| Name | Howard Stern |
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| Caption | Howard Stern in 1996. |
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| Birth name | Howard Allan Stern |
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| Birth date | January 12, 1954 |
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| Birth place | Jackson Heights, New York, U.S. |
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| Occupation | Radio personality, humorist, television host, author, actor |
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| Years active | 1975–present |
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| Spouse | Alison Berns (1978–2001; div.)Beth Ostrosky (2008–present) |
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| Website | www.howardstern.com |
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Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio personality, humorist, television host, author and actor, best known for his long-running radio show, The Howard Stern Show. He gained national recognition in the 1990s when he was labelled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style. Stern wished for a radio career since he was five; his father, a recording and radio engineer, being a big influence. While studying at Boston University, Stern worked at its campus station WTBU before making his professional début in 1975 at WNTN.
In 1977, Stern worked at WRNW in Briarcliff Manor, New York performing on-air, production and managerial duties. After his departure in 1979 he began to develop a more open personality working mornings at WCCC in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1980, he moved to WWWW in Detroit, Michigan, where he earned his first Billboard radio award. Stern relocated to WWDC in Washington, D.C. in 1981, where he was paired with current show newscaster and co-host Robin Quivers. He moved to WNBC in New York City to host afternoons until his firing in 1985. Stern returned to the city's airwaves on WXRK for the next 20 years until his move to Sirius XM in December 2005. In this time, The Howard Stern Show would be syndicated to 60 markets while reaching a peak audience of 20 million listeners. The show was the highest-rated morning program from 1994 to 2001 in the New York market. Stern is an eight-time winner of the Billboard Nationally Syndicated Air Personality of the Year award (1994–2002). He is the highest-paid radio figure, including the most fined, after a history with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over alleged indecency resulted in $2.5 million being issued to station owners that carried his show.
Stern describes himself as the "King of All Media" for his work outside radio. Since 1987, he has hosted numerous late night television shows, pay-per-view events and home video releases. 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 starring Stern and his radio show staff as themselves, which made a domestic gross of $41.2 million. The film's topped the the Billboard 200 chart.
Early life and education
Stern was born into a Jewish family who resided in Jackson Heights, Queens in New York City. His parents Ben and Ray (née Schiffman) are children of Austro-Hungarian immigrants, and his sister Ellen is four years his senior.
Stern developed an interest in radio at the age of five. While Ray was a homemaker and later an inhalation therapist, Ben was a co-owner of Aura Recording, Inc., a recording studio in Manhattan where cartoons and commercials were produced. When he made visits with his father, Stern saw the likes of Wally Cox, Don Adams and Larry Storch voice his favourite cartoon characters, influencing the young Stern to talk on the air, rather than playing records. Ben was also an engineer at WHOM, a radio station in Manhattan. The family moved to nearby Rockville Centre in June 1969, and Stern was transferred to South Side High School. After his graduation in 1972, he began the first two of four years at Boston University in the College of Basic Studies. In 1973, he worked up the courage to work at WTBU, the campus radio station where he spun records, read the news and hosted interviews. Stern gained admission to the School of Public Communications in 1974. The diploma he earned in July 1975 at the Radio Engineering Institute of Electronics in Fredericksburg, Virginia, allowed him to apply for a first class FCC radio-telephone license. With the certificate, Stern made his professional debut at WNTN in Newton, Massachusetts, performing airshift, newscasting and production duties between August and December. Stern graduated magna cum laude in May 1976 with a Communications degree,
Career
Early professional radio career (1976–1981)
After graduating in May 1976, Stern declined an offer to work evenings at
WRNW, a
progressive rock station in the village of
Briarcliff Manor in
Westchester County, New York. He was unsure of his talent, and questioned his future in the professional industry. For a while, Stern took creative and media planning roles at
Benton & Bowles, a New York advertising agency, followed by a job in trading radio advertising time. Realising his mistake in declining on-air work, Stern contacted WRNW a second time, agreeing to work midday cover shifts over the Christmas holiday period. He was soon hired full time, working a four-hour midday shift for six days for $96 a week.
In 1979, Stern spotted an advertisement for a "wild, fun morning guy" at WCCC, a rock station in Hartford, Connecticut. He showcased a more wild audition tape, playing Robert Klein and Cheech and Chong records mixed with flatulence routines and one-liners. Stern was hired with no change in salary, but a busier 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. In addition, as the public affairs director, he hosted a Sunday morning talk show, which he favoured. Fred Norris, the overnight disc jockey, became Stern's producer and writer in late 1981. In the summer of the 1979 energy crisis, Stern held a two-day boycott of Shell Oil Company which attracted media attention. Stern left the station in early 1980 after he was declined a $25 weekly pay increase.
Management at rock outlet WWWW in Detroit, Michigan praised Stern's audition tape for a new morning man. Accepting a salary of $30,000, Stern began on April 21, 1980. He learned to become more open on the air. "I decided to cut down the barriers...strip down all the ego...and be totally honest", he later told Newsday. Stern's 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. The station however, was declining in listenership. A fall in Stern's Arbitron ratings, in addition to tough competition with other rock stations, led to WWWW switch to a country music format on January 18, 1981. Much to his dislike, Stern left the station soon after.
Washington and WNBC New York (1981–1985)
While considering offers at
WXRT in
Chicago and
CHUM in
Toronto, Stern moved to
Washington, D.C. to host mornings at
WWDC, starting on March 2, 1981. Stern, intent on developing his show further, realised the importance of news segments for satire and topical humor. He looked for a co-worker with a sense of humor to riff with on current events. The station paired Stern with
Robin Quivers, a newscaster and consumer affairs reporter from
WFBR in
Baltimore. Though he felt restricted and controlled by management who enforced a strict format, Stern had the second highest rated morning show in January 1982. Impressed with his ratings success, Stern was approached by
NBC with an offer to work afternoons at
WNBC in New York City. In March 1982, after signing a five-year contract worth $1 million, Stern's relationship with WWDC management worsened. On June 25, 1982, Stern's contract was terminated indefinitely. He had more than tripled the station's morning ratings during his stay. 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.
On April 2, 1982, a news report by Douglas Kiker on raunch radio featuring Stern aired on NBC Magazine. The piece stimulated discussion among NBC management to withdraw Stern's contract. When he began his afternoon program in September, management closely monitored Stern, telling him to avoid talk of a sexual and religious nature. 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. On September 30, Stern and Quivers were fired for what management claimed were "conceptual differences." 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 ten days earlier and ordered his firing.
K-Rock, early television endeavors and Fartman (1985–1992)
Stern returned to afternoons on New York City rock station WXRK on November 18, 1985. On February 18, 1986, Stern moved to the morning shift and entered national syndication on August 18 when the show was simulcast on WYSP in Philadelphia. In the New York market, The Howard Stern Show was the highest-rated morning program from 1994 to 2001. 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. Stern was awarded the title from 1994 to 2002. Stern retained his morning position until December 16, 2005, where he began his contract at Sirius in 2006. In this 20-year period, he would be heard in over 60 markets across the United States and Canada while gaining a peak audience of around 20 million.
In May 1987, Stern recorded five television pilots of The Howard Stern Show for Fox when the network planned to replace The Late Show hosted by Joan Rivers. The series was never picked up; one executive having described the show as "poorly produced", "in poor taste" and "boring". Stern hosted his first pay-per-view event on February 27, 1988, Howard Stern's Negligeé and Underpants Party. 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. 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. Stern released his third video tape, Butt Bongo Fiesta, in October 1992 that sold 260,000 copies.
Stern appeared at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards as Fartman, a fictional superhero that first appeared in the National Lampoon magazine in the mid-1970s. He rejected multiple scripts for a proposed 1993 release of The Adventures of Fartman, until a verbal agreement was reached with New Line Cinema. Screenwriter J. F. Lawton had prepared a script before relations soured over the film's rating, content and merchandising rights. The project was then cancelled.
Private Parts, E! show and run for Governor (1993–1994)
In early 1993, Stern signed a $1 million advance contract with
Simon & Schuster to publish his first book. Co-authored with
Larry Sloman and edited by
Judith Regan,
Private Parts was released on October 7, 1993. The book sold its first printing of 225,000 copies within hours of going on sale. After five days, it became the fastest-selling title in Schuster's history. Two weeks later, in its eighth printing, over one million copies had been distributed. Sales were supported by Stern's book signing tour. His first at a
Barnes & Noble store on
Fifth Avenue attracted an estimated 10,000 fans. Around 400,000 households purchased Stern's event that grossed an estimated $16 million. In early 1994, the event was released on VHS 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. In its 20th anniversary issue in 1993,
Radio & Records named Stern the most influential air personality of the past two decades.
On March 21, 1994, Stern announced his candidacy for Governor of New York under the Libertarian Party ticket, challenging Mario Cuomo for re-election. He planned to reinstate the death penalty, stagger highway tolls to improve traffic flow, and limiting road work to night hours. 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%). 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. Arguing the law violated his right to privacy and freedom of association, Stern was denied an injunction on August 2. He withdrew his candidacy two days later. Cuomo was defeated in the gubernatorial election on November 8 by George Pataki, whom Stern backed. In 1995, Pataki signed "The Howard Stern Bill" which limited construction on state roads to night hours in New York and Long Island.
In June 1994, six robot cameras were installed in Stern's radio show studio to film a condensed half-hour program on the E! network. Howard Stern ran for 11 years, until the last taped episode was broadcast on July 8, 2005. In conjunction with his move to Sirius, Stern launched Howard Stern on Demand, a subscription video-on-demand service, on November 18, 2005. The service was fully launched as Howard TV on March 16, 2006.
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 with added gunfire sound effects. "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". 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. A day later,
Justice of the Peace Eloy Cano of
Harlingen, Texas issued an arrest warrant on Stern for disorderly conduct.
Stern signed an advance contract with ReganBooks worth $3 million in 1995 to write his second biographical book, Miss America. Stern wrote about his cybersex experiences on the Prodigy service, a private meeting with Michael Jackson, and his past suffering with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The book sold 33,000 copies at Barnes & Noble stores on November 7, the day of its release, setting a new one-day record. Publishers Weekly reported over 1.39 million hardcover copies were sold by the end of 1995, ranking it the third best-seller of the year. Miss America spent a total of 16 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list. The film premiered at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden on February 27, 1997, where Stern performed "The Great American Nightmare" with Rob Zombie. Private Parts made its general release on March 7, 1997, where it topped the box office in its opening weekend with a gross of $14.6 million, and $41.2 million in total. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 79%. For his performance, Stern won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for "Favorite Male Newcomer" and 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".
On October 8, 1997, Stern filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Ministry of Film Inc., 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. A settlement was reached in 1999, with Stern receiving $50,000.
Return to Saturday night television and productions (1998–2004)
On April 1, 1998, Stern announced his return to Saturday night television with
The Howard Stern Radio Show. Broadcast across the country on
CBS affiliates, it featured radio show highlights along with material unseen in his nightly E! show. The show was a direct competitor with NBC's
Saturday Night Live and Fox's
MADtv for ratings. Concerned with its risqué content, the show began to lose affiliates after two episodes. Making its launch on 79 stations on August 22, 1998, this number was reduced to 55 by June 1999. A total of 84 episodes were broadcast. The final re-run aired on November 17, 2001, to around 30 markets.
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. In September 1999, UPN announced the production of Doomsday, an animated science-fiction comedy series executively produced by Stern. Originally set for a 2000 release, Stern starred as Orinthal, a family dog. 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. 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). Neither has yet been re-made. In March 2003, Stern filed a $100 million lawsuit against ABC and the producers of Are You Hot?, claiming the series was based on a radio show segment known as "The Evaluators". A settlement was reached on August 7.
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. On November 14, 2005, Stern announced the completion of episode scripts and 30 seconds of test animations. Stern eventually gave the project up. On September 10, 2007, he explained the episodes could have been produced "on the cheap" at $300,000 each, though the quality he demanded would have instead cost over $1 million. Actor Michael Cera was cast as the lead voice.
Satellite radio and CBS lawsuit (2004–present)
On October 6, 2004, Stern announced his contract with Sirius Satellite Radio, a medium free of FCC regulations, starting from January 2006. The move followed a crackdown on perceived indecency in broadcasting that occurred following the controversy surrounding the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show in February. The incident prompted tighter control over content by station owners and managers, leading to Stern feeling "dead inside" creatively. The five-year deal allows Stern to produce up to three channels on Sirius with a $100 million per year budget for all production, staff and programming costs including the construction of a dedicated studio. On January 9, 2006, the day of his first broadcast, Sirius issued 34.3 million shares of stock worth $218 million to Stern and his agent for exceeding a subscriber target set in 2004. A second stock incentive was paid on January 9, 2007, with Stern earning 22 million shares worth $82.9 million. Following his move, Time magazine included Stern in the Time 100 list in May 2006. He also ranked seventh in Forbes' "World's Most Powerful Celebrities" list a month later.
On February 28, 2006, CBS Radio (formerly Infinity Broadcasting) filed a 43-page lawsuit against Stern, his agent and Sirius. The suit claimed Stern had misused CBS broadcast time to promote Sirius for unjust enrichment during his last 14 months on terrestrial airwaves. 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. A settlement was reached on May 25, with Sirius paying $2 million to CBS for control of Stern's broadcast archives since 1985.
On December 9, 2010, Stern announced the signing of a new five-year contract with Sirius which ends in 2015.
FCC fines
From 1990 to 2004, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has fined owners of radio stations that carried The Howard Stern Show a total of $2.5 million for indecent programming.
Personal life
Stern married Alison Berns on June 4, 1978 at
Temple Ohabei Shalom in
Brookline, Massachusetts, both 24 years old. They have three daughters – Emily Beth (b. 1983), Debra Jennifer (b. 1986) and Ashley Jade (b. 1993). On October 22, 1999, Stern announced their decision to separate. The marriage ended in 2001 with an amicable divorce and settlement. Stern began a period of single living, dating actresses
Angie Everhart and
Robin Givens. In 2000, Stern began to date model
Beth Ostrosky, co-host of
Casino Cinema from 2004 to 2007. She also frequently appeared in the American edition of
FHM. On February 14, 2007, after seven years, Stern announced their engagement.
While attending Boston University, Stern developed an interest in Transcendental Meditation, which he practices to this day. He credits it with aiding him in quitting smoking and achieving his goals in radio. Stern has interviewed Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of the technique, twice in his career. Stern also plays on the Internet Chess Club, and has taken lessons from Dan Heisman, a chess master from Philadelphia.
Filmography
Films
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9;
|- align="center"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes
|-
| 1986
|
Ryder, P.I.
| Ben Wah
|
|-
| 1997
|
Private Parts
| Himself
| Blockbuster Entertainment Award for "Favourite Male Newcomer" (1998)Nominated –
Golden Raspberry Award for "Worst New Star" (1998)
Nominated –
Golden Satellite Award for "Best Male Actor Performance in a Comedy or Musical" (1998)
|}
Home video releases
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9;
|- align="center"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes
|-
| 1988
|
Howard Stern's Negligeé and Underpants Party
| rowspan="4"| Himself/Host
|-
| 1989
|
Howard Stern's U.S. Open Sores
|
|-
| 1992
|
Butt Bongo Fiesta
|
|-
| 1994
|
Howard Stern's New Year's Rotten Eve 1994
|
|}
Television
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9;
|- align="center"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes
|-
| 1981
|
Petey Greene's Washington
| Himself
|
|-
| 1987
|
Nightlife
| Himself
|
|-
| 1987
|
The Howard Stern Show
| Himself - Host
| Series of 5 pilot episodes that never aired
|-
| 1988
|
The New Hollywood Squares
| Announcer - Guest
|
|-
| 1990–1992
|
The Howard Stern Show
| Himself - Host
|
|-
| 1992
|
1992 MTV Video Music Awards
|
Fartman
|
|-
| 1992–1993
|
The Howard Stern "Interview"
| Himself - Host
|
|-
| 1993
|
The Larry Sanders Show
| Himself
| Season 2, episode 18
|-
| 1993
|
The John Stewart Show
| Himself
| Season 1, episode 1
|-
| 1994–2005
|
Howard Stern
| Himself - Host
|
|-
| 1997
|
Saturday Night Live
| Himself
|
Season 22, episode 14
|-
| 1998
|
The Magic Hour
| Himself
|
|-
| 1998
|
The Roseanne Show
| Himself
| Season 1, episode 54
|-
| 1998–2001
|
The Howard Stern Radio Show
| Himself - Host
|-
| 2001
|
The Concert for New York City
| Himself
|-
| 2004
|
Extra
| Himself
|
|-
| 2005–present
|
Howard Stern On Demand
| Himself - Host
| Known as
Howard TV since March 2006
|}
Discography
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9;
|- align="center"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Album
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Label
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes
|-
| 1982
| 50 Ways to Rank Your Mother
| Wren Records
| Re-released as Unclean Beaver (1994) on Ichiban and Citizen X labels
|-
| 1991
| Crucified By the FCC
| Infinity Broadcasting
|
|-
| 1997
|
| Warner Brothers
| Billboard 200 Number-one album from March 15–21, 1997
|}
Bibliography
Notes
References
External links
The Howard Stern Show on Sirius XM
The Howard Stern Show and Howard Stern Official Site
Category:1954 births
Category:Actors from New York City
Category:American actor-politicians
Category:American comedians
Category:American actors
Category:American Jews
Category:American libertarians
Category:American radio personalities
Category:American talk radio hosts
Category:American television personalities
Category:American television producers
Category:American television talk show hosts
Category:American writers
Category:Free speech activists
Category:Boston University alumni
Category:Jewish comedians
Category:Jewish comedy and humor
Category:Living people
Category:Obscenity controversies
Category:People from Jackson Heights, Queens
Category:People from Nassau County, New York
Category:People from New York City
Category:Radio personalities from New York City
Category:Sirius Satellite Radio
Category:Transcendental Meditation practitioners
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