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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Imus
John Donald Imus Jr. (born July 23, 1940) is an American former radio personality, television show host, recording artist, and author. He is known for his radio show Imus in the Morning which aired on various stations and digital platforms nationwide until 2018. A former railroad brakeman and miner, Imus attended broadcasting school in the 1960s and secured his first radio job in 1968 at KUTY in Palmdale, California. Three years later, he landed the morning spot at WNBC in New York City before his firing in 1977.
In 1979, Imus returned to WNBC and stayed at the station until 1988 when the show moved to WFAN. Imus gained widespread popularity when the show entered national syndication in 1993. He was labelled a shock jock radio host throughout his later career and his programs have been popular and controversial.[1] After nearly 50 years on the air, Imus retired from broadcasting in March 2018.[2]
In 1957, while living in Prescott, Arizona, Imus dropped out of high school and joined the United States Marine Corps at Base Camp Pendleton where he was stationed in the artillery division before transferring to the drum and bugle corps.[9][5] He left the marines with an honorable discharge, and secured work as a window dresser in San Bernardino before he was fired for performing strip teases on the mannequins for passers by.[5] Imus then moved to Hollywood with his brother in an attempt to find success as musicians and songwriters, but they struggled to get radio DJs to play their songs on the air. This left Imus homeless, resorting to sleeping in a laundry and hitchhiking back to Arizona.[5] After dropping out of the University of the Pacific,[8] Imus worked as a brakeman on the Southern Pacific Railroad and in a uranium mine in Arizona.[10] He suffered a mining accident that broke both of his legs and collapsed one lung.[9]
John Donald Imus Jr. (born July 23, 1940) is an American former radio personality, television show host, recording artist, and author. He is known for his radio show Imus in the Morning which aired on various stations and digital platforms nationwide until 2018. A former railroad brakeman and miner, Imus attended broadcasting school in the 1960s and secured his first radio job in 1968 at KUTY in Palmdale, California. Three years later, he landed the morning spot at WNBC in New York City before his firing in 1977.
In 1979, Imus returned to WNBC and stayed at the station until 1988 when the show moved to WFAN. Imus gained widespread popularity when the show entered national syndication in 1993. He was labelled a shock jock radio host throughout his later career and his programs have been popular and controversial.[1] After nearly 50 years on the air, Imus retired from broadcasting in March 2018.[2]
In 1957, while living in Prescott, Arizona, Imus dropped out of high school and joined the United States Marine Corps at Base Camp Pendleton where he was stationed in the artillery division before transferring to the drum and bugle corps.[9][5] He left the marines with an honorable discharge, and secured work as a window dresser in San Bernardino before he was fired for performing strip teases on the mannequins for passers by.[5] Imus then moved to Hollywood with his brother in an attempt to find success as musicians and songwriters, but they struggled to get radio DJs to play their songs on the air. This left Imus homeless, resorting to sleeping in a laundry and hitchhiking back to Arizona.[5] After dropping out of the University of the Pacific,[8] Imus worked as a brakeman on the Southern Pacific Railroad and in a uranium mine in Arizona.[10] He suffered a mining accident that broke both of his legs and collapsed one lung.[9]
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Found this on on old VHS tape. 60 Minutes profile on Don Imus at his peak.
Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that July 23 is the anniversary of the birth of American former radio personality, television show host, recording artist, and author John Donald Imus Jr.
I remember listening to Don Imus WNBC in New York City in 1977 while I was cadet at USMA West Point as well as when he returned in 1979 to WNBC. In those days Howard Stern and Don Imus were considered shock jocks.
Happy 79th birthday John Donald Imus Jr.
Don Imus on 60 Minutes 1996
"If 60 minutes hates him he has to have something good about him"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wo0fTOS6GY
Background from prabook.com/web/don.imus/960110
"Background
Born John Donald Imus on July 23, 1940, in Riverside, California. Imus and his younger brother Fred were raised in California and Prescott, Arizona, where his father owned a cattle ranch. After a self-described "horrible adolescence" in which he changed schools frequently and his parents divorced when he was 15, Imus left high school and joined the Marine Corps band.
Career
After his discharge at the age of 19, Imus had several unsuccessful stints as a window dresser and a rock 'n' roll musician. For a time, he was homeless, and found shelter in laundromats. In 1961, Imus hitchhiked to Arizona, where he worked in uranium and copper mines, made another attempt at a recording career, and worked as a brakeman for Southern Pacific Railroad. An injury sustained on the job earned him a cash settlement and a chance to play music while working as a disc jockey.
Imus got his start as a radio host at a small station in Palmdale, California, in 1968. After establishing himself and his brand of witty, somewhat coarse, and controversial humor, he moved on to Cleveland, Ohio. During an on-air gag in California, where he ordered 1,200 hamburgers from a fast-food restaurant, Imus earned the distinction of inspiring a new Federal Communications Commission ruling that demanded radio personalities to identify themselves when telephoning listeners. In Cleveland, his style earned legions of fans—as well as a number of critics who urged the boycott of his show.
In 1971, Imus made the move to WNBC in New York City, where he continued his brand of "insult humor" on his new radio show "Imus in the Morning." Imus' cast of everyday characters included news reporter Charles McCord, producer Bernard McGuirk, sports reporter Mike Breen, and his brother Fred, a frequent call-in guest commentator. With Imus' penchance for ridicule came the birth of radio "shock jocks." No one was exempt from his mockery, including the station's management, and his own sponsors. When self-proclaimed "media king" Howard Stern was still in high school in the early 1970s, Don Imus was making a name for himself as a flippant, offensive, opinionated, rebellious, yet humorously insightful loud mouth. Though at the top of his game on-air, Imus battled addictions to alcohol and drugs, and became unreliable and difficult to work with. In 1971 alone, he missed 100 days of work due to unrestrained imbibing. He was fired in 1977 for absenteeism.
Imus returned to Cleveland and made his first stab at recovery. He was subsequently brought back to New York in 1979, only to return to his addictions. Despite his chemical dependencies, Imus's morning show thrived for several years before he finally sought treatment again in 1987. That same year, WFAN all-sports radio bought WNBC, but opted to retain Imus's show upon his return from a treatment program. When the show initially dropped in the ratings, Imus decided to eliminate music from his show entirely and go to an all-talk format. With his affinity for frank and unpretentious social and political commentary, along with his usual gags and pranks, Imus earned new fans and once again became a hit, paving the way for similar comedy-news morning shows. Critics admired his ability to simultaneously get away with coarse and seemingly irreverent banter, and also attract respectable and serious politicians and other guests to his show. Not only that, but, as one reviewer noted, he was able to elicit relaxed and uncommonly forthcoming answers from his otherwise guarded guests such as Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey; prior NYC mayors David N. Dinkins and Rudolph W. Giuliani; Tim Russert, host of Meet the Press; and President Bill Clinton.
This success earned Imus numerous recognitions, including four Marconi Awards, two Major Market Personality of the Year awards, one of Time magazine's "Most Influential Americans" awards (1997), Major Market Personality of the Year, and an award for Syndicated Personality of the Year. Imus also became a member of the Emerson Radio Hall of Fame (1989) and the National Association of Broadcasters Broadcasting Hall of Fame (1996). Additionally, Imus has written several books including God's Other Son (1981/1994) and two books he co-authored with his brother Fred Imus, including Two Guys Four Corners (1997) and Big Guy Country (2001).
A biting and, some say, unacceptably insulting speech at the Radio-Television Correspondents Association dinner in Washington D.C. in 1996, earned Imus new fans and dissenters alike. He was particularly harsh toward President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton, both of whom were in attendance. Imus' defended his behavior with the assertion that he refused to be a hypocrite.
Views
Imus has come a long way since he first took to the airwaves in 1968. Sober for more than 20 years, Imus now runs a mile each day and eats a vegetarian diet. Despite his cantankerous reputation, Imus's philanthropy is heart-felt and extensive. He and his second wife, Deirdre, have run the Imus Ranch in New Mexico, a summer camp program for children suffering from cancer or blood disorders, and young people who have lost siblings to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) since 1999. The focus of the ranch is to restore the self-esteem and emotional well-being to these children through their participation in the working cattle ranch.
As founder of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology at New Jersey's Hackensack University Medical Center, the Imuses are also committed to reducing the number of carcinogens and toxins exposed to children. To aid this mission, the Imuses have created an environmentally safe product line called "Greening the Cleaning." The proceeds from the products go directly to the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer. The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center has won numerous awards for inventing and promoting the cleaning supplies, including an award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Since 1988, Imus has also been involved in Tomorrow's Children Foundation, a New Jersey based charity for children with cancer and blood disorders, as well as with the CJ Foundation, an organization which supports SIDS research and educational efforts. Over the years, Imus has raised millions of dollars for these organizations. In 2007, Imus raised over $6 million dollars to build the Center for the Intrepid, a rehabilitation center for U.S. veterans returning from war. Imus's on-air musings regarding the association between mercury based vaccines and autism also lent support to the Combating Autism Act.
Personality
Despite the heavy criticism, Imus has refused to hold back his opinions, both on and off the air. His habit of making cutting, off-the-cuff statements has landed him in hot water in many times, and made him the target of several lawsuits—including one in 2004 regarding his negative comments about a doctor. But his derogatory remarks about the Rutgers University's women's basketball team members in 2007 brought unprecedented ramifications to Imus's career.
A few days after the insulting statements were broadcast, Don Imus told his listeners that he wanted "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. It was completely inappropriate, and we can understand why people were offended. Our characterization was thoughtless and stupid, and we are sorry." He also appeared on the Reverend Al Sharpton's syndicated radio program in another effort to apologize for his comment. But these efforts did not quiet the outrage over his remark in the African-American community, with such public figures as Barack Obama speaking out about the situation.
After more than 30 years on the air, Imus' outrageous outburst brought his radio career to a temporary end. Initially, CBS Radio suspended Imus for two weeks, but later decided to fire him. On August 14, 2007, Imus reached a settlement with CBS over his multimillion-dollar contract. Terms were not disclosed, although it reportedly forbade him from speaking negatively about his former employer.
Imus returned to the airwaves December 3, 2007, eight months after it looked like a racist and sexist remark would end his broadcasting career. He called his remarks in April "reprehensible" and said the women were "innocent people" who didn't deserve to be mocked. He also vowed that his program would not change.
Connections
In 1979, he divorced his first wife, Harriet. He married his second wife, Deirdre Coleman on December 17, 1994. He has two stepdaughters that he adopted from his first marriage (Nadine and Tony), two daughters from that marriage (Ashley and Elizabeth), three grandchildren (two from Elizabeth and one from Ashley), and one son, Frederick Wyatt (nicknamed Wyatt, born July 3, 1998), from his current marriage.
2nd wife:
Deirdre Coleman Imus - United States - writer
Deirdre Coleman Imus - 2nd wife of Don Imus
She is the founder and president of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center, part of Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) in New Jersey, United States. She is also a co-founder and co-director of the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer, and the author of two books, Greening Your Cleaning and The Imus Ranch: Cooking for Kids and Cowboys."
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown LTC Greg Henning LTC Jeff Shearer Maj William W. "Bill" Price CPT Scott Sharon CWO3 Dennis M. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG William Jones SGT (Join to see) SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski PO1 H Gene Lawrence PO2 Kevin Parker PO3 Bob McCord LTC Greg Henning MSgt Robert C Aldi
I remember listening to Don Imus WNBC in New York City in 1977 while I was cadet at USMA West Point as well as when he returned in 1979 to WNBC. In those days Howard Stern and Don Imus were considered shock jocks.
Happy 79th birthday John Donald Imus Jr.
Don Imus on 60 Minutes 1996
"If 60 minutes hates him he has to have something good about him"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wo0fTOS6GY
Background from prabook.com/web/don.imus/960110
"Background
Born John Donald Imus on July 23, 1940, in Riverside, California. Imus and his younger brother Fred were raised in California and Prescott, Arizona, where his father owned a cattle ranch. After a self-described "horrible adolescence" in which he changed schools frequently and his parents divorced when he was 15, Imus left high school and joined the Marine Corps band.
Career
After his discharge at the age of 19, Imus had several unsuccessful stints as a window dresser and a rock 'n' roll musician. For a time, he was homeless, and found shelter in laundromats. In 1961, Imus hitchhiked to Arizona, where he worked in uranium and copper mines, made another attempt at a recording career, and worked as a brakeman for Southern Pacific Railroad. An injury sustained on the job earned him a cash settlement and a chance to play music while working as a disc jockey.
Imus got his start as a radio host at a small station in Palmdale, California, in 1968. After establishing himself and his brand of witty, somewhat coarse, and controversial humor, he moved on to Cleveland, Ohio. During an on-air gag in California, where he ordered 1,200 hamburgers from a fast-food restaurant, Imus earned the distinction of inspiring a new Federal Communications Commission ruling that demanded radio personalities to identify themselves when telephoning listeners. In Cleveland, his style earned legions of fans—as well as a number of critics who urged the boycott of his show.
In 1971, Imus made the move to WNBC in New York City, where he continued his brand of "insult humor" on his new radio show "Imus in the Morning." Imus' cast of everyday characters included news reporter Charles McCord, producer Bernard McGuirk, sports reporter Mike Breen, and his brother Fred, a frequent call-in guest commentator. With Imus' penchance for ridicule came the birth of radio "shock jocks." No one was exempt from his mockery, including the station's management, and his own sponsors. When self-proclaimed "media king" Howard Stern was still in high school in the early 1970s, Don Imus was making a name for himself as a flippant, offensive, opinionated, rebellious, yet humorously insightful loud mouth. Though at the top of his game on-air, Imus battled addictions to alcohol and drugs, and became unreliable and difficult to work with. In 1971 alone, he missed 100 days of work due to unrestrained imbibing. He was fired in 1977 for absenteeism.
Imus returned to Cleveland and made his first stab at recovery. He was subsequently brought back to New York in 1979, only to return to his addictions. Despite his chemical dependencies, Imus's morning show thrived for several years before he finally sought treatment again in 1987. That same year, WFAN all-sports radio bought WNBC, but opted to retain Imus's show upon his return from a treatment program. When the show initially dropped in the ratings, Imus decided to eliminate music from his show entirely and go to an all-talk format. With his affinity for frank and unpretentious social and political commentary, along with his usual gags and pranks, Imus earned new fans and once again became a hit, paving the way for similar comedy-news morning shows. Critics admired his ability to simultaneously get away with coarse and seemingly irreverent banter, and also attract respectable and serious politicians and other guests to his show. Not only that, but, as one reviewer noted, he was able to elicit relaxed and uncommonly forthcoming answers from his otherwise guarded guests such as Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey; prior NYC mayors David N. Dinkins and Rudolph W. Giuliani; Tim Russert, host of Meet the Press; and President Bill Clinton.
This success earned Imus numerous recognitions, including four Marconi Awards, two Major Market Personality of the Year awards, one of Time magazine's "Most Influential Americans" awards (1997), Major Market Personality of the Year, and an award for Syndicated Personality of the Year. Imus also became a member of the Emerson Radio Hall of Fame (1989) and the National Association of Broadcasters Broadcasting Hall of Fame (1996). Additionally, Imus has written several books including God's Other Son (1981/1994) and two books he co-authored with his brother Fred Imus, including Two Guys Four Corners (1997) and Big Guy Country (2001).
A biting and, some say, unacceptably insulting speech at the Radio-Television Correspondents Association dinner in Washington D.C. in 1996, earned Imus new fans and dissenters alike. He was particularly harsh toward President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton, both of whom were in attendance. Imus' defended his behavior with the assertion that he refused to be a hypocrite.
Views
Imus has come a long way since he first took to the airwaves in 1968. Sober for more than 20 years, Imus now runs a mile each day and eats a vegetarian diet. Despite his cantankerous reputation, Imus's philanthropy is heart-felt and extensive. He and his second wife, Deirdre, have run the Imus Ranch in New Mexico, a summer camp program for children suffering from cancer or blood disorders, and young people who have lost siblings to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) since 1999. The focus of the ranch is to restore the self-esteem and emotional well-being to these children through their participation in the working cattle ranch.
As founder of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology at New Jersey's Hackensack University Medical Center, the Imuses are also committed to reducing the number of carcinogens and toxins exposed to children. To aid this mission, the Imuses have created an environmentally safe product line called "Greening the Cleaning." The proceeds from the products go directly to the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer. The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center has won numerous awards for inventing and promoting the cleaning supplies, including an award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Since 1988, Imus has also been involved in Tomorrow's Children Foundation, a New Jersey based charity for children with cancer and blood disorders, as well as with the CJ Foundation, an organization which supports SIDS research and educational efforts. Over the years, Imus has raised millions of dollars for these organizations. In 2007, Imus raised over $6 million dollars to build the Center for the Intrepid, a rehabilitation center for U.S. veterans returning from war. Imus's on-air musings regarding the association between mercury based vaccines and autism also lent support to the Combating Autism Act.
Personality
Despite the heavy criticism, Imus has refused to hold back his opinions, both on and off the air. His habit of making cutting, off-the-cuff statements has landed him in hot water in many times, and made him the target of several lawsuits—including one in 2004 regarding his negative comments about a doctor. But his derogatory remarks about the Rutgers University's women's basketball team members in 2007 brought unprecedented ramifications to Imus's career.
A few days after the insulting statements were broadcast, Don Imus told his listeners that he wanted "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. It was completely inappropriate, and we can understand why people were offended. Our characterization was thoughtless and stupid, and we are sorry." He also appeared on the Reverend Al Sharpton's syndicated radio program in another effort to apologize for his comment. But these efforts did not quiet the outrage over his remark in the African-American community, with such public figures as Barack Obama speaking out about the situation.
After more than 30 years on the air, Imus' outrageous outburst brought his radio career to a temporary end. Initially, CBS Radio suspended Imus for two weeks, but later decided to fire him. On August 14, 2007, Imus reached a settlement with CBS over his multimillion-dollar contract. Terms were not disclosed, although it reportedly forbade him from speaking negatively about his former employer.
Imus returned to the airwaves December 3, 2007, eight months after it looked like a racist and sexist remark would end his broadcasting career. He called his remarks in April "reprehensible" and said the women were "innocent people" who didn't deserve to be mocked. He also vowed that his program would not change.
Connections
In 1979, he divorced his first wife, Harriet. He married his second wife, Deirdre Coleman on December 17, 1994. He has two stepdaughters that he adopted from his first marriage (Nadine and Tony), two daughters from that marriage (Ashley and Elizabeth), three grandchildren (two from Elizabeth and one from Ashley), and one son, Frederick Wyatt (nicknamed Wyatt, born July 3, 1998), from his current marriage.
2nd wife:
Deirdre Coleman Imus - United States - writer
Deirdre Coleman Imus - 2nd wife of Don Imus
She is the founder and president of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center, part of Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) in New Jersey, United States. She is also a co-founder and co-director of the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer, and the author of two books, Greening Your Cleaning and The Imus Ranch: Cooking for Kids and Cowboys."
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown LTC Greg Henning LTC Jeff Shearer Maj William W. "Bill" Price CPT Scott Sharon CWO3 Dennis M. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG William Jones SGT (Join to see) SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski PO1 H Gene Lawrence PO2 Kevin Parker PO3 Bob McCord LTC Greg Henning MSgt Robert C Aldi
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
Maj Marty Hogan LTC Stephen F. That's a Name I hadn't heard in a Long Time. I Remember I used to listen to His Show some time ago. Always have a Very Leisurely Way of Speaking.
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