Riverside-born shock jock Don Imus is turning off the mike at age 77.
Infamous for calling Rutgers female basketball players “nappy-headed hoes” and Arabs as “ragheads,” the WABC-AM morning drive time host will sign off for the last time March 29.
(He later apologized for the Rutgers remarks.)
His nationally syndicated “Imus in the Morning” is heard on four California radio stations, including 1050 KCAA-AM Los Angeles and 990 KTMS-AM Santa Barbara.
His radio DJ career is ending in New York, but it began nearly 50 years at radio station KUTY in Palmdale, where he stayed until 1969.
At KJOY in Stockton, California, he was fired for saying “hell” on the air.
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“After being fired in Stockton, he went to KXOA in Sacramento,” notes Wikipedia. “His on-air pranks, such as calling up a restaurant and ordering 1,200 hamburgers to go, made his show immensely popular and boosted ratings.”
Here’s how he announced his leaving:
March 29th, 2018, will be the last ‘Imus in the Morning Program.’ Turn out the lights…the party’s over.
— Imus in the Morning (@TheImusShow) January 22, 2018
And a few reactions:
I’ll forever be indebted to Don Imus. The irascible/charming/kind bully saw something in me I didn’t see in myself and pushed me to be more than I ever knew I could be. End of an era. https://t.co/AEH4NVWvaO
— Imogen Lloyd Webber (@illoydwebber) January 22, 2018
Hello again pleased to hear yr pride and joy Teddy is doing well. Don Imus retiring in March so yet another radio ICON is sadly gone ? Means only rock stars left are you and Rush ? pic.twitter.com/W6eenztTCh
— Ray (@sharingman888) January 22, 2018