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Rush Hudson Limbaugh III (born January 12, 1951) is an American radio talk show host. Born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, he is a self-described conservative, discussing politics and current events on his program, The Rush Limbaugh Show. He has been credited by some with reviving AM radio, and is considered by many to have been a catalyst for the Republican Party's 1994 Congressional victories.Toner, Robin. "POLITICS: ON THE AIR; Radio Talk Show Host Fears For True Conservatism's Fate." New York Times. February 23, 1996. Retrieved on October 13, 2006.
The Rush Limbaugh Show has helped transform AM broadcasting. After the shift of music to FM in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Limbaugh's show was first nationally syndicated in August 1988. Conservative talk radio stations, many built around Limbaugh's show, have now come to dominate AM radio. As of 2005, Arbitron ratings indicate the show's audience to average 13.5 million listeners weekly, making it the largest radio talk show audience in the United States. Such high ratings have been a consistent hallmark of his show.
Limbaugh was the 1992, 1995, 2000 and 2005 recipient of the Marconi Radio Award for Syndicated Radio Personality of the Year (given by the National Association of Broadcasters), joining the syndicated Bob & Tom Show as the only other four-time winners of a Marconi award. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2002, industry's Talkers magazine ranked him as the greatest radio talk show host of all time. Relative to all other television and radio programs in the United States, Limbaugh's audience has the highest percentage (56%) of hard news consumers.
Personal life
Limbaugh began his career in radio as a teenager in 1967 in his hometown of Cape Girardeau, Missouri using the name Rusty Sharpe.
Education
He attended Southeast Missouri State University, where he famously failed a speech class with a "D."Smollar, David J. "RADIO: The prof who 'flunked' Rush Limbaugh in speech is alive and well and running a California university campus." The Orange County Register. February 25, 1996. Pg. F3 Limbaugh dropped out after one year."Rush Limbaugh: Biographical Sketch." NNDB. Retrieved on October 13, 2006. This would have normally made him eligible for the draft, thus to serve during the Vietnam War, but he was classified as "1-Y" due to an undisclosed medical problem.Mikkelson, Barbara; Mikkelson, David P. "Draft Notice." Snopes. December 16, 2002. Retrieved on October 13, 2006. Limbaugh later stated that he was not drafted because a physical exam found that he had an "inoperable pilonidal cyst" and "a football knee from high school."
Relationships
Limbaugh was first married on September 24, 1977 to Roxy Maxine McNeely, a sales secretary at radio station WHB in Kansas City, Missouri. They were married at the Centenary United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau. In March 1980, McNeely filed for divorce, citing "incompatibility." They were formally divorced on July 10, 1980.
In 1983, Limbaugh married Michelle Sixta, a college student and usherette at the Kansas City Royals Stadium Club. They were divorced in 1990, and she remarried the following year.
On May 27, 1994, Limbaugh married Marta Fitzgerald, a 35-year-old aerobics instructor, whom he met via the CompuServe online service. They were married at the house of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who officiated. On June 11, 2004, when the couple separated, Limbaugh announced on the air, "Marta has consented to my request for a divorce, and we have mutually agreed to seek an amicable separation. As I said, it's a personal matter and I want to keep it that way. I don't intend to say any more about this on the air." The divorce was finalized in December 2004.Herald Staff. "Rush's divorce final" The Miami Herald. February 19, 2005. Pg. 4A
Public life
1970s
After dropping out of Southeast Missouri State University, Limbaugh moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and became a Top 40 music radio disc jockey on station WIXZ. In October 1972, he moved to KQV, another Pittsburgh station, using the name Jeff Christie. Limbaugh developed some of his trademark patter there, such as a claim to use a "golden microphone" (which he definitely used in the 1990s on The Rush Limbaugh Show). After being fired from KQV, Limbaugh moved to Kansas City, where he also worked (and was subsequently fired from) KUDL, KFIX and KMBZ. After several years in music radio, Limbaugh took a break from radio and accepted a position as director of promotions with the Kansas City Royals baseball team.
1980s
In 1984, Limbaugh returned to radio as a talk show host at KFBK in Sacramento, California, where he replaced one of his mentors, Morton Downey, Jr. In 1987, under Ronald Reagan, the FCC repealed the Fairness Doctrine, thus freeing radio stations to air opinion journalism without having to air opposing points of view.
After achieving success in Sacramento and drawing the attention of Edward F. McLaughlin, a former president of ABC Radio, Limbaugh moved to New York City in 1988, entering the nation's largest radio market on talk-format station WABC-AM, his flagship station to this day. He initially did a two-hour local program on WABC, where he was preceded by comedian Joy Behar and followed by Lynn Samuels, creating a six-hour block of politically focused radio, with Behar and Samuels leaning to the left politically.
On August 1, 1988 The Rush Limbaugh Show was syndicated nationally as a two-hour show and eventually expanded to three hours while dropping the local New York show, though he was still based at WABC. (Limbaugh refers on-air to the "Excellence In Broadcasting Network", or "E.I.B.", which is merely an on-air signature, as there is no organization with that name). While WABC remains Limbaugh's key outlet, he now broadcasts from either the Premiere Radio Network studios in New York or his private studio in Florida near his home.
Newsday media critic Paul Colford reported on Limbaugh in 1988:
From this point forward, Limbaugh's radio program is covered in The Rush Limbaugh Show article.
1990s
The program soared in popularity and moved to stations with larger audiences. When the GOP won control of Congress in 1994, one of the first acts by many freshmen (calling themselves the "Dittohead Caucus") was to award Limbaugh the title of "honorary member of Congress" in recognition of his support of their efforts during this period.
Humor columnist and journalist Lewis Grossberger acknowledged that Limbaugh had "more listeners than any other talk show host" and described Limbaugh's style as "bouncing between earnest lecturer and political vaudevillian".
Television appearances
Limbaugh's first television hosting experience came March 30, 1990, as a guest host on Pat Sajak's CBS late-night talk show. ACT UP activists in the audience heckled Limbaugh repeatedly; ultimately the entire studio audience was cleared. In 2001 Sajak said the incident was "legendary around CBS".
December 17, 1993, Limbaugh appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman. Limbaugh also guest-starred, as himself, on a 1994 episode of Hearts Afire, in the 1995 Billy Crystal film, Forget Paris and in 1998, on an episode of the The Drew Carey Show. His persona has often been utilized as a template for a stereotypical conservative talk show host on shows, including an episode of The Simpsons, as a conservative talk radio host named Birch Barlow, as "Gus Baker" on an episode of Beavis & Butthead, and as "Lash Rambo," host of "Perfection in Broadcasting" on an episode of The New WKRP in Cincinnati.
Television show
Limbaugh had a syndicated half-hour show from 1992 through 1996, produced by Roger Ailes. The television show discussed many of the topics on his radio show, and was taped in front of a live audience.
Cigar Aficionado
In the early 1990s, when the cigar boom was gaining momentum, Limbaugh was seen frequently with a cigar in hand and by the end of the 1990s, cigars had become Limbaugh's staple in many public appearances. Often starting segments of his show with the phrase, "amid billowing clouds of fragrant and aromatic first, second, and sometimes third hand premium cigar smoke," cigars became a common topic of discussion. In the spring of 1994, Limbaugh appeared on the cover of the popular magazine Cigar Aficionado and shared the story of his conversion to cigars. He has since been a frequent participant in many events such as "The Big Smoke," hosted throughout the year by the magazine. Limbaugh has participated in many charity cigar auctions hosted by the magazine, and is known to talk frequently with his listeners about his and their cigar interests, preferences and recommendations. "I think cigars are just a tremendous addition to the enjoyment to life."
Other ventures
In 1992, Limbaugh published his first book, The Way Things Ought To Be, followed by See, I Told You So in 1993. Both went to number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. Limbaugh acknowledges in the text of the first book that he taped the book and it was transcribed and edited by Wall Street Journal writer John Fund. In the second book, Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily is named as his collaborator.
As a result of his television program, Limbaugh became known for wearing distinctive neckties. In response to viewer interest, Limbaugh launched a series of ties designed primarily by his then-wife Marta. Sales of the ties reached over US$5 million in their initial sales year, but were later discontinued.
2000s
Rushlimbaugh.com
In July 2000, Limbaugh launched the web site bearing his name, which includes brief overviews of the current show along with recent headlines from which Limbaugh drew content for his daily radio program. In the beginning, the Web site was a text commentary and transcript-only Web site that allowed his listeners to review the contents of the day's show from a news-based perspective. By December 2000, major changes to the Web site were made: new downloadable audio-links of daily highlights were available to internet users free of charge. In spring 2001, the Web site had launched a brand-new subscriber based Web site to what would be called "Rush 24/7". Rush 24/7 was now offering the entire, commercial free audio of the daily show available all day via streaming internet audio. The new subscriber Web site came to include Limbaugh editorials, commentaries from previous years, and reruns of Limbaugh's defunct television show. By summer 2002, the hallmark achievement of the Rush 24/7 Web site had been introduced: a live streaming video feed (the "Ditto Cam") of the radio show was made available to Rush 24/7 subscribers. By 2003, the rushlimbaugh.com Web site introduced a fully interactive Rush Limbaugh store, selling products that Limbaugh marketed including a signature line of golf apparel, sporting equipment and novelties. The Rush 24/7 site now includes the Podcast feature, in which subscribers can have daily audio and video of the radio show downloaded directly to their iPod or other MP3 player.
Hearing problems
By August 2001, Limbaugh's listeners had noted changes in his voice and diction, changes that Limbaugh at first emphatically denied on the air. However, on October 8, 2001, Limbaugh acknowledged that the changes in his voice were due to complete deafness in his left ear and substantial hearing loss in his right ear. He also revealed that his radio staff was helping him receive calls on his show by setting up a system where he could appear to hear his callers. The system worked remarkably well, but did not convince all listeners, some of whom noted a long delay between a caller ending his point and Limbaugh responding and occasionally speaking over a caller. Occasionally Limbaugh asked callers to hold on momentarily, while the caller's comments were typed and shown on Limbaugh's computer monitor.
In December 2001, Limbaugh underwent cochlear implant surgery, which restored a measure of hearing in his left ear. His voice and enunciation returned to normal after the implant. According to his doctors, the deafness was caused by an autoimmune disease.
Some medical experts pointed out that chronic use of opioids, such as OxyContin and particularly hydrocodone, both which Limbaugh later admitted abusing, can compromise the function of the immune system and cause deafness, speculating that his use of these drugs could have caused or contributed to his problem. Limbaugh's doctors stated that "they were unsure of the exact cause of Limbaugh's hearing loss, but said that overuse of medication was not a factor."
Prescription drug addiction
On October 3, 2003 the National Enquirer reported that Rush Limbaugh was being investigated for illegally obtaining prescription drugs. Other news outlets quickly confirmed the investigation.
On October 10, 2003, Limbaugh admitted to listeners on his radio show that he was addicted to prescription painkillers and stated that he would enter inpatient treatment for 30 days, immediately following the broadcast. Speaking about his behavior, Limbaugh went on to say:
Limbaugh has said his addiction to painkillers came as a result several years of severe back pain heightened by a botched surgery intended to correct those problems.
A subsequent investigation into whether Limbaugh had violated Florida's doctor shopping laws was launched by the Palm Beach State Attorney which raised privacy issues when investigators seized Limbaugh's private medical records looking for evidence of crimes. On November 9, 2005 following two years of investigations, Assistant State Attorney James L. Martz requested the court to set aside Limbaugh's doctor-patient confidentiality rights and allow the state to question his physicians, stating it was necessary because "I have no idea if Mr. Limbaugh has completed the elements of any offense yet." Limbaugh's attorney opposed the prosecutor's efforts to interview his doctors on the basis of patient privacy rights, and argued that the prosecutor has in fact violated his Fourth Amendment civil rights by illegally seizing his medical records. The ACLU issued a statement supporting Limbaugh, claiming that the district attorney violated Limbaugh's constitutional rights by "fishing" through his private medical records. The Florida courts ultimately upheld Limbaugh's right to privacy. On December 12, 2005, Judge David F. Crow delivered a ruling prohibiting the State of Florida from questioning Limbaugh's physicians about "the medical condition of the patient and any information disclosed to the healthcare practitioner by the patient in the course of the care and treatment of the patient." The investigation was concluded in April 2006 with a prearranged settlement in which Limbaugh appeared at the Palm Beach County, Florida Sheriff's Office for processing on a single charge of doctor shopping, filing a "not guilty" plea and posting a $3,000 bond. In exchange, the prosecutor agreed to dismiss the charges if Limbaugh paid $30,000 to defray the cost of the investigation and completed an 18-month therapy regimen with his physician.
Limbaugh asserts that the state's settlement agreement resulted from a lack of evidence supporting the charge of "doctor shopping." Under the terms of the agreement, Limbaugh may not own a firearm and must continue to submit to random drug testing, which he acknowledges having undergone since 2003.
Roy Black stated that "Rush Limbaugh was singled out for prosecution because of who he is. We believe the state attorney's office is applying a double standard." A review of county Clerk of Courts Office records revealed only one case in which charges of illegally acquiring overlapping prescriptions were filed in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Controversy
ESPN controversy
On July 14, 2003, ESPN announced that Limbaugh would be joining ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown show as a weekly commentator when it premiered on September 7. Limbaugh would provide the "voice of the fan" and was supposed to spark debate on the show. On the September 28 episode of Countdown, Limbaugh commented about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb's role in his team's 0-2 start to the season:
McNabb was the highest-paid NFL player in history at the time, and defenders of Limbaugh's comments point out that McNabb had the worst start of his career in the 2003 season and was the NFL's lowest-rated starting quarterback. McNabb's defenders say that to his credit, McNabb was a runner-up for the year 2000's Most Valuable (NFL) Player, was a member of three Pro Bowl teams, led his team to two straight NFC championship games, and had been slow to recover from a broken leg suffered during the 2002 season.
On October 1, 2003, Limbaugh resigned from ESPN with the statement:
Michael J. Fox comments controversy
Actor Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson's disease, has appeared in political campaign ads for candidates who support the stem cell research he believes may help cure Parkinson's, including ads for Pennsylvania Republican Senator Arlen Specter in 2004http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=26480 and Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Claire McCaskill in 2006.http://www.abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/story?id=2613377&page=1 On the October 23, 2006 edition of Limbaugh's radio show, Limbaugh imitated the physical symptoms of Fox's disease and stated that "He is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act.... This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting.""Rush Limbaugh On the Offensive Against Ad With Michael J. Fox", Washington Post, accessed on November 1, 2006
In the same October 23rd radio show Limbaugh said he would "bigly, hugely admit that I was wrong, and I will apologize to Michael J. Fox if I am wrong in characterizing his behavior on this commercial as an act, especially since people are telling me they have seen him this way on other interviews and in other television appearances." When Limbaugh's accusation sparked great controversy in the media it was revealed by Mr. Fox that he had actually been overmedicated. Fox claimed that it is difficult to get the dosage correct and that " not by design, I just take it, and it kicks in when it kicks in. Sometimes, it kicks in too hard, and then you get what's called dyskinesia, which is that rocking motion that I had when I did the commercial."
True to his word, Limbaugh apologized on his October 26 show. He said " OK. I need to apologize. I was wrong, because I speculated he either didn't take his medication or he was acting- never said the word 'faking'..." He then goes on to mention that Fox took too much medication and Limbaugh insinuates that it was done purposefully because Fox does not appear on Boston Legal looking like that. In an interview with Katie Couric later that day, Fox suggested that it was comical to him and other Parkinson's sufferers to imagine titrating the medication to elicit just the desired amount of movement.CBS News. Transcript
Foxâ??s memoir, Lucky Man, confirms that he intentionally did not take his medication prior to his testimony before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee in 1998. "I had made a deliberate choice to appear before the subcommittee without medication. It seemed to me that this occasion demanded that my testimony about the effects of the disease, and the urgency we as a community were feeling, be seen as well as heard. For people who had never observed me in this kind of shape, the transformation must have been startling."http://www.michaeljfox.org/news/article.php?id=5 Later Fox said: "The symptoms that I had in the ad that I did, that's called dyskinesia, and that's actually from too much medication."Rush Limbaugh.Transcript. October 26, 2006.
Elaine Richman, a neuroscientist in Baltimore who co-wrote Parkinson's Disease and the Family, has stated "Anyone who knows the disease well would regard his movement as classic severe Parkinson's disease. Any other interpretation is misinformed."Rush Limbaugh On the Offensive Against Ad With Michael J. Fox
Philosophy
Defining the conservative movement
Limbaugh made the following comments in an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal in 2005:
- I love being a conservative. We conservatives are proud of our philosophy. Unlike our liberal friends, who are constantly looking for new words to conceal their true beliefs and are in a perpetual state of reinvention, we conservatives are unapologetic about our ideals.
- We are confident in our principles and energetic about openly advancing them. We believe in individual liberty, limited government, capitalism, the rule of law, faith, a color-blind society and national security.
- We support school choice, enterprise zones, tax cuts, welfare reform, faith-based initiatives, political speech, homeowner rights and the war on terrorism.
- And at our core we embrace and celebrate the most magnificent governing document ever ratified by any nation — the U.S. Constitution. Along with the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes our God-given natural right to be free, it is the foundation on which our government is built and has enabled us to flourish as a people.
- We conservatives are never stronger than when we are advancing our principles.
Leukemia and lymphoma telethon
Limbaugh holds an annual fundraising telethon, called the "EIB Cure-a-Thon" for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. In 2006, the EIB Cure-a-Thon conducted its 16th annual telethon raising $1.7 million, totaling over $15 million since the first cure-a-thon.Newsweek. Rehabbing Rush. 2006. According to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society annual reports, Limbaugh personally contributed between $100,000 and $499,999 from 2000 - 2005, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Annual reports. and Limbaugh claims to have contributed around $250,000 in 2003, 2004 and 2005.Rush Limbaugh Show. Transcript. April 28, 2005. Additionally, NewsMax claims Limbaugh donated another $250,000 in 2006.NewsMax Media. Rush Limbaugh Donates $250K for Cancer Cure. April 29, 2006.
Statement regarding abortion and homosexuality
In 2003, Limbaugh broadcast the following hypothetical on abortion choices made by parents based upon trait selection and the anticipated reaction by advocates of gay rights:
Imagine we identify the gene — assuming that there is one, this is hypothetical — that will tell us prior to birth that a baby is going to be gay.... How many parents, if they knew before the kid was gonna be born, [that he] was gonna be gay, they would take the pregnancy to term? Well, you don't know but let's say half of them said, "Oh, no, I don't wanna do that to a kid." [Then the] gay community finds out about this. The gay community would do the fastest 180 and become pro-life faster than anybody you've ever seen. They'd be so against abortion if it was discovered that you could abort what you knew were gonna be gay babies..
Balance and point of view
Limbaugh is highly critical of environmentalism and has disputed human-caused global warming and the relationship between CFCs and depletion of the ozone layer. He is also vocal supporter of capital punishment, having once said "the only thing cruel about the death penalty is last-minute stays."On the Issues.org. Rush Limbaugh.
On his radio show, news about the homeless has often been preceded with the Clarence "Frogman" Henry song "Ain't Got No Home." For a time, Dionne Warwick's song "I Know I'll Never Love This Way Again" preceded reports about people with AIDS. These later became "condom updates" preceded by Fifth Dimension's song, "Up, Up and Away (in My Beautiful Balloon)." In 1989, Limbaugh performed "caller abortions" where he would end a call suddenly to the sounds of a vacuum cleaner and a scream, after which he would deny there was ever a caller, explaining that the call had been "aborted."
References
Further reading
Books written by Limbaugh
Books written about Limbaugh
See also
- The Rush Limbaugh Show
- Jargon of The Rush Limbaugh Show
External links
Other links
de:Rush Limbaugh
fr:Rush Limbaugh
nl:Rush Limbaugh
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify the biographical information on this page under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
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