Gregg "Opie" Hughes (born May 23, 1963) and 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. Based in New York City, the show was previously on WXRK-FM and WNEW-FM in New York, and prior to 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. The team was 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 Opie & Anthony Channel". Replays are available throughout the day on their XM and Sirius channels and on audible.com.
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 western 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. 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. 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;)''.
One of Opie and Anthony's most notable Boston stunts was their staged 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.
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 while transporting a young female Haitian prostitute. 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 Fool's prank. He preceded these comments with "The statutes of limitations must be up on this."
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.
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 simulated 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 had been dreadful overall aside from Opie and Anthony. With the forced cancellation of its only strong performer, its ratings dropped even lower than those of noncommercial stations and never recovered. The station began playing music again 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 of 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.
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 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 always 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, pursuant to the demands of hardcore O&A; fans known as "The Pests".
A major 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 man who wandered into the studio. Opie and Anthony dubbed the man "Homeless Charlie", who mentioned 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 Bill O'Reilly, who called the situation "the worst I have ever seen." (O'Reilly once had the radio 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 of the suspension by canceling their XM Radio subscriptions, with some fans even going as far as smashing their XM units. XM did offer a free month of service to subscribers who called in complaints of the suspension. Moreover, some sponsors pulled their advertising off XM in protest of the suspension.
The radio duo's month-long suspension from XM ended on June 15, 2007, when they returned to XM's airwaves. Shortly after the suspension, Opie closed on a $3.35 million apartment in Trump Place owned by Donald Trump.
On April 24, 2006, Opie and Anthony announced that they signed a deal with CBS Radio in which the first three hours of the show would be broadcast on nine of CBS's rock stations, the first official show airing April 26.
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 until noon), the show was broadcast exclusively on XM Radio. XM listeners were able to hear the show uncensored for the entire show (except when the main feed is "self-censored" by the hosts). During the 6–9 slot, the FM-only listeners would 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 ratings in the age 18–34 demographic. In Boston, O&A; doubled the number of all age demographics and achieved an even greater increase in younger listeners.
According to the Winter 2007 arbitron ratings, O&A; doubled Roth's ratings with their target demographic of 18 to 34-year-olds. But the improvement merely amounted to an increase of 2% to about 4% of the audience—a third of Stern's old numbers in New York City. 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 ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories'', including Club Soda Kenny as the voice of Derek the Dodo. The only exception was Jim Norton, since he had a voice role in previous Rockstar game ''Bully''.
On October 23, 2007, WYSP in Philadelphia cut Opie and Anthony from their lineup in favor of the rock music format, to which the station had changed in September.
During the summer of 2008, the show delved into the romance between Anthony Cumia and Jill Nicolini, a model and actress who also serves as traffic reporter for WPIX. Nicolini and Cumia were often photographed together at public events. A running feature on the show focused on the authenticity of this May–December romance. While many initially doubted the beautiful Nicolini would actually date Cumia, the relationship appeared to blossom over time, although 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 at K-Rock, almost all of O&A;'s 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, and spent much of the time 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 often mention that they will not renew their contract after the current contract expires, citing their disgust with the poor way they are often treated by Sirius management as the primary reason.
On October 13, 2011, the Opie and Anthony show's station was changed from the ViRUS to The Opie and Anthony Channel.
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.
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 by 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, Joe DeRosa, Louis C.K., (who famously asked Donald Rumsfeld if he was a Mexican baby eating space lizard) Bill Burr, Brian Regan, Robert Kelly, Otto & George, Bob Saget, Rich Vos, Colin Quinn, Nick DiPaolo and Patrice O'Neal, 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, Lazlow Jones, 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 O&A; 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.
O&A;'s show features many inside jokes that a new listener may not immediately understand. There are many references to films, ''
Boogie Nights'' being the most prominent. Other referenced films include ''
Fargo'', ''
The Silence of the Lambs'', ''
Creepshow'', ''
The Accused'', ''
Predator'', ''
The Shining'', ''
American Psycho'', ''
Blazing Saddles'', ''
Fast Times At Ridgemont High'', ''
Smokey and the Bandit'', ''
Apocalypse Now'', ''
Bad Lieutenant'', ''
Ed Wood'', ''
Jaws'', ''
Platoon'', ''
A Clockwork Orange'', ''
Full Metal Jacket'', ''
Death Wish'', ''
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'', ''
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'').
Travis Tefft, ''Executive Producer'' – (aka T-Storm, Dr. Gay) – Former intern who became a regular staff member. Travis typically acts as the phone screener as well as providing minute-to-minute research. He is the acting 'Executive Producer'.
Erik Nagel, ''Senior Producer'' – (aka ''Erock, Sex Bagel, Sex Man, Sexy, Sex'') – Been with the show since the show's beginning at XM Radio. Co-Hosts 'Worst Of The Week Countdown' and the 'Worst-Of' shows. Erik is often a target of ridicule on the show, and does a character called 'The Virus' which stemmed from the annual Jocktober bit.
Danny Ross, ''Senior Producer'' - 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 show's daily content and has been the in-studio producer since 2008.
Sam Roberts, ''Associate Producer'' – (aka Two Races, 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 hosts 'After O&A; Live', which airs from 10am to 11am on The Virus following the live show. Sam is 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'
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 OCD and "oafish" demeanor.
Troy Quan, ''Producer'' – Former intern known for his hipster lifestyle and for coming off as though he is in love with himself as well as various other side projects. Troy frequently DJ's in the Meat Packing district and in Pennsylvania. Troy gained notoriety as an intern for stealing a fellow intern's girlfriend. Following his internship, he became a phone screener and bit writer for O&A.; Opie dislikes Troy because of his sense of fashion and hipster lifestyle.
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 pronouncing words that begin with the "st" sound). Co-host of the 'Big A & Twitchels News Cast' segment. 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 February 23, 2012, Tom is still alive and in better health.
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?" or "yay!" 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. He has demonstrated a hostile streak, as he yells at call-in guests 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 associated with certain 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 bad guests on the phone or in-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 purchase specific items at his emporiums. He also enjoys a variety of activities such as ghost hunting, light bulb manufacturing, race car driving, and serial killing by blowing second-hand smoke into crowds. The Sheckler character, along with Paul Hargghis were referenced in
"The Substitute", the fourth episode of the sixth season of ''
Lost''. A series of surnames associated with certain numbers were featured in the episode. Sheckler's number was 197, the Sirius channel number where the show can be heard.
Lyle Delmar "Chip" Chipperson – A character voiced by Jim Norton known for his horrendous jokes and frequent lies. He changed his name to Peppy Sinclair.
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 annoy 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 a clueless but compliant E-rock to perform the character on the air. Virus is asked for comedic takes on daily events, but cannot come up with a punchline or any relevant material. When asked to say something amusing, there is merely a pregnant pause followed by a lame excuse, such as "You know I'm not good at this" or "The Virus is totally unprepared." Whenever he makes an appearance, the song "Baby Elephant Walk" is played.
Bill Tetley – A fictional variety show host created by Jim Norton. (Jim uses the character to harass Anthony at home). Known for his horribly catchy theme song.
A CD released in November 1997 which includes a compilation of bits done on WAAF.
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
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. Opie and Anthony believe that it may have been too graphic even for cable television.
Although Opie and Anthony considered the pilot a success, Comedy Central did not pick the show up.
April Fool's Day: On April 1, 1998, while still on
WAAF in
Worcester, O&A; announced that the mayor of Boston,
Thomas Menino, had been killed in a car accident in Florida. Things became heated after Menino's daughter called the station believing the story to be true, and the duo was terminated the following week. 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 illegal meetings with WNEW before the April Fool's prank. He prefaced these comments with "the statutes of limitations must be up on this." Despite the controversy that was started by the April Fool's Day prank, the duo was hired by
WNEW-FM in New York City less than five months later.
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, and 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."
T&A; with O&A;: Opie and Anthony held a station-promoted beach party on the shores of Angola, NY (a suburb of the city of Buffalo) on Saturday July 13, 2002; they claimed 5,000 persons were in attendance. Several female attendees appeared nude or topless, and at least one inserted vegetables into various orifices. Buffalo officials quickly dispersed the crowd, warning O&A; and crew not to return, lest they endure legal action. Additionally, FCC complaints were filed despite the event not being broadcast on any medium. Furthermore, reminiscing about the event on their July 25, 2011 show, Opie claimed that shortly after the event took place, management at WNEW informed the duo off-air that police in Erie County (who received over 250 complaints from area residents) had begun the process of securing warrants for their arrest over the incident. The aftermath went unrealized, as it was overshadowed by the more serious "Sex For Sam 3" incident roughly a month later.
The Eggnog Drinking Challenge: An annual challenge where contestants have to drink as many shots of eggnog as possible before vomiting. On December 1, 2006, during the Challenge, Pat from Moonachie drank 75 double-shots of eggnog and subsequently vomited all over prospective intern Pat Duffy's mouth. This was dubbed the "Baby Bird" by Joe Rogan and became a hit on both the O&A; website as well as Break.com due to YouTube's initial refusal to carry the video.
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 was speculation that O&A; might 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.
Donald Trump made a handful of calls to the show to promote his television series ''The Apprentice'', and it appeared that relations between the radio show and Donald Trump were positive. However, Trump was later interviewed and called Opie and Anthony "two slobs" and swore never to appear on the show again, seemingly over a press release made by O&A; that stated that Trump called them. Trump interpreted that statement as implying that he was desperate for media attention. Trump was supposed to call the show on January 10, 2008, but did not.
Jesse Ventura: The Opie and Anthony Show hosted former Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura on December 2, 2009. During the show, a disagreement between co-host Jim Norton and Ventura erupted into an argument regarding the September 11 attacks, which Ventura has questioned the official account of, as well as the use of the military overseas. Ventura also suggested that Norton did not believe in the Constitution, which the latter strongly denied. Twenty minutes into the debate, Ventura walked off the air and the two exchanged explicit comments towards one another. As Ventura left the room where the show was being held, Norton said, "Fucking baby. Big fucking guy who doesn't like the little guy yelling."
Weinergate Photo Release During his June 8, 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 claimed to be very upset at what transpired. Opie had also taken a picture of the photo during the showing without the knowledge of Breitbart.
Chris Kyle vs Jesse Ventura Former Navy Seal Chris Kyle appeared on the January 4, 2012 show promoting his book ''American Sniper''. A listener called in to ask about Chris allegedly getting into a bar fight with former Governor and Navy Seal Jesse Ventura in 2006. Opie decided to ask Kyle about the rumor. Kyle was surprised by the question, and then confirmed that he did indeed punch Ventura at a bar in Coronado, California during a wake for Michael A. Monsoor, a Navy SEAL who had died in Iraq in 2006. Kyle claimed that Ventura was "letting it known that he didn't agree with the war." Kyle stated he went to Ventura and told him that most of the family members of Navy SEAL personnel who died were present, and it was not the time or the place to start talking about the war. To which Ventura replied that the SEALs "deserve to lose a few guys." This is when Kyle allegedly punched Ventura. After telling the story, radio personality Alex Jones, who is a friend of Ventura, claimed that Kyle was a "war monger" and that the whole interview was staged. This prompted a phone call by Kyle to the January 10, 2012 show by claiming he knew people who were present that will back him up on the story. Alex Jones then called the show and there was an argument to whose story was right. Ventura himself denied Kyle's accusations, saying that despite his opposition to the Iraq War, which ended weeks before the accusations against him emerged, he never had "spoken or wished any ill will towards the soldiers" who served in Iraq. Ventura also stated he would sue Kyle for defamation in court.
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206.
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