Don Imus | |
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Born |
John Donald Imus, Jr. July 23, 1940 Riverside, California, U.S. |
Occupation | Radio and television talk show host, writer, humorist |
Spouse(s) | Harriet Showalter (1st) Deirdre Coleman (2nd) |
Awards | NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame |
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. /ˈaɪməs/ (born July 23, 1940), is an American radio host, humorist, landscape photographer, philanthropist and writer. His nationally syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Cumulus Media Networks.
Imus was born in Riverside, California, the son of Frances E. (née Moore) and John Donald Imus, Sr., and the older brother of former talk show host Fred Imus. He was raised on a sprawling cattle ranch called The Willows near Kingman, Arizona. He served in the Marine Corps as a bugler from 1957 to 1960.
Imus battled alcoholism during his early career in New York, but in 1987 finally pursued effective treatment. His act was reminiscent of pioneer shock-jock Petey Green (As of 2013, he has remained sober for 26 years). In 1988, with his cocaine and alcohol addictions now legendary in show business, Imus reshaped his show from strictly comedy into a forum for political issues, charitable causes and news-based parodies, being largely inspired by Howard Stern's format.
In 1979, he divorced his first wife, Harriet. He married his second wife, Deirdre Coleman on December 17, 1994. He has two stepdaughters that he adopted from his first marriage (Nadine and Tony), two daughters from that marriage (Ashley and Elizabeth), three grandchildren (two from Elizabeth and one from Ashley), and one son, Frederick Wyatt (nicknamed "Wyatt", born July 3, 1998), from his current marriage. Both Don and Deirdre Imus are vegan.