View source for Don Imus

{{short description|American media personality (1940–2019)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Don Imus
| image              = Don Imus mid-1980s.png
| caption            = Imus, {{c.}} mid-1980s
| birth_name         = John Donald Imus Jr.
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1940|7|23}}
| birth_place        = [[Riverside, California]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date|mf=yes|2019|12|27}} (aged 79)
| death_place        = [[College Station, Texas]], U.S.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/don-imus-dead-79-radio-broadcaster-iman-1203452721/|title=Radio Legend Don Imus Dies at 79|first1=Cynthia|last1=Littleton|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=December 27, 2019|access-date=December 28, 2019|archive-date=December 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228085840/https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/don-imus-dead-79-radio-broadcaster-iman-1203452721/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| occupation         = Radio and television talk show host, writer, humorist
| years_active       = 1964–2018
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Harriet Showalter|1969|1979|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Deirdre Imus|Deirdre Coleman]]|1994}}
}}
| awards             = [[NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame]], 4 [[NAB Marconi Radio Awards]]
| children           = 6
}}
'''John Donald Imus Jr.''' ({{IPAc-en|'|aɪ|m|ə|s}} {{respell|EYE|məs|}}; July 23, 1940 – December 27, 2019), also known as '''Imus''', was an American radio personality, television show host, recording artist, and author. His radio show ''[[Imus in the Morning]]'' was aired on various stations and digital platforms nationwide until 2018.

Imus began his first radio job at [[KUTY]] in [[Palmdale, California]] in 1968. Three years later, he landed the morning broadcast position at [[WNBC (AM)|WNBC]] in [[New York City]]. He was fired from WNBC in 1977, worked for a year at [[WHK (AM)|WHK]] in [[Cleveland]], and was rehired by WNBC in 1979. He remained at WNBC until it left the air in 1988, at which time his show moved to [[WFAN (AM)|WFAN]], which took over WNBC's former frequency of 660&nbsp;kHz. [[Howard Stern]]'s success with national syndication led ''Imus in the Morning'' to adopt the same model in 1993.

Imus was labeled a "[[shock jock]]" in his later career.<ref>{{cite news | date=April 12, 2007 | title='Shock jock' Imus finally faces music | author=Spiegelman, Arthur | work=[[Reuters]]| url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-race-career/shock-jock-imus-finally-faces-music-idUSN1236242420070412 | access-date=March 23, 2018 | archive-date=March 24, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324101602/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-race-career/shock-jock-imus-finally-faces-music-idUSN1236242420070412 | url-status=live }}</ref> He was fired by [[CBS Radio]] in April 2007 after describing the [[Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball|Rutgers University women's basketball]] team as "nappy-headed hos".

In January 2018, [[Cumulus Media]] told Imus that the company was going to stop paying him, and his final show aired on March 29, 2018.<ref name="bankrupt">{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Ruth |title='Imus in the Morning' is going off the air |url=https://nypost.com/2018/01/22/imus-in-the-morning-is-going-off-the-air/ |work=[[New York Post]] |access-date=December 29, 2019 |date=January 22, 2018 |quote=The company recently declared bankruptcy and told him it was going to stop paying him after March. |archive-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228002954/https://nypost.com/2018/01/22/imus-in-the-morning-is-going-off-the-air/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He died the following year of complications from lung disease.<ref name="AP obit">{{cite web |first=David |last=Bauder |title=DJ Don Imus, Made and Betrayed by His Mouth, Dead at 79 |url=https://apnews.com/34ff6450971cfbf70d61d748a35575e5 |work=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=December 29, 2019 |date=December 27, 2019 |archive-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228134753/https://apnews.com/34ff6450971cfbf70d61d748a35575e5 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Early life==
Imus was born in [[Riverside, California]], to a wealthy family,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9542196 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120728180232/http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9542196 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 28, 2012 |title=Don Imus Biography |website=Biography Channel|date=April 14, 2007 }}</ref> the son of John Donald Imus Sr. and Frances E. Imus ({{nee}} Moore) who ran a {{convert|35000|acre|km2|adj=on}} ranch named The Willows near [[Kingman, Arizona]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://affiliates.abcradionetworks.com/abcradionetworks/imusbio.pdf |title=Don Imus Bio |publisher=Citadel Media|website=ABC Radio Networks|date=November 26, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201211409/http://affiliates.abcradionetworks.com/abcradionetworks/imusbio.pdf |archive-date=February 1, 2014 }}</ref> Imus claimed at one time to practice Judaism then later recanted, calling himself, "spiritual."<ref name=NYM91/><ref name="bookref1">{{Cite book|last=Reed|first=Jim|title=Everything Imus: all you ever wanted to know about Don Imus|publisher=Carol Publishing Group|year=1999|pages=[https://archive.org/details/everythingimusal0000reed/page/10 10, 197]|isbn=1-55972-504-4|url=https://archive.org/details/everythingimusal0000reed/page/10}}</ref><ref name=NYDN72>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/464820459/|title=Radio Roundup|first=Val|last=Adams|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]|date=January 2, 1972|page=249|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=subscription|access-date=March 21, 2019|archive-date=March 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323035044/https://www.newspapers.com/image/464820459/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=NYDN720528>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/395441994/|title=Disc jockey with spurs|first=Val|last=Adams|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]|date=May 28, 1972|page=176|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=subscription|access-date=March 21, 2019|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812133047/https://www.newspapers.com/image/395441994/|url-status=live}}</ref> He had a younger brother, [[Fred Imus]] (1942–2011). Imus disliked school, moving "from one hideous private school to another" and described himself as a "horrible adolescent". When he was 15, his parents divorced. His father died when Imus was 20.<ref name=NYM91/>

In 1957, while living in [[Prescott, Arizona]], Imus dropped out of high school and joined the [[United States Marine Corps]]. He was stationed at [[Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton|Camp Pendleton]] where he was in an [[artillery]] unit before transferring to the [[United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps|Drum and Bugle Corps]].<ref name=NYM91/><ref name=VF06/> 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 passersby.<ref name=NYM91/> 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.<ref name=NYM91/> After dropping out of the [[University of the Pacific (United States)|University of the Pacific]],<ref name=NYDN720528/> Imus worked as a [[brakeman]] on the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] and in a [[uranium]] mine in Arizona.<ref name=BB71>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9AgEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Don%20Imus%22&pg=PA25|title=Imus Focuses on 'New Humor'|magazine=Billboard|pages=25–26|volume=83|issue=2|issn=0006-2510|access-date=March 19, 2019|date=January 9, 1971|archive-date=March 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329233121/https://books.google.com/books?id=9AgEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Don%20Imus%22&pg=PA25|url-status=live}}</ref> He suffered a mining accident that broke both of his legs.<ref name=VF06>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2006/02/imus200602|title=Don Imus's Last Stand|magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|first=Buzz|last=Bissinger|date=April 10, 2007|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=September 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926163050/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2006/02/imus200602|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Career==
{{main|Imus in the Morning|l1=''Imus in the Morning''}}

===Early career===
In 1966, Imus enrolled at the Don Martin School of Radio and Television Arts and Sciences, in Hollywood, after seeing a newspaper advertisement; he was thrown out for being "uncooperative", but studied enough to obtain a broadcasting license from the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC).<ref name=NYM91/><ref name=VF06/> Upon winning a talent contest at [[Johnny Otis]]'s night club, he worked as a singer-songwriter, with Otis serving as his manager.<ref>Reminiscinces upon the death of Johnny Otis, ''Imus in the Morning'', January 20, 2012</ref> After hearing a morning radio DJ at [[KUTY]], in [[Palmdale, California]], Imus went to the station and successfully persuaded the owner to hire him. He signed on the air on June 2, 1968.{{r|ImusNewHumor}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://imonthe.net/imus/nfaq.htm#3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990824204520/http://imonthe.net/imus/nfaq.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 24, 1999 |title=IMUS In The Morning – Frequently Asked Questions Version #2.3 |publisher=Imonthe.Net |access-date=November 8, 2011 }}</ref> While at KUTY, Imus debuted his on-air character Billy Sol Hargis,<ref name=NYM91/> a radio evangelist inspired by and named for preacher [[Billy James Hargis]] and businessman [[Billie Sol Estes]]. Imus was an instant success at the station; in two months, he had become number one in ratings for his time slot, and earned a ''Billboard'' Award for Air Personality of the Year in a medium-sized market.<ref name=NYM91/><ref name=VF06/>

Imus then had a brief tenure at [[KWSX|KJOY]] in [[Stockton, California]], from which he was fired due to an incident that some sources attributed to his [[Eldridge Cleaver]] look-a-like contest<ref name="NYM91" /><ref name="NYDN72" /> in which the winner would be incarcerated for a year.<ref name="ImusNewHumor">{{Cite magazine|date=January 9, 1971|title=Imus Focuses on 'New Humor'|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1971/1971-01-09-Billboard-Page-0021.pdf|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=83|issue=2|pages=25, [https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1971/1971-01-09-Billboard-Page-0022.pdf 26]|access-date=August 17, 2021|via=World Radio History|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818044603/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1971/1971-01-09-Billboard-Page-0021.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Other sources suggest the firing was because of his saying "hell"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.today.com/id/18081950 |title=Controversy has often dogged Don Imus |agency=[[Associated Press]] |publisher=Today.com |date=April 11, 2007 |access-date=March 18, 2018 |archive-date=March 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319004240/http://www.today.com/id/18081950 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and multiple raunchy jokes on-air.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kaplan|first1=Anna|last2=Hill|first2=Ian|date=April 11, 2007|title=Stockton airwaves, Imus just didn't mix|url=https://www.recordnet.com/article/20070411/a_news/704110317|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=The Record|location=Stockton, California|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818044600/https://www.recordnet.com/article/20070411/a_news/704110317|url-status=live}}</ref> Imus moved to [[KIID|KXOA]] in [[Sacramento, California]], whose management team—including general manager [[Jack G. Thayer]] and program director John Lund—both left for identical positions at Cleveland station [[WHKW|WGAR]] and took Imus with them.<ref name="WGARPromoBigPlay">{{Cite magazine|date=September 19, 1970|title=WGAR 'Promo' Sparks New Play|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1970/1970-09-19-Billboard-Page-0024.pdf|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=82|issue=38|pages=24, [https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1970/1970-09-19-Billboard-Page-0027.pdf 27]|access-date=August 17, 2021|via=World Radio History|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818044612/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1970/1970-09-19-Billboard-Page-0024.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Thayer and Lund were hired by WGAR to revamp the station's old-line [[middle of the road (music)|middle of the road]] (MOR) format, and had Imus as the centerpiece for their new [[adult contemporary music|adult contemporary]] format<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=November 14, 1970|title=WGAR Push On Deejay|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1970/1970-11-14-Billboard-Page-0094.pdf|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=82|issue=46|page=26|access-date=August 18, 2021|via=World Radio History|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818052859/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1970/1970-11-14-Billboard-Page-0094.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> that had been developed at KXOA.<ref name="Lund1970Interview">{{Cite magazine|last=Hall|first=Claude|date=October 24, 1970|title=Vox Jox|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1970/1970-10-24-Billboard-Page-0034.pdf|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=82|issue=43|page=34|access-date=August 18, 2021|via=World Radio History|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818044555/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1970/1970-10-24-Billboard-Page-0034.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Imus's tenure at WGAR lasted for less than 15 months but immediately showed success. The October/November 1970 [[Nielsen Audio|Arbitron ratings]] listed Imus at number one in the 18&ndash;49 demo, ahead of [[WTAM|WKYC]]'s [[Jim Runyon]] and [[WKNR|WJW]]'s Ed Fisher; WGAR as a whole topped both the 25&ndash;34 and 25&ndash;49 demos.{{r|ImusNewHumor}} Imus was honored by [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'']] as the number one radio personality for 1971, an honor he shared with KMPC's [[Gary Owens]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=September 12, 1971|title=Behind The Scenes: No Rock For The Garden|page=27|work=[[Akron Beacon Journal]] TV Preview|location=Akron, Ohio|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83644630/behind-the-scenes-no-rock-for-the/|access-date=August 18, 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818153222/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83644630/behind-the-scenes-no-rock-for-the/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=VF06/>

''Imus in the Morning'' was controversial and satirical, with Imus's existing characters and comedy skits garnering immediate attention. One of his earliest on-air jokes involved promoting the 1958 [[Bobby Darin]] single "[[Queen of the Hop]]" as "a WGAR exclusive" and talking over it in the mode of a Top 40 DJ.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=December 12, 1970|title=Don Imus finds fuss with 'Exclusive' disk|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1970/1970-12-12-Billboard-Page-0030.pdf|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=82|issue=50|page=34|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818153220/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1970/1970-12-12-Billboard-Page-0030.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Imus also became infamous for his series of [[prank call]]s, even dialing [[Ohio Attorney General]] [[William J. Brown (Ohio politician)|William J. Brown]]'s publicly listed phone number and inviting him to "join the swinging world of show biz".<ref name="ImusCallsOhioAG">{{Cite news|date=June 12, 1971|title=Action Line|page=A5|work=[[Akron Beacon Journal]]|location=Akron, Ohio|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83644534/action-line-imus/|access-date=August 18, 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812133048/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83644534/action-line-imus/|url-status=live}}</ref> He once contacted an [[Ohio Bell]] [[Switchboard operator|phone operator]] to ask if she was married and if "you mess around", prompting the phone company's lawyers to contact the station.{{r|Lund1970Interview}} His most infamous prank call was to a [[McDonald's]] restaurant claiming to be an [[Ohio National Guard]] official and ordered 4,000 hamburgers{{r|ImusCallsOhioAG}} as lunch for the troops.<ref name="ABJ72">{{cite news|date=May 21, 1972|title=Behind the Scenes: The Mouth Still Roars|page=26|newspaper=[[Akron Beacon Journal]] TV Preview|location=Akron, Ohio|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83644740/behind-the-scenes-the-mouth-still-roars/|access-date=August 17, 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818044600/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83644740/behind-the-scenes-the-mouth-still-roars/|url-status=live}}</ref> While the phone call was entirely scripted by Imus and Lund (with Lund voicing the McDonald's worker)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ink|first=Radio|date=December 27, 2019|title=The Industry Responds To The Death of Imus|url=https://radioink.com/2019/12/27/the-i-man-has-died/|access-date=2022-02-09|website=Radio Ink|language=en-US|archive-date=February 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209221647/https://radioink.com/2019/12/27/the-i-man-has-died/|url-status=live}}</ref> the segment influenced a later FCC ruling that required all radio DJs to identify themselves when they make phone calls on the air.<ref name="VF06" /> Imus also devoted one show to help a [[Yugoslavia]]n immigrant find a bride in order to prevent his deportation after it was discovered he had entered the United States illegally.<ref>{{Cite news|date=November 28, 1970|title=Stan's search may be over|page=34|work=[[Dayton Journal-Herald]]|agency=[[United Press International]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83644380/stans-search-may-be-over/|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818153220/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83644380/stans-search-may-be-over/|url-status=live}}</ref> Meanwhile, Imus, Jack Thayer, and WGAR were hit with a [[defamation]] lawsuit by television [[meteorologist]] Robert Zames after Imus repeatedly questioned Zames's sobriety and joked about it on-air.<ref>{{Cite news|date=December 9, 1970|title=TV Weatherman In Storm With DJ|page=C8|work=[[Akron Beacon Journal]]|location=Akron, Ohio|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83644494/tv-weatherman-in-storm-with-dj/|access-date=August 18, 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818153220/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83644494/tv-weatherman-in-storm-with-dj/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===1971–1979: WNBC and WHK===
On December 2, 1971, less than three years into his radio career, Imus started his morning show at [[WNBC (AM)|WNBC]] in New York City,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Adams|first=Val|date=January 2, 1972|title=Radio Roundup|page=24S|work=[[New York Daily News]]|location=New York, New York|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83660930/radio-roundup/|access-date=August 27, 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=August 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827041120/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83660930/radio-roundup/|url-status=live}}</ref> with a $100,000 annual salary<ref name=NYDN720528/> which was said to have been double his WGAR salary.{{r|ABJ72}} On his second day, he overslept and missed the show.<ref name=NYM91/><ref name=NYDN72/> Imus was involved in various projects during his time at WNBC. In March 1973, he began a stand-up comedy and stage act called ''Imus in the Evening''; his first shows were held at [[The Bitter End]] in New York City.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/465384338/|title=The Calendar|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]|date=March 14, 1973|page=124|access-date=March 23, 2019|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|archive-date=March 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329025018/https://www.newspapers.com/image/465384338/|url-status=live}}</ref> On January 30, 1974 he appeared as himself (a patient at Hope Memorial with a broken leg from skiing while on vacation from his radio show) on the NBC-TV daytime soap opera [[The Doctors (1963 TV series)|''The Doctors'']]. By the early 1980s, he was earning as much as $10,000 a performance.<ref name=CN81/> Imus retired his stand-up in December 1985.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/317501604/|title=Don Imus closes the curtain on 'Imus in the Evening' act|newspaper=The Central New Jersey Home News|date=December 6, 1985|page=47|access-date=March 23, 2019|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|archive-date=March 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329025023/https://www.newspapers.com/image/317501604/|url-status=live}}</ref> He released an album containing radio segments and songs: ''1200 Hamburgers to Go'' (1972).{{r|ABJ72}}

Imus started to drink heavily during this period, which soon affected his working life. He started to miss work and became increasingly unmanageable. He missed 100 days of work in 1973.  In August 1977, WNBC decided to reformat the station and let go of their on-air staff.<ref name=NYM91/> Imus described himself as "awful" and "a jerk" during this time, and struggled to find a suitable job in New York City that satisfied his salary demands.<ref name=CN81>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/220102076/|title=A humbler Don Imus reflects on his fall and rise|newspaper=The Courier-News|date=May 22, 1981|page=C1|access-date=March 23, 2019|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|archive-date=March 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325000616/https://www.newspapers.com/image/220102076/|url-status=live}}</ref> He returned to Cleveland and began an afternoon drive show on [[WHK (AM)|WHK]] in 1978. He found the experience humiliating but took the job in order to earn money and "get my act together".<ref name=NYM91/>

===1979–1988: WNBC===
On September 3, 1979, Imus returned to the air in mornings at WNBC from 5:30 am.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/483905473/|title=Warning! WNBC rehires Imus|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]|date=August 15, 1979|page=78|access-date=March 23, 2019|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|archive-date=March 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329025016/https://www.newspapers.com/image/483905473/|url-status=live}}</ref> By this time, Imus had started to use cocaine; he quit in 1983. He continued to drink, and his on- and off-air behavior became erratic; he turned up for work without shoes and slept on park benches with large amounts of money in his pocket.<ref name=VF06/> By 1981, Imus and [[Charles McCord]] secured a deal with [[Paramount Pictures]] that involved the development of three screenplays, including work on ''[[Joy of Sex (film)|Joy of Sex]]''.<ref name=CN81/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/145777798/|title=Don Imus: 'NBC asked me...and I said yes'|newspaper=Asbury Park Press|date=March 8, 1981|page=140|access-date=March 23, 2019|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|archive-date=March 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326085558/https://www.newspapers.com/image/145777798/|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 1981, Imus renewed his contract with WNBC with a five-year deal worth $500,000 a year with bonuses if he surpassed ratings targets.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/485977369/|title=A 5-yr. stretch for Imus|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]|date=April 11, 1981|page=38|access-date=March 23, 2019|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|archive-date=March 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325000613/https://www.newspapers.com/image/485977369/|url-status=live}}</ref> Following the addition of [[Howard Stern]] in afternoons in 1982, Imus and Stern began a longtime feud though both were paired on WNBC print and television advertisements.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Kasindorf |first=Jeanie |date=November 23, 1992 |title=Bad Mouth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-QCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA43 |magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |access-date=September 4, 2018 |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801022844/https://books.google.com/books?id=3-QCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA43 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In July 1981, Imus released his first book, ''God's Other Son'', a novel about the life of his on-air character Billy Sol Hargis that he wrote with McCord.<ref name=CN81/> It was republished in 1994 and spent seven weeks on [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' best seller list]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hawes.com/1995/1995-01-08.pdf |title=The New York Times Best Seller List-January 8, 1995 |publisher=hawes.com |date=April 13, 2007 |access-date=April 13, 2007 |archive-date=June 5, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070605010708/http://www.hawes.com/1995/1995-01-08.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> By October 1981, Imus was the most popular radio DJ in the US, reaching 220,000 regular listeners and number one in 12 of 13 demographic categories.<ref name=TR81>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/493085172/|title=WNBC rocks ratings with Imus reprise|newspaper=The Record|date=October 27, 1981|page=24|access-date=March 23, 2019|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812133048/https://www.newspapers.com/image/493085172/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Imus was also the utility announcer for [[Geraldo Rivera]]'s monthly TV series ''Good Night America'', which aired as a recurring segment of [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[Wide World of Entertainment]]'' program (1973–1976), and he was one of the inaugural [[VJ (media personality)|video jockeys]] (VJ) for the launch of [[VH-1]], sister cable channel to [[MTV]], in 1985.<ref name="rollingstoneobit">{{cite magazine |last1=Grow |first1=Kory |title=Don Imus, Divisive Radio Shock Jock Pioneer, Dead at 79 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/don-imus-obituary-931797/ |access-date=December 28, 2019 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=December 28, 2019 |archive-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228034741/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/don-imus-obituary-931797/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===1988–2007: WFAN and national syndication===
In 1989, Imus signed a five-year deal to continue his show on WFAN.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/406528504/?terms=%22don+imus%22+WFAN|title=24 Jun 1989, 38|website=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 27, 2019|archive-date=July 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729233819/http://www.newspapers.com/image/406528504/?terms=%22don+imus%22+WFAN|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 1989, Imus was inducted into the [[National Radio Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/145302293/?terms=%22don+imus%22+WFAN|title=23 Apr 1989, Page 142 - Asbury Park Press at Newspapers.com|website=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 27, 2019|archive-date=July 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730005030/http://www.newspapers.com/image/145302293/?terms=%22don+imus%22+WFAN|url-status=live}}</ref> Later in 1989, Imus accepted an invitation to become an honorary assistant coach for a basketball game between the [[Fordham Rams men's basketball|Fordham Rams]] and [[La Salle Explorers men's basketball|La Salle Explorers]] the following January.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/496148666/?terms=%22don+imus%22+|title=21 Dec 1989, 37|website=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 27, 2019|archive-date=July 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730002523/http://www.newspapers.com/image/496148666/?terms=%22don+imus%22+|url-status=live}}</ref>

The show began syndication in June 1993 when it was simulcast on [[WEEI (AM)|WEEI]] in Boston,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/440526793/|title=Boston won't be first stop for Imus' show|first=Jack|last=Craig|date=June 17, 1993|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|page=87|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=October 29, 2019|archive-date=October 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029093857/https://www.newspapers.com/image/440526793/|url-status=live}}</ref> followed by four other stations around the country.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/440594176/|title=Wake up to IMUS|first=Susan|last=Bickelhaupt|date=July 9, 1993|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|page=21|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=October 29, 2019|archive-date=October 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029093856/https://www.newspapers.com/image/440594176/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Imus was instrumental in raising over $60&nbsp;million for the [[Center for the Intrepid]], a Texas rehabilitation facility for soldiers wounded in the [[Iraq War]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Beckerman |first1=Jim |title=Don Imus: 6 reasons to love (or loathe) the shock jock |url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/2018/01/22/don-imus-6-reasons-love-and-loathe-shock-jock/1053563001/ |access-date=December 28, 2019 |work=NorthJersey.com |date=January 22, 2018 |language=en |archive-date=February 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226115658/https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/2018/01/22/don-imus-6-reasons-love-and-loathe-shock-jock/1053563001/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===2007–2018: WABC and retirement===
The program was heard on [[WABC (AM)|WABC]] starting on December 3, 2007.<ref>[http://www.wabcradio.com/Article.asp?id=504979&spid= WABC Press Release] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208042131/http://www.wabcradio.com/Article.asp?id=504979&spid= |date=February 8, 2012 }}. November 1, 2007.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x1d2bh_bigjohnnyv_imus-in-the-morning-wabc-radio|title=First Broadcast of Imus in the Morning on WABC Radio, New York}}</ref> In 2018, [[Cumulus Media]] informed Imus that the company was going to stop paying him because of the bankruptcy reorganization that Cumulus was undergoing.<ref name="bankrupt"/><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/2018/biz/news/controversial-radio-host-don-imus-stepping-down-1202674078/ |title=Controversial Radio Host Don Imus Stepping Down |last=Trakin |first=Roy| date=January 23, 2018 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=January 24, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-date=January 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123204658/http://variety.com/2018/biz/news/controversial-radio-host-don-imus-stepping-down-1202674078/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/don-imus-announces-date-radio-show-final-episode-article-1.3771803|title=Don Imus announces date of his radio show's final episode|work=[[New York Daily News]]|access-date=January 24, 2018|language=en|archive-date=January 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123213507/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/don-imus-announces-date-radio-show-final-episode-article-1.3771803|url-status=live}}</ref> The show aired its final episode on March 29, 2018.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 29, 2018 |title=Don Imus retires after 50 years of radio, congratulates himself on the way out |work=[[New York Daily News|Daily News]] |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/confidential/don-imus-retires-50-years-radio-pats-back-article-1.3903874 |access-date=March 30, 2018 |archive-date=March 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329225657/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/confidential/don-imus-retires-50-years-radio-pats-back-article-1.3903874 |url-status =live}}</ref>

==Controversies==
{{Criticism section|date=December 2019}}

===Rutgers women's basketball team===
On April 4, 2007, during an on-air discussion about the [[NCAA Women's Basketball Championship]], Imus characterized the largely black [[Rutgers University]] [[Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball|women's basketball]] team as "rough girls" in a comment on the players' tattoos. His executive producer [[Bernard McGuirk]] responded by referring to them as "hardcore hos". The discussion continued with Imus describing the women as "nappy-headed hos"<ref name="NappyHistory">{{cite news|url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20070412-1500-nappyhair.html |first=Deepti |last=Hajela |title=Don Imus' 'nappy' remark has long, hurtful history in describing black people's hair |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=April 12, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010175500/http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20070412-1500-nappyhair.html |archive-date=October 10, 2008 }}</ref><ref name="demean">{{cite web|url=http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_5649549|title=Imus' remarks demean women of all colors|first=Brenda|last=Payton|publisher=Inside Bay Area (ANG Newspapers)|date=April 12, 2007|access-date=April 12, 2007|archive-date=April 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070419040326/http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_5649549|url-status=live}}</ref> and McGuirk remarking that the two teams looked like the "jigaboos versus the wannabes" as mentioned in [[Spike Lee]]'s film ''[[School Daze]]'', apparently referring to the two teams' differing appearances.<ref name="reuters">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN1237895620070412|title=Furor over Imus puts heat on other broadcasters|first=Daniel|last=Trotta|work=[[Reuters]]|date=April 12, 2007|access-date=April 12, 2007|archive-date=April 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070419132221/http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN1237895620070412|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>CBS: [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-fires-don-imus-over-racial-slur/ CBS Fires Don Imus Over Racial Slur.]  February 11, 2009.</ref>

In the immediate aftermath of the remarks, public outrage was directed at Imus and [[WFAN (AM)|WFAN]]. [[Howard Stern]] discussed how he had heard Imus make racist comments that were directed at a black female co-worker while the two were working at WNBC. Management was aware of the comments at the time but had done nothing. Stern's co-host [[Robin Quivers]] confirmed that assertion and added that she had once been the target of Imus's racist remarks herself.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.howardstern.com/show/2007/4/9/don-imus-offends/ |title=Don Imus Calls a Group of Women 'Nappy Headed' |website=Howard Stern |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021111554/https://www.howardstern.com/show/2007/4/9/don-imus-offends/ |archive-date=October 21, 2018}}</ref> Imus dismissed the controversy at first, calling the incident "some idiot comment meant to be amusing".<ref>{{cite news |title=Networks Condemn Remarks by Imus |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/07/arts/television/07imus.html?hp |date=April 7, 2007 |access-date=April 8, 2007 |first=David |last=Carr |archive-date=May 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510175405/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/07/arts/television/07imus.html?hp |url-status=live }}</ref> He also stated that "nappy-headed hos" is a term that rap artists use to refer to black women.<ref>Hill, Simona J. And Dave Ramsaran. [https://books.google.com/books?id=09F-6Tl-HkoC&pg=PA85 ''Hip Hop and Inequality: Searching for the "Real" Slim Shady''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617140620/http://books.google.com/books?id=09F-6Tl-HkoC&pg=PA85 |date=June 17, 2013 }}. Amherst, N.Y.: Cambria Press, 2009, {{ISBN|978-1-60497-651-9}}, p. 85.</ref> He said:

{{blockquote|That phrase didn't originate in the white community. That phrase originated in the black community. Young black women all through that society are demeaned and disparaged and disrespected by their own black men, and they are called that name in black hip hop.<ref>Don Imus quoted in [https://books.google.com/books?id=g4K0QW_FLSMC&pg=PA41 ''Cultural Codes: Makings of a Black Music Philosophy: An Interpretive History from Spirituals to Hip Hop''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616012357/http://books.google.com/books?id=g4K0QW_FLSMC&pg=PA41 |date=June 16, 2013 }}, William C. Banfield, Lanham: Scarecrow Press, 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-8108-7286-8}}, p. 41.</ref>}}

In response to mounting public censure, Imus issued a statement of apology:
{{blockquote|text=I want 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, which lost to Tennessee in the NCAA championship game on Tuesday. It was completely inappropriate and we can understand why people were offended. Our characterization was thoughtless and stupid, and we are sorry.}}

On April 9, Imus appeared on [[Al Sharpton]]'s syndicated radio talk show ''[[Keepin' It Real with Al Sharpton]]'' to address the controversy. Sharpton called the comments "abominable", "racist", and "sexist", and repeated his earlier demand that Imus be fired. Imus said, "Our agenda is to be funny and sometimes we go too far. And this time we went way too far. Here's what I've learned: that you can't make fun of everybody, because some people don't deserve it."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IMUS_PROTESTS?SITE=FLSTU&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730012017/http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IMUS_PROTESTS?SITE=FLSTU&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 30, 2020 |title=Imus takes his lumps on Sharpton's show |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=April 9, 2007 |access-date=April 9, 2007}}</ref>

Imus was suspended soon after. Media commentators were divided on the suspension. On MSNBC's ''[[Scarborough Country]]'' on April 10,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna18056324|title=Transcript of Scarborough Country April 10, 2007|work=[[NBC News]]|date=April 10, 2007|access-date=November 17, 2019|archive-date=September 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923221002/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18056324|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Pat Buchanan]] said Imus was "a good guy" who "made a bad mistake and apologized for it" and that the show should stay on the air. Comedian [[Bill Maher]] said that, if a comedian apologizes for stepping over a line, that should suffice. MSNBC media analyst [[Steve Adubato Jr.|Steve Adubato]] disagreed, saying that this incident was "not isolated". [[Joe Klein]] made the same charge, referring to Imus's comment about ''[[The New York Times]]'' reporter [[Gwen Ifill]] 14 years earlier being a "cleaning lady"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Henderson |first=Cydney |title=Legendary shock jock Don Imus: 5 incendiary moments heard 'round the world |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/12/27/don-imus-dies-5-moments-shock-jock-heard-round-world/2760569001/ |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref> as evidence of a pattern of offensive comments. On ''[[The View (talk show)|The View]]'', [[Rosie O'Donnell]] spoke out in support of keeping Imus on the air on free speech grounds.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/in_other_imus_news_1|title=In Other Imus News|work=[[The Stranger (newspaper)|The Stranger]]|last=Spangenthal-Lee|first=Jonah|date=April 11, 2007|access-date=April 17, 2014|archive-date=August 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817173607/http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/in_other_imus_news_1|url-status=live}}</ref> Emil Steiner of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' argued that Sharpton used the issue to further divide the United States along racial lines.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/offbeat/2007/04/08-week/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723231951/http://blog.washingtonpost.com/offbeat/2007/04/08-week/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 23, 2008 |title=Al Sharpton, Don Imus & A Distracted Nation|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=April 14, 2007}}</ref>

The Rutgers basketball team held a news conference at which coach [[C. Vivian Stringer]] stated that the team would meet with Imus to discuss his comments. Several of the players expressed their outrage over his remarks. Team captain [[Essence Carson]] said that Imus's remarks had "stolen a moment of pure grace from us".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18193723&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=468632&rfi=6|title=Rutgers team to meet with Imus; Stringer calls comments 'deplorable'|work=The Herald Standard, PA|date=April 11, 2007|access-date=April 14, 2007|archive-date=September 27, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927204751/http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18193723&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=468632&rfi=6|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.courant.com/sports/college/hc-rutgers0411.artapr11,0,1279931.story?coll=hc-headlines-sports-college |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130120045202/http://www.courant.com/sports/college/hc-rutgers0411.artapr11,0,1279931.story?coll=hc-headlines-sports-college |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 20, 2013 |work=The Hartford Courant |title=Imus' remark Despicable |date=April 11, 2007 |last=Heuschkel |first=David }}</ref>

''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' columnist [[Clarence Page]] had confronted Imus about his characterization of certain black athletes and got him to take a pledge to stop. After the Rutgers team incident, Page said that he would not appear on the show again and said of the original two-week suspension:

{{blockquote|text=I know other stations… some shock jock who lost his job for less than this, or been at least suspended for a month or two. Why does Don, a repeat offender, keep getting away with it? I want to know.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[PBS NewsHour]] with Jim Lehrer |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/jan-june07/imus_04-09.html |title=Columnists React to Don Imus' Remarks About Rutgers Players |publisher=[[PBS NewsHour]] |date=April 9, 2007 |access-date=November 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111204050203/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/jan-june07/imus_04-09.html |archive-date=December 4, 2011}}</ref>}} CBS board member and former [[NAACP]] president [[Bruce S. Gordon]] said that Imus should not be allowed to come back even after the suspension, claiming that his remarks "crossed the line, a very bright line that divides our country."<ref>{{cite news |title=MSNBC pulls 'Imus in the Morning' |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=April 11, 2007 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/11/imus.rutgers/index.html |access-date=April 11, 2007 |archive-date=April 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070417145735/http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/11/imus.rutgers/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 
President of NBC News [[Steve Capus]] announced on April 11, 2007, that MSNBC would no longer simulcast ''Imus in the Morning''. The decision came on the same day that a few advertisers left Imus, and the network also said that employee concerns played a role. Capus said:

{{blockquote|text=These comments were deeply hurtful to many, many people. And we've had any number of employee conversations, discussions, emails, phone calls. And when you listen to the passion and the people who come to the conclusion that there should not be any room for this sort of conversation and dialogue on our air, it was the only decision we could reach.<ref>{{cite news |title=NBC News: 'Only decision we could reach' |work=[[NBC News]] |date=April 11, 2007 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna18063461 |access-date=April 11, 2007 |archive-date=June 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625043543/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18063461/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

[[CBS Radio]] canceled ''Imus in the Morning'' the next day.<ref>{{YouTube|ST0y1mt9ufE|Breaking News From MSNBC – Don Imus Fired From CBS Radio}}{{dead link|date=March 2012}} (From YouTube)</ref> CBS President and chief executive officer [[Leslie Moonves]] stated:

{{blockquote|text=From the outset, I believe all of us have been deeply upset and revulsed by the statements that were made on our air about the young women who represented Rutgers University in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship with such class, energy and talent. There has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society. That consideration has weighed most heavily on our minds as we made our decision.<ref>{{cite news|title=Newly fired Imus meets with Rutgers players |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=April 13, 2007 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/12/imus.rutgers/index.html |access-date=April 13, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070416163003/http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/12/imus.rutgers/index.html |archive-date=April 16, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=CBS fires Don Imus from radio show|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=April 13, 2007|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/cbs-fires-don-imus-radio-show-wbna18072804|access-date=April 13, 2007|archive-date=July 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170718090519/http://www.today.com/popculture/cbs-fires-don-imus-radio-show-wbna18072804|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

The day before, CBS chairman [[Sumner Redstone]] said that he trusted that Moonves would "do the right thing", but he didn't elaborate. Moonves had met with Sharpton and [[Jesse Jackson]] shortly before the announcement was made.<ref name="CartSteinTimes">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/business/13imus.html|title=Off the Air: The Light Goes Out for Don Imus|first1=Bill|last1=Carter|first2=Jacques|last2=Steinberg|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 13, 2007|access-date=February 7, 2017|archive-date=March 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324014817/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/business/13imus.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Moonves said in an internal memo that employee concerns were a factor in the decision to cancel Imus's show, but he also said that the decision was "about a lot more than Imus." Moonves said that CBS had to take Imus off the air in order to change "a culture that permits a certain level of objectionable expression that hurts and demeans a wide range of people."<ref>{{cite news|title=Racist remarks cost Imus CBS radio job |agency=[[Associated Press]] |last=Bauder |first=David |date=April 12, 2007 |url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/12/msnbc_drops_imus_simulcast/ |access-date=April 12, 2007 |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070416230839/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/12/msnbc_drops_imus_simulcast/ |archive-date=April 16, 2007 }}</ref>

[[General Motors]] (Imus's biggest advertiser), [[Staples Inc.]], [[GlaxoSmithKline]], [[Sprint Nextel]], [[PetMed Express|PetMeds]], [[American Express]], and [[Procter & Gamble]] either pulled their ads outright or suspended advertising on Imus's show to protest his remarks.<ref name="Apology">{{cite news|title= Rutgers coach says Imus' apology accepted|publisher=[[CNN]] |date=April 13, 2007 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/13/imus.rutgers/index.html |access-date=April 13, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070417140252/http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/13/imus.rutgers/index.html |archive-date=April 17, 2007}}</ref> [[Bigelow Tea Company]] expressed uncertainty about renewing their ads with Imus's show.<ref name="Bigelow Tea and other advertisers response">{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a0rvIotudMc8&refer=home|publisher=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]]|title=Staples, P&G Halt Advertising Over Imus's Remarks (Update3)|date=April 10, 2007|first1=Mary Jane|last1=Credeur|first2=Don|last2=Jeffrey|access-date=March 6, 2017|archive-date=September 30, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930073839/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a0rvIotudMc8&refer=home|url-status=live}}</ref>

Just hours after the announcement of his firing, Imus met with Stringer and her team at [[Drumthwacket]], the New Jersey governor's mansion. The three-hour meeting was arranged by [[Buster Soaries]], the former New Jersey Secretary of State and Stringer's pastor. New Jersey governor [[Jon Corzine]] planned to attend the meeting but was injured in a car accident on the way.<ref>{{cite news|title=N.J. Gov. Corzine in car accident, leg broken|agency=[[Reuters]] |last=Hurdle|first=Jon|date=April 13, 2007 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/13/AR2007041300795.html |access-date=April 13, 2007}}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Imus left without commenting, but Stringer said that the meeting went well. She later commented that they had accepted Imus's apology because he came to the meeting "in spite of the fact that he lost his job. So let's give him credit for that." She also emphasized that the basketball team had not called for Imus to be fired.<ref name="Apology"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Host meets with players he insulted, but it's not enough to save program|work=[[New York Daily News]]|first1=Adam|last1=Nichols|first2=Corky|last2=Siemaszko|date=April 13, 2007|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/04/13/2007-04-13_youre_don_for_cbs_tells_imus-1.html|access-date=April 13, 2007|archive-date=May 15, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070515091850/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/04/13/2007-04-13_youre_don_for_cbs_tells_imus-1.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Senator [[John Kerry]] criticized CBS for being too harsh. He said that a "long suspension" would be "appropriate to pay a price on the airwaves but I'm not sure that it was appropriate to say you're off forever."<ref name="Kerry">{{cite news|title=John Kerry Says Don Imus Shouldn't Have Been Fired |publisher=NY1 (TV channel) |date=April 18, 2007}}</ref>

====Subsequent litigation====
Imus hired prominent attorney [[Martin Garbus]] by May 2, 2007, to pursue a wrongful termination lawsuit against CBS for the remaining $40 million on his five-year contract. The contract contained a clause indicating that CBS hired and supported Imus to produce "irreverent" and "controversial" programming.<ref>{{cite news|title=Imus hires attorney, will likely sue CBS|last=Payne|first=Ed|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=May 3, 2007|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/05/03/imus.cbs/index.html|access-date=May 3, 2007|archive-date=May 5, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070505145539/http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/05/03/imus.cbs/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> CBS announced a settlement with Imus on his $40 million contract on August 14.<ref name="CBSsettle">{{cite news|title=CBS says settles with fired shock jock Don Imus |last=Trotta |first=Daniel |work=[[Reuters]]|date=August 14, 2007 |url=http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=2007-08-14T170103Z_01_WEN0418_RTRIDST_0_ENTERTAINMENT-IMUS-CBS-COL.XML |access-date=September 12, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017190926/http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=2007-08-14T170103Z_01_WEN0418_RTRIDST_0_ENTERTAINMENT-IMUS-CBS-COL.XML |archive-date=October 17, 2007 }}</ref> Rutgers basketball player [[Kia Vaughn]] filed a suit that same day against Imus, NBC Universal, CBS Corporation, MSNBC, CBS Radio, Viacom, Westwood One Radio, and Bernard McGuirk, citing slander, libel, and defamation of character. She was the only player to pursue legal damages.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3479449&page=1 |title=ABC News:Rutgers' Player sues Imus, NBC, CBS |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=August 2007 |access-date=August 14, 2007 |archive-date=August 16, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070816172449/http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3479449&page=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Vaughn dropped the lawsuit on September 11, 2007, citing her desire to concentrate on her studies and basketball training.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rutgers' Vaughn withdraws lawsuit against Imus, CBS|agency=[[Associated Press]]|work=[[USA Today]]|date=September 12, 2007|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/womensbasketball/bigeast/2007-09-12-rutgers-imus-suit-withdrawn_N.htm|access-date=September 12, 2007|archive-date=June 23, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623194043/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/womensbasketball/bigeast/2007-09-12-rutgers-imus-suit-withdrawn_N.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Rutgers Player Drops Imus Suit |last=Grossberg |first=Josh |publisher=[[E! Online]] |date=September 12, 2007 |url=http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=ce95e851-0d3b-4e3c-b59a-ca80288e62b6&sid=fd-news |access-date=September 14, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217051429/http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=ce95e851-0d3b-4e3c-b59a-ca80288e62b6&sid=fd-news |archive-date=December 17, 2007 }}</ref>

====Return to radio and television====
On July 8, 2007, the ''[[Drudge Report]]'' indicated that Imus would return to the air before the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential election]].<ref>[http://drudgereport.com/flash2ii.htm "Imus Plots January Comeback"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927233612/http://drudgereport.com/flash2ii.htm |date=September 27, 2007 }}, ''The Drudge Report'', July 8, 2007</ref> Imus reached a settlement with CBS Radio over his contract on August 14, leaving him free to pursue other media opportunities.<ref name="CBSsettle"/>

On November 1, Citadel announced that they had agreed to a multi-year syndication contract with Imus. The new ''Imus in the Morning'' program was distributed nationally by Citadel Media and based at Citadel-owned WABC in New York City beginning in December.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wabcradio.com/Article.asp?id=504979&spid= |title=The Biggest News Talk Radio Station in America Just Got Bigger |publisher=77WABC |date=November 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208042131/http://www.wabcradio.com/Article.asp?id=504979&spid= |archive-date=February 8, 2012 }}</ref> ''The New York Times'' reported on November 14 that Imus had agreed to terms with cable network RFD-TV to air a video simulcast of the new radio program.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/arts/television/14imus.html?ref=television |last=Steinberg |first=Jacques |title=Source: Rural channel will carry Imus show |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 14, 2007 |access-date=February 7, 2017 |archive-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725111704/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/arts/television/14imus.html?ref=television |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Charles McCord]] and [[Bernard McGuirk]] joined him in the new version of the show,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/ny-spimus1009,0,1049766.story |last=Best |first=Neil |title=Source: Imus back on air in early December |newspaper=Newsday |date=October 9, 2007 |access-date=October 10, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012231257/http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/ny-spimus1009,0,1049766.story |archive-date=October 12, 2007 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> and he returned to the airwaves on ABC Radio and RFD-TV on December 3. Sharpton said in an interview, "We'll monitor him; I'm not saying I'm going to throw a banquet for him and say welcome home. He has the right to make a living, but because he has such a consistent pattern with this we are going to monitor him to make sure he doesn't do it again."<ref name=DS>[[n:Al Sharpton speaks out on race, rights and what bothers him about his critics|Interview with Al Sharpton]], David Shankbone, ''Wikinews'', December 3, 2007.</ref> [[Jesse Jackson]] appeared on ''Imus in the Morning'' on April 4, 2008, to discuss the 40th anniversary of the [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]], a booking that would have seemed impossible nearly a year before, when Jackson joined 50 demonstrators in Chicago demanding that "Imus must go", and many media commentators declared Imus's "rehabilitation" complete.<ref>"The resurrection of Don Imus has been almost as complete as his crash and burn": David Hinkley, "Year after stirring racism storm & ranch exile, Don Imus back in saddle at WABC," ''New York Daily News'' (April 6, 2008).</ref>

In September 2008, Imus signed a multi-year deal with [[Fox Business|Fox Business Network]] to simulcast his radio show ''Imus in the Morning''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/media/fox-business-network-secures-deal-don-imus-simulcast-morning/ |title=Roger Ailes, FOX Business Network Secure Deal With Don Imus |publisher=FOX Business |date=September 3, 2009 |access-date=November 8, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091015071503/http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/media/fox-business-network-secures-deal-don-imus-simulcast-morning/ |archive-date=October 15, 2009 }}</ref>

===Adam "Pacman" Jones controversy===
Controversy once again surrounded Imus when he made the following statements regarding the suspension of Cowboys' cornerback [[Adam Jones (American football)|Adam Jones]]:

{{blockquote|text=[[Warner Wolf]]: Defensive back Adam "Pacman" Jones, recently signed by the Cowboys, here's a guy suspended all of 2007, following a shooting in a Vegas nightclub.

Don Imus: Well, stuff happens. You're in a nightclub, for God's sake. What do you think is gonna happen in a nightclub? People are drinking, and doing drugs. There are women there and people have guns. So there, go ahead.

Warner Wolf: Also, he's been arrested six times since being drafted by Tennessee in 2005.

Don Imus: What color is he?

Warner Wolf: He's African American.

Don Imus: Well there you go, now we know.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Page |first1=Clarence |title=Culture Worrier: Selected Columns 1984–2014 |date=9 September 2014 |publisher=Agate Publishing |page=40 |isbn=9781572847422 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tTPnBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT40 |access-date=10 January 2020 |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801023756/https://books.google.com/books?id=tTPnBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT40 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

In response, Jones said, "I'm truly upset about the comments. Obviously Mr. Imus has problems with blacks. I'm upset, and I hope the station he works for handles it accordingly. I will pray for him."<ref>Watkins, Calvin. [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/football/cowboys/stories/062408dnspocowbrief.31b5ac75.html Dallas Cowboys' Adam Jones upset with Imus' comments] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627154456/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/football/cowboys/stories/062408dnspocowbrief.31b5ac75.html |date=June 27, 2008 }}. ''Dallas Morning News''. June 24, 2008.</ref> Imus said that his comments were misinterpreted.<ref name=newquestions>Gross, Samantha. [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/24/imus-faces-new-questions-over-on-air-race-remar-1/  Imus faces new questions over on-air race remarks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629003604/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/24/imus-faces-new-questions-over-on-air-race-remar-1/ |date=June 29, 2008 }}. ''The Washington Times''. June 24, 2008.</ref> "I meant that he was being picked on because he's black."<ref name=newquestions/> WABC vice president Phil Boyce said that it was unlikely that disciplinary action would be pursued against Imus, and none was.<ref name=newquestions/>

===Joe Barton===
For two weeks in fall 2006, Imus delivered ongoing "rants" against [[Texas]] Congressman [[Joe Barton]], describing him as "a lying fat little skunk from Texas", a "pipsqueak" and a "coward and a crybaby". Imus also called Barton a "congressional dirtbag", because Barton used his position as a committee chair to prevent passage of the [[Combating Autism Act]], which would authorize funds for [[autism]] research. In the weeks before Congress recessed on September 29, 2006, Barton used his chairmanship to prevent the legislative proposal from coming to a vote in the House, rousing the ire of Imus and his wife, staunch supporters of autism research. The bill already had been passed unanimously by the Senate, but Barton opposed the Senate bill's stipulation that Centers of Excellence in Environmental Health and Autism investigate "a broad array of environmental factors that may have a possible role in autism spectrum disorders."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Recio |first=Maria |title=Talk show host Imus levels blasts at Texas congressman |date=October 16, 2006 |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/staff/maria_recio/story/14842.html |access-date=July 28, 2007 |publisher=McClatchy Washington Bureau |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927001643/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/staff/maria_recio/story/14842.html |archive-date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref>

===Lawsuits===

Nichole Mallette sued Imus on November 29, 2004, for wrongful termination and defamation after a Thanksgiving 2003 incident in which she was allegedly fired from her position as nanny and escorted off his property at 4:15 am. Don and Deirdre Imus were allegedly upset over Mallette's possession of a cap-gun and pocketknife on ranch property.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1130041imus1.html |title=Nanny Sues Imus Over Ranch Wrangle |publisher=thesmokinggun.com |date=November 30, 2004 |access-date=April 10, 2007 |archive-date=April 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070411175528/http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1130041imus1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

One of the doctors who worked at the Imus Ranch, Dr. Howard Allen Pearson, sued Imus for slander and civil assault on July 8, 2005. Dr. Pearson accused Imus of threatening him during a July 13, 2004, confrontation at the ranch, after a disagreement over how to care for one of the children at the ranch. Imus subsequently referred to Pearson several times on the air as "an arrogant fucking doctor who doesn't mind letting a child suffer." Pearson was a world-famous pediatric cancer specialist who was the former chairman of the pediatrics department of the [[Yale Medical School]] as well as a co-founder (with [[Paul Newman]]) of another facility for ill children, the [[Hole in the Wall Gang Camp]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Doctor Files Lawsuit Against Don Imus |url=http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0705/242479.html |publisher=KATV |date=July 11, 2005 |access-date=April 10, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017171335/http://katv.com/news/stories/0705/242479.html |archive-date = October 17, 2007}}</ref> In late 2005, Imus expressed his grievances about the case on the record to journalist [[Buzz Bissinger]], for a ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' article that was published in the February 2006 issue.<ref name=VF06/>

Longtime sports commentator [[Warner Wolf]] was fired in 2016, after ten years on the show, and Wolf subsequently sued Imus and various other parties in New York for age discrimination. Wolf was in his late 70s at the time. The suit was dismissed in 2019 on a technicality: when he was fired, Wolf was a Florida resident who had been doing his segments from a home studio. The Manhattan Supreme Court ruled that the State of New York had no jurisdiction over this matter, and an appellate court agreed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rbr.com/imus-2-wolf-0-veteran-sportscaster-loses-ageism-appeal/|title=Imus 2, Wolf 0: Veteran Sportscaster Loses 'Ageism' Appeal|work=Radio & Television Business Report|first=Adam|last=Jacobson|date=March 22, 2019|access-date=December 28, 2019|archive-date=July 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730012627/https://www.rbr.com/imus-2-wolf-0-veteran-sportscaster-loses-ageism-appeal/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Defamatory speech===
Imus and his crew made offensive remarks both on and off the air. Some examples include:
* Imus said in 1984 concerning Howard Stern: "yes, Howard's a slut too, Lloyd. Plus a Jew bastard, and should be castrated, put in an oven." Stern played a clip of this interview in the news section of his November 5, 2007, show.<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Howard Stern: A Biography|author=Mintzer, R.|date=2010|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated|isbn=9780313380327|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pk7VB_EsSEoC|page=14|access-date=October 15, 2014|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801032538/https://books.google.com/books?id=Pk7VB_EsSEoC|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Imus referred to black sports columnist [[William C. Rhoden|Bill Rhoden]] as a "''[[The New York Times]]'' quota hire".<ref>{{cite news|last=Carr|first=David|date=April 9, 2007|title=With Imus, They Keep Coming Back|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/09/business/media/09carr.html|access-date=November 24, 2021|archive-date=November 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124084712/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/09/business/media/09carr.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In the course of a 1998 interview with [[Mike Wallace]] on ''[[60 Minutes]]'', Imus told a producer off-camera that McGuirk was hired to perform "nigger jokes".<ref name="NYT">{{cite news | title = Paying the Price | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=http://select.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/opinion/12herbert.html?hp | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120721100938/http://select.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/opinion/12herbert.html?hp | url-status = dead | archive-date = July 21, 2012 | date = April 12, 2007 | access-date = April 12, 2007 | first=Bob | last=Herbert}}</ref>
* [[Robin Quivers]] recounted that he called her a "nigger" to her face when she worked with him at WNBC and also called her a "spearchucker" on the air.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfLh5PJjiU&mode=related&search= |title=Howard Stern talks about racist Imus |via=YouTube |date=April 14, 2007 |access-date=November 8, 2011 |archive-date=July 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130720051033/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfLh5PJjiU&mode=related&search= |url-status=live }}</ref> Both Howard Stern and Quivers recalled when Imus called a black female co-worker, a secretary named Brenda, a "nigger" during their time at WNBC.<ref>{{cite web |title=Don Imus Calls a Group of Women 'Nappy Headed' |url=https://www.howardstern.com/show/2007/4/9/don-imus-offends/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913231737/https://www.howardstern.com/show/2007/4/9/don-imus-offends/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 13, 2017 |website=howardstern.com |access-date=2 January 2020}}</ref>
* Imus repeatedly referred to Arabs as "ragheads".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.annoy.com/editorials/doc.html?DocumentID=100700 | last = Fein | first = Clinton | title = Imus and the Flies | website= annoy.com | date = March 24, 2005 | access-date = August 21, 2006 | archive-date = August 23, 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060823024430/http://www.annoy.com/editorials/doc.html?DocumentID=100700 | url-status = live }}</ref>
* The show's routines sometimes contained derogatory epithets for homosexuals, including "faggot" and various terms describing homosexuality.<!--Leave these in footnote—they are necessary as citation for the text, not here as quotes--><ref>Some have been compiled at Philip Nobile's "Imus Watch". See: {{cite web|url=http://tompaine.com/Archive/scontent/3067.html
 |title=Imus Watch I
 |publisher=TomPaine.com
 |date=May 16, 2000
 |access-date=April 12, 2007
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523001001/http://tompaine.com/Archive/scontent/3067.html
 |archive-date=May 23, 2007
}} Samples include:

{{poemquote|
Imus: We're poised to support this bogus tennis thing of yours.
McEnroe: That's hurtful. That's hurtful.
Imus: The new Hampton Homos or whatever.

Imus: Hilary Swank's the lesbo in ''[[Boys Don't Cry (1999 film)|Boys Don't Cry]]''?
O'Brien: She's getting married to [[Chad Lowe]].

Imus: We'll hear about two weeks from now the guy suddenly is a fagatation situation.
Bo Dietl: You don't do that with [[Tim Russert|Russert]]. You listen to these fagaloons talking to you, 'O Donnie, Donnie, Donnie.'}}</ref>
* Imus referred to former Speaker of the House [[Newt Gingrich]] as "disgusting" and a "fat repulsive pig".<ref>{{cite news | title = Don Imus: Newt Gingrich Is 'Disgusting' And 'A Fat Repulsive Pig' | work=[[HuffPost]] | date = November 22, 2011 | url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/22/don-imus-newt-gingrich_n_1108545.html | first = Paige | last = Lavender | access-date = February 9, 2012 | archive-date = February 5, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120205193442/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/22/don-imus-newt-gingrich_n_1108545.html | url-status = live }} Retrieved on February 9, 2012.</ref>

==Business interests==
Imus was also a part owner of Autobody Express stores with his late brother, [[Fred Imus|Fred]] (who was a frequent caller to the radio show, commenting on [[NASCAR]] races, the [[NFL]] and related pop culture matters). The Autobody Express stores were located in Santa Fe, and inside the [[Mohegan Sun]] Native American Casino in [[Montville, Connecticut|Uncasville, Connecticut]]. In 2003, the company failed, and both stores closed.{{Citation needed|date=December 2019}}

Imus owned a small coffee and pastry store also located in the Mohegan Sun casino. The Autobody Express became Imus Ranch Foods, which offered its signature chips and [[salsa (sauce)|salsa]] via online sales and in [[Northeastern United States|Northeastern]] stores, prior to the discontinuation of the Imus Ranch Foods line in 2014.

==Honors==
Imus won four [[NAB Marconi Radio Awards|Marconi Awards]], three for Major Market Personality of the Year (1990,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nab.org/documents/events/awards/marconiAwards/1990Winners.asp |title=1990 Marconi Radio Award Winners |publisher=Nab.org |access-date=November 8, 2011 |archive-date=March 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314234417/http://www.nab.org/documents/events/awards/marconiAwards/1990Winners.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> 1992<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nab.org/documents/events/awards/marconiAwards/1992Winners.asp |title=1992 Marconi Radio Award Winners |publisher=Nab.org |access-date=November 8, 2011 |archive-date=March 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314234422/http://www.nab.org/documents/events/awards/marconiAwards/1992Winners.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> and 1997<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nab.org/documents/events/awards/marconiAwards/1997Winners.asp |title=1997 Marconi Radio Award Winners |publisher=Nab.org |access-date=November 8, 2011 |archive-date=March 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314234434/http://www.nab.org/documents/events/awards/marconiAwards/1997Winners.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>) and one for Network Syndicated Personality (1994).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nab.org/documents/events/awards/marconiAwards/1994Winners.asp |title=1994 Marconi Radio Award Winners |publisher=Nab.org |access-date=November 8, 2011 |archive-date=March 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314234440/http://www.nab.org/documents/events/awards/marconiAwards/1994Winners.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>

He was inducted into the [[Radio Hall of Fame|National Radio Hall of Fame]] in 1989.<ref>{{cite web |title=Don Imus |url=https://www.radiohalloffame.com/don-imus |website=Radio Hall Of Fame |access-date=27 March 2022 |archive-date=March 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329233845/https://www.radiohalloffame.com/don-imus |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Personal life==
===Family===
Imus was married twice. Around 1969, he married his first wife Harriet Showalter, who had two daughters from a previous marriage, Nadine and Toni; Imus adopted Showalter's daughters.<ref name=NYDN720528/> The couple had two daughters of their own, Ashley and Elizabeth. They divorced in 1979. Imus married [[Deirdre Imus|Deirdre Coleman]] on December 17, 1994, and they stayed together until Imus's death in 2019.<ref>{{cite news|title=Getting to the 'meat' of the matter: Is eating meat good for you?|url=https://www.foxnews.com/health/getting-to-the-meat-of-the-matter-is-eating-meat-good-for-you/|work=[[Fox News]]|access-date=May 20, 2013|date=May 20, 2013|archive-date=October 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025183747/http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/getting-to-meat-matter-is-eating-meat-good-for/|url-status=live}}</ref> Their son Frederick Wyatt was born in 1998. Imus adopted his sixth child, Zach, in the 2010s.

At the time of his death, Imus resided in [[Brenham, Texas]], at a ranch he acquired in 2013. He moved there full-time in 2015, after ending his Fox Business television simulcast in New York and from there started broadcasting his show solely on radio with the cast members broadcasting from the [[WABC (AM)|WABC]] radio studios. His former waterfront mansion in [[Westport, Connecticut]], was sold that same year for $14.4&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news
 |last=Gosselm
 |first=Kenneth R.
 |title=Don Imus's Westport Home Sells For $14.4 Million
 |work=Hartford Courant
 |date=April 12, 2013
 |url=http://courantblogs.com/ct-real-estate/don-imuss-wesport-home-sells-for-14-4-million/
 |access-date=September 9, 2014
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911001848/http://courantblogs.com/ct-real-estate/don-imuss-wesport-home-sells-for-14-4-million/
 |archive-date=September 11, 2014
}}</ref>

According to journalist [[Robert D. McFadden]], Imus was admired for his private charity work.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/don-imus-radio-host-who-pushed-boundaries-dies-at-79/ar-BBYp7BZ|title=Don Imus, Radio Host Who Pushed Boundaries, Dies at 79|website=MSN|access-date=December 28, 2019|archive-date=December 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228084058/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/don-imus-radio-host-who-pushed-boundaries-dies-at-79/ar-BBYp7BZ|url-status=live}}</ref> He raised millions for the rehabilitation of wounded veterans of the Iraq war, children with cancer, and siblings of victims of sudden infant death syndrome, who had spent summers since 1999 on his ranch near [[Ribera, New Mexico]].<ref name="auto"/>

=== Imus Ranch ===
In 1999, Imus and Deirdre founded the [[Imus Ranch]], a working {{convert|4000|acre|adj=on}} cattle ranch near [[Ribera, New Mexico]], {{convert|50|mi|0}} southeast of [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]], for children with [[cancer]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Don Imus has prostate cancer|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=March 16, 2009|url=https://variety.com/2009/tv/news/don-imus-has-prostate-cancer-1118001265/|access-date=March 25, 2009|archive-date=May 15, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150515012733/http://variety.com/2009/tv/news/don-imus-has-prostate-cancer-1118001265/|url-status=live}}</ref> The ranch was used as a tax deduction by Imus, and eventually, due to the personal use of the ranch by the Imus family, saw its property tax exemption reduced to 55%.<ref name="NPT">{{cite web |title=Closed Imus Ranch Sells For $12.5M |url=https://www.thenonprofittimes.com/npt_articles/closed-imus-ranch-sells-12-5m/ |publisher=The NonProfit Times |access-date=30 December 2019 |date=27 April 2018 |archive-date=March 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306154848/https://www.thenonprofittimes.com/npt_articles/closed-imus-ranch-sells-12-5m/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The ranch was also criticized for the relatively high ratio of cost to each child served, which was over $25,000.<ref name="NPT"/> The summer program serving children ended in 2014, following a rib injury Imus suffered in a fall from a horse.<ref name="NPT"/>

In the three years from 2014 onward, the ranch reported losses on its [[Form 990]], totaling nearly $3 million.<ref name="NPT"/> The board members of the non-profit were Imus, his wife Deirdre, and Imus's agents, Vincent and Robert Andrews.<ref name="NPT"/>

In October 2014, the ranch was offered for sale with an asking price of $32 million.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gerew |first=Gary |title=Imus Ranch for sale with $32 M price tag |work=Albuquerque Business First |date=October 21, 2014 |url=http://m.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/blog/morning-edition/2014/10/imus-ranch-for-sale-with-32-m-price-tag.html?r=full |access-date=November 3, 2014 |archive-date=August 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812133051/https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/blog/morning-edition/2014/10/imus-ranch-for-sale-with-32-m-price-tag.html?r=full |url-status=live }}</ref> The ranch repeatedly failed to sell, leading Imus to put the property up for auction in May 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2017/05/02/don-imus-ranch-for-kids-with-cancer-headed-for-auction-block/|title=Don Imus' ranch in New Mexico headed for the auction block|date=May 2, 2017|work=[[New York Post]]|author1=Morgan, Richard|access-date=December 14, 2017|archive-date=December 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204171203/https://nypost.com/2017/05/02/don-imus-ranch-for-kids-with-cancer-headed-for-auction-block/|url-status=live}}</ref> The ranch was sold to broadcaster [[RFD-TV|Patrick Gottsch]] in April 2018, for $12.5&nbsp;million.<ref name=NYPost>{{cite news|author=Morgan, Richard|title=Don Imus finally sells New Mexico ranch|work=[[New York Post]]|date=April 13, 2018|url=https://nypost.com/2018/04/13/don-imus-finally-sells-new-mexico-ranch/|access-date=June 9, 2019|archive-date=April 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430052850/https://nypost.com/2018/04/13/don-imus-finally-sells-new-mexico-ranch/|url-status=live}}</ref> A spokesperson for Imus stated that the non-profit organization had not been active since 2014.<ref name="NPT"/>

===Health and death===
During his early years broadcasting in New York City, Imus was an [[alcoholic]]. In 1983, he was persuaded by [[Michael Lynne]], then his lawyer, to attend [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] meetings. Imus attended meetings and ceased drinking in public, but continued to drink in private.<ref name=NYM91/> On July 17, 1987, after a nine-day vodka binge, he attended rehabilitation at a [[Hazelden Foundation|Hanley-Hazelden]] treatment center in West Palm Beach, Florida, for six weeks<ref name=NYM91>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D-kCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA29|magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=June 24, 1991|first=Dinitia|last=Smith|title=Morning Mouth: The rise, fall, and rise of Don Imus, New York's funniest radio maniac|pages=29–35|volume=24|issue=25|issn=0028-7369|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=March 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329233121/https://books.google.com/books?id=D-kCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA29|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=VF06/> and remained sober.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=1481976&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312 |title=Don Imus still sober after 21 years|agency=[[Associated Press]]|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=April 14, 2007}}</ref> By 1991, Imus had adopted a vegetarian diet.<ref name=NYM91/>

In 2000, Imus suffered serious injuries after a fall from a horse at his ranch and broadcast several shows from a hospital. The injuries resulted in chronic breathing problems, especially at higher altitudes, which he spoke about on his program.

In March 2009, Imus was diagnosed with stage 2 [[prostate cancer]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2009/03/16/2009-03-16_don_imus_cancer_diagnosis_what_is_stage_.html | title=Imus cancer diagnosis | location=New York | work=[[New York Daily News]] | first=Corky | last=Siemaszko | date=March 16, 2009 | access-date=November 29, 2010 | archive-date=March 20, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320040125/http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2009/03/16/2009-03-16_don_imus_cancer_diagnosis_what_is_stage_.html | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/03/16/2009-03-16_radio_host_don_imus_announces_on_morning-1.html | location=New York | work=[[New York Daily News]] | first1=Richard | last1=Huff | first2=Corky | last2=Siemaszko | title=Radio host Don Imus announces on morning show he has stage 2 prostate cancer | date=March 16, 2009 | access-date=November 29, 2010 | archive-date=September 19, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090919115855/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/03/16/2009-03-16_radio_host_don_imus_announces_on_morning-1.html | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/16/don-imus-i-have-prostate_n_175203.html | title=huffingtonpost.com | work=[[HuffPost]] | first=Danny | last=Shea | date=March 16, 2009 | access-date=November 29, 2010 | archive-date=June 17, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617113240/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/16/don-imus-i-have-prostate_n_175203.html | url-status=live }}</ref> He was advised to have radiation treatments, but said he chose to treat the disease holistically.<ref name="auto"/>
{{wikinews|Radio host Don Imus dies aged 79}}
Imus was hospitalized at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]], [[Texas]], on December 24, 2019. He died three days later, on December 27, at the age of 79, of complications from lung disease.<ref name="AP obit"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/don-imus-legendary-imus-morning-host-dies-at-79-1265052|title=Don Imus, Legendary 'Imus in the Morning' Host, Dies at 79|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=December 27, 2019|access-date=December 27, 2019|archive-date=January 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101122925/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/don-imus-legendary-imus-morning-host-dies-at-79-1265052|url-status=live}}</ref> In reporting his death, David Bauder of the Associated Press said, "the quote that might best serve as Imus's epitaph" was the shock jock's statement to [[Vanity Fair (magazine)|''Vanity Fair'']] magazine in 2006: "I talk to millions of people every day. I just like it when they can't talk back."<ref>{{cite news|author=Bauder, David|agency=[[Associated Press]]|title=Imus, made and betrayed by his mouth, dies at 79|work=[[Tampa Bay Times]]|date=December 28, 2019|page=10A}}</ref>

== Discography ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2019}}
;Albums
* ''1200 Hamburgers to Go'' (1972, RCA Records)
* ''One Sacred Chicken to Go'' (1973, RCA Records)
* ''This Honky's Nuts'' (1974, Bang Records)
* ''The Imus Ranch Record'' (2008, New West Records)
* ''The Imus Ranch Record II'' (2010, New West Records)
;Singles
* ''I'm A Hot Rodder/The Boogala'' (credited as Jay Jay Imus & Freddy Ford) (1964, Challenge Records) (Freddy Ford is Imus's brother, Fred)
* ''From Adam's Rib To Women's Lib/The Ballad Of Rick'' (1971, RCA Records)
* ''1200 Hamburgers To Go/Reverend Billy Sol Hargis'' (1972, RCA Records)
* ''Son of Checkers (The Watergate Case)/Oh Billy Sol Please Heal Us All'' (1973, RCA Records)
* ''Play That Country Juke Box'' (1975, RCA Records)
* ''Everybody Needs Milk (Just Give Me A Bottle Of Wine)'' (1975, RCA Records)
* ''The Presidential Debate'' (credited as Road Hog & The Neon Cactus) (1976, RCA Records)

==Books==
* {{cite book|last=Imus|first=Don|title=God's Other Son|url=https://archive.org/details/godsothersonlif00imus|url-access=registration|year=1981|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-0-671-22537-7}}
* {{cite book|last1=Imus|first1=Don|last2=Imus|first2=Fred|title=Two Guys Four Corners: Great Photographs, Great Times, and a Million Laughs|year=1997|publisher=Villard|isbn=978-0-679-45307-9}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{Discogs artist}} {{MusicBrainz artist}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{C-SPAN|33898}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0408320}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imus, Don}}
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:2007 controversies in the United States]]
[[Category:American male comedians]]
[[Category:American radio DJs]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:American people of Welsh descent]]
[[Category:American sports radio personalities]]
[[Category:American talk radio hosts]]
[[Category:Arizona State University alumni]]
[[Category:Autism activists]]
[[Category:Bang Records artists]]
[[Category:Comedians from Riverside County, California]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung disease]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Riverside County, California]]
[[Category:MSNBC people]]
[[Category:New West Records artists]]
[[Category:People from Kingman, Arizona]]
[[Category:People from Westport, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Radio personalities from New York City]]
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[[Category:Shock jocks]]
[[Category:United States Marines]]
[[Category:University of the Pacific (United States) alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Riverside, California]]
[[Category:WABC (AM) people]]