wife, made me tune out for good right after the 2000 election.

As Rev mentioned, he was a cruel jerk who punched down.

 

[glasspusher]

I remember him back when I was in high school for the "Nuke 'em!" call in stuff, and then, later, yeah, for the nappy headed hoes crap. Never was a listener. Sounds like in trying so hard for so long, he had more than his share of gaffes. Then again, if you pander to the lowest common denominator these days, you're going to make yourself look bad sooner or later.

 

[Nator]

Loved when Mike Breen did his sports schtick. Especially when he referred to Michael Jordan as “that ball hog”

Breen's sports updates were the best part of that show.

"Bulls forward Toni Kukoc will miss up to two weeks with a sprained foot. The injury happened during practice when he didn't pass the ball to Michael Jordan, who then stabbed him in the foot."

 

[richgedman'sghost]

I first started listening to Imus in the late 80s and early 90s during the height of his popularity. My father and I would laugh our heads off at the Rob Bartlett bits plus the occasional political talk from the likes of Jeff Greenfield Tom Brokaw etc.. At one time, all the politicians would do anything to curry Imus's favor. I distinctly remember Imus conducting an interview with a young Barrack Obama back when most people were still struggling to pronounce his name.
The show changed for the worse when he married his loony wife. As most have said, the show grew stale over time. I am surprised it lasted this long.

 

[DourDoerr]

My college roommate went to WNBC to interview Imus for the school newspaper back in the 80’s. He was a fan of Imus and came back fully disillusioned, as Imus was a total sour jerk.

While he was at the station he went past Stern in his office. This was when Howard wore the mustache and glasses. Stern welcomed him in and gave thoughtful answers and was just really nice.

It threw my roommate because at the time, based on their shows, Stern was considered the jerk and Imus the good guy. I guess the formats of each one’s show would makes it somewhat inevitable that Imus’ and Stern’s true natures would win out.

Rev - great quote on satire and cruelty. That’s going to stay with me.

 

[JimD]

I first started listening to Imus in the late 80s and early 90s during the height of his popularity. My father and I would laugh our heads off at the Rob Bartlett bits plus the occasional political talk from the likes of Jeff Greenfield Tom Brokaw etc.. At one time, all the politicians would do anything to curry Imus's favor. I distinctly remember Imus conducting an interview with a young Barrack Obama back when most people were still struggling to pronounce his name.
The show changed for the worse when he married his loony wife. As most have said, the show grew stale over time. I am surprised it lasted this long.

This is exactly right. I had a 45-minute morning commute in the early 1990's and Imus was must-listen radio, a great combination of smart political discussion and wickedly funny satire. Then he got married to Deidre and his son was born and IMO he gradually became a self-important blowhard who too often babbled on about his wife's ideas on child-rearing. I appreciated his dedication to the ranch but it took over his life and the show was far less interesting for it. I tuned out long before the 'ho's' controversy and like a few others here was frankly surprised to read that he still was on the radio. A definite HOF'er but one who sadly stayed on long after he ceased to be relevant.

 

[Couperin47]

This is exactly right. I had a 45-minute morning commute in the early 1990's and Imus was must-listen radio, a great combination of smart political discussion and wickedly funny satire. Then he got married to Deidre and his son was born and IMO he gradually became a self-important blowhard who too often babbled on about his wife's ideas on child-rearing. I appreciated his dedication to the fantasy ranch retirement scam faux 'charity' but it took over his life and the show was far less interesting for it. I tuned out long before the 'ho's' controversy and like a few others here was frankly surprised to read that he still was on the radio. A definite HOF'er but one who sadly stayed on long after he ceased to be relevant.

fify

 

[Dehere]

I guess I just missed his best years. I came to NYC in 1994 and Imus was just boorish, unfunny and surrounded by pathetic sycophants. To my ears he was awful radio. That smart people loved him and clamored to be on the show was a total mystery to me. Maybe it's like a younger person not being exposed to Letterman until 2005 and not getting why someone my age was in awe of him.

 

[ifmanis5]

This is exactly right. I had a 45-minute morning commute in the early 1990's and Imus was must-listen radio, a great combination of smart political discussion and wickedly funny satire. Then he got married to Deidre and his son was born and IMO he gradually became a self-important blowhard who too often babbled on about his wife's ideas on child-rearing.

Spot on. And I wish I had a dollar for every long winded Imus lecture about how his wife just knew that Thiomersal shots were causing autism. He really slid into quackdom.

But his early 90s will always make me smile. He even made Don Criqui hilarious. He created a very specific clubhouse to talk about politics and pop culture in a way that hadn't existed before and more importantly that politicians and celebrities could enter into and speak in unpretentious ways that yielded some unguarded moments. This basically became the template for a lot of media spheres to come; with wildly mixed results. Of course it devolved into Imus and Stern fighting over who could have exclusive rights to interview Trump.
I'll never forget Trump going on and on about if you owed the bank so much money you couldn't possibly pay it back then the banks couldn't touch you. Great advice for the kids out there.

 

[8slim]

FWIW, I was at Mohegan Sun in December and was stunned that there is still an Imus Ranch coffee shop there. Talk about a brand from another time.

 

[SumnerH]

This is exactly right. I had a 45-minute morning commute in the early 1990's and Imus was must-listen radio, a great combination of smart political discussion and wickedly funny satire.

You should go back and listen to a couple of his old broadcasts now. I'd bet the only reason you found him “smart” or “wickedly funny” is that you were still growing up.

He wasn't that far off of social norms for the era until the mid 90s—a little slow to change but not terrible for a radio shock jock—but he was always pretty broad and dumb comedically.

 

[Reverend]

You should go back and listen to a couple of his old broadcasts now. I'd bet the only reason you found him “smart” or “wickedly funny” is that you were still growing up.

He wasn't that far off of social norms for the era until the mid 90s—a little slow to change but not terrible for a radio shock jock—but he was always pretty broad and dumb comedically.

 

[ifmanis5]

You should go back and listen to a couple of his old broadcasts now. I'd bet the only reason you found him “smart” or “wickedly funny” is that you were still growing up.

He wasn't that far off of social norms for the era until the mid 90s—a little slow to change but not terrible for a radio shock jock—but he was always pretty broad and dumb comedically.

This is piling on and revisionist history. Point me to the other syndicated morning shock jock not on public radio that regularly featured Frank Rich, Maureen Dowd, Anna Quindlen and Calvin Trillin (all when they were still throwing fastballs) among others. It’s true where he ended up (all these people abandoned him or he jettisoned them) but there was a long period of time where you could turn his program on and learn things that you couldn’t get elsewhere.

 

[SumnerH]

This is piling on and revisionist history. Point me to the other syndicated morning shock jock

This is a tallest midget argument. That he wasn't as bad as the other people who followed the path he pioneered to it's logical evolution is not a point in his favor.

Seriously, go back and listen to his older broadcasts. There were a few I was listening to this weekend in his obits. They're not as crappy as modern shock jock stuff, but they're a long way away from being actually smart or incisive.

He was part of the problem (as Stern was), not part of the solution, even though you can go back now and defend them as being better than what came later. They lowered the discourse incrementally.

 

[Reverend]

This is a tallest midget argument. That he wasn't as bad as the other people who followed the path he pioneered to it's logical evolution is not a point in his favor.

Seriously, go back and listen to his older broadcasts. There were a few I was listening to this weekend in his obits. They're not as crappy as modern shock jock stuff, but they're a long way away from being actually smart or incisive.

He was part of the problem (as Stern was), not part of the solution, even though you can go back now and defend them as being better than what came later. They lowered the discourse incrementally.

To say nothing of controlling for the age of the radio personality.

I've found that some people actually find it jarring to imagine themselves speaking like that at that age. Or their parents or something. There's something distinctly...

Ew.

 

[shaggydog2000]

I'm actually enormously surprised the guy is still alive. The Rutgers thing was over ten years ago, and he did not look good then.

 

[MuzzyField]

I'm actually enormously surprised the guy is still alive. The Rutgers thing was over ten years ago, and he did not look good then.

I think we can count Don Imus among the enormously surprised, too.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

Stern spent time talking about the CBS appearance this morning. It’s been years since Howard had me laughing, and for nearly an hour, talking about Imus. He also expressed a level of empathy for Imus, which I was stunned to hear. Robin was not feeling that at all.

 

[chonce1]

I am too young to remember Imus from his WNBC days, ala Private Parts. My first real exposure to him was in 2000s (probably when i was in college, and started consuming more news, paying attention to media landscape outside of sports) and MSNBC, and we all know how they went down.

I don't think I ever saw his Fox Business version of the show, so I can't comment on it. I assume it was much the same, maybe some different guest with more Fox synergy and less NBC/GE (owner at the time of his show) voices.

 

[8slim]

This is a tallest midget argument. That he wasn't as bad as the other people who followed the path he pioneered to it's logical evolution is not a point in his favor.

Seriously, go back and listen to his older broadcasts. There were a few I was listening to this weekend in his obits. They're not as crappy as modern shock jock stuff, but they're a long way away from being actually smart or incisive.

He was part of the problem (as Stern was), not part of the solution, even though you can go back now and defend them as being better than what came later. They lowered the discourse incrementally.

Its probably more useful to differentiate between his sketches and his interviews. The sketches don't hold up, as often happens to comedy. But when I listened in the late 90s it was compelling when he had on folks like McCain and the other folks ifmanis5 mentioned. In fact, it was that dichotomy that I ultimately found difficult to reconcile. The show that could spend 10 strong minutes discussing politics with Christopher Dodd would then do abhorrent racial humor in the next segment. But it doesn't invalidate the former just because the latter happened too.

 

[Doc Zero]

Hi I'm Brian Wilson I'm fine how are you

 

[ifmanis5]

This is a tallest midget argument. That he wasn't as bad as the other people who followed the path he pioneered to it's logical evolution is not a point in his favor.

Seriously, go back and listen to his older broadcasts. There were a few I was listening to this weekend in his obits. They're not as crappy as modern shock jock stuff, but they're a long way away from being actually smart or incisive.

He was part of the problem (as Stern was), not part of the solution, even though you can go back now and defend them as being better than what came later. They lowered the discourse incrementally.

You're making arguments I'm not making and drawing conclusions that while I don't disagree with, was never really my intention to explore. Yes, other shock jocks became progressively courser over time but that was not my intended argument. My point was that in addition to the usual morning-type comedy bits, he had another side (his so-called 'Window Of Purity') where he provided a platform for the kind of discussions you usually don't find, not only on morning radio, but rarely on any commercial media anywhere in the US mediasphere. Only old school Nightline and some of the Sunday Morning shows would be places where you might find these kinds of deep dive political discussions. He had a dick joke side but he also had this other side that separated him from the pack by a long distance and made him unique. Nobody sold more Anna Quindlen books than he did and you wouldn't expect that from him.

 

[Buck Showalter]

Nobody sold more Anna Quindlen books than he did and you wouldn't expect that from him.

Other than Oprah - I'm willing to believe that no one sold more books PERIOD.

Plus, his interviews with authors were incredibly interesting. I can recall his interview(s) with Laura Hillenbrand - via her works - which allowed my frustration with morning traffic on those days to wane.

 

[ifmanis5]

Other than Oprah - I'm willing to believe that no one sold more books PERIOD.

Agreed, certainly among media personalities. His core audience bought a ton of books.

It was pretty eye opening when two of the main beneficiaries of Don's book hawking- Russert and Brokaw - totally turned on him during the Rutgers controversy. Not saying they should have defended those remarks but they totally sold all of him down the river. Both were on the Today show all that week killing him and pretending like they'd never even met the guy. Both had been on his show dozens of times and Don likely put millions of dollars in their pockets with book sales yet neither ever disclosed that. It was odd.

 

[Reverend]

Agreed, certainly among media personalities. His core audience bought a ton of books.

It was pretty eye opening when two of the main beneficiaries of Don's book hawking- Russert and Brokaw - totally turned on him during the Rutgers controversy. Not saying they should have defended those remarks but they totally sold all of him down the river. Both were on the Today show all that week killing him and pretending like they'd never even met the guy. Both had been on his show dozens of times and Don likely put millions of dollars in their pockets with book sales yet neither ever disclosed that. It was odd.

The fact that anyone finds this odd chills me to the bone.

I mean... the guy made them money. Don't they understand??