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Don Imus, Radio host

He was genuinely very, very funny in the '70s and '80s and even into the '90s, but his sarcastic style turned humorless and bitter in his later years. I much preferred him to Howard Stern when both were at WNBC, and his show on WFAN had plenty of quality moments in its early years. Truly a radio pioneer. RIP, I-Man.
 
He was fond of asking, "Are you naked?" As I recall, he also had an evening television program several decades ago.
 
At one time he had the best network show I ever heard. This was back during Bush 1 when Clarence Thomas was having senate hearings. It didn't get ratings because kids weren't going to listen but it still sold out and made lots of cash. It was serious, funny, and he could get any guest he wanted.

Obviously he had serious addictions and other problems. He was fortunate to make 79yo.
 
Love him or hate him, he was compelling. And thoughout my career in radio that is what works. Be compelling. He had the knack to know when to stir the pot. Even though his entire career was not in NYC, he definitely had the NYC sound and attitude. Whether radio has other greats left is unknown. And that is too bad.
 
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In my area, if I am not mistaken, Imus used to be syndicated on WARM 590 back in the '90s. He was also on simulcasted on MSNBC from the day they first signed on. I also remembered they aired commercials that were run on WFAN during breaks.

It is said that Howard Stern may have been inspired by Imus for his "shock jock" status....
 
CurtisNEPA said:
In my area, if I am not mistaken, Imus used to be syndicated on WARM 590 back in the '90s. He was also on simulcasted on MSNBC from the day they first signed on. I also remembered they aired commercials that were run on WFAN during breaks.

It is said that Howard Stern may have been inspired by Imus for his "shock jock" status....
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There may be some truth in that. Both were once on WNBC New York at the same time. There was certainly a competitive battle, but then again it might have been manufactured by WNBC. Doesn't really matter because it equaled good radio.
 
seatownmedia said:
There may be some truth in that. Both were once on WNBC New York at the same time. There was certainly a competitive battle, but then again it might have been manufactured by WNBC. Doesn't really matter because it equaled good radio.
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IIRC, in the side-by-side images of Imus and Stern that appeared on subway billboards (including "The Next One" and "The New One" campaigns), the two had to be photographed separately owing to the animosity between them.
 
Back in the early 90's, I was Chief Engineer for Infinity's WQYK-FM and AM, Tampa Bay.
WQYK-AM was Don's very first affiliate. He would regularly call the station and chat on-air with Mike Serio the WQYK-AM morning board op.
 
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