Howard Stern:
American radio presenter Howard Stern was born in Roosevelt, New York, on January 12, 1954. He is most renowned for his contentious shows. Howard Stern‘s father, a sound engineer, introduced him to radio. Stern was shy and uncomfortable as a boy, but he discovered his voice on radio and started using a tape recorder to make his own shows.
He worked at the college radio station while attending Boston University, where he earned a communications degree in 1976. He worked in a number of nondescript on-air positions in Detroit, Michigan, and Hartford, Connecticut, before settling in Washington, D.C.
There, he partnered with Robin Quivers, who would go on to become his lifelong sidekick, and the two of them created a very well-liked formula. The show swiftly rose to the top of the D.C. scene with a blend of self-deprecating comedy, daring interviews with lesbians, comments on sex, celebrity, and bodily functions, and even naked women coming and going from the studio.
However, Stern and Quivers were both sacked in 1982 following a disagreement with station management. Later, they acquired a contract with New York City’s WNBC-AM. Stern created a highly popular show once more, but persistent disagreements over substance ultimately resulted in his termination there as well.
The Howard Stern Show debuted on WXRK-FM in New York City in 1985, and the following year it was syndicated across the country. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) became aware of Stern’s inappropriate comedy, which is frequently accused of being racist and misogynistic.
Due to the program’s often pornographic material, the FCC penalized it over $2 million by the late 1990s. Boycotts of the show were also demanded by a number of organizations.
Stern, a strong advocate for the First Amendment, was unwilling to moderate his extremely provocative behavior. Stern eventually signed a five-year, $500 million contract with Sirius Satellite Radio (later SiriusXM Radio) in 2004 as a result of ongoing criticism of his work. This contract was exempt from FCC language and content requirements.
Stern’s first satellite radio program debuted on January 9, 2006, and the collaboration was so fruitful for both parties that Stern repeatedly re-signed with Sirius. A compilation of some of his most prominent interviews may be found in Howard Stern Comes Again (2019).
Early in his career, Stern hosted a number of short-lived television shows in addition to his radio work, much of which was videotaped and aired on cable television. In addition, he wrote the best-selling autobiographies Private Parts (1993) and Miss America (1995), in which he expressed his views on a variety of subjects.
Stern played himself in the critically and financially successful 1997 film adaption of Private Parts. Later, he judged the reality TV show America’s Got Talent from 2012 to 2015 and worked as an executive producer on the sitcom Son of the Beach (2000–02).