Limbaugh, Rush

views updated

Rush Limbaugh (Rush Hudson Limbaugh 3d) (lĬm´bô), 1951–, conservative radio talk-show host, b. Cape Girardeau, Mo. In 1984, Limbaugh, who first worked in radio as a teenager, became a talk-show host in Sacramento, where a confrontational style and staunchly conservative views won him loyal fans. Four years later he moved to New York City and debuted his nationally syndicated call-in program, which brought him fame and notoriety for his blunt humor, his often outrageously expressed conservative views, and his scathing treatment of those he opposed. During the mid-1990s his was the most listened-to talk show on radio, making him influential in conservative Republican politics, and he has remained adored, reviled, consequential, controversial, and successful. Limbaugh also has written several books.