Opie and Anthony

Coordinates	°′″N°′″N
Show name	The Opie & Anthony Show
Caption	Anthony Cumia, Jim Norton and Gregg "Opie" Hughes
Format	Talk, Comedy
Runtime	6am to 10am, Monday through Friday
Creator	Gregg HughesAnthony Cumia
(former) executive producer	Steve "The Bear" Carlesi
Starring	Gregg "Opie" HughesAnthony CumiaJim Norton
Opentheme	"The Ecstasy of Gold" by Ennio Morricone "Street Fighting Man" by Rage Against the Machine
Country	United States
First aired	March 28, 1995
Last aired	present
Website	siriusxm.com/thevirus
Home station	The Virus (XM105/Sirius206)
Live video	Audible.com

Opie (Gregg Hughes, born May 23, 1963) and Anthony (Anthony Cumia, born April 26, 1961) are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in the United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Since the merger of the two satellite companies, this is now called Sirius/XM. It is co-hosted by stand up comedian Jim Norton. The show is currently based in New York City; it was previously on WXRK-FM and WNEW-FM in New York, and before that, on WAAF-FM in Boston, Massachusetts.

On April 26, 2006, Opie and Anthony returned to the terrestrial airwaves after a four year absence, replacing CBS Radio's short-lived David Lee Roth Show, which aired mainly on the eastern coast of the United States. The terrestrial portion of the show ran until March 9, 2009. They were terminated by WXRK-FM when it flipped formats from rock to Top 40.

The Opie & Anthony Show airs weekdays live from 6am through 10am ET exclusively on XM Radio Channel 105 and Sirius Radio Channel 206 "The Virus". Replays are available throughout the day on their XM and Sirius channels.

Background and history

Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia were raised on Long Island, New York, in Centerport and Elwood respectively. Hughes graduated from SUNY Geneseo and for the next seven years, interned and worked at several upstate New York radio stations such as 96.5 WCMF in Rochester (where he first worked for Brother Wease) and WUFX in Buffalo. Opie eventually found his way back home to rock station WBAB on his native Long Island after breaking up with Brother Wease. Although not initially doing a talk-show, Hughes did experiment with certain talk elements, including a recurring character named "Spuds Buckley". While earning a living as an HVAC duct worker, Cumia began recording comedy songs with his brother Joe. Cumia also showed considerable skills at doing impressions. In August 1994, Hughes, seeking innovative ideas, received an entry during an O.J. Simpson parody song contest. The song was titled "Gonna Electric Shock OJ" (sung to the tune of Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay") by a local band known as Rotgut, of which Cumia was the lead singer. The song was a hit on Hughes' show, and he invited the Cumia brothers to the studio to play live in September 1994. In December 1994, Cumia also appeared on The Howard Stern Show during an impression contest in which he imitated Jackie the Jokeman, Beavis and Butt-head, and Sam Kinison. Soon afterward, Hughes and Cumia became a radio team. Hughes' show was called "The Nighttime Attitude" and aired from 8 pm-midnight on WBAB. Shortly after Cumia's arrival, he and Hughes requested that the show be moved to morning or afternoon drive, the two most listened to timeslots in radio. When the station refused, Hughes and Cumia moved the show to afternoon drive on WAAF in Boston, Massachusetts, where they premiered on March 27, 1995 as Opie & Anthony (O&A;).

WAAF-FM

One of Opie and Anthony's most notable Boston stunts was their giveaway of "100 Grand", which was hyped for weeks. When they finally gave away the prize, the winning caller laid into the duo with biting invective after he realized the repairs he needed to make to his truck would be un-affordable with a 100 Grand candy bar instead of $100,000. Listen to the prank

The duo was fired in April 1998 from WAAF for an April Fool's Day prank involving Mayor Thomas Menino. Opie and Anthony told their listeners that the Mayor had been killed in a car accident. Many believed the story, leading Menino to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, as the FCC prohibits the broadcast of knowingly false information if it causes public harm. WAAF suggested that the duo have pies thrown at them while being held in town square stocks. The idea was summarily dismissed by the mayor's office. Facing a possible license challenge, WAAF fired them, but Opie and Anthony promised that they would return to Boston and get revenge. During the early days of XM Anthony stated that the intent of the April Fool's prank was to allow the duo to be released from their contract with WAAF. He also stated that the duo had been having illegal meetings with WNEW prior to the April fools prank. He preceded these comments with "The statutes of limitations must be up on this."

WNEW-FM

In June 1998, O&A; were back on New York station WNEW-FM, where they became a top 10 afternoon drive show in New York by 2000.

In November 2000, sixteen people associated with the show (including comedian Lewis Black and future show member Jim Norton) were arrested during a promotion for "The Voyeur Bus," a mostly glass-sided bus carting naked women through Manhattan with a police escort. The stunt was harshly condemned by Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

O&A; hosted the short-lived "XFL Gameday" – the pregame show for Vince McMahon's startup football league – for four weeks in February 2001. The half-hour show aired nationally on Saturday nights on select NBC affiliates prior to the evening's games. The show was taped on Wednesdays at the WWF's theme restaurant in Times Square, and was open to the public. It featured analysis by WNBC sportscaster Bruce Beck and New York/New Jersey Hitmen head coach Rusty Tillman, but also featured plenty of raunch. One particular segment featured O&A; as chefs, inserting a cucumber in between two melons. O&A; were almost banned from Giants Stadium for life during the filming of one episode when they imitated a proposed XFL rule where first possession was determined by placing the ball at midfield and having two opposing team-members attempt to get it. O&A; did this as God Bless America began to play before a game . They said that the $100,000 cost of making each new show was the cause of its demise, though no official reason was given for its cancellation.

In 2001, O&A; signed a syndication deal with Infinity to syndicate their show on 22 stations nationwide, including WBCN in Boston, longtime rival of WAAF. By this time, show friend Andrew Dice Clay had introduced O&A; to Jim Norton, a comedian who toured with and opened for Clay. Norton was a hit on O&A; and soon became a regular on the show, appearing three or four days per week.

Sex for Sam

One of O&A;'s stunts was "Sex for Sam", an annual contest where the goal was to have sex in notable public places in New York City. Couples from various states would be selected to be trailed by a comedian or member of the show, who would call the program to report the location. The contest was sponsored by Boston Beer Company, maker of Samuel Adams beer, and prizes included trips to Boston concerts sponsored by the beer company. The contest was approved by the station and had no major problems for the first two years.

However, in "Sex for Sam 3", comedian Paul Mecurio encouraged Brian Florence and Loretta Harper, a Virginia couple visiting Manhattan, to have on-air sex in a vestibule at St. Patrick's Cathedral on August 15, 2002. When a security guard ordered Mecurio and the couple to leave the church immediately, Mecurio began to argue with the guard, who then contacted police. The couple was arrested and charged with public lewdness. Intense media scrutiny led to the Catholic League demanding that Opie and Anthony be fired. The Catholic League also threatened to get WNEW's license revoked.

O&A; broadcast the next day, but were ordered not to directly address the incident for legal reasons. The show went into reruns the following week. On August 22, Infinity suspended Opie and Anthony for the duration of their contract, and canceled the show. However, the company continued to pay the duo to stay off the air for the balance of their contract. The Catholic League immediately dropped its bid to have WNEW's license revoked.

The repercussions of the incident were widespread: Infinity was fined a total of $357,500 by the FCC, the maximum amount allowed by law, and the second-largest indecency fine in American radio history. It refused to pay the fine. WNEW's ratings, already dreadful aside from Opie and Anthony, dropped even lower than those of noncommercial stations and never recovered for the rest of the time as a talk station and through most of the rest of its time as WNEW. The station returned to the music format in January 2003, starting with a Top 40 format, then going to an adult contemporary format, and later switching to a classic dance music format before returning to the AC format, at which point the station's call letters were changed to WWFS. Under WWFS, the ratings rebounded to a 3.1 rating, then cooled down to an average of a 2.5 rating. In a bit of irony, Opie and Anthony would make fun of an incident at WNEW in late 2004, in which the program director got drunk, went on air, and confused the call letters with those with WNEW's arch-rival WKTU. Harper pleaded guilty a month later to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to seven days of community service. Her partner, Brian Florence, died of a heart attack on September 25, 2003.

XM Satellite Radio

Opie and Anthony returned to the air on October 4, 2004 exclusively for XM Satellite Radio after two years off the air. Initially, the show was offered to XM subscribers at a premium cost of $1.99 a month, to which they encountered some resistance. In April 2005, "High Voltage" became part of the basic XM subscription. There are no numbers available with respect to the number of premium subscribers. Hughes gave some indication, however, when he told the Long Island press in 2006, "We went from having a show that was syndicated in 17 major markets to having a few thousand," which did not help to remove the discrepancy.

On April 17, 2006, DirecTV ceased airing the High Voltage channel on their satellite TV service, citing subscriber requests for more music channels and fewer talk and sports channels. However, less than a week elapsed before inside sources announced that, due to overwhelming audience (and the Pests) demands that O&A; return to DirecTV, the channel would be restored on April 26, 2006.

Opie & Anthony frequently mentioned on the air that they hated the title "High Voltage", which was selected by one of the company lawyers. They had been trying to change the name but were unsuccessful for the first 2 years until Eric Logan announced on their October 4, 2006 broadcast that High Voltage would be renamed "The Virus" on November 20, 2006, due to the demands of hardcore O&A; fans known as "The Pests".

A big part of the XM show was the "Assault on the Media", led by "The Pests" to give the show additional exposure. On May 19, 2005, show intern Nathaniel showed up behind Arthur Chi'en of WCBS-TV. The disruption caused Chi'en to shout "What the fuck is your problem, man?" while the cameras were still rolling. Chi'en was fired a few hours later. (The situation brought the show nationwide press.)

On May 15, 2007, XM suspended Opie & Anthony for 30 days, in response to a broadcast featuring a homeless and deranged man who wandered into the studio. Opie and Anthony dubbed the man "Homeless Charlie" and among the topics he discussed was the possibility of raping Condoleezza Rice and Laura Bush. Charlie spoke wildly for nearly twenty minutes, commenting on a wide variety of news topics. A blogger posted a ten second excerpt of the discussion, which was later posted to The Drudge Report with no context given to the audio. Commentary on the incident was especially incendiary from commentator Bill O'Reilly, who called the situation "the worst I have ever seen." (O'Reilly had once had the duo on his show.) CBS (terrestrial) radio continued to air the show from 6:00 am–9:00 am Eastern time, and had a decidedly more subdued sound, due to greater scrutiny.

Fans reacted to the news by canceling their XM Radio subscriptions and some even going as far as smashing their XM units. XM did offer a free month of service to subscribers who called to complain about the suspension. Moreover, some sponsors pulled their advertising off XM in protest of the suspension.

The duo's month-long suspension from XM ended on June 15, 2007, and they returned to XM's airwaves on that date. Shortly after the suspension was lifted, Opie closed on a $3.35 million apartment in Trump Place owned by Donald Trump.

Return to broadcast radio 2006-2011

On July 17, 2006, Opie and Anthony signed a deal with CBS Broadcasting in which the first three hours of the show would be broadcast on nine of Citadel's rock stations.

After an 18-month run on XM, The Opie & Anthony Show began simulcasting on XM Radio and various terrestrial radio stations from 6 am to 9 am EST. From 9 am to 11 am (and on some days up to noon), the show will be broadcast exclusively on XM Radio. XM listeners were able to hear the show uncensored the entire time (except when the main feed is "self-censored" by the hosts), however from the 6-9 slot, the FM-only listeners will hear a Federal Communications Commission-compliant version of the show. In Philadelphia, O&A; achieved a threefold increase in the month of May over David Lee Roth's April performance with listeners, ages 18–34. In Boston, they doubled the listeners of all ages and achieved an even larger increase in younger demographics. According to the winter 07 arbitron ratings, O&A; have doubled Roth's ratings with their target of 18- to 34-year-olds. But so far that's only meant going from 2% to about 4% of the audience, a third of Stern's old numbers in NYC. Following the Summer 07 Arbitron ratings, O&A;'s 18- to 34-year-olds ratings slipped, while their morning drive rating in NYC of 2.1 left them only ahead of sports based WFAN network in the morning. In the spring 2008 under the new Portable people meter ratings system, Opie and Anthony again failed to crack the top ten in morning drive, and their flagship station WXRK ranked 20th out of 24 stations in overall ratings and out of the top ten in the coveted 25-54 demographic.

Rockstar Games gave the cast and crew of the show voice roles in the PlayStation Portable game , including Club Soda Kenny as the voice of Derek the Dodo. The only exception was Jim Norton, because he was already given a voice role in another Rockstar game, Bully.

On October 23, 2007, WYSP in Philadelphia cut Opie and Anthony from their lineup in favor of rock music, to which format the station had changed in September.

During the summer of 2008, the show featured a romance between Anthony Cumia and Jill Nicolini. Nicolini, a model/actress who currently does traffic for a local NY TV station, and Cumia were often photographed together at various events. A regular running bit on the show focused on whether this May–December romance is in fact real or not. While many initially doubted the beautiful Nicolini would really date Cumia, the relationship appeared to grow over time, until it ended disastrously in August 2008.

In 2008, as part of Rockstar Games' newest addition to the Grand Theft Auto series, Cumia performed the viral "Pißwasser" (or "Piss Water") commercial for Grand Theft Auto IV, as a parody to Budweiser's "King of Beers" campaign. It was later performed by Cumia on the Opie and Anthony Show. Other members of the show's cast appear as characters in GTA IV.

During their tenure on broadcast radio, almost all of their affiliates (many of which were in major markets) systematically dropped the show, primarily due to declining ratings. By November 30, 2008, Opie and Anthony remained in only three major cities – New York, Boston and Cleveland. The following day, however, WBCN in Boston dropped them in favor of their local Toucher & Rich show, while WKRK switched to a jockless alternative rock format.

On March 9, 2009, Opie & Anthony were heard on WXRK for the last time. Most of the final show was spent discussing the impending format change, and how their services were "no longer needed" at the station. Their executive producer for the FM portion, Michael "Stuntbrain" Opelka, was fired the following day.

As of October 1, 2010 the Opie and Anthony show renewed their contract with Sirius/XM satellite radio for 2 years. The two occasionally mention that they will not renew their contract after the current contract expires, citing their disgust with the way they are often treated by Sirius management as the reason.

Run-ins with the FCC

The Federal Communications Commission has twice fined O&A; for broadcasting material deemed in violation of decency standards. The first fine involved several November 2000 – January 2001 airings of a jingle produced by Dru Boogie, a DJ/producer who regularly produces content for the show. The $21,000 fine also involved a segment of "Guess What's in My Pants", as well as a song titled, "I'm Horny for Little Girls". O&A;'s second FCC violation – the "Sex for Sam" broadcast – set a precedent for being the first time that a fine was issued to each individual station airing the alleged indecent material. The total was $357,500; $27,500 against each of the thirteen CBS Radio/Infinity-owned stations that broadcast the show. Infinity appealed both fines, after which its parent company Viacom made a $3.5 million settlement which canceled all pending indecency violations. The show has not been in trouble with the FCC since that time.

Program content

Opie and Anthony often comment on American sociopolitical and popular culture. Their "cringe" style of entertainment sometimes leads people to categorize them as "shock jocks." Hughes, Cumia and Norton broadcast for approximately four hours per day. Generally speaking, Opie sets the daily flow of the show and introduces topics, while Cumia and Norton provide color commentary. The show has few limits, and covers a wide array of topics interactively, with a great deal of time devoted to callers, and sound bites sent in from listeners. Some of the more hardcore O&A; fans, nicknamed "Pests", have been known to go to extreme grassroots efforts to promote the show.

Friends and regular guests on the show include Adam Ferrara, Jim Jeffries, Louis C.K., (who famously asked Donald Rumsfeld if he was a Mexican baby eating space lizard) Bill Burr, Larry Hennig, Patrice O'Neal, Brian Regan, Robert Kelly, Otto & George, Bob Saget, Rich Vos, Colin Quinn, and Nick DiPaolo all of whom have substituted for Norton when he has left New York to pursue his stand-up comedy and acting. Frequent guests include Doug Stanhope, Stephen Lynch, Joe Rogan, Jay Mohr, Kevin Smith and Mike Birbiglia. Host Anthony Cumia does impressions of various personalities such as Charlton Heston, Don West, Sylvester Stallone, Fred Flintstone, Bill Cosby, Ben Stein, Richard Nixon, Sam Kinison, Andrew Dice Clay, Tom Brokaw, Ronald Reagan, Mike Tyson, Tony Boselli, Tony Danza, Christopher Reeve, Ted Knight, Robert Reed, Regis Philbin, Vince McMahon (dubbed "Angry Vince" for the consistently violent tone of Anthony's voice in channeling McMahon's wrestling persona), Neil Diamond, Robin Williams, Winnie the Pooh, Popeye the Sailor, Don Imus, Marty McFly and The Greaseman. O&A;'s style and jokes typically target males in the 18-49 demographic.

The songs played at the beginning the show are Ennio Morricone's "The Ecstasy of Gold" from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly followed by Rage Against the Machine's song "Street Fighting Man", a cover of the Rolling Stones' song of the same name.

Film references

O&A;'s show features many inside jokes that a new listener may not immediately understand. There are many references to films, The Shining was once one of the most prominent. Other referenced films include Fargo, The Silence of the Lambs, The Accused, Predator, Boogie Nights, American Psycho, Blazing Saddles, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Apocalypse Now, Bad Lieutenant, Ed Wood, Jaws, Platoon, A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, Death Wish, , Schindler's List, Caddyshack, The Godfather, My Baby is Black, Mondo Topless, The Shawshank Redemption, Back to The Future, Sling Blade, Office Space, Caligula and anything starring Robert De Niro (most notably The King of Comedy).

Staff

Travis Tefft, Executive Producer – (aka T-Storm) – Former intern who became a regular staff member. Travis typically acts as the phone screener as well as providing minute to minute research. Currently acting 'Executive Producer'. The show has recently alluded to something happening causing him to take a short unexpected leave from the show.

Erik Nagel, Senior Producer – (aka Erock) – Hired from Day 1 of the show coming to XM Radio. Co-Hosts 'Worst Of The Week Countdown' and the 'Worst-Of' shows with Sam Roberts. Also, lately, has been filling in as producer of 'Special Delivery' with Sam & Dave. Erik is often a target of ridicule on the show. Erik does a character on the show called 'The Virus' which stemmed from the annual Jocktober bit.

Danny Ross, Senior Producer (aka Big Doodies) – Former intern who became a regular staff member. Danny originally started as a writer for former Executive Producer Steve Carlisi's web site, foundrymusic.com. Carlesi brought him on board as an intern. He is responsible for the shows daily content and has been the in-studio producer since 2008.

Derek Blair, Production Director – (aka D-Boi) – Former intern who became a regular staff member. Derek does not appear on the show to the same extent as the rest of the staff, as his primary responsibilities include show production i.e. sweepers, promos and intros.

Sam Roberts, Associate Producer – (aka Prime Time Sam Roberts) – Former intern who became a regular staff member. Co-Hosts 'Worst Of The Week Countdown' and the 'Worst-Of' shows with Erock on weekends. He currently hosts 'After O&A; Live', which airs from 10am to 11am on The Virus following the live show. Sam is very involved in screening radio shows for Jocktober, and contributes regularly on-air when the subjects of professional wrestling and Scorch's PFG TV (a public access TV show, hosted by a former radio colleague of O&A;'s) come up. He now hosts 'After Opie & Anthony Live' and 'Special Delivery' with East Side Dave, a former member of The Ron and Fez Show.

John Feder, Security – (aka Club Soda Kenny) – A 22-year retiree of the West Orange, New Jersey Police Department, Kenny met O&A; while working for Andrew Dice Clay. He was a part-time member of O&A;'s security staff since the summer of 2004, and joined O&A; full-time in 2006 following his fully-reinstated retirement. He is often ridiculed for his "oafish" demeanor.

Callers who became frequent guests

Pat from Moonachie (Patrick Philbin) – A 44-year old, 340-pound self-employed courier with 9 toes (due to diabetes), who became a friend after winning O&A;'s first annual Eggnog Drinking Contest. Philbin consumed 71 double shots of eggnog and subsequently vomited. He is a competitive eater, ranked 19th in the world by the I.F.O.C.E and placed 10th in Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. The "Baby Bird" video which came about from the 2006 Eggnog Drinking Challenge earned him infamy and caused him to be barred from the I.F.O.C.E for his "effluvic interchange." Philbin's banishment was rescinded and he was eventually re-instated on December 6, 2006.

Big A (Andrew Gold) A Bronx cab driver with a speech impediment (he has a severe stutter, especially when trying to say words that begin with the "st" sound). Co-host of the 'Big A & Twitchels News Cast' segment. Recently he has co-hosted the segment with show regular Bobo.

Tom – Tom was discovered after they took a call from "an elvish sounding man". He is now the focus of "Is Tom alive? Friday", as Tom has a fatal lung disease, was kicked out of his apartment, and has had a broken back and lesioned spinal column; he was told by his doctor that he is now likely in his last year of life, however Tom has repeatedly claimed he will commit suicide to avoid the pain accompanying his passing. On June 12 of 2008 Tom called into the show to thank Opie and Anthony for the show and planned to kill himself. After talking with Tom, Opie, Anthony and Jim convinced him to unload his weapons and come on the show the following day. As of January 26, 2010, Tom is still alive and doing better.

Characters

Paul Harghhis/Hahrrgis – (AKA Uncle Paul) A character voiced by Jim Norton. Uncle Paul is a child molester with a creepy voice. Norton need only utter "huh?" in the voice to bring the character into a conversation, particularly one involving young children. Paul does not seem embarrassed by or even understand that his antics are inappropriate. Recently he's been showing a bit of an angry streak, as he yells at guests on the phone or about "those goddamn meddling parents". Hahrrgis, along with Ted Scheckler were referenced in "The Substitute", the fourth episode of the sixth season of Lost. In the episode a series of surnames along with numbers were featured. Hargghis's number was 202, the XM channel number where the show can be heard.

Steve from Yellowstone – (AKA Ben from Boston, Danny from W-Town, Jimmy from New Jersey, Erik from Breathtown, Po from Jersey, etc.) Fake characters that are voiced by Norton. Occasionally used to mock and insult bad guests on the phone or in the studio.

Ted Sheckler – A character voiced by Jim Norton. Ted is an entrepreneur, said to own many odd boutique emporiums. He often recommends callers to his emporiums for specific items. He also enjoys various, random activities such as ghost hunting, light bulb manufacturing, race car driving, and serial killing by blowing second hand smoke into crowds of people. The Sheckler character, along with Paul Hargghis were referenced in "The Substitute", the fourth episode of the sixth season of Lost. In the episode a series of surnames along with numbers were featured. Sheckler's number was 197, the Sirius channel number where the show can be heard.

Lyle Delmar "Chip" Chipperson -Is a character voiced by Jim Norton known for his horrendous/hilarious jokes. He has recently changed his name to Jerry Sherbert in order to make it in Hollywood.

Helen Bergeron – A character voiced by Jim Norton. Helen is an older Jewish woman who enjoys gossiping about celebrities and popular culture. She would be characterized as a "yenta". She usually says, "Helen Bergeron, signing off" when finished speaking.

Edgar Mellencamp -Another character voiced by Norton, created primarily to antagonize Norton's girlfriend. Edgar is known for his perpetually dry teeth, which he likes to have licked.

The Virus – A character reluctantly voiced by "E-Rock". The character was born when Sam told Erock to go into the studio and do this character. Erock wasn't aware to what was going on or why this was needed, but following Sam's instructions, he did so. Virus is asked for comedic takes on daily events and cannot come up with a punchline or any relevant material. When asked to produce anything nearing entertainment there is nothing produced but a long silence followed by a really lame excuse such as "You know I'm not good at this," or "The Virus is totally unprepared" etc. Whenever he makes an appearance, the song "Baby Elephant Walk" is played.

Bill Tetley Variety Show host made up by Jim Norton. Jim Also uses the name to harass Anthony at home.

Other enterprises

Demented World

A CD released in November 1997 which includes a compilation of bits done on WAAF.

Cherry Darts http://www.cherrydarts.com/ Cherry Darts is based off the popular Opie & Anthony show from XM Radio. Cherry Darts is a friendly game of accuracy and skill. The object of the game is to land the whipped-cream covered cherry on or closest to the bullseye, of a girl or girls who are bent over.

The Opie & Anthony Traveling Virus

The Traveling Virus is a comedy tour headlined by Opie and Anthony, as well as friends of the show, that began in 2006. In its first year, it spanned several locations in the eastern United States during the summer. In 2007, it visited 10 cities through the spring and summer. It was an event they had discussed for many years, but were never able to bring it to fruition until they made their latest deal with CBS radio.

The 2008 Traveling Virus Tour was canceled in favor of one show, held at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey on August 2, 2008. On the morning of Monday, August 4, 2008, Opie stated that the August 2nd show in New Jersey would be "the last Traveling Virus show ever", due to the crowd consistently booing new comedians off the stage, causing established comedians to refuse to appear at the venue

Search and Destroy

On the morning of March 26, 2008, Opie & Anthony revealed they had taped a pilot for Comedy Central. The show is titled Search & Destroy and features teams of comedians performing various tasks throughout New York City. Comedy Central has yet to pick up the show, and Opie and Anthony believe that it may have been too graphic even for cable television.

W.O.W.: During their WAAF years, O&A; established "Whip 'em Out Wednesdays," which encouraged women to flash their breasts to anyone with a "W.O.W." sign. Consequently, it was common around Massachusetts to see cars with W.O.W. stickers, signs and even painted lettering. The campaign came to an end on WAAF in the summer of 1997, when the station forced the duo to discontinue the stunt and suspended the show for three weeks. W.O.W. has since been reintroduced to the show; W.O.W. stickers and signs are more common in O&A;'s biggest markets: New York and Boston. The campaign gained notoriety when a woman flashed the famous crowd fly-by camera during a broadcast of The Today Show. They are less visible in other markets, such as San Francisco, as they are more reluctant to back the W.O.W. promotion.

Voyeur Bus: Fifteen participants in the show's "Voyeur Bus", including the driver, six dancers, and eight associates of the show, were arrested for disorderly conduct. The dancers had performed topless, fully visible through the vehicle's large transparent windows, which was driven along busy Manhattan streets. Charges against the eight associates were later dropped. New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani described the publicity stunt as "stupid."

Homeless Shopping Spree: In late 1999, shortly before Christmas, O&A; held the first "Homeless Shopping Spree", which has since become an annual event. The bit involves a dozen of New York's homeless, who are each given several hundred dollars by the show and much more by the fans, are taken to a posh shopping mall, most notably the Mall at Short Hills in Short Hills, New Jersey. They are allowed to buy whatever they want, including warm clothes and other items they could not normally afford, while being cheered on by the thousands of listeners who show up. In the 1999 Spree, the mall reacted by closing several of the nicer stores and eventually have the twelve homeless men removed from the mall by security. Boston mayor Thomas Menino expressed outrage at the event, declaring that the Homeless Shopping Spree degraded and humiliated the contestants, and that it was immoral to hold such an event on the same day the city was to do a census count of the homeless townspeople. The event was repeated at the same mall on December 16, 2006.

"100 Grand": Early in the team's radio career, O&A; announced a contest at WAAF in which the 107th caller would receive "100 Grand". They continued this bit throughout the show, careful not to say "$100,000", only "100 Grand". The 107th caller was ecstatic, believing that he had actually won $100,000, and exclaimed that he was planning to buy a new truck with his good fortune. He became furious when Opie informed him that the prize was merely a 100 Grand candy bar, and proceeded to curse loudly on the air, famously calling the duo "a bunch of douche bags."

Condoleezza Rice, Laura Bush & Queen Elizabeth II: A homeless man (Homeless Charlie) making a guest appearance on the XM version of the show described how he would like to have sex with the United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, First Lady Laura Bush, also calling Queen Elizabeth II "horse-faced", an act which the hosts joked could only happen through force. In the wake of the Don Imus firing, there has been speculation that O&A; may be fired following that segment that aired on their program May 9, 2007. On their Friday show, Opie and Anthony apologized for the bit by begrudgingly saying, "We apologize to the public officials for comments that were made on our XM show on May 9. We take very seriously the responsibility that comes with our creative freedom and regret any offense that this segment has caused." On May 15, 2007, XM suspended Opie and Anthony for 30 days. Trump was supposed to call the show on January 10, 2008, but did not.

Weinergate Photo Release During his June 8th, 2011 appearance, Andrew Breitbart showed Opie and Anthony a picture of Anthony Weiner's erect penis. A listener forwarded them a screenshot captured from their live Paltalk video feed, and Opie posted it on Twitter. Andrew Breitbart was very upset at what transpired. Opie had also taken a picture of the photo during the showing without the knowledge of Breitbart.

Stations

The O&A; Show can now be heard on Sirius XM Radio, live from 6 AM – 11 AM Eastern (the show regularly runs live until 10 AM and runs "After Opie & Anthony Live" (hosted by Sam Roberts) until 11) on XM channel 105, The Virus or on Sirius channel 206.

Show rundowns / recaps

Shows from October 2004-February 2006 Written by Mellinda

Shows from June 2006-October/November 2006 Written by Happytypingirl

Shows from October/November 2006-Mid 2008 Written by Struff

Current Shows Written by Struff

O&A; show rundowns (on KROCK) by Steven S from Bayshore; were lost following the K-Rock format change

See also

The Virus (XM)

References

External links

;Official Sites

XM Satellite Radio (XM 202 "The Virus" – The Virus Homepage)

OA Pedia An Opie and Anthony Encyclopedia

Category:American talk radio hosts Category:American comedy radio programs Category:Duos Category:Viral marketing Category:Radio programs on XM Radio Category:Living people