Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III PMF (/ˈlɪmbɔː/ 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.
For his grandfather and politician, see Rush Limbaugh Sr. For the radio show, see The Rush Limbaugh Show.
Rush Limbaugh
February 17, 2021 (aged 70)
Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri
- Radio host
- political pundit
1967–2021
- Marconi Award × 5
- Radio Hall of Fame (1993)
- NAB Hall of Fame (1998)
- Medal of Freedom (2020)
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.[1] 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.[2] 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.
Limbaugh garnered controversy from his statements on race, LGBT matters, feminism, sexual consent, and climate change. 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.[3]
Early life
Limbaugh was born on January 12, 1951, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri,[4] to parents Rush Hudson Limbaugh II[4] 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.[5]
Limbaugh was partly of German ancestry.[6] 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.[7]
In 1969, Limbaugh graduated from Cape Girardeau Central High School, where he played football and was a Boys State delegate.[8][9][10][11] 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.[5][12] Limbaugh later cited Chicago DJ Larry Lujack as a major influence on him, saying Lujack was "the only person I ever copied."[13] 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."[5][14] Biographer Zev Chafets asserts that Limbaugh's life was in large part dedicated to gaining his father's respect.[15]
Career
1971–1988: Early radio 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.[16] The station's general manager compared Limbaugh's style at this time to "early Imus".[17] In 1973, after eighteen months at WIXZ, Limbaugh was fired from the station due to "personality conflict" with the program director. He then started a nighttime position at KQV in Pittsburgh, succeeding Jim Quinn.[18] In late 1974, Limbaugh was dismissed after new management put pressure on the program director to fire him. Limbaugh recalled the general manager telling him that he would never land success as an air personality and suggested a career in radio sales.[19] After rejecting his only offer at the time, a position in Neenah, Wisconsin, Limbaugh returned to living with his parents in Cape Girardeau.[18] During this time, he became a lifelong fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.[20][21][22]
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.[23] In 1977, he was let go from the station but remained in Kansas City to start an evening show at KFIX. The stint was short-lived, however, and disagreements with management led to his dismissal weeks later.[24] By this time, Limbaugh had become disillusioned with radio and felt pressure to pursue a different career. He looked back on himself as "a moderate failure [...] as a deejay".[25] In 1979, he accepted a part-time role in group sales for the Kansas City Royals baseball team which developed into a full-time position as director of group sales and special events. He worked from the Royals Stadium.[26] There he developed a friendship with then-Royals star third baseman and future Hall of Famer George Brett. The two men remained close friends.[27] Limbaugh said that business trips to Europe and Asia during this time developed his conservative views as he considered countries in those geographic areas to have lower standards of living than the United States.[28]
In November 1983, Limbaugh returned to radio at KMBZ (AM) in Kansas City for a year. He decided to drop his on-air moniker and broadcast under his real name.[29] He was fired from the station, but weeks later he landed a spot on KFBK in Sacramento, California, replacing Morton Downey Jr. The show launched on October 14, 1984.[30] Limbaugh began to express his political opinions in 1985 when he mocked the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament, which he considered along with the general anti-war movement to be "inherently anti-US, yet was reported as substantive and morally correct by a willing and sympathetic media".[31] The FCC's repeal of the fairness doctrine—which had required that stations provide free air time for responses to any controversial opinions that were broadcast—on August 5, 1987, meant stations could broadcast editorial commentary without having to present opposing views. Daniel Henninger wrote, in a Wall Street Journal editorial, "Ronald Reagan tore down this wall [the fairness doctrine] in 1987 ... and Rush Limbaugh was the first man to proclaim himself liberated from the East Germany of liberal media domination."[32]
Charitable work
Leukemia and lymphoma telethon
From 1990 until his death, Limbaugh held an annual fundraising telethon called the "EIB Cure-a-Thon"[216] for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.[217] In 2006, the EIB Cure-a-Thon conducted its 16th annual telethon, raising $1.7 million,[218] totaling over $15 million since the first cure-a-thon.[219] According to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society annual reports, Limbaugh personally contributed between $100,000 and $499,999 from 2000 to 2005 and in 2007,[220] and Limbaugh said that he contributed around $250,000 in 2003, 2004, and 2005.[221] The Society's 2006 annual report placed him in the $500,000 to $999,999 category.[220] Limbaugh donated $320,000 during the 2007 Cure-a-Thon,[222] which the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society reported had raised $3.1 million.[223] 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.[224]
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.[225][226] 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.[227] 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.[228]
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.[231] His first book was dictated by himself, and transcribed and edited by Wall Street Journal writer John Fund.[232]
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.[233] 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.[234] 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.[235]