Don Imus 1940-2019
John Donald Imus Jr. (July 23, 1940 – December 27, 2019) was an American radio personality, television show host, recording artist, and author. He was known for being bat-shoot ugly, and for his radio show Imus in the Morning which aired on various stations and digital platforms nationwide until 2018.
Born in Riverside, California, 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. In 1966, Imus enrolled at the Don Martin School of Radio and Television Arts and Sciences in Hollywood after seeing a newspaper advert; he was thrown out for being "uncooperative", but studied enough to obtain a broadcasting license as required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Imus 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; and was fired in 1977. In 1979, Imus returned to WNBC and stayed at the station until 1988 when the show moved to WFAN. He gained widespread popularity when the show entered national syndication in 1993. The show also began simulcasting on MSNBC in 1996. In 2007, CBS Radio fired Imus and canceled his show Imus in the Morning for remarks he made about the Rutgers University women's basketball team calling them "nappy-headed 'hos'". It was at that time that MSNBC would no longer simulcast Imus in the Morning. On November 1, 2007, Citadel announced that they had agreed to 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 and return to the air on December 3. Imus had agreed to terms with cable network RFD-TV to air a video simulcast of the new radio program. Imus signed a multi-year deal with Fox Business Network in September to simulcast his radio show Imus in the Morning and on April 28, 2015, Imus announced that his radio show would no longer be broadcast on the Fox Business Network starting May 29, 2015. On January 22, 2018, Imus announced that the show would air its final episode on March 29, 2018. Imus retired from broadcasting in 2018 after nearly 50 years.
Imus was hospitalized at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in College Station, Texas, on December 24, 2019. He passed away three days later, on December 27, 2019, at the age of 79.