Howard Stern (Actor)

Howard Stern appears on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in 2005. (Photo: Scott Gries / Getty Images)

As the self-described “King of All Media”, radio shock jock Howard Stern has for over twenty years been the most celebrated, controversial, and perhaps annoying radio personality in history; no one in the business has been more lewd and outrageous. Stern’s daily on-air antics are the stuff of legend, and have propelled him into the upper echelon of celebrity. But such popularity is not without its price. Over the years, Stern has been publicly chastised by various groups and individuals (the Christian Coalition has been a particularly painful thorn in his side), and the stations on which he broadcasts have paid heavy fines to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Despite such setbacks, Stern has been consistent in his daring and has not backed down or changed his routine. And for his unwavering dedication to bringing listeners lowbrow entertainment, loose morals, and countless nude lesbians, Stern has earned the loyalty of millions.

Stern was born and raised on Long Island in Jackson Heights, New York. A quiet youth subject to teasing from classmates, Stern chose to remain indoors instead of going outside to play. He was first exposed to the world of broadcasting by his father Ben Stern, a radio engineer whose repeated characterizations of Howard as "you moron" fired him to prove to the old man that he wasn't an idiot, after all. Stern later attended Boston University, where he volunteered at the college radio station, WTBU. The bawdy comedy that would later make him famous was developed at the time: one skit, the “King Schmaltz Bagel Hour”, was an early example, and the reaction to it foreshadowed what soon became commonplace for Stern: he was fired on air during his first show. Meanwhile, Stern graduated BU with a Bachelors in Communications, a 3.8 GPA, and a burgeoning love affair with Allison Berns, whom he married in 1978 (they were separated and divorced in 1999).

After graduation, Stern began the climb to stardom inauspiciously at a tiny radio station in Briarcliff Manor, New York for four dollars an hour. With wife Alison already at his side, he continued combating his on-air nervousness and resultant high voice at stations in Hartford and Detroit before scrapping his self-censoring middle class Superego in favor of straight-ahead, unadulterated Id for his turn at WWDC in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. While in D.C., Stern called Air Florida Airlines and asked for a one-way flight to the 14th Street bridge, the site of an Air Florida crash the day before. He was summarily fired, with the station claiming the incident precipitated their decision. Stern, however, claimed the station manager despised him for being continually made fun of on-air (Stern routinely called management “scumbags”.) The result was a segue from mediocre radio to a no-holds barred, say anything that comes to mind, nothing is sacred brand of entertainment that would skyrocket him to fame and fortune. Stern left WWDC with news reader Robin Quivers at his side; the two developed a quick and easy rapport and have been together ever since.

Eventually, Stern wound up in New York City in 1982, where he landed an afternoon drive home slot on WNBC-AM. Fellow NBC colleague David Letterman liked the show and had him on as a guest in 1984, a move that further propelled Stern into the limelight. Stern’s tenure on WNBC was short lived, however: in late 1984, Stern and his crew, which by then included producer Gary “Baba-Booey” Dell’Abate, writer Jackie “The Jokeman” Martlin, sound engineer Fred Norris and perpetual sidekick Quivers, were fired after an on-air skit called Bestiality Dial-a-Date. True to form, Stern didn’t let his firing change his ways: he challenged management by publicly vowing to destroy WNBC.

In mid-1985, Stern joined WXRK (a.k.a. K-Rock) on the FM band. It was during this period that Stern hit his stride and produced some of his more celebrated exploits. In one incident, Stern had radio sex with a female listener: he instructed her to sit on top of a speaker and turn the volume up all the way. Stern then made deep buzzing noises into the microphone until she reached orgasm on the air. In another incident, Stern discussed masturbating to a picture of Aunt Jemima, a comment that cost Infinity Broadcasting $600,000 in fines. Stern was also forced by his employers to apologize when he confessed that he prayed for the death of the chairman of the FCC. Stern hit a personal low point, however, when he joked about his wife’s miscarriage on-air—a move that nearly cost him his marriage. But despite the show's never-ceasing parade of strippers, porn stars, centerfolds, breast implant recipients and wannabe nude models, one of Stern's core themes was his unfailing dedication and fidelity to his wife.Though his offensive acts cost his employers money and public scrutiny, and raised the ire of religious and family groups hell-bent on taking him off the air, Stern’s audience grew exponentially, particularly after the show began syndication, beginning in Philadelphia in 1985 and expanding across the country. In 1990, Stern sought to expand his influence when he launched a TV version of his show on WWOR-TV in New Jersey. The soon nationally syndicated "The Howard Stern Show" (1990-91) was essentially a visual version of his radio show that enabled viewers to see the freak show they could only previously hear. His skits were not-even-remotely-ready-for-primetime (perhaps most heinous was "Homeless Hollywood Squares" featuring real homeless people), but fans delighted all the same in fare like the "The Lesbian Dating Game" and "The Boob Tube", an hour-long salute to the human breast. Whether Stern dressed like Madonna and lit his natural gas on fire for a "Truth or Dare" parody, or appeared as Groucho Marx for "You Bet Your Ass" (the secret word is "penis"), that first fledgling series--which didn’t last long due to budgetary problems--paled compared with the infamous "Miss Howard Stern New Year's Eve Pageant" (1993), a pay-per view extravaganza that set a new record for tastelessness but grossed $40 million. Of course, there was his ass-bearing appearance as the flatulent superhero Fartman at the "1992 MTV Music Video Awards." E! Entertainment Television cashed in with "The Howard Stern Interview" (1992-94), with the shock jock interviewing celebrities, and subsequently E! began showing a heavily edited 30-minute taping of Stern’s radio program, simply called “Howard Stern” (E! Entertainment Network, 1994-2005), which conisitently garnered big ratings even while bleeping the saltier language and placing discreet pixilated tiles over the bare body parts routinely exposed in Stern's studio.

Syndication for the radio program continued to blossom throughout the 1990’s, as Stern reached cities on both coasts and all points in between, including Los Angeles, New Orleans, Cleveland, Las Vegas, and Baltimore. In 1994, Stern made his first, and probably last, foray into politics when he ran for governor of New York on the Libertarian Party ticket. Stern ran on a platform that included bringing back the death penalty and eliminating daytime traffic construction. Stern ultimately bailed the race due to the financial disclosure requirements, and many felt his candidacy was merely a publicity stunt. Stern did succeed in eliminating daytime traffic construction, as the newly-elected governor, George Pataki, signed the Howard Stern Bill, which restricted construction to nighttime on state roads on Long Island and in New York City.

Hollywood came calling but for years offered nothing but lame roles in certified bombs. Stern resisted their temptation and signed instead to do a movie with New Line Cinema based on his Fartman character from the radio show. The deal fell through because of merchandising. New Line wanted to own the rights to Stern's name and to the Fartman dolls they would shamelessly market around the world. Stern said no and proceeded to write the best-selling book "Private Parts" that became the basis for the 1997 movie of the same name. After rejecting many scripts, Stern assembled a heavyweight team of producer Ivan Reitman, director Betty Thomas and writer Len Blum to bring his story to the screen. Only Reitman was a fan prior to the collaboration, but both Thomas and Blum wound up "getting" what Stern was about, although Thomas never particularly warmed to the woman "deep-throating" the kielbasa scene that she faithfully reproduced.

Another book, Miss America, was soon published, though this time Stern concentrated more on the inner workings of the show. Though not as big a seller as Private Parts, Miss America did reach the top of the best seller list. Meanwhile, the potent combination of the radio and the E! TV series made household names out of Stern's expanding circle of supporting players, including comedian/actor Artie Lange (who joined the show in 2001 following Martling's departure), ambush interviewer "Stuttering John" Melendez (whose departure in 2004 to serve as the announcer for Jay Leno's "The Tonight Show" caused a major rift between Stern and the late night host), hefty writer Benjy Bronk, highly critical hairdresser Ralph Cirella, strip club aficionado Ronnie "the Limo Driver" Munz and others. The show also proved lucrative for Stern's "Wack Pack" of gotesque eccentrics, including Beetlejuice, Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf, High Pitch Erik, Crackhead Bob, Elephant Boy, bodybuilder Nicole Bass, white supremist Daniel Carver and the rest of the oddities, many of whom landed lucrative public appearance deals. And as Stern began to lure an ever-expanding roster of A-list celebrity guests, he also helped pioneer the mainstreaming of porn into the pop culture, providing major exposure to adult film stars such as Jenna Jameson and Savanna Samson.

A major triumph, if it could be called that, was Stern’s live broadcast during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Stern continued on-air just blocks away from the Twin Towers, and subsequently kept a subdued tone during the next few days as many listeners called in to tell their stories. It was arguably the broadcaster's finest moment, as he provided comfort to his New York audience and shared both their heartache and their unflagging spirit with his listeners across the country. Still, Stern was upset with the praise other hosts received for their coverage, while he felt he got no recognition at all, thus reinforcing his long-held belief of a media bias against him.

In 1999, Stern drew angry criticism when he commented that the two Columbine High School assassins should have had sex with the girls before they killed them, but otherwise his media empire continued to expand: the racy, sophmoric, Stern-produced "Baywatch" parody "Son of the Beach" aired on the FX cable network from 2000-2002 and launched the careers of sexpots Jaime Bergman and Leila Arcieri. But as he continued to invade the mainstream, the heart of Stern's act shockingly fell apart: in 1999 he announced that his much-heralded marriage--which even his most ardent detractors had to respect--was ending, reportedly due to his workaholic lifestyle. Stern and his wife Allison formally divorced in 2001. After a brief period exploring the female attentions he'd always lusted after on the air--including a fling with supermodel Angie Everhart--Stern entered into another long-term relationship with swimsuit model Beth Ostrosky.

In February 2004, Stern was “indefinitely suspended” by Clear Channel Communications in six markets, supposedly due to his sexually-charged conversation with Paris Hilton’s ex-beau, Rick Salomon, about anal sex, among other things. Widely considered to be a backlash for Janet Jackson’s breast-baring stunt during Super Bowl XXXVIII, Stern contended that his fervent criticism of President George W. Bush—whom Stern earlier supported—caused his firing, since Clear Channel heavily contributed campaign dollars to Bush and the Republican Party. Not one to back down, Stern upped the ante and went on a one-man crusade against the FCC and Bush by encouraging his listeners to vote for Democratic opponent, Senator John Kerry.

Fed up with constantly butting heads with the FCC and feeling unsupported by his corporate parent, Stern signed a five-year, $500 million deal with Sirius Satellite Radio. Once on the air, Stern would have been free of FCC regulations, thus performing his show in a way he had always imagined. The financially risky deal—at least for Sirius—relied on the potential for Stern to draw an estimated 1 million of his 8 million listeners to the paid subscription service. At the time of the deal, Sirius had only 600,000 subscribers. Stern’s move to satellite radio was set to take hold in January 2006. Sirius planned to devote two round-the-clock channels to the shock jock's show and other material Stern will develop.

Meanwhile, Hollywood continued to court the shock jock: in 2005 he had three projects in development: the first, "Howard Stern: The High School Years," was an animated project looking at the broadcaster's formative years; the others were Stern-produced remakes of a pair of 1980s raunch-fests, "Porky's" and "Rock 'n' Roll High School." Also in 2005, Stern's E! show--still the highest rated program on the network--ended its original run in 2005 with over 2,000 episodes (which E! planned to continue to run). Reportedly E! parent company Comcast was concerned about airing the unfettered content of Stern's planned satellite broadcasts due to increased government scrutiny, while Stern was already in negotiaions with several other cable outlets. The prospect of an uncensored Stern TV show was intriguing to many bidders, but ultimately premium outlets like HBO dropped out and left Spike TV as the front-runner, leaving Stern's fans wondering if his television series would continue to be heavily edited.