Howard Stern
Stern at WXRK in New York City, 2000
Born	Howard Allan Stern (1954-01-12) January 12, 1954 (age 58) Jackson Heights, New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Radio personality, television host, author, actor, photographer
Years active	1975–present
Political party	Libertarian during 1994 Governor of New York campaign
Spouse	Alison Berns (1978–2001; div.) Beth Ostrosky Stern (2008–present)
Website
www.howardstern.com

Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio personality, television host, author, actor and photographer best known for his radio show which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style. Stern has been exclusive to Sirius XM Radio, a subscription-based satellite radio service, since 2006. The son of a former recording and radio engineer, Stern wished to pursue a career in radio at the age of five. While at Boston University he worked at the campus station WTBU before a brief stint at WNTN in Newton, Massachusetts.

He developed his on-air personality when he landed positions at WRNW in Briarcliff Manor, WCCC in Hartford and WWWW in Detroit. In 1981, he was paired with his current newscaster and co-host Robin Quivers at WWDC in Washington, D.C. Stern then moved to WNBC in New York City in 1982 to host afternoons until his firing in 1985. He re-emerged on WXRK that year, and became one of the most popular radio personalities during his 20-year tenure at the station. Stern's show is the most-fined radio program, after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued fines to station licensees for allegedly indecent material that totaled $2.5 million. Stern has won Billboard's Nationally Syndicated Air Personality of the Year award eight times, and is one of the highest-paid figures in radio.^[1]

Stern describes himself as the King of All Media for his ventures outside radio. Since 1987, he has hosted numerous late night television shows, pay-per-view events and home video releases. He embarked on a five-month political campaign for Governor of New York in 1994. His two books, Private Parts (1993) and Miss America (1995), spent 20 and 16 weeks respectively on The New York Times Best Seller list. The former was adapted into Private Parts (1997), a biographical comedy film that starred Stern and his radio show staff that earned $41.2 million in domestic revenue. Stern performs on its soundtrack which topped the Billboard 200 chart.

Early life and education[link]

Stern graduated from the College of Public Communications at Boston University in 1976.

Stern was born on January 12, 1954 into a Jewish family who lived in Jackson Heights, Queens in New York City.^[2][3] His parents Ben and Ray (née Schiffman) are children of Austro-Hungarian immigrants, and his sister Ellen is four years older than he.^[2] The family moved to the hamlet of Roosevelt on Long Island in 1955,^[4] where Stern developed an interest in radio at five years of age.^[5] While Ray was a homemaker and later an inhalation therapist,^[6][7] Ben was a co-owner of Aura Recording, Inc., a recording studio in Manhattan where cartoons and commercials were produced.^[8] When he made occasional visits with his father, Stern witnessed actors Wally Cox, Don Adams and Larry Storch voice his favorite cartoon characters,^[9][10] which influenced him to later talk on the air rather than play records.^[11] Ben was also an engineer at WHOM, a radio station in Manhattan.^[8] On completion of sixth grade, Stern left Washington-Rose Elementary School for Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School.^[12] In June 1969, the family moved to nearby Rockville Centre and Stern transferred to South Side High School.^[13]

Stern spent the first two of four years at Boston University in the College of Basic Studies.^[14] In 1973, he started to work at WTBU, the campus radio station where he spun records, read the news, and hosted interviews.^[14] He also hosted a comedy program with three fellow students called The King Schmaltz Bagel Hour.^[15] Stern gained admission to the School of Public Communications in 1974^[16] and earned a diploma in July 1975 at the Radio Engineering Institute of Electronics in Fredericksburg, Virginia which allowed him to apply for a first class FCC radio-telephone license.^[17][18] With the license, Stern made his professional debut at WNTN in Newton, Massachusetts, performing airshift, newscasting and production duties between August and December 1975.^[19] He graduated magna cum laude from Boston University in May 1976 with a degree in Communications^[3][14] and now funds a scholarship at the university.^[20]

Career[link]

Early professional radio career (1976–1981)[link]

After his graduation in 1976, Stern declined an offer to work evenings at WRNW, a progressive rock station in Briarcliff Manor, Westchester County, New York.^[21] He was unsure of his talent, and questioned his future in the professional industry. Stern took creative and media planning roles at Benton & Bowles, a New York advertising agency, followed by a job in selling radio time to advertisers.^[22] He realized the mistake of declining on-air work and contacted WRNW a second time where he agreed to work covering shifts over the Christmas holiday period.^[19][23] Stern was hired full time in 1977 and worked a four-hour midday shift, six days per week a $96 weekly salary.^[17] He subsequently worked as the station's production and program director for an increased salary of $250.^[19][24]

In 1979, Stern spotted an advertisement for a "wild, fun morning guy" at rock station WCCC in Hartford, Connecticut.^[25] He submitted a more outrageous audition tape with Robert Klein and Cheech and Chong records mixed with flatulence routines and one-liners.^[26] Stern was hired with no change in salary with a more intense schedule. After four hours on the air he voiced and produced commercials for another four. On Saturdays, following a six-hour show, he did production work for the next three. As the station's public affairs director he also hosted a Sunday morning talk show which he favoured.^[27] In the summer of the 1979 energy crisis, Stern held a two-day boycott of Shell Oil Company which attracted media attention.^[28] Stern left WCCC a year later after he was declined a pay increase.^[29] Fred Norris, the overnight disc jockey, has been Stern's producer and writer since 1981.^[30]

Management at rock outlet WWWW in Detroit, Michigan praised Stern's audition tape in their search for a new morning man.^[31] Stern was hired for the job which he started on April 21, 1980.^[13] He learned to become more open on the air and "decided to cut down the barriers...strip down all the ego...and be totally honest", he later told Newsday.^[32] His efforts earned him a Billboard award for "Album-Oriented Rock Personality of the Year For a Major Market" and the Drake-Chenault "Top Five Talent Search" title.^[33][34] The station however, ran into problems after Stern's quarterly Arbitron ratings had decreased while it struggled to compete with its stronger rock competitors. In January 1981, WWWW switched to a country music format much to Stern's dislike, who left the station soon after.^[35] He received offers to work at WXRT in Chicago and CHUM in Toronto, but did not take them.^[34][36]

Washington and WNBC New York (1981–1985)[link]

Stern moved to Washington, D.C. to host mornings at rock station WWDC on March 2, 1981.^[37][38] He wanted to develop his show further, and looked for a co-worker with a sense of humor to riff with on news and current events.^[39] The station paired Stern with Robin Quivers, a newscaster and consumer affairs reporter from WFBR in Baltimore.^[40] Though he felt restricted and controlled by management who enforced a strict format, Stern had the second highest rated morning radio program in January 1982.^[41][42] Impressed with his ratings success, NBC approached Stern with an offer to work afternoons at WNBC in New York City. After Stern signed a five-year contract worth $1 million in March,^[43] his relationship with WWDC management worsened,^[44] and his contract with the station was terminated on June 25. He had more than tripled the station's morning ratings during his stay.^[45] In its July issue The Washingtonian named Stern the area's best disc jockey.^[46] Stern released 50 Ways to Rank Your Mother, a comedy album of his radio bits. The record was re-released as Unclean Beaver in November 1994.^[47]

On April 2, 1982, a news report by Douglas Kiker on raunch radio featuring Stern aired on NBC Magazine.^[48] The piece stimulated discussion among NBC management to withdraw Stern's contract. When he began his afternoon program in September,^[49] management closely monitored Stern, telling him to avoid talk of a sexual and religious nature.^[50] In his first month, Stern was suspended for several days for "Virgin Mary Kong", a segment featuring a video game where a group of men pursued the Virgin Mary around a singles bar in Jerusalem.^[48] An attorney was hired to man a "dump button", and cut Stern off the microphone should potentially offensive areas be discussed. This became the task of program director Kevin Metheny, who Stern nicknamed "Pig Virus".^[48] On May 21, 1984, Stern made his first appearance on Late Night with David Letterman, launching him into the national spotlight.^[13] A year later he claimed the highest ratings at WNBC in four years with a 5.7% market share.^[51]

On September 30, 1985, Stern and Quivers were fired for what management termed "conceptual differences" regarding the show.^[52] "Over the course of time, we made a very conscious effort to make Stern aware that certain elements of the program should be changed...I don't think it's appropriate to say what those specifics were",^[53] said program director John Hayes, who Stern nicknamed "The Incubus". In 1992, Stern believed Thornton Bradshaw, chairman of WNBC's owner RCA, heard his "Bestiality Dial-a-Date" segment and ordered his firing.^[50] Stern and Quivers kept in touch with their audience throughout October and November where they toured club venues with a stage show.^[52]

K-Rock, early television endeavors and Fartman (1985–1992)[link]

Stern signed a contract with Infinity Broadcasting worth around $500,000^[54] and returned to afternoons on its New York rock station WXRK on November 18, 1985.^[52] The show moved to mornings on February 18, 1986 and entered national syndication on August 18 when WYSP in Philadelphia first simulcast the program.^[52] In October 1992, Stern became the first to have the number one morning radio show in New York and Los Angeles simultaneously.^[55] In the New York market The Howard Stern Show was the highest-rated morning program for seven consecutive years between 1994 and 2001.^[56] In 1994, Billboard magazine added the "Nationally Syndicated Air Personality of the Year" category to its annual radio awards based on entertainment value, creativity and ratings success.^[57] Stern was awarded the title from 1994 to 2002.^[58][59]

In May 1987, Stern recorded five television pilots for Fox when the network planned to replace The Late Show hosted by Joan Rivers.^[60] The series was never picked up; one executive having described the show as "poorly produced", "in poor taste" and "boring".^[61] Stern hosted his first pay-per-view event on February 27, 1988 named Howard Stern's Negligeé and Underpants Party.^[52] Over 60,000 homes purchased the two-hour special that grossed $1.2 million.^[62] On September 7, 1989, over 16,000 fans packed out Nassau Coliseum for Howard Stern's U.S. Open Sores, a live event that featured a tennis match between Stern and his radio show producer, Gary Dell'Abate.^[52] Both events were released for home video. From 1990 to 1992, Stern was the host of The Howard Stern Show, a Saturday night program on WWOR-TV. The series ran for 69 episodes to 65 markets nationwide.^[63] In February 1991, Stern released Crucified by the FCC, a collection of censored radio segments following the first fine issued to Infinity by the FCC over alleged indecency.^[64] He released a third video tape, Butt Bongo Fiesta, in October 1992 that sold 260,000 copies for a gross of over $10 million.^[64][65] He returned to Saturday night television that November with The Howard Stern "Interview", a one-on-one celebrity interview series on E!.^{[citation needed]}

Stern appeared at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards as Fartman, a fictional superhero that first appeared in the National Lampoon humor magazine series. According to the trademark he filed for the character that October, he first used Fartman in July 1981.^[66] Stern rejected multiple scripts for a proposed summer 1993 release of The Adventures of Fartman until a verbal agreement was reached with New Line Cinema.^[67] Screenwriter J. F. Lawton had prepared a script before relations soured over the film's rating, content and merchandising rights and the project was abandoned.^[68][69]

[edit] Private Parts, E! show and run for Governor (1993–1994)

In 1993, Stern signed a $1 million advance contract with Simon & Schuster to publish his first book.^[70] Co-authored with Larry Sloman and edited by Judith Regan, the release of Private Parts on October 7 saw its first printing of 225,000 copies being sold within hours of going on sale. It became the fastest-selling title in the history of Schuster after five days.^[71] In its eighth printing two weeks later, over one million copies had been distributed.^[65][70] Stern embarked on a book signing tour that attracted an estimated 10,000 fans at a Barnes & Noble store on Fifth Avenue in New York.^[70] In its first run, Private Parts spent 20 weeks on The New York Times Best-Seller list.^[72] Stern has written forewords for Steal This Dream (1998), a biography of Abbie Hoffman, Disgustingly Dirty Joke Book (1998) by Jackie Martling, Too Fat to Fish (2008) by Artie Lange, and Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons: Tales of Redemption from an Irish Mailbox (2010) by Greg Fitzsimmons.

Stern hosted his second pay-per-view event, The Miss Howard Stern New Year's Eve Pageant, on December 31, 1993. It broke the subscriber record for a non-sports event previously held by a New Kids on the Block concert in 1990.^[65] Around 400,000 households purchased the event that grossed an estimated $16 million.^[73] Stern released the program on VHS in early 1994 as Howard Stern's New Year's Rotten Eve 1994. Between his book royalties and pay-per-view profits, Stern's earnings in the latter months of 1993 totalled around $7.5 million.^[74] In its 20th anniversary issue in 1993, Radio & Records named Stern the most influential air personality of the past two decades.^[75]

On March 21, 1994, Stern announced his candidacy for Governor of New York under the Libertarian Party ticket, challenging Mario Cuomo for re-election.^[76] He planned to reinstate the death penalty, stagger highway tolls to improve traffic flow, and limit road work to night hours.^[77] At the party's nomination convention in Albany on April 23, Stern won the required two-thirds majority on the first ballot, receiving 287 of the 381 votes cast (75.33%). James Ostrowski finished second with 34 votes (8.92%).^[78] To place his name on the November ballot, Stern was obliged to state his home address and to complete a financial disclosure form under the Ethics in Government Act of 1987. After declining to disclose his financial information, Stern was denied an injunction on August 2.^[79] He withdrew his candidacy two days later. Cuomo was defeated in the gubernatorial election on November 8 by George Pataki, who Stern backed. Pataki signed "The Howard Stern Bill" that limited construction on state roads to night hours in New York and Long Island, in 1995.^[80]

In June 1994, robotic cameras were installed at WXRK studios to film The Howard Stern Show for a condensed half-hour show on E!.^[81] Howard Stern ran for 11 years until the last taped episode aired on July 8, 2005.^[82] In conjunction with his move to satellite radio, Stern launched Howard Stern on Demand, a subscription video-on-demand service, on November 18.^[83] The service was relaunched as Howard TV on March 16, 2006.^[84]

[edit] Miss America and Private Parts film (1995–1997)

On April 3, 1995, three days after the shooting of singer Selena, Stern's comments regarding her death and Mexican Americans caused an uproar in the Hispanic community. He criticized her music and gunfire sound effects were played over her songs. "This music does absolutely nothing for me. Alvin and the Chipmunks have more soul...Spanish people have the worst taste in music. They have no depth".^[85] On April 6, Stern responded with a statement in Spanish, stressing his comments were made in satire and not intended to hurt those who loved her.^[86] A day later, Justice of the Peace Eloy Cano of Harlingen, Texas issued an arrest warrant on Stern for disorderly conduct.^[87]

In 1995, Stern signed a deal with ReganBooks worth $3 million to write his second book, Miss America.^[88] He wrote about his cybersex experiences on the Prodigy service, a private meeting with Michael Jackson, and his suffering with obsessive-compulsive disorder.^[89] Released on November 7, the book sold 33,000 copies at Barnes & Noble stores on the same day which set a new one-day record.^[90] Publishers Weekly reported over 1.39 million copies were sold by the year's end and ranked it the third best-selling book of 1995.^[91] Miss America spent a total of 16 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list.^[72]

Production for a film adaptation of Private Parts began in May 1996 with all shooting complete in four months.^[92] Its premiere was held at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden on February 27, 1997, where Stern performed "The Great American Nightmare" with Rob Zombie.^[93] Making its general release on March 7, Private Parts topped the box office sales in its opening weekend with a gross of $14.6 million, and went on to earn a total of $41.2 million in domestic gross revenue.^[94] The film holds a "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a website that aggregates film reviews. 79% of critics gave Private Parts a positive review based on a sample of 48 reviews, with an average score of 6.6 out of 10.^[95] For his performance, Stern won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for "Favorite Male Newcomer" and was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy)" and a Golden Raspberry Award for "Worst New Star".^{[citation needed]} The soundtrack to Private Parts sold 178,000 copies in its first week of release, topping the Billboard 200 chart.^[96]

Stern filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Ministry of Film Inc. in October 1997, claiming it recruited him for a film titled Jane starring Melanie Griffith while knowing it had insufficient funds. Stern, who was unpaid when production ceased, accused the studio of breach of contract, fraud and negligent representation.^[97] A settlement was reached in 1999 with Stern receiving $50,000.^[98]

Return to Saturday night television and productions (1998–2004)[link]

In August 1998, Stern returned to Saturday night television with The Howard Stern Radio Show.^[99] Broadcast across the country on CBS affiliates, it featured radio show highlights along with material unseen in his nightly E! show. The show competed for ratings with comedy shows Saturday Night Live on NBC and MADtv on Fox. Concerned with its risqué content, affiliates began to leave the show after two episodes.^[100] Making its launch on 79 stations on August 22, 1998, this number was reduced to 55 by June 1999.^[101] A total of 84 episodes were broadcast.^{[citation needed]} The final re-run aired on November 17, 2001, to around 30 markets.^[102][103]

In 1994, Stern launched the Howard Stern Production Company for original and joint production and development ventures. He intended to make a film adaptation of Brother Sam, the biography of the late comedian Sam Kinison.^[104] In September 1999, UPN announced the production of Doomsday, an animated science-fiction comedy series executively produced by Stern.^[105] Originally set for a 2000 release, Stern starred as Orinthal, a family dog.^[106] The project was eventually abandoned. From 2000 to 2002, Stern was the executive producer of Son of the Beach, a sitcom which ran for three seasons on FX. In late 2001, Howard Stern Productions was reportedly developing a new sitcom titled Kane.^[107] The pilot episode was never filmed. In 2002, Stern acquired the rights to comedy films Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979) and Porky's (1982). He filed a $100 million lawsuit in March 2003 against ABC and the producers of Are You Hot?, claiming the series was based on his radio segment called "The Evaluators". A settlement was reached on August 7.^[108]

Stern announced in early 2004 of talks with ABC to host a prime time interview special, which never materialized. In August 2004, cable channel Spike picked up 13 episodes of Howard Stern: The High School Years, a second animated series Stern was to executive produce.^[109] On November 14, 2005, Stern announced the completion of episode scripts and 30 seconds of test animations.^[110] Stern eventually gave the project up. In 2007, he explained the episodes could have been produced "on the cheap" at $300,000 each, though the quality he demanded would have cost over $1 million.^[111] Actor Michael Cera was cast as the lead voice.^[112]

[edit] Satellite radio and America's Got Talent (2004–present)

Following Stern's move to Sirius, he assembled the Howard 100 News team.

On October 6, 2004, Stern announced the signing of a five-year contract with Sirius Satellite Radio, a medium free from FCC regulations, that started in January 2006.^[113] His decision to leave terrestrial radio occurred in the aftermath of the controversy surrounding the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show in February that caused a crackdown on perceived indecency in broadcasting. The incident prompted tighter control over content by station owners and managers to which Stern felt "dead inside" creatively.^[114] Stern hosted his final broadcast on terrestrial airwaves on December 16, 2005.^[115] During his 20 years at WXRK his show had syndicated in 60 markets^[116][117] across the United States and Canada and gained a peak audience of 20 million listeners.^{[118][119][120]}

With an annual budget of $100 million for all production, staff and programming costs, Stern launched two channels on Sirius in 2005 named Howard 100 and Howard 101. He assembled the Howard 100 News team that covered stories about his show and those associated with it, and a new dedicated studio was constructed at Sirius' headquarters in New York.^[121] On January 9, 2006, the day of his first broadcast, Stern and his agent received 34.3 million shares of stock from the company worth $218 million for exceeding subscriber targets set in 2004.^[122] A second stock incentive was paid in 2007, with Stern receiving 22 million shares worth $82.9 million.^[123]

On February 28, 2006, CBS Radio (formerly Infinity Broadcasting) filed a lawsuit against Stern, his agent and Sirius. The suit claimed Stern had misused CBS broadcast time to promote Sirius for unjust enrichment during the last 14 months of his terrestrial radio contract.^[124][125] In a press conference held hours before the suit was filed, Stern said it was nothing more than a "personal vendetta" against him by CBS president Leslie Moonves.^[126] A settlement was reached on May 25, with Sirius paying $2 million to CBS for control of Stern's 20-year broadcast archives.^[127] In the same month, Time magazine included Stern in its Time 100 list.^[128] He also ranked seventh in Forbes' Celebrity 100 list in June 2006,^[129] and reappeared in 2011 at number 26.^[130]

Stern signed a new contract with Sirius to continue his show for five more years in December 2010.^[131] Following the agreement, Stern and his agent filed a lawsuit against Sirius on March 22, 2011, for allegedly failing to pay stock bonuses promised to them from the past four years while helping the company exceed subscriber growth targets. Sirius said it was "surprised and disappointed" by the suit.^[132] On April 17, 2012, New York Judge Barbara Kapnick "granted a SiriusXM motion for summary judgment, dismissing the lawsuit."^[133]

In May, Stern announced that he would be broadcasting on a reduced schedule, alternating between three-day and four-day working weeks.^[134] On December 15, 2011, Stern announced that he will replace Piers Morgan as a judge for the seventh season of America's Got Talent. Filming will take place in Newark, New Jersey at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and began in February 2012.^[135]

FCC fines[link]

From 1990 to 2004, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has fined owners of radio stations that carried The Howard Stern Show a total of $3.2 million for indecent programming.^[136]

Personal life[link]

Stern and Beth Ostrosky in 2011

Stern married his first wife, Alison (née Berns),^[137] on June 4, 1978 at Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, Massachusetts.^[138] They have three daughters: Emily Beth (b. 1983), Debra Jennifer (b. 1986) and Ashley Jade (b. 1993).^[139] On October 22, 1999, Stern announced their decision to separate.^[140] The marriage ended in 2001 with an amicable divorce and settlement.^[137] In 2000, Stern began to date model Beth Ostrosky Stern, co-host of Casino Cinema from 2004 to 2007.^{[citation needed]} She also frequently appeared in the American edition of FHM.^[141] On February 14, 2007 Stern announced their engagement.^[137] They married on October 3, 2008, at Le Cirque restaurant in New York City.^[142]

While attending Boston University, Stern developed an interest in Transcendental Meditation, which he practices to this day.^[143] He credits it with aiding him in quitting smoking and achieving his goals in radio.^[144] Stern interviewed the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the technique, twice.^{[citation needed]} Stern also plays on the Internet Chess Club, and has taken lessons from chess master Dan Heisman, although he has recently claimed to have quit playing. Howard's latest passion is photography, where he does private shoots for friends and secured his first paid 'gig' shooting a layout for Hamptons magazine in July 2011.^[145][146] Stern has also shot photographs for WHIRL magazine and the North Shore Animal League.^[147][148] Stern is frequently listed among the most influential contemporary Americans. In 2011, he was rated Forbes Magazines' 49th Most Powerful Celebrity.^[149]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

Home video releases[link]

Television[link]

Discography[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Stern, Howard (1993). Private Parts. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-88016-3. 
• Stern, Howard (1995). Miss America. ReganBooks. ISBN 978-0-06-039167-6. 

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Stern, Howard (1993). Private Parts (1st ed.). Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-88016-3. 
• Colford, Paul (1997). Howard Stern: King of All Media (2nd ed.). St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-96221-0. 
• Lucaire, Luigi (1997). Howard Stern, A to Z: A Totally Unauthorized Guide. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-15144-7. 
• Luerssen, John (2009). American Icon: The Howard Stern Reader. Lulu. ISBN 978-0-557-04204-3. 

External links[link]

Find more about Howard Stern on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Images and media from Commons
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote

• Official Website
• The Howard Stern Show on Sirius XM Radio
• Howard Stern at the Internet Movie Database
• Howard Stern at AllRovi

Norm Macdonald
Norm Macdonald, September 2009
Birth name	Norman Gene Macdonald
Born	(1963-10-17) October 17, 1963 (age 48) Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Nationality	Canadian
Years active	1987–present
Genres	Satire, political satire, current events, observational comedy
Subject(s)	American culture, American politics, current events, pop culture, sports, mass media/news media/media criticism
Influences	Don Rickles, Bob Newhart[1]
Spouse	Connie Macdonald (1988-?) (divorced) 1 child
Notable works and roles	Weekend Update anchor on Saturday Night Live Norm Henderson on The Norm Show Lucky in Dr. Dolittle Norm the Genie in The Fairly Oddparents Host of Sports Show with Norm Macdonald

Norman Gene "Norm" Macdonald^[2] (born October 17, 1963) is a Canadian stand-up comedian, writer, producer and actor. He is best known for his five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, which included anchoring Weekend Update for three years. Early in his career, he wrote for the sitcom Roseanne and made appearances on shows including The Drew Carey Show and NewsRadio. He also starred in The Norm Show from 1999 to 2001. Comedy Central named him #83 on the five-part miniseries 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time. He is noted as one of Conan O'Brien's favorite and most frequent guests on his various talk shows. His brother is Canadian journalist Neil Macdonald, of CBC News' Washington, D.C. bureau.^[3]

Starting February 26, 2011, Macdonald became the new host of High Stakes Poker on Game Show Network.^[4] He also hosted Sports Show with Norm Macdonald on Comedy Central, which began airing on April 12, 2011. It was announced on June 7, 2011, that the Sports Show would not be renewed for a second season, reportedly due to low ratings,^[5] even though Sports Show steadily averaged one-million viewers per episode.^[6][7]

Early life[link]

Macdonald was born and raised in Quebec City. His father was Percy Macdonald, a Scottish-Canadian^{[citation needed]} who served with the Canadian Army during World War II and helped liberate the Netherlands. His mother is Ferns Macdonald (née Mains). Macdonald has two brothers, Leslie and Neil, who are both journalists with the CBC.^[8][9]

In the early 1970s, Macdonald attended grade school where his parents taught at Alexander Wolff School, on Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, outside Quebec City. Macdonald has said that he was a student in his father's class, and that he had to call him "Mr. Macdonald" while in class. His father, often described as a very strict man, was his homeroom teacher for two years (grades 6 and 7). After completing 7th grade, Macdonald attended Quebec High School in Quebec City.

Early career[link]

Macdonald began performing stand-up at clubs in Ottawa. His first big break was at the 1987 Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal.^[10]

[edit] Saturday Night Live

Macdonald joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) television program in 1993, where he performed impressions of Larry King, Burt Reynolds, David Letterman, Charles Kuralt and Bob Dole, among others. Following Kevin Nealon's departure from SNL, Macdonald anchored the segment Weekend Update. Chevy Chase, the first anchor of Weekend Update, has opined that Macdonald was the "best Weekend Update anchor since - well - Chevy Chase".^[11]

Macdonald's version of Weekend Update often included repeated references to prison rape, crack whores and the Germans' love of Baywatch star David Hasselhoff. Macdonald would occasionally deliver a piece of news, then take out his personal compact tape recorder and leave a "note to self" relevant to what he just discussed. He also commonly and inexplicably used Frank Stallone as a non sequitur punchline. Macdonald repeatedly ridiculed public figures such as Marion Barry, Michael Jackson and O. J. Simpson. Throughout Simpson's trial for murder, Macdonald constantly pilloried the former football star, often heavily implying Simpson was guilty of the brutal slaying of his wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman. In the broadcast following Simpson's acquittal, Macdonald opened Weekend Update by saying: "Well, it's official: murder is legal in the state of California." During the February 24, 1996 episode, Macdonald made a controversial joke about the sentencing of John Lotter, one of the two men who committed the notorious murder of Teena Brandon: "In Nebraska, a man was sentenced to death for killing a female crossdresser, who accused him of rape, and two of her friends. Excuse me if this sounds harsh, but in my mind, they all deserved to die."^{[12] [13]}

After the announcement that Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley planned to divorce, Macdonald joked about their irreconcilable differences on Weekend Update: "She's more of a stay-at-home type, and he's more of a homosexual pedophile." He followed this up a few episodes later with a report about the singer's recent collapse and hospitalization. Referring to a report of how Jackson had decorated his hospital room with giant photographs of Shirley Temple, Macdonald remarked that viewers should not get the wrong idea, adding, "We'd like to remind you that Michael Jackson is, in fact, a homosexual pedophile." The joke elicited audible gasps from some audience members. He responded to this by saying, "What? He is a homosexual pedophile."^[14]

Macdonald's time with Saturday Night Live effectively ended in late 1997, when he was fired from the Weekend Update segment upon the insistence of NBC West Coast Executive Don Ohlmeyer, who pressured the producers to remove him, explaining that Macdonald was "not funny." Some believe that Don Ohlmeyer's friendship with O.J. Simpson — a celebrity whom Macdonald often antagonized on the show — may have fueled Ohlmeyer's decision,^[15][16] but Macdonald has been quoted as saying that he "finds that thesis 'weird' and takes Ohlmeyer's explanation at face value".^[15]

On February 28, 1998, one of his last appearances on SNL occurred as host of a fictitious TV show called Who's More Grizzled?, who asked questions of "mountain men" played by that night's host Garth Brooks and special guest Robert Duvall. In the sketch, Brooks's character said to Macdonald's character, "I don't much care for you," to which Macdonald replied, "A lot of people don't."

In a Late Show with David Letterman interview, Macdonald said that after being fired, he could not "do anything else on any competing show."^[17]

Macdonald went on the Celebrity Jeopardy! sketch on the 34th season finale of SNL when Will Ferrell hosted. Macdonald reprised the impression of Burt Reynolds that he did when he was a regular cast member.

[edit] Characters on SNL

• Stan Hooper, a cynical man who exploits other people. (The short-lived FOX sitcom A Minute With Stan Hooper featured a version of this character).

Celebrity impersonations[link]

Later work[link]

Soon after leaving Saturday Night Live, Macdonald co-wrote and starred in the "revenge comedy" Dirty Work (1998), with Jack Warden, Don Rickles, Chevy Chase, Chris Farley, Artie Lange and Adam Sandler. Later that year, Macdonald voiced the character of Lucky the dog in the Eddie Murphy remake of Dr. Dolittle. He reprised the role in both Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) and Dr. Dolittle 3 (2006). Macdonald voiced the character of Death on an episode of Family Guy. Due to a conflict with his stand-up comedy schedule, he was unavailable to voice the character for his next appearance; Death has since been voiced by Adam Carolla. In 1999, Macdonald starred in the sitcom The Norm Show (later renamed Norm), co-starring Laurie Metcalf, Artie Lange and Ian Gomez. It ran for three seasons on ABC. Macdonald voiced Hardee's restaurants' (Carl's Jr. on the U.S. west coast) costumed mascot, the Hardee's star in advertisements. Macdonald also appeared on several Miller Lite commercials that year. He appeared on the September 1999 Saturday Night Live primetime special celebrating the program's 25th year on the air. Macdonald was one of only three former Weekend Update anchors to introduce a retrospective on the segment (the others being Chevy Chase and Dennis Miller).

Macdonald returned to Saturday Night Live to host the October 23, 1999 show. In his opening monologue, he expressed resentment at having been fired, then concluded that the only reason he was asked to host was because "the show has gotten really bad" since he left.^[21] The next episode, airing November 6, 1999 and hosted by Dylan McDermott, featured a sketch where Chris Kattan, as the androgynous character Mango, is opening letters from celebrity admirers and, after opening the last one, says "[the letter is from] Norm Macdonald, who is that?" Also in 1999, Macdonald made a cameo appearance in the Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon. When Michael Richards refused to portray himself in the scene re-enacting the famous Fridays incident where Kaufman throws water in his face, Macdonald stepped in to play Richards, although he is never referred to by name.

On Macdonald's first appearance on The Daily Show after Jon Stewart took over, he caused controversy when he said "I'm really glad to see you're hosting the show, man. I hated that other guy." In a previous interview, Macdonald retorted: "I hate that . . . [expletive] 'Daily Show.' I know you critics love it, but it just seems like the most obvious type of comedy." After Jon Stewart got the job he explained his previous comments. "I was joking," he contended. "I love 'The Daily Show.' And I love Jon Stewart. But in print, you can't italicize irony, know what I mean? It's all just words. A guy could say right now: 'I hate David Letterman. I really hate him.' And you could print that. But don't print it."

In 2000, Macdonald starred in his second motion picture, Screwed, which, like Dirty Work, fared poorly at the box office.

On November 12, 2000, Macdonald appeared on the Celebrity Edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? winning $500,000.00 for Paul Newman's Charity Camp. Macdonald could have won a million dollars, but admitted he was too nervous to go for it. Had he done so, his initial guess at the million dollar question (The Greenbrier) would have been correct. Prior to entering the Hot Seat, he got his own personalized Fastest Finger question, which asked him to "Put the following letters in order to spell a popular man's name", with the four answers being all four letters in his name, spelled out in order as the correct order.

Macdonald continued to make appearances on television shows and in films, including Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo and The Animal, all of which starred fellow Saturday Night Live alumnus Rob Schneider and were produced by Adam Sandler. In 2003 he played the title character in the Fox sitcom A Minute with Stan Hooper, which was canceled after six episodes.

In 2005, Macdonald signed a deal with Comedy Central to create a new sketch comedy pilot called Back to Norm, which debuted that May. The pilot was never turned into a series. Its infamous cold opening parodied the suicide of Budd Dwyer, a Pennsylvania politician who, facing decades of incarceration, committed suicide on live television in 1987. Rob Schneider appeared in the pilot. Also in 2005, Macdonald performed as a voice actor, portraying a genie named Norm, on two episodes of the cartoon series The Fairly Odd Parents. But he could not return for the third episode, "Fairy Idol", due to a scheduling conflict. In 2006, Macdonald again performed as a voice actor, this time in a series of commercials for Canadian cellphone services provider Bell Mobility, as the voice of "Frank the Beaver". The campaign had a commercial tie-in with the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and with the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The ads ran heavily on CBC during the Olympics and throughout the National Hockey League's postseason. Due to its success, the campaign was extended throughout 2006, 2007 and into 2008 to promote offerings from other Bell Canada divisions such as Bell Sympatico Internet provider and Bell TV satellite service.^[22] In August 2008, the new management at Bell decided that they would go in a different direction with advertising, and would no longer be using the beavers.

In September 2006, Macdonald's sketch comedy album, Ridiculous, was released by Comedy Central Records. It features appearances by Will Ferrell, Jon Lovitz, Tim Meadows, Molly Shannon and Artie Lange. On September 14, 2006, Macdonald appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to promote Ridiculous. During the appearance, Macdonald made some jokes about the recent death of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. Stewart, holding back laughter, asked Norm to change the subject, but he kept going and Stewart kept trying to hold back the laughter. Macdonald was a guest character on My Name Is Earl in the episode "Two Balls, Two Strikes" as "Lil Chubby", the son of "Chubby" (played by Burt Reynolds), similar to Macdonald's portrayals of Reynolds on SNL.

In the 2007 World Series of Poker, he came in 20th place out of 827 entrants in the $3,000 No Limit Texas Hold 'em event, winning $14,608.^[23] He also made it to round two of the $5,000 World Championship of Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em. On the comedy website, Super Deluxe, he has created an animated series entitled "The Fake News".^[24] Norm has filled in during Dennis Miller's weekly O'Reilly Factor "Miller Time" segment on January 2, 2008, and guest-hosted Dennis Miller's radio show on January 3, 2008. Norm had also been a regular contributor on Miller's show every Friday, prior to an unexplained absence that left Miller wondering on-air if the show had somehow miffed Norm. Macdonald returned after many months on May 30, 2008, but not before missing a scheduled appearance the day before. He also hosted Miller's radio show for the second time on July 16, 2008, along with friend Stevie Ray Fromstein.

On June 19, 2008, Macdonald was a celebrity panelist on two episodes of a revived version of the popular game show Match Game, which was taped at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. The new version featured the same set used in the early years of the 1970s version and also starred comedienne Sarah Silverman as a fellow celebrity panelist.^[25] On August 17, 2008, Norm was a participant in the Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget, performing intentionally cheesy and G-rated material that contrasted greatly with the raunchy performances of the other roasters. In AT&T commercials around Christmas 2007 and 2008, Macdonald voiced a gingerbread boy wanting a prepaid mobile phone from his dad (voiced by Steve Buscemi), who repeatedly rebuilds his house because "people won't stop eating it".^[26] The ad was for AT&T's GoPhone. Norm is working on a program for the FX network called The Norm Macdonald Reality Show, in which he plays a fictional, down-on-his-luck version of himself.^[27] On the May 16, 2009, episode of Saturday Night Live, Macdonald reappeared as Burt Reynolds on Celebrity Jeopardy!. He also appeared in another sketch later on playing the guitar. On May 31, 2009, he appeared on Million Dollar Password.

Macdonald became a frequent guest on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien during its 2009 and 2010 run. Norm was among the first guests on O'Brien's Tonight Show, and appeared also during the show's final week. Initially, The Tonight Show faced network opposition to bringing Norm on so early in the show's run, and Norm having nothing but local stand-up appearances to promote on-air. Despite this, O'Brien's insistence prevailed and Norm's first and subsequent appearances were highlights of O'Brien's brief Tonight Show run. Norm was a guest on Conan's new TBS show, Conan on May 17, 2011. Macdonald has also made frequent appearances on the internet talk show Tom Green's House Tonight, and on May 20, 2010, he guest hosted the show.

In September 2010, it was reported that Macdonald was developing a new series for Comedy Central that he described as a sports version of The Daily Show.^[28] As of April 2011, the show was titled Sports Show with Norm Macdonald and premiered on April 12 on Comedy Central.^[29] The Sports Show was not renewed, reportedly due to low ratings, after all nine ordered episodes were broadcast. Macdonald's first stand-up special, Me Doing Stand-Up, aired on Comedy Central on March 26.^[30] On May 23, 2011 Comedy Central announced the release an audio CD and DVD of the special on June 14 on Comedy Central Records, and Home Entertainment.^[31] The CD will be made available digitally and physically. Both releases will contain uncensored and unseen material from the special, and the DVD features will include the sitcom pilot Back To Norm, an animated featurette The Twelve Days Of Christmas, and Norm's appearance on The Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget.^[32]

Macdonald is currently the commentator and co-host of the seventh season of High Stakes Poker on Game Show Network along with Kara Scott.

Politics[link]

Despite referring to himself as apolitical, Macdonald has made controversial references to politically charged issues. At the end of the last Weekend Update segment before the 1996 presidential election, Norm urged viewers to vote for Bob Dole (of whom Macdonald frequently performed a comic impersonation), though hinting that he had solely said it so that he could continue impersonating him.

On the November 16, 2000 episode of The View Macdonald said that he thought George W. Bush was "a decent man" and he called Bill Clinton a "murderer" (regarding the Vince Foster case). Macdonald later stated in Maxim magazine that he is completely apolitical, and that he was joking when he said Clinton "killed a guy" (he further explained on The Adam Carolla Show that the comments were simply designed to anger Barbara Walters). In a phone interview he later clarified his views on George W. Bush and the Iraq war thusly: "I wish there was another president, a different president engaging the war, since we're in the war because I don't think Bush did a very good job with it. The war itself, you know, if it works it was worth it. But I don't know if it's going to work, so I don't know."^[33]

In 2003, Macdonald appeared on Barbara Walters's program The View, publicly renouncing his Canadian citizenship as a joke over his home country's decision not to participate in the Iraq War, stated his belief that Ronald Reagan was the greatest president ever and said that he would be becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States. Later he affirmed that he was joking about renouncing his Canadian citizenship, stating in a telephone interview that "I'm not an American citizen. I'm a Canadian citizen. I just keep renewing my green card... I don't want to be American." He further burnished his apolitical stance in regards to both America and Canada saying that he was not eligible to vote in American elections and never voted in Canadian elections either: "I figured since I never did when I was in Canada... I never voted because I don't want to make a mistake. I'm so uninformed that I don't want that on my hands, you know?"^[33]

On the January 2, 2008 episode of The O'Reilly Factor, Macdonald stated that he is "very pro-life, but against the death penalty." His friend Artie Lange would soon afterwards confirm these opinions as sincere on The Howard Stern Show.

Views on comedy[link]

Speaking about Canada's homegrown comedy industry, Macdonald reflected that he would have liked there to have been more opportunity for him to stay in the country early in his career, stating:

"Now I know there's more of, like, an industry there. Like, I was happy that Brent Butt got that show. Because he's a really funny guy. But there wasn't that opportunity when I was there. I remember Mike McDonald had one short-lived series, but that was about it. Otherwise there was nothing to do. But it was great with standup. It was way, way better with standup than in the States. Like, I think the standups are generally much better in Canada. Because, like, when I was in Canada, none of us had any ambition to movies or TV because there were no movies or television. So it was all standup and we just assumed we'd be standups for our whole lives and that was what was fun. And then when I came to the States, I realized, whoa, they don't take their standup very seriously here because they're just trying to do something other than standup and using standup as, like, a springboard to something else that they're generally not as good at."^[33]

Reflecting on the state of modern comedy, Macdonald bemoans the influx of dramatic actors into comedy and comedians into dramatic acting:

"What young, handsome person is funny? I remember on Saturday Night Live hosts would come in. You know, like handsome hosts. They'd be dramatic actors generally. And the publicist would always be like, 'This is a big chance for this guy because he's really a funny guy and people don't know it. He's hilarious!' And then he'd just suck, you know?...I always liked Steve Martin when he was crazy. Because dramatic actors know how to be likeable and stuff. To me, if you've got a guy like Steve Martin or Jim Carrey or something, who are unbelievably funny, I don't know why they'd want to be dramatic actors when they have no chance. They're completely outclassed by actual dramatic actors. How many funny comedy actors are there? There's like a million great dramatic actors. I don't know why they'd want to switch. I guess to get respect or something, I don't know."^[33]

Filmography[link]

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• Norm Macdonald at the Internet Movie Database
• Norm Macdonald on Myspace
• Norm Macdonald on Twitter
• Norm Macdonald on Tom Green Live, 10 February 2007
• Norm Macdonald on Tom Green Live, 31 January 2007

This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page. (September 2009)

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: Television and writing career needs reformatting and cleaning. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (May 2012)

Keith Ablow
Born	(1961-11-23) November 23, 1961 (age 50) Marblehead, Massachusetts
Nationality	American
Occupation	Self-help and mystery writer
Known for	Hosted The Dr. Keith Ablow Show

Keith Russell Ablow (born November 23, 1961) is an American psychiatrist, expert witness, New York Times best-selling author of fiction and nonfiction, and television personality who hosted a national, daily syndicated talk show. Ablow maintains private practices in Newburyport, Massachusetts and Manhattan, New York. He is also a contributor on psychiatry for Fox News Channel.

Early life and training[link]

Ablow was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts. He graduated from Brown University in 1983, magna cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science degree in neurosciences. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1987, and completed his psychiatry residency at the Tufts-New England Medical Center.

While a medical student, he worked as a reporter for Newsweek and a freelancer for the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun. After his residency, Ablow later served as medical director of the Tri-City Mental Health Centers and then went on to become medical director of Heritage Health Systems and Associate Medical Director of Boston Regional Medical Center.^[1]

Private practice[link]

Since 1996 Ablow has had a private practice of forensic, adult and adolescent psychiatry with offices in Newburyport, Massachusetts and New York City. Ablow has testified in numerous high-profile cases, including those of Dr. Richard Sharpe, Clark Rockefeller, Richard Rosenthal, Mary Winkler and Joseph Druce. He is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Tufts Medical School and is Board Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology in adult, adolescent and forensic psychiatry.

During May, 2011 Ablow launched Dr. Keith Ablow Life Coaching, offering a team of life coaches trained by him who are experts at applying the content of his books "Living the Truth: Transform Your Life Through the Power of Insight and Honesty" and "The 7: Seven Wonders that Will Change Your Life."

Television and writing career[link]

As a medical student, Ablow became medical editor and producer for Lifetime Medical Television in New York City and Los Angeles from 1985-1989. He was the first Arthur Ulene, MD Fellow at Lifetime Medical Television. He was selected by the American Association for the Advancement as a fellow, as well, and worked under their direction as a reporter and writer at Newsweek. The American Medical Association awarded him its Jerry Pettis Award for Excellence in Communicating Science to the Public. He authored his first book, Medical School: Getting In, Staying In, Staying Human in 1987. In 2003 he created and was the Executive Producer of the CBS pilot, Expert Witness, starring Matthew Modine.

Ablow has written hundreds of columns/articles for publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, USA Today, Newsweek, The Baltimore Sun, The Boston Herald and FoxNews.com.

He has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the Today Show, The Howard Stern Show, Good Morning America, the CBS "Early Show," "Larry King," The Tyra Banks Show, Nancy Grace (CNN) program), Catherine Crier Live, The Dr. Oz Show, "Glenn Beck," "Fox & Friends," "Geraldo," "Imus," "Montel," "Sally Jesse," "Maury Povich," "Inside Edition," "Showbiz Tonight," "Doctor's Radio," and The O'Reilly Factor. He has been interviewed by Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Matt Lauer, Meredith Viera and many other print, television and radio journalists.

From June 2006 through September 2007, Ablow was host and executive producer of his own national daily talk show, The Dr. Keith Ablow Show, syndicated by Warner Bros. On October 17, 2006 he obtained an exclusive interview with John Mark Karr, the man who falsely confessed to being the murderer of beauty pageant child star JonBenet Ramsey. After interviewing Karr, Ablow asserted he was dealing with a "textbook case of pedophilia" and that Karr would continue to pose a threat to society once free.

Following his show's cancellation,^[2] Ablow has been a contributing editor for Good Housekeeping Magazine and Men's Fitness, and a columnist for the New York Post.^[1] He also contributes commentary and analysis for the Fox News Channel.

Ablow is the author of six psychological thrillers featuring Frank Clevenger, a forensic psychiatrist dedicated to a search for truth, no matter where it leads. More than one of the titles was a USA Today bestseller.^{[citation needed]}

Ablow's true crime book, "Inside the Mind of Scott Peterson," was a New York Times bestseller.

In 2007, Ablow published a prescriptive self-help book, Living the Truth: Transform Your Life Through the Power of Insight and Honesty in conjunction with a self-help web community.

On January 6, 2010, Ablow was physically assaulted and kicked in the head^[3] by white supremacist and alleged murderer Keith Luke while visiting him in jail. Luke's defense attorneys had hired Ablow to assist with an insanity defense.^[4]

Ablow's 2011 book, The 7,^[5] co-authored by Glenn Beck, was released in January 2011 and was a New York Times bestseller. In November, St. Martin's Press published a second Ablow book, Inside the Mind of Casey Anthony: A Psychological Portrait.

In April 2011, Ablow wrote a health column for FoxNews.com^[6] which criticized designer Jenna Lyons for publishing an advertisement in the J. Crew catalogue in which she was depicted painting her young son's toenails hot pink. Ablow wrote that gender distinctions are "part of the magnificent synergy that creates and sustains the human race". The column sparked a controversy around his claims that painting a child's toenails pink could have an effect on their gender identity and led to accusations of overreaction, as was reported upon by numerous news media sources.^{[7][8][9][10]} Ablow refused to back down, even re-posting the column on his Facebook page.

During May, 2011 Ablow hosted a week of radio broadcasts for Boston's WTKK radio, 96.9 FM. He has continued as a guest host. He appears frequently as an expert on psychiatry on the Dr. Oz Show.

Ablow has also written widely-circulated columns on FoxNews.com addressing treatment strategies for major depression, anxiety disorders and substance abuse disorders.

During the 2012 Republican primary, Ablow wrote a column arguing that Newt Gingrich's three marriages actually made him more qualified to be president: "When three women want to sign on for life with a man who is now running for president, I worry more about whether we’ll be clamoring for a third Gingrich term, not whether we’ll want to let him go after one."^[11] The column was widely ridiculed, with Rod Dreher of The American Conservative contending that Ablow's argument represented "shamelessness cross[ing] the line from character defect to psychopathology."^[12] Others argued that Ablow's central thesis--that a candidate's sex life was not a proper topic of inquiry for reporters and predicted nothing about a candidate's ability to lead--was illuminating and could help focus the media on real issues of importance to the American people.

Personal life[link]

Ablow's wife, Deborah, is an attorney. ^[13] Ablow was raised Jewish. ^[13] He recently spoke at the Anti-Defamation League and was an invited guest at a dinner hosted by the American Jewish Committee. He has described his faith, however, as centering on "immeasurable and powerful spiritual and psychological forces that connect all of us--one to another."

Bibliography[link]

Non-fiction[link]

• Medical School: Getting In, Staying In, Staying Human (1987)
• How to Cope with Depression (1989)
• To Wrestle With Demons: A Psychiatrist Struggles to Understand His Patients and Himself (1992)
• Anatomy of a Psychiatric Illness: Healing the Mind and Brain (1993)
• The Strange Case of Dr. Kappler: The Doctor Who Became a Killer (1994)
• Without Mercy: The Shocking True Story of a Doctor Who Murdered (1996)
• Inside the Mind of Scott Peterson (2005)
• Living the Truth: Transform Your Life Through the Power of Insight and Honesty (2007)
• The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life (2011) (co-authored with Glenn Beck)
• Inside the Mind of Casey Anthony: A Psychological Portrait (2011)

Fiction/mystery[link]

The series features Frank Clevenger, a forensic psychiatrist from Massachusetts.

• Denial (1998)
• Projection (1999)
• Compulsion (2002)
• Psychopath (2003)
• Murder Suicide (2004)
• The Architect (2005)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dr. Keith Ablow's bio
• Living the Truth
• FOX Health blog, "Mind of the News"
• Contributor for SingleMindedWomen.com
• Keith Ablow interview, about one of his books (Murder/Suicide)
• Interview with Dr. Keith Ablow on 'How to Make Your Marriage Last'
• TV Series Finale - TV series cancellation details