Jon Hein

Jon Hein
Hein at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2011.
Born	(1967-11-24) November 24, 1967 New York
Alma mater	University of Michigan
Occupation	Radio personality, webmaster (former)

Jon Hein is an American radio personality and former webmaster. He created the website jumptheshark.com and works for The Howard Stern Show. Hein is an alumnus of the University of Michigan where he appeared in the sketch comedy troupe Comedy Company with Jon Glaser. The two also were a part of the comedy troupe Just Kidding.

Jump the Shark origins

Hein has explained that he and some friends at the University of Michigan were discussing when popular television shows began to decline, and his roommate Sean J. Connolly coined the phrase,^{[citation needed]} referring to a Happy Days episode in which Fonzie performed a water ski jump over a shark. The phrase "jumped the shark" became code between Hein and his friends for the moment that a television show began to decline, and became inspiration for the name of the website.^[1]

Hein sold his company, Jump The Shark, Inc., to Gemstar (owners of TV Guide) on June 20, 2006^[2] for "over $1 million".^[3] Some Stern staff have speculated that the site sold closer to $5–$10 million, however.^[4] The TV Guide website has since redirected the original jumptheshark.com website. For some time, the website was replaced with a celebrity gossip message board. As of December 2013, the domain simply redirects to TV Guide's home page.

Personal life

Hein is married, has two daughters, and lives on Long Island, New York.^[5]

Sirius Satellite Radio

The Stern Show staff thought Hein was a good host on Super Fan Roundtable and chose him to be the host of The Wrap-Up Show with Stern producer Gary Dell'Abate as co-host. The show premiered on Howard's first day on Sirius, January 9, 2006, and has received very positive reviews from fans.^[6] Hein also hosted The Friday Show along with Gary Dell'Abate and Ralph Cirella on the Friday mornings when Stern took time off, although that show was replaced after a few months by Master Tape Theatre.

Master Tape Theatre has since moved to Howard 101 on Sundays, replaced on Howard 100 by the Best of the Week, a montage show with clips from the Monday through Wednesday show.

Hein has become known as a fast food aficionado. He has vocalized his distaste for the fast food restaurant Burger King. Hein was subjected to a blindfolded taste test of burgers on Howard 101's "The Fast Food Show", where he correctly identified a Burger King, McDonald's, and Wendy's burger patty. Hein admitted on the August 17, 2010 Howard Stern Show that he now weighed 255 lbs. but refused to give up fast food.^[7] Hein admitted on the January 17, 2008 Stern show that he adjusts his insulin levels to be able to indulge in junk food, such as his favorite Oreo cupcake from Crumbs cupcakes.^[8] Hein is also the host of the Friday radio program "Geektime!", "Jon Hein's TV Show" on Thursdays, and the Fast Food Show all featured on Howard 101.^[9]

Starting on March 2, 2010, Hein hosts the weekly comedy The Bonus Show with Rachel Fine on Howard TV.^[10]

Other projects

In 2012, Hein began to host his own television show, Fast Food Mania, on Destination America. In his show, Hein expresses his love of fast food by discussing the history of various restaurants, along with how their food is prepared.^[11]

See also

• The Howard Stern Show staff

References

External links

• Mondesi's House Interview: Jump the Shark Creator Jon Hein