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Don Imus Biography

• Birth Name: John Donald Imus Jr.
• Birth Place: Riverside, CA
• Date of Birth / Zodiac Sign: 07/23/1940, Cancer
• Profession: Talk-show host; writer

A pioneering radio shock jock who consistently courted controversy until a particularly prickly racist remark silenced his four-decade career, Imus was, unsurprisingly, a wild child. A high-school dropout who did a stint in the Marines, he returned to civilian life and worked a variety of odd blue-collar jobs until the mid-’60s. After hearing a local California DJ on the radio, the already ballsy Imus went down to the station and insisted he could do a better job. He was soon putting his mouth to work as an outrageous on-air personality. Throughout the decade, he bumped around from station to station, but in 1971 he landed in New York at WNBC. Despite struggling with alcoholism and an out-of-control attitude, the ’70s was his decade: He released a series of popular albums, honed his offensive shtick and won myriad fans. Although WNBC fired him in 1977, they rehired him two years later, and from 1982 to ‘85, he and up-and-comer Howard Stern were paired as the bad boys of the airwaves. The two did not get along, however, and Stern 鈥?whose career skyrocketed well beyond Imus’ 鈥?spent the rest of his career making merciless fun of him. But Imus plugged along with his eponymous morning show, now on WCBS and simulcast on MSNBC. Despite his bombastic persona, in real life he raised money for charities. But no amount of goodwill could help him in April 2007. After calling a group of female African-American college basketball players “nappy headed ho’s,” the public demanded his dismissal. Although he apologized for the offhanded insult, which he claimed was an attempt at humor (and to be fair, he had said much worse over the years), a media furor ensued. At first, WCBS said he would be punished with a two-week suspension. However, after a solid week of outcries from advertisers, pundits and people in general, MSNBC dropped its simulcast and WCBS fired him.
Don Imus Fast Facts:

• Started out as a disc jockey in 1968 in Sacramento, CA.
• Worked at WNBC in New York at the same time as fellow shock jock Howard Stern (Imus is portrayed in Stern’s 1997 film Private Parts by actor Luke Reilly).
• Inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989.
• Runs the Imus Ranch in New Mexico, a nonprofit cattle ranch for children with cancer.

Don Imus Relationships:
• Deirdre Imus – Wife
• Fred Imus – Brother
• Frederick Wyatt Imus – Son
• John Donald Imus – Father