Thursday
Jan022020
In Memorium: Don Imus 1940-2019
Thursday, January 2, 2020 
Imus broadcast his first program from New York City back in 1971. His life journey has by some accounts been arduous, by other accounts a freak parade, and by still others as a matter for a RICO investigation. It began out in the great American West, California and Arizona, and eventually would make its way on across the country to Ohio and New York.
Imus was born in Riverside, California. Ranching was the family business and he was actually raised on a big cattle spread called the Willows near Kingman, Arizona. Don recalls that period of his childhood fondly and his familiar cowboy persona is completely legitimate. His irascibility appears to be equally legitimate, influenced by more than a few hard knocks along the way. If he revels in the agony of others, as he jokes, it may just be because he’s had a little of that himself. His parents divorced when Don was fifteen, he changed schools frequently, got arrested after a school yard fight, won election in secondary school as class president and was impeached, and, at seventeen, was pushed by his mother to join the marine corps as the best strategy to keep him out of jail. While it all added up to what Imus himself has described as a fairly horrible adolescence, it also disproves a theory that he actually had no parents and instead spawned spontaneously in dust clots behind the Laundromat dryers where one day he would seek shelter. When did all of these events unfold? It doesn’t really matter. And why annoy Don by asking?
Despite the occasional rough patch, Imus did spend a full twelve years in public school and emerged with no formal education…a product of automatic social promotion not even casually tied to merit. He graduated with no honors and no skills, a rare stroke of luck because a broadcasting career required neither. Difficulty continued to dog Imus after his school days: his undistinguished, infraction blotched stretch in the marines, onerous labor in a Superior, Arizona copper mine and a Grand Canyon uranium mine where an accident left him with both legs broken. There was work as a freight brakeman on the Southern Pacific railroad and a back injury suffered in an engine derailment and at one point the indignities of homelessness, hitching, being flat broke. Better, and worse days were to come. This quintessential American and often challenging personal passage materially defined Imus, instilling him with humility, a deep respect for our country and its workers, and a disturbing need to get even. He emerged from the experience with attributes that contributed enormously to the broadcasting distinction he would realize: an intrinsic, conspicuous authenticity, and a unique ability to connect with real people who work hard, serve their country, and care passionately about what really matters in the world.
Once Imus began broadcasting, fame and acclaim came quickly. He was showered with the laurels of radio celebrity including inductions into both the National Association of Broadcasters and radio halls of fame. He was the recipient of four Marconi awards, broadcasting’s equivalent of Hollywood’s Oscars. It got to the point that he would throw this or that slab of walnut with crystal crap glued to it against the wall of his office as a convenient means of intimidating horrified underlings. He was featured on television programs from NBC’s “Today” show to CBS’ “60 Minutes.” He was a guest of Charlie Rose, David Letterman, and of special note, Larry King, in shameless, mutual ass-kissing marathons that challenged the audience's gag reflex.
Don and Deirdre continue to run the Imus Ranch Foundation donating to other worthy causes helping children with cancer, autism and all the environmental health problems with our children. Don has raised hundred of millions of dollars for the Tomorrows Children’s Fund, CJ foundation for SIDS, Hackensack University Medical Center and America’s Veterans.
Reader Comments (579)
heheheheheheheheh
You just realizing the Iman is dead???? howz THAT working out for ya?
Living in a basement long have ya huh? you have way too much time on your hands.
Imus was one of the great ones in broadcasting. His rise from "shock jock" to serious interviewer even with his major faux pas puts him in a league of his own.
to quote him " you are the stool of the common barnyard fowl frequently BBQ'd by memebers of the __________ persuasion"
nuff said.
It is sad that some March 2025 graphic art posts on this site are mean.If anyone was racially tainted on the morning radio crew,it was Bernie McGuirk from his old days of cab driving in the Bronx before he became a genius producer and Cardinal bits outrageously funny guy.Bernie died too soon a couple years back of colon cancer so stop the hate.Imus gave a lot back to kids with cancer,etc. and veterans rehab groups. He mostly did it quietly and even Cher knew his good side and donated,too. No,Don did have a dark side till Deidre met him and even with her,they played a stupid game to get their pal a lot of $$ for a porn online scam with Bill O Reilly. But,Don made a difference unlike the haters,long after he has departed for a cloud with brother Fred.....
Haters... Undoubtedly woke and probably on Government assistance yet.. I miss Don Imus & nothing anyone ever says about him or Bernie will change that for me. Thank you and grow up.. Alittle respect for the departed isn't that hard.. If you can't do that then just get out altogether and stop posting garbage on here. ✌️
Yikes! WTF? The fact that all this nonsense is posted here (and in this old, out-of-fate, Internet code system) is indication that it’s long past the time this website was taken down. Clearly no one is monitoring it, and even the fans are completely inappropriate: for the record, “woke” means awake (as in "hep," as we would say back in the old days), and claiming someone is on “government assistance” is simply inane. I have never seen anyone in Don’s family post here: not his wife, not his son, not his daughters, and that alone is six people who were the closest to him. Charles is absent, McGuirk is dead, and Rosenberg admits he couldn’t stand him. Let Imus rest in peace already. Close down this website, as it’s a waste of time and a bad legacy. People can post on other social media sites, especially their own accounts, when they want to talk about Imus. This is a disgrace.