IMUS In The Morning - Frequently Asked Questions
Version #2.5.3
The Don Imus FAQ has been updated and recompiled by Jim
Reed, and is now titled Version #2. The credits for Version #1, on which this is
based, and quoted from, can be found at the end of this
document.
This document can be found at the Super Imus Links Page (http://imonthe.net/imus) in HTML
format.
This FAQ is by fans, and for fans, and is NOT associated
with the Imus in the Morning Program, WFAN, CBS Radio, or MSNBC, and is not endorsed by any of the
preceding. Information on this list is for the sole private use of it's audience.
Please contribute your updates to keep this a growing
document.
Please send all updates to imusfan@imonthe.net.
I am especially interested in information about the early years in radio,
from 1968-1977.
Contents:
1) What is Imus in the Morning?
2) Who is Don Imus?
3) What is Imus' History?
4) Where can I find Imus in the Morning?
5) How do I write to Imus?
6) How do I call Imus?
7) Where can I find Imus information on the Internet?
8) Who is in Imus' Family?
9) Who are some of the current Imus Characters?
10) Who are some of the past Imus Characters?
11) Who is on the staff of the Imus in the Morning program?
12) Who are some Imus alumni?
13) Who are some of the guests that have appeared on Imus in the
Morning?
14) What's the history of the Imus in the Morning program?
15) Imus stories and anecdotes.
16) How can I listen to Imus on the Internet?
17) Imus' Records
18) How can I get Imus on my local station?
19) Where can I read more about Imus?
20) How can I contribute to the Ranch?
21) How can I buy xxx that I saw on the show?
1- What is Imus in the Morning?
The "Imus In The Morning Program " is a radio
talk show with its contents being politics, news, satire, and comedy. With syndication in
over 100 cities now, The Imus in the Morning Program has its flagship in New York.
2- Who is Don Imus?
Don Imus is a morning radio talk show host whose program
consists of outrageous humor, important political figures such as Senators,
Congressmen, and on several earlier occasions, President Clinton; parodies of Richard
Nixon and General George S. Patten, (among others), conversation on topics of the day, and
talk with other guests of the media and the political world such as Dan Rather, Tim
Russert, and Jeff Greenfield.
3- What is Imus' history?
Imus, or "The I-Man" started in radio in
Palmdale, California on June 1, 1968, and worked in California, where in
Sacramento he was awarded the Billboard award for best Medium Market Disc Jockey,
and Cleveland, Ohio, where he received his first Marconi Award for Outstanding Major
Market announcer.
The Imus in the Morning program debuted in NYC in December
1971 on 66 AM WNBC and 97.1 WNBC-FM until it spun off in 1975. After moving his program
back to Cleveland in 1978 (the only time he was on in the afternoon), Imus returned to NYC
on Sept. 3, 1979, opening up with the Right Reverend Dr. Billy Sol Hargus. His old program
(the 1st Era) consisted of Rev. Hargus, Crazy Bob, oldies and the Top 40.
In 1988, WNBC was sold to WFAN. WFAN is an
all-sports station, and instead of moving to sports, Imus changed the whole
character of his show, moving to all-talk (which he had been transitioning to on WNBC),
current events, humor and parodies, and occasional music. Imus finally moved to
syndication in 1993. He is now heard in 7 of the top 10 markets, and on over 100
stations in the USA. In September 1996, Imus on MSNBC premiered, and is now carried on
cable systems across the country from 6-9am Eastern Time. According to Imus, ratings
for Imus on MSNBC top CNN's from time to time, though MSNBC is only in about half as many
households.
In the late 90's Imus, along with his wife
Deidre and brother Fred dedicated their time and money to building The Imus
Ranch. The working cattle ranch outside Ribera, New Mexico welcomes
children with cancer for a getaway.
In June 2000, while working on the ranch, Imus
was thrown from his horse. A puncture lung and 5 broken ribs kept Don in
the hospital for 2 weeks, though just 2 days after the accident, he was calling
in to the show.
You can visit the 66 WNBC Tribute Page at http://imonthe.net/66wnbc
4- Where can I find Imus in the Morning?
The "Imus In The Morning Program " can be heard
on over 100 stations across
America. Imus on MSNBC can be seen from 6-9am Eastern Time on MSNBC on cable, and Direct
Satellite.
You can find a list of Imus in the Morning radio
affiliates with internet sites at:
http://imonthe.net/imus
You can find a list of radio stations and your local MSNBC cable outlet at:
http://imus.msnbc.com
Imus now can be heard live on the internet, see question 16.
5- How can I write to Imus?
U.S. Mail:
WFAN 660 AM Sports Radio
34-12 36th Street
Astoria, NY 11106
E-Mail:
Despite various reports, Imus himself has no published e-mail address. Do not send
letters to the FAQ author, because he does not have an address for Imus
either.
There are two published e-mail addresses for the
Imus program. You can write to imusshow@yahoo.com
to contact the program at WFAN or imus@msnbc.com
to contact the program at MSNBC.
6- How do I call Imus?
You can call The Imus in the Morning Program
1-800-370-IMUS (4687). Calls are usually screened by Bernard McGuirk, and can remain on
hold for most of the morning, as Imus rarely takes calls from listeners.
7- Where can I find Imus information on
the Internet?
Imus information has exploded on the internet in the last two years. You can find
an index to Imus pages on the net at:
Super Imus Links Page: http://www.imonthe.net/imus (The home page of this FAQ)
There is a Usenet newsgroups for the IITM program at :
news:alt.fan.don-imus
You can also find the Imus on MSNBC page at: http://imus.msnbc.com
You can also find Imus related information at
Rob Bartlett's website www.robshow.com.
There is a Usenet newsgroup for Rob Bartlett as well: news:alt.fan.rob-bartlett.
8- Who is in Imus' Family?
Fred Imus is the brother of Don Imus. He makes frequent
phone appearances during the morning on Imus, and also predicts the "Jeep/Eagle
Sports Lock of the week" on Fridays. He owns an auto body shop in Santa Fe, NM.
You can call Fred to order Auto Body Express work shirts, T-shirts, jackets, hats, or
mugs. The Santa Fe catalog came out recently, which has been designed by Don and
Fred Imus, though much of the clothing designed by Joseph Abboud. Fred has
several sons, including one named "Donnie" after his uncle. Fred
remarried on June 8, 2000 in the American Express Ranch Office (Jail) at the
Imus Ranch.
Call 1-800-272-1957 to order, or visit the Auto Body
Express online at http://www.autobodyexpress.com
.
Deirdre Coleman-Imus is Imus' second wife, they were
married December 17, 1994. Don & Deirdre's first child, Frederic Wyatt Imus was born
July 3, 1998.
Imus has four grown daughters, Nadine, Toni, Elizabeth,
and Ashleigh from his first marriage to Harriet, which ended in divorce in 1979.
9- Who are the current characters on Imus
in the Morning?
1. Richard Nixon (Imus in Washington
Senior Political Analyst )
Rotation: Frequent
2. General George S. Patten ( Discusses military
strategies to "take out" those on the Imus "hot seat")
Rotation: Frequent
3. Rush Limbaugh ( controversial character
talks and sings about minorities, feminists, etc.)
Rotation: Rare
4. Walter Cronkite ( Imus in Washington News Anchor )
Rotation: Frequent
5. Scott Muni (famous Top 40 DJ giving his
opinion, formally with WMCA
570am NYC and was on staff at WABC during it's halcyon days of rock and roll.
Currently afternoon host on WNEW-FM 102.7 NYC "where rock lives.")
Rotation: Moderate
6. Paul Harvey ( National radio personality with the
rest of the story )
Rotation: Moderate
7. John Cardinal O'Connor (hilarious and
bad-mouthed, does the NY State lotto numbers)
Rotation: Frequent
8. The Right Rev. Dr. Billy Sol Hargus (God's
Other Son !)
Rotation: Rare
9. Ross Perot
Rotation: Rare
10. Andy Rooney
Rotation: Moderate
11. Mike Tyson
Rotation: Rare
12. Maya Angelu
Rotation: Rare
13. Beavis and Butthead (also "Beavis and
Bubba")
Rotation: Frequent
14. Bubba Clinton (Bill Clinton, that pantload in
the White House)
Rotation: Frequent
15. Blind Mississippi White Boy Pig Feets Dupree
Rotation: Usually on Remotes
16. Senator Edward Kennedy (from the state of
Massachusetts)
Rotation: Moderate
17. Howard Stern
Rotation: Moderate
18. Mark From Milwaukee ( sycophantic Imus fan who
wants
to be "just like Don")
Rotation: Frequent
18.5 Vernon "Kingfish" Jordan
Rotation: Occasional.
10- Who are some of the past Imus
characters?:
19. Barbara Walters
20. John Gotti
21. Diane Sawyer
22. Joey Buttafucco
23. Spike Lee (Gives his usual comments
as to the mistreatment of the
Afro-Americans )
24. Buddy Miyagi (Discontinued in 1992 but made a
reappearance in 1994,
gave pro- Japanese American jokes)
25. Khalid Abdul Mohammad
26. Joe Pepitone (Discontinued in 1991)
27. Jeane Kirkpatrick (Former US Ambassador to the
UN with
masculine voice)
28. Pee Wee Herman (Discontinued after 1991, makes
rare cameo appearances)
29. Hannibal The Cannibal (Discontinued after 1991)
30. Jay Leno (Discontinued after 1991)
31. Madonna (Sang "Exploitable Girl" in
1991)
32. George Bush
33. Professor Leonard Jeffries
34. Audrey Hepburn (ended in 1991)
35. Frank Sinatra (Singing "My Way")
36. Clarence Thomas
37. Crazy Bob (told sick, demented children's
stories)
38. Judge Hangin' (the soft-drawling, 100% American
for whom police
brutality is the "fun part of law enforcement)
39. Brother Love (saucy black preacher who advises
women in his parish on
affairs of the body)
40. Elvis Presley ( the King from Heaven giving his opinion ) Retired in 1996
41. Geraldo Santana Banana ( Former Vice-President
and General Manager of the Imus in the Morning show )
42. Moby Worm (Conducted attacks on various
New York attractions)
43. Earl C. Watkins ( From Naugatuck, Sold Naugahyde
from real live Naugas)
44. Rex the Wonder Dog (Coming Soon to Imus in the
Morning)
45. Stella Steel ( Former gossip reporter )
11 - Who is on the staff of the Imus in
the Morning program?
Don Imus
---------------- Host
Charles McCord ------------
Newsperson , Imus' close friend and " co- host"
Rob Bartlett --------------
Comedian , voice over of various characters.
Bernard McGuirk -----------
Executive Producer, call-screener, sometimes voice.
Lou Rufino ----------------
Engineer
Larry Kenney --------------
Comedian , voice over of various characters
Warner Wolf ---------------
Monday, Wednesday & Friday Sports Anchor
Patrick McEnrowe -------
Tuesday & Thursday Sports anchor
Lori McNichol -------------
Traffic Reporter
Dayna Cavanugh ------------ Imus in the Morning Producer
Brant Eaton --------------- Imus'
Limousine Driver
Jane Metzler --------------
Prepares the news, fills in reading the news for Charles
Deidre Coleman-Imus ------- Wife of Don, makes frequent
phone calls.
Wyatt Imus ------- Son of Don & Deidre.
Don's 5th child and first son.
12 - Who are some of the Imus Alumni
Don Criqui ---------------- Former: Sportscaster
Current: NBC Announcer
Lyndon Abell -------------- Former: Producer
Current: Last known in Washington DC.
Roz Frank ----------------- Former: Traffic
Reporter/Voice Current: Married Wall Street maven John Moran,
May be doing radio in Florida.
Jim Ire ------------------- Former: Imus News Man
Current: ???
Chris "Mad Dog" Russo ----- Former:
Sportscaster Current: Host of WFAN's Mike and the Mad Dog program.
Frank Reed --------------- Former: WNBC DJ and
"Captain Frank Reed" on Moby Worm Reports Current: Christian D.J.
Al Rosenberg ------------ On again, off again New Your
radio personality discovered by Imus in the 80's.
Jeremy Newberger ------ Former Imus on MSNBC producer and
website keeper. Current: Television producer at an Internet only TV
network.
Terry Irving
----------------- Former: Executive Producer of Imus on MSNBC,
former Nightline Producer. Current: VP of production at an Internet co.
Mike Breen ---------------- Former: Sports
Anchor Current: Voice of the NY Knicks on TV and play by play for NBC
Sports
13 - Who are some of the guests that have
appeared on Imus in the Morning?
News Media: Tim Russert, Jeff Greenfield, Tom
Brokaw, Connie Chung,
Mike Wallace, Bob
Schiefer, Brit Hume, David Brinkley,
Mike Barnicle,
Sally Quinn, Cokie Roberts.
Politics: Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bob
Dole, Bill Bradley, Lowell Weicker,
Ed Koch, Mary
Matalin, James Carville, Bernadette Castro,
Joe Lieberman,
Christopher Dodd, Rick Lazio, Ralph Nader,
John McCain.
Sports: Don Criqui, Terry
Bradshaw, Jayson Williams, Bill Parcells,
Bud Collins,
Tracy Austin, Denise Austin, George Steinbrenner.
Authors: Michael Becholss, Doris
Kearns-Goodwin, Deepac Choprah,
Andrew Weil,
George Vescy, Mike Lupica, George Carlin.
Musicians: B.B. King, Little Sammy Davis,
Lorrie Morgan, Willie Nelson
14 - What's the history of the Imus in
the Morning program?
Born July 23,1940
1957-59 US Marine Corps
1962-65 Rhythm and Blues performer and producer
1966-67 Don Martin School of Broadcasting, Hollywood CA
1968 Morning host, KUTY AM Palmdale,
CA
1969 Morning host, KJOY AM Stockton,
CA
1969 Morning host, KXOA AM
Sacramento, CA
1970 Morning host, WGAR AM Cleveland,
OH
1971-77 Morning host, WNBC AM NYC
1978 Afternoon Host, WHK AM
Cleveland, OH
1979-88 Morning Host, WNBC AM NYC
1985 Original VH-1 V.J.
1988-> Morning host, WFAN AM NYC
1993 - Began National Syndication in Tampa, with
Boston and Washington DC Joining within the next week.
2000 Heard nationwide by over 12
Million listeners.
15 - Imus stories and anecdotes.
The IMUS brothers had a band, Fred wrote, Don sang. But in
order for your songs to get on the radio, you had to pay the DJ. Imus figured
to save the money he'd become a DJ himself and play his own tunes.
This is where his career started. One of the songs they performed was "I'm a Hot
Rodder, & All That Jazz"
Imus moved around a lot, station to station, town to town. In 1969-70, Imus was voted DJ
of the Year by Billboard Magazine. Many stations were after him.
The Imus in the Morning Program started off on 66AM WNBC
in NYC, in 1971. After being fired in August 1977, and relocating to Cleveland for a
while, NBC wanted Imus back in New York. So on September 3, 1979, Imus started off his
first program back in NYC with the Reverend Billy Sol Hargus.
In 1988, NBC decided to get out of the radio business, and
decided to sell it's station. The frequency 660 AM was sold to Emmis Broadcasting, which
moved it's station, Sports Radio 1050AM WFAN, to the 660 frequency. It soon
became Sports Radio 66 WFAN. The change was made in the parking lot at Shea Stadium
in October 1988, prior to a Mets - Dodgers playoff game. The first voice, after a
Charles McCord Station ID, on the all new Sports Radio 66 - WFAN was Imus as Billy
Sol Hargus.
Imus left his usual programming of playing the Top
40 and Oldies for all-talk (this transition took place in the late 80's while still at
WNBC). The show, from 1987 to about 1990, did not talk much about politics. Then,
during the Gulf War, Imus' programming changed to include more
politics and current events. He had a new wave of guests. This was also the first time
that Imus had major political guests, starting out with Alfonse D'Amato, Senator from NY
and Connecticut Governor Lowell P. Weicker.
In 1993, Imus worked out a deal with Westwood One (Now CBS
Radio) to syndicate his show across the country. Today, his show is heard in all of the
top 10 markets and on over 100 stations across America.
Then comes the Howard Stern story. Stern occupied the afternoon slot on NBC from September
1982 to September 1985. Stern played music, and well, his show was very similar to
Imus'. Stern went on to WXRK in afternoons and within 6 months was competing with
Imus in the mornings. Stern also had a hideous TV show on WWOR Secaucus, NJ, and was
syndicated before Imus. Many will tell you (including Imus) that Stern "stole"
Imus' gig, "along with every other local morning talk show host
moron". While Stern insists Imus stole his show, it is a fact that Howard
was a high school student on Long Island while Don was hitting the big-time on WNBC.
During the NBC days, Imus and Stern both appeared in a
radio ad, "If we weren't so bad, we wouldn't be that good", read the
caption. One ad had WNBC General Manager apologizing to all the groups wronged by
Imus and Stern.
Imus said that if Stern ever beat Imus in ratings, Imus
would eat a dead dog's penis. Imus said it "tasted good", however, we don't know
for sure.
Imus may be on MSNBC now, but he has been on TV twice
before. In the early 70's Imus hosted the "Imus Plus" syndicated program.
Later, Don was one of the first VH-1 VJ's on cable. Don may have also hosted a show in
Cleveland called "Imus in the Movies."
In May 1987, Imus and McCord appeared on Channel 4
WNBC-TV's " Live at Five". Imus made an announcement that would
"shake 30 Rockefeller Center". It was rumored that Imus would buy WNBC 66AM.
What it was was a $66,000 Joke Contest, which Charles went crazy at. A caller
told Imus that his appearance on "Live at Five" was "an all-time low".
In 1991 after Super Bowl XXV, Imus had Bill Parcells, then
head coach of the Giants, on the program. Parcells commented about Scott Norwood's missed
field goal. These comments received attention from the media, especially
Buffalo. Many wondered if Imus used Rob Bartlett for the voice-over of Parcells.
Art Rust, Jr., who was a NYC radio personality on 770AM
WABC, tried out for WFAN, he got the FAN's frequency messed up, calling it 670AM instead
of 660AM. Imus ridiculed Rust for a while, which Rust did not appreciate. Rust,
subsequently, did not get the job. Imus' doing?
Eileen Marchese Cohen, the former Metro traffic reporter who did the traffic on Imus, was
a constant target, especially her husband Steve Cohen, who is a producer on WFAN. Imus
often asked Eileen "how can you stay married to that Jew?", "is Steve
circumcised?" and "what is your sex life like?". Sometimes reluctant,
Eileen gave honest answers. Sometimes opening up broadcasts saying, " Here with the
NYNEX Mobile FAN highway patrol is Eileen Marchase Cohen. Mornin' Linnie, wanna'
squeeze my weanie'" He has been known to introduce Lori McNichol, current traffic
reporter, as Lori McNipple.
At WNBC after Imus' new 1979 start, he had a new producer,
Lyndon Abell. When Imus was on tour for his new syndication, Abell went to WTEM in D.C.
Abell dropped by, expecting Imus to be surprised. However, Imus made his old producer sit
in the control room behind the glass. Imus said, on the air, that Abell "supplied
drugs" to him. Happy Reunion.
In 1992, Imus worked a deal out with Gov. Lowell Weicker
of CT, one of Imus' first guests, where the two would switch jobs for a day. At 8:00, Imus
was sworn in as Gov.of CT. He said he planned to " fry a couple of people while I'm
in office". However, nothing happened, except for major protests from
Connecticut DJ's who protested the Governor's support of an out of state radio program. At
the time, though, Imus ranked in the top 5 in the state.
In 1998, Imus joined with Barnes & Noble to establish
the Imus American Book Awards. Imus' announced goal is to select books people actually
read, vs. critics picks.
In 1998, the Imus Ranch Foundation was established. The
ranch, in Ribera New Mexico, will provide the western experience for kids of the CJ
Foundation and Tommorrow's Children's Fund.
E-mail your interesting story to me: mailto:imusfan@imonthe.net
16) How can I listen to Imus on the
Internet?
This is probably the most frequently asked question.
CBS Radio prohibits it's syndicated programs from
being carried on the Internet due to copyright restrictions.
MSNBC webcasts it's signal, so you can catch
Imus on the net from 6-9am Eastern Time. You can find more at http://imus.msnbc.com.
There is usually a "Listen to MSNBC" link that can be found on MSNBC's
TV News page.
Rick S provided this info on 11/27. Use at
your own risk.
"In regards to
Question 16 in your Imus in the Morning FAQ, There is an easier
way to connection to the MSNBC live audio feed then what you have
provided in the FAQ, Especially since it looks like MSNBC has taken any
links to their live audio feed off of their website. Imus Listeners can
goto: http://www.msnbc.com/news/asx/audio/28/MSNBC_ie5radio.asx and it will
automatically start the Windows Media Player and the MSNBC audio. I can
confirm to you that this audio link still works because I was listening
to MSNBC before I sent this email."
