Rush Limbaugh Biography

Radio Personality

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Rush Limbaugh is the outspoken, ultra-conservative and ultra-popular host of The Rush Limbaugh Show, an A.M. radio show about American politics. Limbaugh got his start in radio while still in high school. He landed in Sacramento, California in the 1980s and perfected the politically-oriented sarcasm that earned him national syndication. Limbaugh gained particular fame as a staunch opponent of president Bill Clinton; by 1995, when Newt Gingrich led a Republican majority into the House of Representatives, Limbaugh was one of the most popular radio hosts in the U.S., with a fervent audience of "dittoheads," fans who proudly parroted his conservative views. One of the most successful A.M. radio hosts in history, Limbaugh announced in 2001 that he was almost completely deaf, and by the end of the year he'd had a cochlear implant that allowed him to remain on the air. Two years later (2003) Limbaugh admitted on the air that he was addicted to painkillers -- only after the press reported he was caught trying to illegally obtain prescription narcotics. He spent five weeks in a drug rehabilitation center and returned to the airwaves in November 2003. After a three-year investigation by Florida authorities, Limbaugh agreed to a deal in 2006 that resulted in a $30,000 fine and 18 months of treatment. He has written books on the back of his celebrity (1992's The Way Things Ought To Be and 1993's See, I Told You So) and manages to keep his name in the headlines no matter what's going on in Washinton, D.C.

Extra credit: Limbaugh has been married three times: to the former Roxy McNeely (1977-80), to Michelle Sixta (1983-90) and to Marta Fitzgerald (1994-2004). All three marriages ended in divorce. He has no children. His third marriage took place at the home of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who also officiated... Rush coined the term "femi-nazis," a derogatory term for liberal feminists... Early in his radio career, he broadcast under the name of Jeff Christie, according to The New York Times.

Rush Limbaugh joins Paul Harvey and Garrison Keillor in our loop on Legends of Radio.

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