by On December 5, 2007, we wrote about Don Imus’ infertile return to broadcast radio. We were disappointed then, as we still are now, that he was so able to nimbly skirt around his bigoted and racist insults against the females on the Rutgers basketball team. On Monday, Imus started to simulcast his ancient and tired radio show on the Fox Business channel.
I haven’t listened to Imus much since he returned to air on ABC radio, so I was immediately surprised and instantly bored to hear the first thing out of his mouth was his “I have prostate cancer” pity story that he beaten to death the last time I listened.
I was also bemused to see Karith Foster, his female Black sidekick, missing from the premier show on Fox — she was previously added upon his return to radio to “give some color” to his all Old White Men crew of on air sycophants — and to protect him from the still simmering Rutgers rage against him. I don’t know if Karith was removed from the show or if she was just not on the air that day.
Imus’ age is showing. He’s slow and old and numb. He’ll bring temporary eyeballs to Fox but the curiosity won’t last.
Once you’ve listened to the cancer-stricken Don Imus for a minute, you’ve had enough to last a lifetime.
I remember in the early 90s a good friend of mine was wild about him and would tell me some crazy stuff he would say on the radio. Seems he has gotten worse with age. Sour like bad vinegar.
As terrible as it sounds, Gordon, Imus was better and funnier when he was drugged and drinking in the late ’70’s — now that he’s sobered up, he’s ordinary and boring. There are a bunch of dangerous lessons lurking in that disconnect.