# Don Imus, Radio Show Host, Dead At 79 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [December 28, 2019, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492 "2019-12-28T03:48:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/1 "2019-12-28T03:48:57Z")
> **[Don Imus, Racist Radio Show Host, Dead At 79](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/don-imus-racist-radio-show-host-dead_n_5e068319c5b6b5a713ae2a44)** > > Imus was fired from CBS in 2007 after he referred to members of the Rutgers women's basketball team as “nappy-headed hos.” Don Imus was very popular locally (NYC) back during my high school/college days. I remember he had the coveted morning show while Stern had the afternoon drive home shift, and many of my peers loved these shows. Neither ever appealed to me (I especially disliked Stern’s sense of humor), but obviously enough people did to allow both to prosper on a national stage. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/2 "2019-12-28T05:44:25Z")
“Nuke 'em!” I woke up to Imus from '79 until '83. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/3 "2019-12-28T08:59:12Z")
don imus radios old grumpy bastard is gone … you know the one thing when he did the radio on TV thing that the stations never understood (esp msnbc) was he was funnier being himself most of the time than on air i felt when they started running commercials during the radio breaks the show lost something i always felt that chuck mccord’s passing affected him more than he let on… those two could make traffic reports funny … and no offense i watched part of the basketball game he got in trouble over in a predominately African american sports bar and the older people there agreed with him before he said it … that it looked like the girls juvenile hall team than a respected college team except imus was nicer than they were … ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/4 "2019-12-28T13:29:05Z")
I am very curious what Howard Stern has to say if anything. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/5 "2019-12-28T13:39:54Z")
He didn’t get in trouble for criticizing their playing, he got in trouble for calling them “nappy-headed hos.” Did the older black people at the sports bar believe that they were prostitutes and disparage that they had natural black hair traits? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/6 "2019-12-28T14:13:47Z")
Huge Imus fan here. This is so unexpected it made me gasp. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/7 "2019-12-28T15:29:55Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > don imus radios old grumpy bastard is gone … you know the one thing when he did the radio on TV thing that the stations never understood (esp msnbc) was he was funnier being himself most of the time than on air > > i felt when they started running commercials during the radio breaks the show lost something > > i always felt that chuck mccord’s passing affected him more than he let on… those two could make traffic reports funny … > > and no offense i watched part of the basketball game he got in trouble over in a predominately African american sports bar and the older people there agreed with him before he said it … that it looked like the girls juvenile hall team than a respected college team except imus was nicer than they were … Do you mean when McCord retired? He’s still alive. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/8 "2019-12-28T20:00:51Z")
Only heard him a tiny bit and wasn’t impressed. Never intentionally listened to him. I _was_ surprised that he wasn’t about ten years older than that. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/9 "2019-12-28T21:40:37Z")
I first heard his record _1200 Hamburgers to Go_ , which were a few of his prank phone calls. Very funny. When he moved to NYC, I had him on my clock radio when I was home for the summer. Still quite funny, especially when he’d do something to insult his advertisers. I recall him pitching a menswear store by saying the arms on their coats would fall off. I lost track after that, but he was a pioneer in radio. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/10 "2019-12-28T22:37:13Z")
I stopped listening to shock jocks with Joe Pyne. Stern and Imus were/are totally irrelevant to me. Stern (and Letterman) grabbed my father but he was shell-shocked. Imus is gone? Whatever. Life proceeds. ---
**Author:** ![fedman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/278dde/32.png) [@fedman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2019, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/11 "2019-12-29T21:29:46Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > don imus radios old grumpy bastard is gone … you know the one thing when he did the radio on TV thing that the stations never understood (esp msnbc) was he was funnier being himself most of the time than on air > > i felt when they started running commercials during the radio breaks the show lost something > > i always felt that chuck mccord’s passing affected him more than he let on… those two could make traffic reports funny … > > and no offense i watched part of the basketball game he got in trouble over in a predominately African american sports bar and the older people there agreed with him before he said it … that it looked like the girls juvenile hall team than a respected college team except imus was nicer than they were … so how are “respected” teams supposed to look? " nappy-headed HOES(!)"–why do they have to be “hoes” unless you have racist stereotypes, The fact that other patrons agreed with him just shows the type (location) of racist bar he was at. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/12 "2019-12-30T03:41:36Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Huge Imus fan here. This is so unexpected it made me gasp. Seems he was pretty hard on his body when he was young and more recently battled prostate cancer and had an oxygen canister going for quite a while. Given all that 79 isn’t too shabby. i only started listening to his show towards the end of his career - 2010 or so onwards. It was either that or NPR on the way to work and because I liked to have a few chuckles before a day in the office it was usually his show. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/13 "2019-12-30T16:07:52Z")
I was just starting my radio career when he became well-known on WNBC New York, a 50,000 watt AM blowtorch which was listenable in the daytime where I lived. For the time he was doing something quite unique and a lot of radio people in small towns tried to copy him, with no success. I have to admit I never cared for his shtick, but his influence was undeniable. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/14 "2019-12-30T21:06:40Z")
Well that’s a coincidence. Mentioned him in another thread a couple days ago, totally oblivious to this news. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/15 "2019-12-30T21:22:09Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Neither ever appealed to me (I especially disliked Stern’s sense of humor), but obviously enough people did to allow both to prosper on a national stage. > [@carrps](#): > > Only heard him a tiny bit and wasn’t impressed. Never intentionally listened to him. I _was_ surprised that he wasn’t about ten years older than that. I agree with both of these. I tried to listen to Imus a few times and found him to be a borish bore. I couldn’t imagine what kept people tuned in. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/16 "2019-12-30T22:44:42Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I tried to listen to Imus a few times and found him to be a borish bore. I couldn’t imagine what kept people tuned in. That’s too easy a target. I won’t insult his fans here. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/17 "2019-12-30T22:51:59Z")
At the end of his career he was not really a shock jock , at least to me. He had a lot of big name politicians on his show like McCain, Gingrich,etc in his last 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![Rough\_Draft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@Rough\_Draft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rough_Draft)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/18 "2019-12-31T15:45:50Z")
I used to have a job that involved traveling around in remote areas of New Mexico and Arizona. Don Imus was the only thing tolerable on the radio, and I’m eternally grateful to him for providing an alternative to Rush, Sports Talk, and Fundamentalist Christian talk shows. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/19 "2019-12-31T16:49:49Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I agree with both of these. I tried to listen to Imus a few times and found him to be a borish bore. I couldn’t imagine what kept people tuned in. [This retired jock/talk host has a good summary.](http://www.harrisonline.com/imus-in-the-mourning/) In short: Imus was _great_ in his early days but became his own worst enemy due to substance abuse and nobody to keep him reined in. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-imus-radio-show-host-dead-at-79/845492/20 "2019-12-31T18:04:29Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [This retired jock/talk host has a good summary.](http://www.harrisonline.com/imus-in-the-mourning/) In short: Imus was _great_ in his early days but became his own worst enemy due to substance abuse and nobody to keep him reined in. Okay, I’ll buy it. Of course, the kind of “greatness” possible for a disc jockey seems to me to have inherent limitations.