Rush Limbaugh facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rush Limbaugh
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Limbaugh in 2019
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| Born |
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III
January 12, 1951 Cape Girardeau, Missouri, U.S.
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| Died | February 17, 2021 (aged 70) Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
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| Resting place | Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri |
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| Years active | 1967–2021 |
| Spouse(s) |
Roxy Maxine McNeely
(m. 1977; div. 1980)Michelle Sixta
(m. 1983; div. 1990)Marta Fitzgerald
(m. 1994; div. 2004)Kathryn Rogers
(m. 2010) |
| Relatives | Limbaugh family |
| Awards |
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Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( LIM-baw; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of The Rush Limbaugh Show, which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM radio stations from 1988 until his death in 2021.
Limbaugh became one of the most prominent conservative voices in the United States during the 1990s and hosted a national television show from 1992 to 1996. He was among the most highly paid figures in American radio history; in 2018 Forbes listed his earnings at $84.5 million. In December 2019, Talkers Magazine estimated that Limbaugh's show attracted a cumulative weekly audience of 15.5 million listeners to become the most-listened-to radio show in the United States. Limbaugh also wrote seven books; his first two, The Way Things Ought to Be (1992) and See, I Told You So (1993), made The New York Times Best Seller list.
In 1993, he was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame and in 1998 the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. During the 2020 State of the Union Address, President Donald Trump awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Contents
Early life
Limbaugh was born on January 12, 1951, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to parents Rush Hudson Limbaugh II and Mildred Carolyn (née Armstrong) Limbaugh. He and his younger brother David were born into the prominent political Limbaugh family; his father was a lawyer and a United States fighter pilot who served in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. His mother was from Searcy, Arkansas. The name "Rush" was originally chosen for his grandfather to honor the maiden name of a family member, Edna Rush.
Limbaugh was partly of German ancestry. The family includes many lawyers, including his grandfather, father and brother; his uncle, Stephen N. Limbaugh Sr., was a federal judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. His cousin, Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., is a judge in the same court, appointed by George W. Bush. Limbaugh's grandfather, Rush Limbaugh Sr., was a Missouri prosecutor, judge, special commissioner, member of the Missouri House of Representatives in the 1930s, and longtime president of the Missouri Historical Society.
In 1969 Limbaugh graduated from Cape Girardeau Central High School, where he played football and was a Boys State delegate. At age 16 he worked his first radio job at KGMO, a local radio station. He used the airname Rusty Sharpe having found "Sharpe" in a telephone book. Limbaugh later cited Chicago DJ Larry Lujack as a major influence on him, saying Lujack was "the only person I ever copied." In deference to his parents' desire that he attend college, he enrolled at Southeast Missouri State University but dropped out after two semesters. According to his mother, "he flunked everything [...] he just didn't seem interested in anything except radio." Biographer Zev Chafets asserts that Limbaugh's life was in large part dedicated to gaining his father's respect.
Career
In February 1971, after dropping out of college, the 20-year-old Limbaugh accepted an offer to DJ at WIXZ, a Top 40 station in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He adopted the airname "Bachelor Jeff" Christie and worked afternoons before moving to morning drive.
In 1975, Limbaugh began an afternoon show at the Top 40 station KUDL in Kansas City, Missouri. He soon became the host of a public affairs talk program that aired on weekend mornings which allowed him to develop his style and present more controversial ideas.
In November 1983, Limbaugh decided to drop his on-air moniker and broadcast under his real name. He landed a spot on KFBK in Sacramento, California, replacing Morton Downey Jr. The show launched on October 14, 1984.
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In 1988, former ABC Radio Network executive Ed McLaughlin offered Limbaugh the nationally syndicated 12pm–2pm slot at ABC Radio Network to replace Owen Spann. Since many local radio stations of the time were hesitant to carry nationally syndicated programming during the daytime, he also secured Limbaugh a separate 10am–12pm show at WABC-AM in New York City to satisfy the provision of his contract requiring employment in a Top 5 market to leave KMBZ.
Limbaugh began his new show at WABC-AM on July 4, 1988, with the first episode focusing on the Iran Air Flight 655 shootdown the previous day. His national program debuted on 50 stations the next month on August 1, and by three months later had expanded to 100 stations. He debuted just weeks after the Democratic National Convention, and just weeks before the Republican National Convention. Limbaugh's radio home in New York City was the talk-formatted WABC (AM), and this remained his flagship station for many years, even after Limbaugh moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, from where he broadcast his show. Limbaugh's show moved on January 1, 2014, to WABC's cross-town rival WOR (AM), its final New York outlet.
By 1990, Limbaugh had been on his Rush to Excellence Tour, a series of personal appearances in cities nationwide, for two years. For the 45 shows he completed that year alone, he was estimated to make around $360,000.
In December 1990, journalist Lewis Grossberger wrote in The New York Times Magazine that Limbaugh had "more listeners than any other talk show host. Limbaugh's rising profile coincided with the Gulf War, and his support for the war effort and his relentless ridicule of peace activists. The program was moved to stations with larger audiences, eventually being broadcast on over 650 radio stations nationwide.
By the 1992 United States presidential election, Limbaugh had established himself as an influential political commentator.
The Rush Limbaugh Show
Limbaugh's radio show aired for three hours each weekday beginning at noon Eastern Time on both AM and FM radio. The program was also broadcast worldwide on the Armed Forces Radio Network.
Radio broadcasting shifted from AM to FM in the 1970s because of the opportunity to broadcast music in stereo with better fidelity (AM stations in the United States would not get the opportunity to broadcast in stereo sound until August 2, 1982). Limbaugh's show was first nationally syndicated in August 1988, on the AM radio band. Limbaugh's popularity paved the way for other conservative talk radio programming to become commonplace on AM radio. The show increased its audience in the 1990s to the extent that even some FM stations picked it up. As of January 2019[update] about half of Limbaugh's affiliate stations were on the FM dial.
Limbaugh used props, songs, and photos to introduce his monologues on various topics. On his radio show, news about homeless people was often preceded by the Clarence "Frogman" Henry song "Ain't Got No Home".
In March 2006, WBAL in Baltimore became the first major market radio station in the country to drop Limbaugh's nationally syndicated radio program. In 2007, TALKERS Magazine again named him No. 1 in its "Heavy Hundred" most important talk show hosts.
Limbaugh frequently mentioned the EIB (Excellence In Broadcasting) Network, trademarked in 1990. In the beginning, his show was co-owned and first syndicated by Edward F. McLaughlin, former president of ABC, who founded EFM Media in 1988, with Limbaugh's show as his first product. In 1997, McLaughlin sold EFM to Jacor Communications, which was ultimately bought up by Clear Channel Communications. Limbaugh owned a majority of the show, which is syndicated by the Premiere Radio Networks.
According to a 2001 article in U.S. News & World Report, Limbaugh had an eight-year contract, at the rate of $31.25 million a year. In 2007, Limbaugh earned $33 million. A November 2008 poll by Zogby International found that Limbaugh was the most trusted news personality in the nation, garnering 12.5 percent of poll responses.
Limbaugh signed a $400-million, eight-year contract in 2008 with what was then Clear Channel Communications, making him the highest-paid broadcaster on terrestrial radio. On August 2, 2016, Limbaugh signed a four-year extension of the 2008 contract. At the announcement of the extension, Premiere Radio Networks and iHeartMedia announced that his show experienced audience growth with 18% growth in adults 25–54, 27% growth with 25–54 women, and ad revenue growth of 20% year over year.
In 2018, Limbaugh was the world's second (behind Howard Stern) highest-paid radio host, reportedly earning $84.5 million. On January 5, 2020, Limbaugh renewed his contract again. Though media reports said it was "a long-term" renewal, (with no length specified), according to Donald Trump it was a four-year deal.
Regular guest host Ken Matthews was also selected a TALKERS Magazine "Heavy Hundred".
In May, Premiere Networks announced that on June 21, 2021, The Limbaugh Show radio timeslot will be taken over by Clay Travis and Buck Sexton in hundreds of markets.
Television show
Limbaugh had a syndicated half-hour television show from 1992 through 1996, produced by Roger Ailes. The show discussed many of the topics on his radio show, and was taped in front of an audience. In the months after its debut on September 12, 1992, it was the third highest rated late-night television show after Nightline and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Limbaugh said he loved doing his radio show, but not a TV show.
Other media appearances
Limbaugh's first television hosting experience came March 30, 1990, as a guest host on Pat Sajak's CBS late-night talk show, The Pat Sajak Show. ACT UP activists in the audience heckled Limbaugh repeatedly; ultimately the entire studio audience was cleared. In 2001, Sajak said the incident was "legendary around CBS".
On December 17, 1993, Limbaugh appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. Limbaugh also guest-starred (as himself) on a 1994 episode of Hearts Afire. He appeared in the 1995 Billy Crystal film Forget Paris, and in 1998 on an episode of The Drew Carey Show.
In 2007, Limbaugh made cameo appearances on Fox News Channel's short-lived The 1/2 Hour News Hour in a series of parodies portraying him as the future President of the United States. In the parodies, his vice president was fellow conservative pundit Ann Coulter. That year, he also made a cameo in the Family Guy episode "Blue Harvest", a parody of Star Wars in which Limbaugh can be heard on the radio claiming that the "liberal galactic media" were lying about climate change on the planet Hoth, and that Lando Calrissian's administrative position on Cloud City was a result of affirmative action. His later appearances on Family Guy were in the 2010 episode "Excellence in Broadcasting", and 2011's "Episode VI: It's a Trap!", a parody of Return of the Jedi.
Charitable work
Leukemia and lymphoma telethon
From 1990 until his death, Limbaugh held an annual fundraising telethon called the "EIB Cure-a-Thon" for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. In 2006, the EIB Cure-a-Thon conducted its 16th annual telethon, raising $1.7 million, totaling over $15 million since the first cure-a-thon. According to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society annual reports, Limbaugh personally contributed between $100,000 and $499,999 from 2000 to 2005 and in 2007, and Limbaugh said that he contributed around $250,000 in 2003, 2004, and 2005. The Society's 2006 annual report placed him in the $500,000 to $999,999 category. Limbaugh donated $320,000 during the 2007 Cure-a-Thon, which the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society reported had raised $3.1 million. On his radio program April 18, 2008, Limbaugh pledged $400,000 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society after being challenged by two listeners to increase his initial pledge of $300,000.
Marine Corps–Law Enforcement Foundation
Limbaugh conducted an annual drive to help the Marine Corps–Law Enforcement Foundation collect contributions to provide scholarships for children of Marines and law enforcement officers and agents who have died in the line of duty. The foundation was the beneficiary of a record $2.1 million eBay auction in October 2007 after Limbaugh listed for sale a letter critical of him signed by 41 Democratic senators; he pledged to match the selling price. With the founding of his and his wife's company Two if by Tea, they pledged to donate at least $100,000 to the MC–LEF beginning in June 2011.
Tunnel to Towers Foundation
In July 2019, Nike announced a special Fourth of July edition of their Air Max 1 Quick Strike sneaker that featured the thirteen-star Betsy Ross flag. The company withdrew the sneaker after their spokesman Colin Kaepernick raised concerns that the symbol represented an era of black enslavement. In response Limbaugh's radio program introduced a t-shirt imprinted "Stand up for Betsy Ross" with sale proceeds to benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. As of December 2019[update], the sales have earned over US$5 million for the foundation.
Published works
In 1992, Limbaugh published his first book, The Way Things Ought to Be, followed by See, I Told You So, the following year. Both titles were number one on The New York Times Best Seller list for 24 weeks. His first book was dictated by himself, and transcribed and edited by Wall Street Journal writer John Fund.
In 2013, Limbaugh authored his first children's book, entitled Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel with Exceptional Americans. He received the Author of the Year Award from the Children's Book Council for this work. Limbaugh's second children's book was released the following year, entitled Rush Revere and the First Patriots: Time-Travel with Exceptional Americans. This book was nominated as an author-of-the year finalist for the annual Children's and Teen Choice Book Awards. Limbaugh's third children's book was released later this same year, written with his wife Kathryn and entitled Rush Revere and the American Revolution. The Limbaughs dedicated this to the U.S. military and their families.
- The Way Things Ought to Be, Pocket Books, October 1, 1992, ISBN: 978-0671751456
- See I Told You So, November 1, 1993, Atria, ISBN: 978-0671871208
- Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans, Threshold Editions, October 29, 2013, ISBN: 978-1476755861
- Rush Revere and the First Patriots: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans, Threshold Editions, March 11, 2014, ISBN: 978-1476755885
- Rush Revere and the American Revolution: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans, Threshold Editions, October 28, 2014, ISBN: 978-1476789873
- Rush Revere and the Star-Spangled Banner: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans, Threshold Editions, October 27, 2015, ISBN: 978-1476789880
- Rush Revere and the Presidency: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans, Threshold Editions, November 22, 2016, ISBN: 978-1501156892
Personal life
Limbaugh was married four times and divorced three times. He did not have any children. He was first married at the age of 26 to Roxy Maxine McNeely, a sales secretary at radio station WHB in Kansas City, Missouri. The couple married at the Centenary United Methodist Church in Limbaugh's hometown of Cape Girardeau on September 24, 1977. McNeely filed for divorce in March 1980, citing "incompatibility". They were formally divorced on July 10, 1980.
In 1983, Limbaugh married Michelle Sixta, a college student and usherette at the Kansas City Royals Stadium Club. They divorced in 1990, and she remarried the following year.
On May 27, 1994, Limbaugh married Marta Fitzgerald, a 35-year-old aerobics instructor. They married at the house of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who officiated. The couple separated on June 11, 2004. Limbaugh announced his divorce on the air. It was finalized in December 2004.
Limbaugh lived in Palm Beach from 1996 until his death in 2021.
He dated Kathryn Rogers, a party planner from Florida, for three years; the couple married on June 5, 2010.
Health problems and death
Limbaugh, a cigar and former cigarette smoker, was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer on January 20, 2020, after first experiencing shortness of breath on January 12. On October 20, 2020, Limbaugh announced that treatment had been ineffectual at containing the cancer, that his diagnosis was terminal, and that he had been given a time frame on when he should expect to die.
Limbaugh made his last radio broadcast on February 2, 2021. He died on February 17, at the age of 70. According to his wife, Kathryn Rogers Limbaugh, his death was attributed to complications of his lung cancer. Governor Ron DeSantis directed flags in the state of Florida be lowered to half-staff on the date of his interment. Limbaugh was interred at the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.
Influence and legacy
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Limbaugh was widely recognized as one of the leading voices of the conservative movement in the United States, beginning in the 1990s. Former president Ronald Reagan thanked him in a 1992 letter, giving him credit "for all you're doing to promote Republican and conservative principles ... [and] you have become the Number One voice for conservatism in our Country." In 1994, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives made Limbaugh an honorary member.
Limbaugh was awarded the Marconi Radio Award for Syndicated Radio Personality of the Year by the National Association of Broadcasters five times: 1992, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2014. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1993 and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1998. By 2017, Limbaugh was the second-highest-paid radio host in the United States, earning an annual salary of $84 million, second only to Howard Stern. In 2002, Talkers Magazine ranked him as the greatest-ever radio talk show host; in 2017, he was the most-listened-to radio host in the United States, with 14 million listeners. Limbaugh is given much of the credit for having revived AM radio at a time when most people had switched to FM.
Conservative magazine Human Events announced Limbaugh as their 2007 Man of the Year. Later that same year, Barbara Walters featured Limbaugh as one of the most fascinating people of the year in a special that aired on December 4, 2008.
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Rush Limbaugh was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians on May 14, 2012, in a secret ceremony announced only 20 minutes before it began in order to prevent negative media attention. A bronze bust of Limbaugh is on display at the Missouri State Capitol building in Jefferson City, along with 40 other awardees. Limbaugh's bust includes a security camera to prevent vandalism.
On February 4, 2020, the day after he announced that he had advanced lung cancer, Limbaugh was a guest of President Donald Trump at the 2020 State of the Union Address, where he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Melania Trump.
See also
In Spanish: Rush Limbaugh para niños
