Imus in The Morning
After a stint at WGAR (AM) radio in Cleveland, Ohio, Imus moved to New York City and WNBC radio in December 1971. During this first stint at WNBC, Imus recorded three record albums, two for the RCA Victor label (1200 Hamburgers to Go, including some of his more popular "humor" from KXOA, WGAR and WNBC broadcasts, and One Sacred Chicken to Go with Anthrax, a primarily studio-created album centering on his satirical character, The Right Rev. Dr. Billy Sol Hargis) and one for the Bang label (This Honky's Nuts, an album of his stand up comedy act at the Manhattan nightclub "Jimmy's"). There was also a 1973 RCA Victor single, "Son of Checkers," issued by Imus.
Imus was fired from WNBC in August 1977 along with several of the station's other personalities, in an effort to revamp the station's sound and boost ratings. In 1978 he returned to Cleveland radio as afternoon drive host on WHK, making the front page of the Cleveland Plain Dealer on his first day back in town. During that year, Imus commuted between Cleveland and New York to tape a TV talk show, Imus Plus at WNEW-TV. (The show was nationally syndicated by Metromedia, then the owner of WNEW-TV, as well as the prior owner of WHK until earlier in the decade.)
In a surprise change of fortune Imus was rehired by WNBC in September 1979, and revived his morning drive show. From 1982 to 1985, the station also employed talk-radio host Howard Stern, and WNBC heavily promoted the pair in print and television ads, which often featured the slogan "If We Weren't So Bad, We Wouldn't Be So Good." Although Stern's show aired later in the day, Imus and Stern often made brief appearances on each other's shows, giving the audience an occasional glimpse of an on-and-off-air rivalry that continued for many years.
During this period, Imus was best known for character Billy Sol Hargis, a radio evangelist whose name was a cross between infamous real-life radio and television preacher Billy James Hargis and real-life Texas fertilizer swindler Billie Sol Estes. As Hargis, Imus touted on-air the merits of the "First Church of the Gooey Death and Discount House of Worship". Imus published the 1981 best-selling novel God's Other Son that further depicted Hargis' adventures. The novel was republished in 1994 by popular demand and spent seven weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Other regular Imus characters included the supposed general manager "Geraldo Santana Banana" (played by doo-wop singer Larry Chance), and "Moby Worm", a monstrous creature who devoured local schools (which was reported on the show's "breaking news updates").
Imus was also the utility announcer for Geraldo Rivera's monthly TV series Good Night, America, which aired as a recurring segment of ABC's Wide World of Entertainment program, and he was one of the inaugural video jockeys for the launch of the VH-1 cable network in 1985.
In 1988, WNBC radio was sold to Emmis Broadcasting; on October 7, 1988, WNBC permanently signed off the air and Emmis' WFAN was moved from 1050 AM to WNBC's former spot, 660 AM. Imus in the Morning remained at 660 AM among WFAN's sports programs with his music and comedy bits as the staples of the program and the beginnings of a political forum.
The radio show became nationally syndicated in 1993, and began simulcasting on MSNBC in 1996. He wore his signature cowboy hat during his broadcasts.
Imus’s behavior has often drawn the attention of the press. He famously called Rush Limbaugh "a fat, pill-popping loser" and a "drug-addled gas bag", and Lesley Stahl a "gutless, lying weasel." His comedic exchange of quips ("fat pig") regarding his show’s former news reader, Contessa Brewer, made news, as did Brewer's response ("cantankerous old fool"). When Tucker Carlson brought up Brewer on the program in 2005, Imus hung up on him, calling him "a bowtie-wearing little pussy."
While on the air during the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Imus in the Morning program was among the few live American broadcasts to continue airing commercials well after the first reports of the attack. While speaking live with famed sportscaster Warner Wolf, who was being interviewed by Imus from his high-rise apartment with direct sight to the World Trade Center, the second plane hit the towers with Mr. Wolf literally giving play-by-play. The commercials that continued to air included one for a major airline, Continental, along with a jeweler based in the World Trade Center, and a spot read "live" on the air for a broadcasting school, in which it was said careers in broadcasting were "exploding." Imus noted the irony, but continued reading the spot. His production staff of 13 years also had great difficulty in simulcasting live TV news coverage when requested by Imus. This staff stayed with Imus after the MSNBC debacle and moved with him to the new ABC/RFD-TV arrangement. Imus is still plagued by technical difficulties, which have become part of his daily comedy diatribe.
Imus was instrumental in raising over $60 million for the Center for the Intrepid, a Texas rehabilitation facility for soldiers wounded in the Iraq War. The largest technological center of its kind in the country, it is designed to help treat disabled veterans and help them with their transition back into the community. Imus has also taken on the cause of the living conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, visiting wounded veterans at the hospital to boost morale. Imus's reporting preceded Army resignations, including that of Lieutenant General Kevin Kiley, then Army Surgeon General. Imus had earlier criticized Kiley's personal fitness for military duty and dedication to wounded soldiers.
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