Table of Biography
Rush Limbaugh is an American radio personality and talk show host. Rush Limbaugh is popular for his radio show ‘The Rush Limbaugh Show’ which is a conservative American talk show.
Early Life and Childhood
Rush Limbaugh was born on 12th January 1951 and is currently 73 years old. His full name is Rush Hudson Limbaugh III and his zodiac sign is Capricorn. His name was originally to honor the maiden name of a family member Edna Rush by his grandfather. Likewise, he was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States of America, and holds American citizenship.
Similarly, he belongs to a white ethnic group has German ancestry, and follows Christianity. He was born into the prestigious Limbaugh family. This is the most prominent political family in Missouri and has its family members served as politicians, judges, attorneys, and political commentators both in the Missouri state and on a national scale.
Likewise, he is the son of Rush Hudson Limbaugh Jr. who was a lawyer and former US fighter pilot who served in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. Similarly, his mother was a house maker and her name is Mildred Carolyn Limbaugh. Moreover, he comes from a highly politically influenced background. His grandfather, Rush Limbaugh Sr. was a prosecutor, judge, special commissioner, and member of the Missouri House of Representatives. Likewise, he has also served as the president of the Missouri Historical Society. He has taken his father as an influencer and has dedicated his life to gaining his father’s respect and approval.
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Furthermore, regarding his educational background, he attended Cape Girardeau Central High School. This is a public high school located in Missouri. Likewise, he played football during high school. While studying, he worked his first radio job at the age of 16 in ‘KGMO-Am’. This is a radio station broadcasting in Missouri. Likewise, he enrolled at Southeast Missouri State University but dropped out after two semesters. Moreover, according to his mother, ‘Rush flunked everything he just didn’t seem interested in anything except radio’.
Early Career
Rush started his career at the age of 16 working his first radio job on ‘KGMO-AM’. While working here his air name was ‘Rusty Sharpe’ after the name ‘Sharpe’ in a telephone book. Working there, he cited Chicago DJ Larry Lujack as a major influence on him. Following this, after dropping out of university in February 1971, he worked as a DJ at a gospel radio station ‘WIXZ-AM’ which is the Top 40 station in Mckeesport, Pennsylvania. While working here, he adopted the surname ‘Bachelor Jeff’ and worked here in the afternoon before moving to the morning drive. Moreover, his style was compared to ‘early Imus’ by the station’s general manager. However, after eighteen months of working at WIXZ due to a personality conflict with the program director, he was fired from the station.
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After this, he started a nighttime position succeeding Jim Quinn at ‘KQV’ which is a non-commercial radio station. However, with the new management, he was dismissed by the new management. Followed by this, he returned to his parent’s house. In 1975, he started an afternoon show at the commercial FM radio station ‘KUDL’. With this, he became the host of a public affairs talk show. This program aired on weekend mornings where he developed his style and presented more controversial ideas. After leaving this show, in 1977 he started an evening talk show at KFIX. However, having a stint here, he felt disillusioned with the radio and felt the pressure to pursue a different career.
In 1979, he worked in a part-time role in group sales for the American professional baseball team ‘Kansas City Royals’. After this, he worked in a full-time position as the director of group sales and special events. In 1983, he returned to radio and decided to drop his on-air moniker and the broadcast by his real name. He got a spot on the commercial AM radio station ‘KMNZ-AM’ replacing Morton Downey Jr.
WABC New York City and syndication
After his success in Sacramento, he started a new show at WABC-AM in New York City. He made his debut just after the Democratic National Convention and before the Republican National Convention. Likewise, in 1990, he was on the Rush to Excellence Tour which was a series of personal appearances in cities nationwide for two years. Likewise, in December 1990, journalist Lewis Grossberger stated he was ‘more listeners than any other talk show host’ and described his style as ‘Bouncing between earnest lecturer and political vaudevillian’. Moreover, his rising profile coincided with the Gulf War led by the United States against Iraq. Likewise, he supported the war effort and his relentless ridicule of peace activists.
Similarly, in the 1992 presidential election when Bill Clinton was elected, he satirized the policies of the Democratic Party along with Bill Clinton and the First Lady. With this, in the 1994 midterm election when the Republican Revolution regained control of Congress the freshman Republican class awarded him as an honorary member believing his role in their success. In 2003, after having a stint as a professional football commentator with ESPN, he resigned from it. He made comments about the press coverage for quarterback Donovan McNabb which caused controversy and accusations of racism.
The Rush Limbaugh Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show has been nationally syndicated on ABC Radio from New York City since 1st August 1988. This show became popular for its heavy political and extreme conservative stant. It aired for over three decades becoming the highest-rated American talk radio program. Moreover, this show aired for three hours each weekday starting at noon ET on both AM and FM radio.
Caption: The poster image of “The Rush Limbaugh Show”. Source: Instagram
Besides this, he made regular appearances as a political commentator on various Television programs and has authored numerous articles and books. He authored the best-selling ‘The Way Things Ought To Be’ and ‘1993’s See, I Told You So’. Similarly, he has made an appearance on shows like, ‘Late Show with David Letterman, ‘Hearts Afire’, ‘And The Drew Carey Show’. Similarly, he appeared in the 1995 American romantic comedy movie ‘Forget Paris.
Likewise, he has made a cameo appearance on the American television news satire show ‘The ½ Hour News Hour’ which was broadcast on the Fox News channel. Similarly, in that year, he made a cameo on the ‘Family Guy’ episode of Blue Harvest ( a parody of Star Wars). In this parody, he was claiming that the ‘liberal Galatic media’ was lying about the climate change on the planet ‘Hoth’ and the Lando Calrissian administrative position on Cloud City as a result of affirmative action.
Controversy
Rush has been involved in numerous controversies and is regarded as the most controversial conservative political commentator. Moreover, the Comedian Al Franken who became a Senator wrote a satirical book accusing him of distorting facts to serve his own political biases. On 14th October 2011, he questioned the US military initiative against Joseph Kony and his LRA based on the assumption of Christians.
Likewise, he accused Canadian-American actor, Michael J. Fox of exaggerating the effect of his affliction in the political TV advertisement advocating funds for stem cell research. Moreover, as Fox suffered from Parkinson’s disease, he said he was acting and moving all around in the advertisement.
Additionally, he made his comment on the Iraq War veterans who opposed the war as ‘the phony soldiers. Likewise, on 29th February 2012, while talking about the contraceptive mandates, he remarked Sandra Fluke who is an American lawyer and women’s rights activist as a ‘slut’ and ‘prostitute’. Further, to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said the virus is a ‘common cold’. Moreover, he stated ‘I’m dead right on this; on his radio show on 24th February 2020.
Achievements
Throughout his career from radio host to political commentator, Rush has made an exceptional career. Likewise, he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1993, and in the year 1998, he was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Similarly, he has won the National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Award for Excellence in Syndicated and Network Broadcasting five times.
Rush Limbaugh – Net Worth 2024
Likewise, regarding his net worth, he is one of the highest-paid and most famous conservative commentators in the United States media. Moreover, he has a net worth of around $600 million.
Body Measurements
Rush Limbaugh stands at a height of 5 feet 11 inches (71 inches) tall and weighs around 101 kg (222 lbs). However, regarding his vital stats, there is no information about it. Looking at his physical appearance, he has fair skin a pair of light brown eyes, and gray hair color.
Relationship Status
Regarding his relationship status, Rush is straight and married to Kathryn Rogers who is a party planner from Florida. They married on 5th June 2010 after dating for years. However, before this, he married three times. He was first married to Roxy Maxine Mc Neely who was a sales secretary at the radio station. He was the age of 26 when he married on 24th September 1977. However, they separated citing ‘incompatibility’ on 10th July 1980.
Following this, on 27th May 1994, he married Michelle Sixta who was a college student but divorced in the year 1990. After separation, on 27th May 1994, he married a 35-year-old aerobics instructor Marta Fitzgerald whom he met on the online service CompuServe in 1990. However, their relationship also ended on 11th June 2004.
Caption: Rush Limbaugh with his wife. Source: Instagram
Health Issues
Rush Limbaugh has been through various health issues. In the year 2000, he acknowledged having hearing issues and becoming almost completely deaf. However, after a cochlear implant in 2001, he was able to regain his hearing. Likewise, he admits his addiction to prescription painkillers and also became more reliant on them after undergoing spinal surgery half a decade earlier. Further, he underwent his cancer treatment on 20th January 2020. He was suffering from stage 4 lung cancer.
Rush Limbaugh – Social Media
His Facebook page is @RushLimbaugh and has 2.2 million followers on it. Likewise, Rush joined Twitter in July 2011 and has over 589.7k followers on his @rushlimbaugh account. Similarly, he also has his webpage www.rushlimbaugh.com