Radio Host. He had a broadcasting career that lasted fifty years, minus time off for addiction recovery and temporary firings, and was a pioneer of the "shock jock" genre. Born John Donald Imus, Jr., he was raised in Prescott, Arizona, where his family owned a large ranch. He dropped out of high school to join the U.S. Marine Corps. Following his discharge, he worked as a railroad brakeman where he suffered a serious neck injury and won a large cash settlement. While recovering, he decided to pursue a career as a disc jockey and moved to Los Angeles to enroll in broadcasting school. He landed his first deejay job at a radio station in Palmdale, California, where he developed a skill for comic patter before moving to a station in Stockton, California, where he staged satirical social and political gags. 'Imus in the Morning,' which debuted on WNBC-AM in New York in 1971, became immensely popular, where he was loved or hated for his caustic loudmouth. Outspoken in an age of political correctness, his call-in guests included President Bill Clinton, Dan Rather, Tim Russert, Bill Bradley, David Dinkins and Rudy Giuliani. Imus spent decades on the air doing pranks and parodies that were often brutish, tasteless or obscene and sometimes racist, sexist or homophobic - all while surviving alcoholism, cocaine addiction, repeated firings and a nearly fatal fall from a horse. In 2007, several radio networks dropped his syndicated radio show after he made a derogatory remark about Rutgers University mostly African-American women's basketball team. In the immediate aftermath, several boycotts were staged and political leaders called for his firing or resignation. In 2018, Imus retired from broadcasting citing an ongoing battle with prostate cancer.