NEW YORK — Don Imus, the cantankerous radio host whose career was temporarily derailed when he made racist and sexist remarks, is retiring from his morning show.
WABC-AM says Imus’ last morning drive time show on the New York-based station will be March 29. On Twitter, the show announced : “Turn out the lights… the party’s over.”
In 2007, Imus was fired by CBS Radio and MSNBC for using a racial slur to talk about the Rutgers women’s basketball team. He later apologized and got a new gig a few months later.
The 77-year-old veteran radio personality, who had stints at WNBC in New York and WHK in Cleveland, offered a stew of media and politics on his shows and often had key newsmakers calling in to weigh in on a day’s events.
He famously traded places for a day with then-Governor Lowell Weicker in 1992. Joe Lieberman was often a guest when he served in the U.S. Senate, and then-senator Chris Dodd announced his candidacy for President on Imus’ show in 1997. Imus also owns a coffee shop in the Mohegan Sun casino.
According to WABC’s web site, Imus’ show is heard on 84 stations across the country, he has won the National Association of Broacasters’ Marconi Award four times, and he is a member of the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.
