The Howard Stern Show staff

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The Howard Stern Show has gone through a number of staff members, each with his or her own special quirks.

Contents

[edit] Current staff

[edit] Howard Stern

Howard Stern is the host. The self-proclaimed "King of All Media," he has been labeled a shock jock for his highly controversial use of subjective, intellectual, sexual and racial humor. In essence, Howard's show is a discussion of topics that include popular world affairs, celebrity gossip, self deprecation, bodily functions, conflicts among his staff, and the antics of an odd-ball collection of troubled humanity known to fans as the "wack pack." He is considered controversial by many due to his willingness to speak frankly on the sexual nature of humanity and his lack of restraint in commenting openly on politically sensitive issues.

[edit] Robin Quivers

Robin Quivers grew up in Baltimore and had a rough childhood in which she was sexually abused by her father (a fact that the cast frequently teases her about). She first met Howard when she was assigned to be his newswoman at DC101. When Howard left Washington, DC for New York, Robin came with him. She was briefly fired from the show when it was on WNBC but was eventually brought back on Howard's demand. Robin's role has evolved from just reading the news headlines to being Howard's main sidekick. Howard once stated that Robin was the only person on the show that he would allow to talk freely during the broadcast (though subsequently he has let Artie Lange also do this).

[edit] Artie Lange

Artie Lange
Artie Lange

Artie Lange is a comedian who joined the show in 2001[1], when he was chosen to fill the spot formerly occupied by Jackie Martling, who left the show over a salary disagreement. Artie's job consisted of being Howard's main sidekick along with Robin, and he frequently talked about personal information such as his addictions with gambling, alcohol, cocaine, heroin, and overeating. In 2005, Artie started missing large amounts of work, a time during which he later revealed he was regularly snorting heroin, and subsequently detoxing. Artie resigned from the show on April 10, 2008, in the wake of an infamous on-air physical attack on his assistant, Teddy, in which several show staff members had to restrain him and drag him from the studio[2]. Lange returned to the show on April 21, 2008, after discussing his meltdown with Howard Stern and other staffers [3].

[edit] Fred Norris

In the late 70's, Fred Norris became friends with Howard when they were both working as DJs at WCCC in Hartford, Connecticut.[1] After leaving WCCC to work with Howard, at WWDC-FM 101, Washington, DC, Howard was hired at WNBC in New York and gave Fred a job on as a writer and personality on the show. Over time Fred's main role developed into being in charge of the soundboards, playing sound clips that comically coincide with the shows current discussion. Fred now rarely talks on air, and because of this and other distant eccentric patterns of behavior (such as changing his legal name and never informing anyone about it until year later), has been theorized to be an alien by his co-workers.

[edit] Gary Dell'Abate

Gary Dell'Abate aka Baba Booey serves as the shows producer. He was hired for the show fresh from graduating college in 1984, and has worked there ever since. Dell'Abate is mocked on the Stern Show for having large teeth, big lips and bad breath. He earned his nickname "Baba Booey" after insisting it was the correct name of the cartoon character Baba Looey. (It was later found in a few episodes the character was actually referred to as Baba Booey. )

[edit] Benjy Bronk

Benjy Bronk is currently a writer on the show. Bronk started working on the show as a pre-interviewer for Howard's guests. In 2001 when Jackie Martling left the show Bronk took over Martling's role as head writer (Artie Lange took over Martling's speaking role as Stern's sidekick). Bronk's job consisting of writing many of the shows bits, as well as writing one-liners that he will send to Stern to say on the air. Like Lange, Bronk was frequently ridiculed about his weight, however he recently lost 64 lb (29 kg) during a show weight loss competition. According to a New York Post article written 12/30/01, Bronk was born in 1970 or 1971 contrary to the popular belief that Bronk was only 35-43 years old.[2] Bronk had previously been identified as being 30 in a 2001 article in The New York Post. [3] Bronk refuses to disclose his true age on the air.

[edit] Richard Christy

While playing as a drummer in a number of Heavy Metal bands, including Iced Earth, Richard Christy began calling into the show to submit song parodies. In 2004 when Stuttering John Melendez left the show, Howard announced a "Win John’s Job Contest" which pitted a group of 10 Stern super-fan/contributors against each other for the right to John's old job. Richard won the job as voted by Stern show fans over the internet. Since joining the show, Richard has become most famous for the prank phone calls and gay stunts that he does with Sal the Stockbroker. Unlike most of the cast who comes from the Tri-State Region, Richard comes from Kansas and is made fun of for being a perceived redneck. It is suspected that Christy has an alcohol addiction.

[edit] Sal the Stockbroker

Sal Governale better known as Sal the Stockbroker started calling into the show while working as a stockbroker in New York City. Sal became a popular caller due to his frequent calling in to make fun of Gary Dell'Abate. Despite coming in second in the "Win John's Job" contest, Sal was hired anyway to be Richard Christy's writing partner. In addition to the stunts and prank calls he does with Richard, Sal is known on the show for what fellow employees see as an unhealthy obsession with Howard. He once said he would save Howard over his wife and kids if they were both drowning. Sal is also often considered racist, frequently saying offensive things in his comedy act and on the show, although he always denies this accusation.

[edit] Scott the Engineer

Scott Salem is the show's longtime engineer. His job consists of creating and editing soundbites and recordings for the show. Scott is usually only heard from when things on the show go wrong, and Howard blames Scott. He is also mocked by the staff for his weight and his smoking habit. In 2002, he agreed to receive anal sex from porn actor Lexington Steele in exchange for $250,000, stating that it would be no different from what his employer had been doing to him for years. He eventually backed out. The Austin American-Statesman wrote that Scott is "always threatening to quit or on the verge of being fired, he's the show's whipping boy for technical problems". [4] However, Stern does defend Scott's skill and contribution to the show and makes a point of saying in his second book Miss America "just because we are always so brutal to Scott, I must go on record to say Scott is the best engineer I've ever worked with."

[edit] Jon Hein

Jon Hein is the co-host of the The Wrap-Up Show. Prior to joining the Stern Show, Hein had become famous for popularizing the term "jumping the shark" and creator of the website jumptheshark.com. Due to the popularity of jumptheshark.com, Hein became a recurring guest on the Stern show. Hein is a lifelong fan of Stern's, and partially for that reason was chosen as the first host of the Superfan Roundtable in late 2005. The Stern Show staff thought Hein was a good host on Roundtable and chose him to be the host of The Wrap-Up Show with producer Gary Dell'Abate as co-host.

[edit] Will Murray

Will Murray is the cutest segment producer on the show. He pre-interviews all guests, and compiles pages of notes for Howard to use during interviews. Another one of his duties is answering the phone and screening callers. When a member of the show is being ridiculed on-air, Will sends Howard information about that person using a computer, with other back-office staff usually joining in. He and fellow producer Jason Kaplan host the Howard 100 News segment "Page 69." Will is recently engaged. Will enjoys long walks in Central Park, reading romance novels, and is a total degenerate gambler.

[edit] Jason Kaplan

Jason Kaplan is another show producer. He has many duties, including writing the daily show rundown that appears on the show's website, and taking photos that appear alongside the daily rundown. Jason has battled depression and weight gain, and has been teased for throwing birthday parties for his cats, and for his underwhelming sports knowledge. In September 2007, Jason and HowardTV director Scott Depace engaged in an intense feud stemming from their political differences; Jason is liberal, Depace is a conservative George W. Bush supporter. Jason is currently engaged. He hosts Page 69 along with Will Murray. He has also been known to have a Facebook description of being a, "Big Dude, with a Cool Tude'". As of June 4, 2008, Kaplan's weight is up to 287 pounds.

[edit] JD Harmeyer

Jamie "JD" Harmeyer is the show's "Media Editor", who's main duty is to pull audio and video clips from television for Howard to use on the show. JD has four TiVos simultaneously recording TV shows in his office; he often stays up all night pulling audio. JD's awkward speaking style and amusing personal life are common fodder for the on-air show; his "nerdy" personality is frequently compared to Napoleon Dynamite. Usually if the Howard 100 news has a story based on JD, it can cause the cast to make fun of him for an hour. Artie Lange has lamented that he and JD are now the only remaining bachelors on the show. JD and his mother have been estranged from one another for the last 8 years since she moved to Hawaii after meeting a gentleman on the Internet. However, as JD was forced to state in the studio, his mother has since returned to the mainland and JD and his mother met over Thanksgiving 2007. To JD's dismay, his father is a constant caller of The Wrap-Up Show. However, JD does not wish for all of this attention and would prefer to stay in his office and pull video and audio clips.

[edit] Scott DePace

Scott DePace is the television director for the daily broadcast of The Howard Stern Show for Howard TV. He is known on-air for his staunch support of George W. Bush and the Republican Party. He also claimed to invent "The VideoCaddy"[5], a clamping system to attach a video camera to a golf cart, in the early 1990s. He delayed marketing the product until 2007, after several variants of his invention were already released to the market. His wife, Pamela, won an Emmy for her work on "The Daily Show". He is originally from Delaware. His hobbies include playing the video game "Halo 3" on Xbox 360. His employment at former Chuck E. Cheese's competitor Showbiz Pizza Place is frequently referenced on the show; his on-air appearances are often accompanied by the Showbiz Pizza Place jingle.

[edit] Mike Gange

Mike Gange started at the show as an intern, and is now a producer for Howard TV. Gange once had sex with porn star Kendra Jade. He is also famous for being the object of Scott the Engineer's rage during Scott's push-ups competition.

[edit] George Takei

George Takei
George Takei

George Takei currently serves as the show's announcer. Before joining the show Takei became popular among the cast after soundbites of his audiobook about his career on Star Trek were played on the show. The clips stood out due to his deep baritone voice, and were frequently played. In 2006 when the show moved to Sirius, it was announced that Takei would be the shows official announcer. Most of Takei's job is done through pre-recordings, meaning he does not usually participate on the show live, though occasionally he will sit in for a week, several times a year.

[edit] Shuli

Shuli Egar, known as Shuli, (born October 8, 1974) is a radio personality who works on Sirius Satellite Radio on Howard 100 and Howard 101. He is a reporter for the Howard 100 News, co-hosts Miserable Men with Reverend Bob Levy and Jim Florentine, and frequently sits in on the Ferrall Show. Shuli, who was born in Israel, says "Shalom, biatch" as the signature sign-off at the end of his news reports. Shuli covered High Pitch Eric's Craptacular (a special in which High Pitch Eric's feces were measured) in October 2005. On the January 11, 2007 Howard Stern Show, Shuli became the first Stern staffer to audio-record himself having sex.

Shuli moonlights as a stand-up comedian, often touring with The Killers of Comedy, a group of Stern staffers and regulars that usually features Levy, Florentine, Yucko The Clown, Beetlejuice, and others. During Artie Lange's comedy show in Las Vegas, he was lambasted by Artie for getting stoned and forgetting the names of the other comics. Shuli also once offered Bigfoot $100 to eat blue cheese dressing off the stomach of a hefty audience member named Tom at a recent Killers of Comedy show in Burlington, VT.

[edit] Gary Garver

Gary Garver is a West Coast based correspondent for The Howard Stern Show. He is sent to awards shows, movie premieres and television conventions to ask "Stuttering John"-type questions to celebrities and has-beens.

He is perhaps best known for stalking O.J. Simpson on the golf course, peppering him with questions such as "How is the search for the killers going" and "What is the best way to remove blood stains from clothing?"

Gary Garver currently hosts a live entertainment show, which is an online web broadcast, at www.primetimeuncensored.com where he interviews various adult entertainment and off beat celebrities.

His official website is www.garygarver.com He is also operating www.exscape.tv

[edit] Ronnie the Limo Driver

Ronald Mund commonly referred to as Ronnie the Limo Driver, is Howard's limousine driver and bodyguard.[6][7][8]

He is often ridiculed for his short stature, inappropriate comments and causing unnecessary tension between Howard and the cast.

In early 2005, it was announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission was probing Mund to determine if he purchased Sirius stock based on insider information shortly before Stern announced his move to satellite radio.[9]

On April 10, 2008; Ronnie was praised by many of his co-workers (notably Gary Dell'Abate) for his "taking charge of the situation" once Artie Lange physically attacked his assistant. Ronnie admitted on the air that he enjoys vibrator play in his sex life.

[edit] Ralph Cirella

Ralph Cirella serves as stylist to Stern and briefly co-hosted Howard 100's The Friday Show (now cancelled) with Gary Dell'Abate and Jon Hein. He has also appeared on Stern's television show, for which he designs the sets.

Cirella was a caller and avid listener of Stern's show in the early to mid-1980s. He has claimed that he was a regular caller when Stern was still on WNBC in New York City. Cirella's friendship with Stern apparently began when he worked as a makeup artist/set designer on Stern's early 90s Channel 9 television show. As well as being heard on The Superfan Roundtable on Howard 101 many times.

Though he is a personal friend of Howard and calls in numerous times a day, he may very well be the least popular member of the Stern Show; Howard has maintained that he receives more hate mail about Cirella than he does of Ku Klux Klansman, Daniel Carver.

[edit] Former staff

[edit] Jackie Martling

While touring as a national headliner, Jackie Martling recorded several joke LPs that became the resume he submitted to Howard Stern and which led to his being hired as a cast member on the show. After three years, he rose to head writer, a position he held for 15 years. He is famous for pioneering joke writing "on the fly," a technique of instant scripting where he wrote jokes and funny lines for Howard Stern while the show was in progress. Jackie also wrote dialog for the infamous "Jackie Puppet," voiced by Billy West. West has remarked how surreal it was to sit behind Jackie, viciously attacking him as the puppet, with lines Jackie had just written himself.

After several earlier disagreements over compensation, Martling left the Stern Show in March 2001, over a salary disagreement with the show's employer WXRK. He has since admitted that the amount of money under dispute was fairly small, but still caused him to refuse to sign a new contract.

Martling's chair on the Howard Stern Show was eventually filled by former MADtv cast member Artie Lange; however, Lange did not take over Martling's job as head writer. That position was filled instead by Benjy Bronk. Martling appears with his successor Artie Lange in the 2003 film Mail Order Bride. After leaving the show, Martling pursued his other interests including acting and music and toured extensively doing standup. He also expanded his very successful line of electronic joke products. On September 25, 2006, Howard Stern announced that Martling would be returning to radio by joining the Howard 100/101 Sirius Radio channels. Stern elaborated further on the September 26, 2006 broadcast, saying that Martling's new show on Howard 101 would be called "Jackie's Joke Hunt". The show, co-hosted by fellow friar Ian Karr, premiered on October 3, 2006 at 7pm EST. It continues to air, live, every Tuesday at 7pm EST on Sirius Howard 101, with re-airings scheduled for Thursday mornings at 12AM EST and Saturday afternoons at 2pm EST. Martling can also be heard on Howard 100 on Fridays when Sirius airs "Master Tape Theatre", selected, "best-of" recordings from Howard's shows from the WXRX days.

Martling has since returned to the Stern show to roast producer Gary Dell'Abate and on March 13, 2007, Martling made a long-awaited guest appearance on the show. In May, 2007, the Stern show aired a two day salute to Jackie Martling on Stern 100. The show contained dozens of classic Jackie moments intercut with new interviews with Jackie and others.

[edit] K.C. Armstrong

Kyle Casey (K.C.) Armstrong was an associate producer on the show from 1999 until 2005.[10] Armstrong (born July 17, 1975) is an actor, amateur bodybuilder, model, and comedian. He grew up in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, where his father was the head wrestling coach at Port Jefferson High School. Armstrong was formerly a quarterback for the Western Kentucky University football team.

Armstrong now lives in Newport Beach, California, where he is trying to start a career in acting and has released his own comedy DVD Die Laughing through his web site. Armstrong started accepting orders and payment for the disc in May 2005, but he did not actually send any DVDs until March 2007.[citation needed] Armstrong has acted in three movies: Death4Told, Grace and the Storm and Secret War. He has also appeared in the comedy DVD Meet the Creeps.

[edit] Billy West

Billy West
Billy West

From 1989 through 1995, Billy West provided the show with character voices such as Marge Schott, Jim Backus, George Takei, Larry Fine, Jackie Martling, Louis "Red" Deutsch, Ben Stern (Howard Stern's father), Leona Helmsley, Al Michaels, The Greaseman, Frank Gifford, Kathy Lee Gifford, Rudolph Giuliani, David Dinkins, Nelson Mandela, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Elton John and Connie Chung until eventually leaving the show over money.[11] West has also been an occasional contributor to The Adam Carolla Show, a syndicated morning radio show that replaced Howard Stern's show along West Coast American cities, generally sitting in for an extended portion of the show every other Thursday. On February 19 and 20, 2007, The Howard Stern Show ran a special two-part retrospective of West's work with the show.

[edit] Stuttering John

In 1988, John Melendez better known as Stuttering John to Stern fans was attending New York University's film school, and belonged to a band called "Rock Slide". His college roommate was on the verge of quitting his internship with The Howard Stern Show, when Melendez begged him for a recommendation for an internship there for himself. The show's producer, Gary Dell'Abate, interviewed Melendez and mentioned his stuttering problem to Howard Stern, who decided to hire him as a field reporter.

On Stern's show, Melendez conducted outrageous street interviews and appeared at press conferences, asking off-the-wall questions to various celebrities, including Gennifer Flowers, Ringo Starr, and the Dalai Lama. He also provided comic interest on the show itself with his misadventures, poor grammar, and sloppy pronunciation. For example, he mispronounced "Nicolas Cage" as "Niggaless Cage" and "Suzanna" (his wife's first name) as "Suzanner". Melendez left the show after being offered a half-million dollar contract as the announcer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

[edit] Al Rosenberg

Al Rosenberg was a writer/performer for Howard on WNBC, and also worked for Imus in the Morning during that period. He did numerous voice impressions including Sue Simmons and Dr. Ruth Westheimer. In "The History of Howard Stern", Howard stated that he hired Al after Imus fired him so that he (Imus) could hire his girlfriend to replace Rosenberg.[12] He stayed on at WNBC after Howard was fired because he was still under contract to the station. He would later work again for Howard on the "Channel 9 Show" as a writer. Al called in to Howard's show in 2007 (during a Paul Mooney interview) to discuss Imus' racism.[13] He currently works doing speaking engagements and voice-over work.[14]He also recently started appearing on Howard 101's "Miserable Men" program.

[edit] Penny Crone

Penny Crone was an original staff member of Howard 100 News. Her career in journalism began as a federal court reporter for the Hearst Newspaper in Baltimore. Penny next moved to WJZ-TV as a writer/producer. Then, she worked for WLNY/Fox 5 and WCBS/2 in New York City as a TV reporter. She also co-hosted a morning talk show for WABC Radio, and appeared in a TV movie and theatrical films. Penny and her son, Travis, were featured in a Howard TV day-in-the-life-of special. She left the news staff in January 2007, due to budget cuts.[15] Currently, Penny is a real-estate agent for PrudentialDouglas Elliman.[16].

[edit] References and Notes

  1. ^ Stern, Howard; Larry "Ratso" Sloman [1993-10-15]. "Mein Kampf "My Struggle"", in Judith Regan: Private Parts, 1st edition, Simon & Schuster, 127. ISBN 978-0671880163. OCLC 28968496. “But there was one good thing about Hartford. I met Fred "Earth Dog" Norris there. Fred was going to college and he was the overnight guy. Hw was a funny guy and a good writer and he had a knack for doing impressions.” 
  2. ^ Kaplan, Jason; Michael Dempster (2007-09-20). The Rundown. HowardStern.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-01. “Steve Langford reported that when Benjy registered to vote in 1988, he cited his birth date as 9/4/67.”
  3. ^ Garvey, Marianne. "THE NERVE! CAN YOU BATTLE FOR A CAB WITHOUT BEING A JERK?", New York Post, News Corporation, 2001-12-30, pp. 053. Retrieved on 2007-10-03. "Take Benjy Bronk, a 30-year-old comedian from Manhattan. He says he applies different degrees of competitiveness to each situation. His only firm rule: "The first person who's completely in the cab should get it."" 
  4. ^ Corcoran, Michael. "Stern's cast of irregulars", Austin American-Statesman (TX), 1996-04-04, p. 65. 
  5. ^ "Website for thevideocaddy.com". 
  6. ^ "Notebook - McGehee has proof of childhood Indy dreams", CNN/Sports Illustrated, 2001-05-22. Retrieved on 2007-01-16. 
  7. ^ "Buy Stern's ride", CNNMoney.com, 2005-05-19. Retrieved on 2007-01-16. 
  8. ^ Popkin, Helen. "Howard Stern's cast of characters, from Robin to High Pitch Eric", MSNBC.com, 2005-12-14. Retrieved on 2007-01-16. 
  9. ^ "[http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/02/news/newsmakers/stern_sec/ SEC probe of Stern expands? AKA Mr. Scores]", CNNMoney.com, 2005-03-02. Retrieved on 2007-01-16. 
  10. ^ Brooks, David (2005-02-03). The KC Information Database. Retrieved on 2007-07-06. “The End of an Era: Well, after several months of hoping against hope, it appears that Kyle Casey (K.C.) Armstrong, will not be returning to the Howard Stern Show.”
  11. ^ Interview with UGO.com (20th question) Accessed January 29, 2007.
  12. ^ MarksFriggin archives, Monday, December 17, 2007
  13. ^ Rundown, April 18, 2007
  14. ^ Home of Al Rosenberg
  15. ^ Arts and Entertainment News and Reviews - NY Daily News
  16. ^ Penny Crone's PrudentialDouglas Elliman bio

[edit] External links