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Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio presenter and media personality, best known for hosting The Howard Stern Show, currently an uncensored talk radio show that airs on Howard 100 on SIRIUS XM Radio. Before he went to SIRIUS XM in January 2006, Stern's radio show was syndicated across over 60 radio markets in the United States on terrestrial radio until December 16, 2005.
Stern has described by the media as a "shock jock" for his controversial style of his radio and television shows.
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Quotations
Courage is standing up for what you believe in. There are so many people who aren't willing to stand up. You've got to fight.
Don't let the government win.
Speech on his last syndicated FM broadcast (December 16, 2005)
I cut my pubes last night. My hairs were getting longer than my penis.
Stated at the beginning of his radio show on 13 September 2006.
Encyclopedia
Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio presenter and media personality, best known for hosting The Howard Stern Show, currently an uncensored talk radio show that airs on Howard 100 on SIRIUS XM Radio. Before he went to SIRIUS XM in January 2006, Stern's radio show was syndicated across over 60 radio markets in the United States on terrestrial radio until December 16, 2005.
Stern has described by the media as a "shock jock" for his controversial style of his radio and television shows. Stern himself has said that it was never his intention to "shock" people, but to offer his honest opinions on issues, ranging from world affairs to the staff on his radio show. Though controversial, Stern is the highest-paid radio personality in the United States, and the most fined presenter in radio broadcast history.
Stern has described himself as the "King of All Media" following his success not only in radio but in television, film and print throughout his career. He has written two books, Private Parts in 1993, which was adapted into the film Private Parts in 1997, and Miss America in 1995. Both books received huge media attention and sales. Stern's television endeavours include a variety show on New York City's WWOR-TV, an adaptation of his radio show fit into a half-hour program each weekday on E! from 1994 to 2005, a similar program on CBS that competed with Saturday Night Live for a short time, "Howard TV" for digital cable subscribers across the country, and Son of the Beach, a parody of Baywatch which featured Stern as executive producer, broadcast on FX Networks.
In 2006, Stern was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine"
and was ranked as the world's 7th most powerful celebrity by Forbes. His first marriage ended in divorce in 2001; he married fashion model Beth Ostrosky on October 3, 2008.
Personal life
Childhood
Stern was born into a Jewish American family in the Queens neighborhood of Jackson Heights, New York, though his family soon moved to the Long Island town of Roosevelt. His father, Ben Stern, owned a Manhattan recording studio. Stern's father encouraged his son's interest in radio from an early age. His mother, Rae, was a homemaker for most of Howard's childhood. Stern has one sibling, a sister named Ellen, who is four years his senior. Stern describes his sister as being his "complete opposite;" she is rarely mentioned on the show, though he maintains that they have a good relationship as their personalities perfectly complement each other.
Although both his parents are Jewish, Stern's on-air banter is that he is only "half Jewish", with the other half being Italian, because "it's very hard to be Jewish in this country. My half Jewish side has been beaten with chains." Stern's Hebrew name is Tzvi ; his paternal grandparents, Froim and Anna (Gallar) Stern and maternal grandparents, Sol and Esther (Reich) Schiffman, were Austro-Hungarian Jews who immigrated to America at about the same time.
Stern often said that his parents verbally abused him as a child, which was corroborated during a 1990 broadcast when he played old family recordings, many of which have become oft-played soundbites, including remarks such as "I told you not to be stupid, you moron" and "Shut up! Sit down!" being screamed at a 7-year-old Howard. These old recordings were later used in a parody commercial for the "The Ben Stern Day-Care Center", which specialized in producing overachieving, self-hating megalomaniacs. Stern said his mother ran her house with "the intensity of Hitler" and that his father's "favorite sport was yelling."
Stern has long claimed on his show that he has a small penis. He uses this assertion to comedic effect in a scene in his bio pic where he is shown showering with his African-American peers at Roosevelt Junior High School. He has long asserted that he was one of the few white students in a predominantly African-American school. When Stern's family moved in 1969 to Rockville Centre, he transferred to South Side High School, from which he graduated in 1972. Stern attended Boston University, graduating in 1976 with a bachelor's degree in communications, carrying a 3.8 Grade Point Average. During his time at Boston University Stern also worked (before being fired) as a volunteer at the campus radio station WTBU. Stern now funds a scholarship at Boston University.
Adult life
Stern grew to be tall, standing . On June 4, 1978, Stern married college sweetheart Alison Berns at Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, Massachusetts. They have three daughters: Emily Beth (b. 1983), Deborah Jennifer (b. 1986) and Ashley Jade (b. 1993). A hallmark of Stern's humor was his claiming to be tempted by the strippers, porn stars and lesbians appearing on his show, but always insisted that he had to be faithful to his wife. In 1994, Stern ran for Governor of New York as a Libertarian. The campaign was generally seen as a political stunt and Stern dropped out before the election after refusing to disclose his finances, a requirement by the State of New York. In October 1999, Stern announced that he and wife Alison decided to separate. They amicably divorced in 2001, ending in a settlement.
Stern began a period of single living on New York City's Upper West Side, dating dozens of women including Angie Everhart and Robin Givens. Despite reportedly spending time with Carmen Electra "five times", the two have denied there was anything more intimate than an outdoor shower in bathing suits.
Stern has been the target of stalkers and death threats. On January 15, 1998, Lance Carvin was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for stalking and threatening to kill Stern and his family.
Although he identifies his ethnicity as Jewish and raised his daughters in that religion, he has indicated that he does not believe in God or organized religion. However, he says he is "afraid" to say he is an atheist, so instead identifies as an agnostic.
In 2000, Stern began dating model Beth Ostrosky, who is 18 years his junior. Ostrosky co-hosted Casino Cinema on Spike TV from 2004 to 2007. She had also frequently appeared in the American edition of men's magazine FHM until it ceased publication in 2007.
The pair have lived together in Manhattan with their Bulldog named Bianca Romijn-Stamos-O'Connell. Stern also owns a weekend house in the Hamptons on Long Island. After seven years, on February 14, 2007, Stern announced that he and Ostrosky became engaged. They were married on October 3, 2008 at Le Cirque restaurant in New York City.
Hobbies and interests
Stern has said that he plays chess every day, frequenting the Internet Chess Club. He has taken online lessons from Dan Heisman, a chess master from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is a huge fan of comic books and science fiction, stating several times in 2008 that the only movies or television he watches are about superheroes, such as Heroes, Smallville, Iron Man, The Dark Knight, and others. His favorite superhero is Superman, followed by Spider-Man, Batman and Daredevil, though he was disappointed by the latter's film adaptation; his two favorite movies of the genre are Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2.
Radio career
Stern's prank phone calls use deception, at the expense of the recipient intending to have fun, for the comedy of Stern show.
Terrestrial radio career
After graduating from Boston University, Stern worked briefly as a DJ at WNTN in Newton, Massachusetts. Stern then worked as a disc jockey and program director for WRNW in Briarcliff Manor in Westchester County, New York, playing rock music. In 1978, Stern landed his first morning show job in Hartford, Connecticut at WCCC-FM and WCCC-AM, whose progressive rock format promoted Howard's development as a "free form" personality. It was at the Hartford radio station that Howard met his future show writer and producer, Fred Norris, who was working as an overnight deejay at the time.
Stern moved to FM radio station WWWW (usually referred to as "W4") in Detroit, Michigan, further developing his show until the station adopted a country music format, and then went to WWDC-FM "DC 101," in Washington, D.C. for a year, making it the #1 station in town. After Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th St. Bridge, Stern called the airline to see if the bridge would be a regular stop. Outrage over the incident would eventually lead to Stern being fired. In 1982, he returned to New York City to work at NBC's flagship AM radio station, WNBC Radio. Also working at NBC at that time was David Letterman, who became a fan of Stern's radio show. Stern's guest appearance on Late Night with David Letterman on June 19, 1984, launched Stern into the national spotlight and gave his radio show unprecedented exposure. Stern would appear on Letterman's show many times thereafter.
Stern and his crew were fired from NBC in 1985, ostensibly in response to a particularly outrageous sketch — "Bestiality Dial-A-Date" — although relations between station management and Stern had been strained from the beginning (as well documented in his book Private Parts). He quickly returned to FM radio by joining local rival station WXRK, premiering November 18, 1985, moving permanently to the morning drive time slot in February 1986. By year's end, his show was simulcast on WYSP in Philadelphia. Before long it was also heard in Washington, D.C., and was then syndicated nationwide by Infinity Broadcasting. The program made great sport out of feuding with other cities' top-rated deejays, and soon Stern's broadcast was number one in several major markets, including Philadelphia and Los Angeles. His Arbitron ratings were strongest in the country's number one radio market, New York City, where his morning ratings more than tripled his station's average numbers the rest of the day. He remained at WXRK until his move to satellite radio in 2006.
Satellite radio career
On October 6, 2004, Stern announced on his show that he had signed a five year contract with Sirius, a satellite radio service. Sirius provided a budget of $500 million USD to pay Howard, his staff and general production costs. His personal salary has not been revealed. Other media sources have claimed that Stern netted a $225 million one-time stock bonus for meeting subscriber quotas, with the latter being true in January 2006.
Stern stated that he was growing increasingly unhappy doing his show on terrestrial radio. The combined stresses of heavy censorship and editing by management as well as lengthy commercial breaks weighed into his decision to start anew on Sirius. Stern admitted to feeling "dead inside, creatively" in December, 2005 while still on terrestrial radio.
The Sirius deal, which took effect on January 1, 2006, enabled Stern to broadcast his show without the content restrictions imposed by the FCC. Moreover, the deal also enabled Stern to program an additional Sirius channel.
On February 28, 2006, CBS Radio announced it had filed a lawsuit against Stern, his agent Don Buchwald, and Sirius Satellite Radio, saying Stern used CBS's airwaves to unfairly promote the satellite service and enrich himself. The lawsuit also claims that Stern "repeatedly and willfully" breached his contract with CBS, "misappropriated millions of dollars worth of ... airtime" for his own benefit, and "fraudulently concealed" his performance-related interests in Sirius stock. The suit, filed in New York State Court, sought compensatory and punitive damages. However, Stern anticipated the suit, and earlier that day, prior to CBS's announcement, held a press conference. In it, he discussed how CBS added to the media attention, booking him for appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman, and it's news magazine show, 60 Minutes. "I made them millions of dollars", he said. "If I was hurting them, why did they keep me on the air for 14 months? "How can you have it both ways?"
Leslie Moonves, the President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Corporation, appeared on one of Stern's final shows to compliment him on his move to Sirius and thank him for the record advertising revenue the network sold. Moonves told Stern that he bought Sirius stock. Stern reminded him that CBS always had the option to "push the button" on his program, taking him off the air, if they did not agree with what he was presenting to the public.
On May 11, 2006, CBS said it was near settling the lawsuit with Stern. "We have an agreement, but there are details that have to be worked out," said CBS lawyer Irvin Nathan. Some details of the agreement were officially announced May 26.
As a result of the CBS lawsuit settlement, Stern announced on June 7, 2006 that Sirius gained exclusive rights to his entire back catalog of radio shows from his days at CBS (about 23,000 hours). The shows cost Sirius approximately $2 million, which equates to approximately $87 per hour of tape. Sirius has the rights to the tapes until the end of Stern's current contract with Sirius, and then all ownership rights will return to Stern.
Career in other media
In 1988 when Fox was looking for a late night talk show host to replace Joan Rivers, they gave Howard the opportunity to record five pilot episodes of a late night show. Stern claims that he and the network did not see eye to eye with censorship of the episodes, and a show never materialized.
In 1990, Stern aired a sketch comedy show on WWOR-TV, which was also called The Howard Stern Show, colloquially referred to as "The Channel Nine Show." The show lasted 65 episodes before ending in 1993 when Stern felt its production began to interfere with his radio show.
In 1993, Stern released his autobiography, Private Parts. The book was a New York Times #1 bestseller and became the fastest selling book in Simon & Schuster's history.
In 1994, Stern embarked on a political campaign for Governor of New York, formally announcing his candidacy under the Libertarian Party ticket. His platform included restoring the death penalty, limiting road construction work to nighttime hours, and abolishing tolls. However, he subsequently withdrew his candidacy because he did not wish to comply with the financial disclosure requirements for candidates.
In 1996, Stern released his second book, Miss America, which focused more on his radio career. He has also written forewards for the books Steal This Dream (a biography of Abbie Hoffman, an occasional guest on his show, written by his friend and collaborator, Larry "Ratso" Sloman), Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling's Disgustingly Dirty Joke Book and staff-member Artie Lange's memoir, Too Fat To Fish.
In 1997, he starred in Private Parts, a biographical film chronicling his rise to success. The film is based on his 1993 autobiography Private Parts. The film premiered at the top of the box office in its opening weekend with a gross of $14.6 million. It grossed slightly more than $41 million in total.
The movie received mostly positive reviews from critics, including Siskel and Ebert, who were frequent guests of Stern's radio show. Some critics claimed the film glossed over his use of sexual and racial humor.
For his performance, Stern won the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Male Newcomer. The awards are given based on write-in votes from fans, and Stern won by a wide margin. Stern was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy). He was also nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst New Star. Though he would like to continue an acting career, his commitment to a daily radio show has made it difficult for him to do so, joking that he is "the world's laziest movie star." He also says that most of the parts offered to him are walk-on cameos, similar to Stan Lee's appearances in Marvel films (Spider-man, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, etc.) which he finds uninteresting.
In 2002, Stern's production company Howard Stern Productions acquired the rights to the 1982 movie Porky's and the 1979 movie Rock 'n' Roll High School. Stern was also a producer of the TV series Son of the Beach, which ran for three seasons.
He informed listeners early in 2004 that the ABC television network was in talks with him to produce an interview special.
In popular culture
Stern's prevalent media presence has led to his being parodied or referenced in various outlets;
See also
External links
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