Limbaugh << LIHM baw >> , Rush (1951-2021), was a popular and controversial American radio talk show personality and conservative political commentator. He gained fame as the host of the national daily radio talk show “The Rush Limbaugh Show,” which began in 1988. Limbaugh ranked among the highest-paid performers in broadcasting, and his show attracted some of the largest audiences in radio history. He often used satire to criticize liberal political figures and policies. His audience tended to follow his lead in supporting or opposing a political candidate. As a result, Limbaugh became an influential figure in United States politics. In 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump awarded Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom , one of the country’s highest civilian honors.
Rush Hudson Limbaugh, III, was born on Jan. 12, 1951, into a prominent family of judges and lawyers in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He briefly attended Southeast Missouri State University. During the 1970’s, Limbaugh worked as a disc jockey in the Pittsburgh area under the name Jeff Christie. He worked for several other radio stations before moving to Kansas City, Missouri. In 1979, he began working in group ticket sales for the Kansas City Royals baseball team. He returned to radio at a Kansas City station in 1983, doing political commentary. In 1984, he became a radio talk show host in Sacramento, California. There, Limbaugh came to the attention of Edward F. McLaughlin, the former president of ABC Radio. McLaughlin urged Limbaugh to move to New York City, and in 1988, McLaughlin began producing a nationally broadcast radio show hosted by Limbaugh. The show quickly gained many listeners across the country.
Limbaugh also hosted a television show, “Rush Limbaugh,” from 1992 to 1996. The TV show discussed many of the topics from his radio show and was taped before a studio audience. Limbaugh wrote the best-selling books The Way Things Ought to Be (1992) and See, I Told You So (1993). He also wrote a series of popular children’s books about American history, beginning with Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims (2013). Limbaugh died on Feb. 17, 2021.
