Imus Don

American radio personality, television show host, recording artist, and author, particularly noted for his nearly 50-year career of hosting radio talk shows in his inimitable, provocative, and often offensive style. His appearance was unmistakable. Thin and craggy, sporting his signature unkempt hair and bushy eyebrows, he usually dressed cowboy-style, complete with boots, hats and lots of denim. Imus had strong opinions and didnt hesitate to express them no matter whom he might offend. His popularity as a talk show host stemmed from his on-the-air pranks, biting humor, and challenging remarks. Imus was the older of two sons of a cattle rancher; he grew up in Arizona where he left school to help alleviate his familys financial woes. He joined the Marines. After his honorable discharge in 1959, he drifted, earning his living as a window dresser, a musician, a miner, and a train brakeman. His luck changed in 1968 when he was hired to be a disk jockey by a small radio station in Palmdale, California. His off-the-cuff ease and his impertinence established him as a presence in radio though his on-air antics often gave his bosses serious heartburn. By 1971, he had moved to New York to work for WNBC. Imus battle with alcohol became obvious when he began missing work, and he was eventually fired. His addiction to alcohol led to cocaine. In 1977 he moved to Cleveland but two years later he returned to New York and was rehired by WNBC. For the next several years, his addictions often got the better of him. His producer, Bernard McGuirk, recalled one scene where Imus was "running up and down the hallways in his underwear screaming at people." In 1987, Imus checked himself into a rehabilitation center in Florida. His career later took off when WFAN, a sports radio show, began broadcasting his program. He completely overhauled his show into an all-talk format and gave it a new title, Imus in the Morning. Providing him with a hefty annual salary, the show was widely popular and subsequently syndicated. With a focus on current events, political issues, and sports, it featured prominent guests with whom Imus engaged in his own brand of banter, name-calling, heated exchanges and pointed remarks. In 1989 Imus was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. His radio show was so popular that, in September 1996, MSNBC began to simulcast it on its cable TV network. Imus married twice. He and his first wife divorced in 1979; their marriage had produced four daughters. In 1992 he met a beautiful blond woman, Deirdre Coleman, twenty-five years his junior, when she auditioned for a skit on his show. They began dating and married in December 1994, but not before Imus suffered a serious health problem that led to a collapsed lung and surgery. The couple had one son, Frederick Wyatt, and adopted another, Zach. Despite his gruff voice, glaring eyes, and often insulting remarks, Imus had a soft spot for children with difficulties. He became an advocate for childrens health charities and successfully raised money for research into childrens diseases and sudden infant death syndrome. Imus owned a cattle ranch in New Mexico where he hosted children who suffered from cancer as well as siblings of SIDS babies. The children worked on the ranch that was staffed with professional caregivers as a way to build self-esteem and deal with their anguish. With funds raised from his various charities, Imus sponsored construction of the Don Imus/WFAN Pediatric Center Read less