Michael Savage MSNBC television show When did Michael work with msnbc? Savage was hired by MSNBC president Erik Sorenson to do a one-hour show beginning March 8, 2003, Did the show ever air on tv? Savage was fired from his MSNBC television show Why did they fire savage? remarks made in response to a caller, later identified as prank caller Bob Foster, Are there other reasons he was fired? Savage then asked if Foster was a "sodomite", to which the caller answered, "Yes, I am.
Did he say other rude things to people?
Besides asking Bob Foster if he was a "sodomite", did Michael Savage say other rude things to callers?
Savage was hired by MSNBC president Erik Sorenson to do a one-hour show beginning March 8, 2003, despite Savage's previous criticism of the network in his book The Savage Nation and the objections of NBC employees including news anchor Tom Brokaw, who asked NBC executives, "Is this the sort of man who embodies the values of NBC?" Sorenson, at the time, called Savage "brash, passionate and smart," and promised that he would provide "compelling opinion and analysis with an edge." Four months later, on July 7, Savage was fired from his MSNBC television show after remarks made in response to a caller, later identified as prank caller Bob Foster, who insulted Savage's teeth. Savage then asked if Foster was a "sodomite", to which the caller answered, "Yes, I am." Savage then said to the caller, Oh, so you're one of those sodomites. You should only get AIDS and die, you pig; how's that? Why don't you see if you can sue me, you pig? You got nothing better to do than to put me down, you piece of garbage? You got nothing to do today? Go eat a sausage, and choke on it. Get trichinosis. Now do we have another nice caller here who's busy because he didn't have a nice night in the bathhouse who's angry at me today? Put another, put another sodomite on ... no more calls? ... I don't care about these bums; they mean nothing to me. They're all sausages. The day after being fired, Savage apologized on his radio program and on his website. He explained that he believed that MSNBC had gone to commercial to cover the gaffe of the attempted sabotage by a prank caller and that he was off the air at the time of the offensive comments, despite the fact that clips of the segment show Savage going to commercial after he made the comments. He also said his remarks were meant only to insult the caller, not all people with AIDS. CANNOTANSWER
Go eat a sausage, and choke on it.
Michael Alan Weiner (born March 31, 1942), known by his professional name Michael Savage, is an American conservative author, conspiracy theorist, political commentator, activist, and former radio host. Savage is best known as the host of The Savage Nation, a nationally syndicated talk show that aired on Talk Radio Network across the United States until 2021, and in 2009 was the second most listened-to radio talk show in the country with an audience of over 20 million listeners on 400 stations across the United States. From October 23, 2012 to January 1, 2021, Michael Savage had been syndicated by Cumulus Media and Westwood One. He holds master's degrees from the University of Hawaii in medical botany and medical anthropology, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in nutritional ethnomedicine. As Michael Weiner, he has written books on nutrition, herbal medicine, and homeopathy; as Michael Savage, he has written several political books that have reached The New York Times Best Seller list.

Savage has summarized his political philosophy in three words: borders, language, and culture. He has characterized his views as conservative nationalism, while critics have characterized them as "fostering extremism." He supports the English-only movement and argues that liberalism and progressivism are degrading American culture. Although his radio delivery is mainly characterized as politically themed, he also often covers topics such as medicine, nutrition, music, literature, history, theology, philosophy, sports, business, economics, and culture, and tells personal anecdotes.

In 2009, Savage was placed on a list of people permanently banned from entering the United Kingdom by British Home Secretary for "seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred."

Early life and education

Savage was born Michael Alan Weiner in the Bronx, New York, one of three children of Benjamin and Rae Weiner, Jewish emigrants from Communist Russia. He described his childhood as difficult, with a "gruff, profane" father who would frequently criticize and belittle him. His younger brother, Jerome, was born with developmental disabilities and was unable to hear or speak. Jerome died in 1969. His father, the owner of an antiques shop, died of a heart attack at age 57 in 1970, and his mother died in 2003.

After graduating from Jamaica High School in 1958, Savage attended Queens College, where he was constantly beat about the head and shoulders by his Ukrainian classmates and earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1963. After college, Savage taught high school for several years in New York City. His first marriage in 1964 to Carol Ely ended in divorce, and he remarried in 1967 after meeting his current wife, Janet. During this time, Savage also worked for famous psychedelic drug advocate Timothy Leary as keeper of the stone gatehouse on the Hitchcock Cattle Company estate in Millbrook, New York, to which Leary had been given access. Leary hired him to the post because Savage did not use LSD. Savage then studied at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, earning a Master of Science in botany in 1970 and a Master of Arts in anthropology in 1972. He obtained a PhD in 1978 from the University of California, Berkeley, in nutritional ethnomedicine. His thesis was titled Nutritional Ethnomedicine in Fiji.

Shift in political opinions
Savage introduced himself to certain writers in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco in the 1970s. He befriended and traveled with Beat poets Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Savage maintained a correspondence with Ginsberg consisting of ten letters and three postcards across four years, which is maintained with Ginsberg's papers at Stanford University. One letter asked for Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti to come do a poetry reading, so others could "hear and see and know why I adore your public image." Another acquaintance was poet and author Neeli Cherkovski, who says that Savage dreamed of becoming a stand-up comic in the mold of Lenny Bruce.

Acquaintance Robert Cathcart says that by 1980, in his private conversations with Savage, he knew him to have conservative political views. Schwartz stated Savage became alienated from the North Beach scene in the early 1980s. Savage had intense arguments with his liberal friends. When asked about his shift in politics and other views, Savage replied, "I was once a child; I am now a man." Savage has cited many occurrences in his life that helped shape his conservative views. Savage states that his opinions on welfare were partly shaped by his first job out of college as a social worker. He described one incident in which his supervisor had him deliver a check to a welfare client to furnish their apartment, while his own apartment was furnished with cardboard boxes. Another turning point occurred for him as a writer of health and nutrition books in the 1980s, when he experienced what he saw as "political opposition" after making the suggestion that the closure of homosexual bathhouses might be necessary in response to the emerging HIV/AIDS epidemic. In 1994 his final health and nutrition manuscript, Immigrants and Epidemics, was rejected by publishers for being inflammatory. In 1996, Savage applied to become the Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. The University instead selected award-winning journalist and China scholar Orville Schell. Savage sued the University, contending discrimination for being conservative. Savage later dropped the lawsuit.

Career as commentator

Radio
The rejection by publishers of his 1994 manuscript about illegal immigration and epidemics prompted Savage to record a demo tape with a mock radio talk show about the contents of the work. He mailed this tape to 250 radio stations in an attempt to change careers and become a radio talk show host. On March 21, 1994, Savage began his radio career on KGO (a San Francisco news/talk radio station) as a fill-in host for liberal Ray Taliaferro's overnight show and later as a weekend host. At the time, his slogan was "To the right of Rush and to the left of God." The show quickly became a local hit.

Later in 1994, KGO parent company Capital Cities/ABC Inc. purchased the station KSFO and changed it to a conservative talk format. On January 2, 1995, the first day of KSFO's new format, Savage debuted as host of afternoon drive time show The Savage Nation. By 2000, Savage was the most popular afternoon drive host among all adults in San Francisco Arbitron ratings.

In 1999, Talk Radio Network began syndicating part of The Savage Nation nationally. Starting September 21, 2000, The Savage Nation became an entirely national show distributed by TRN.

In mid-2006, Savage had 8–10 million listeners per week, which made his show the third most widely heard broadcast in the United States at that time. Savage has described his listeners as "literate callers with intelligence, wit, and energy." He has described his show's production as one with a "... hard edge combined with humor and education ... Those who listen to me say they hear a bit of Plato, Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac, Moses, Jesus, and Frankenstein." Mark de la Viña of the San Jose Mercury News wrote of Savage: "In contrast to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Laura Schlessinger, Bay Area-based Savage mixes conservative diatribe and blunt observations with acerbic humor and the gift of gab."

By 2009, The Savage Nation had an audience of 8 to 10 million listeners on 400 stations across the United States, making it the second most listened-to radio talk show in the country at the time. Around that time, Savage asked his audience for their opinion prior to consenting to a profile interview by Kelefa Sanneh of The New Yorker; Savage eventually accepted that offer and the New Yorker profile, titled "Party of One", was published in the August 3, 2009, issue, which covered Savage's life and personality in great detail.

On September 10, 2009, KNEW (910 kHz) in Savage's home market of San Francisco announced that it was dropping his program and replacing him with John and Ken from sister station KFI-AM (640 kHz)/Los Angeles. John Scott, program director of KNEW said in an email that the station was headed "... in a different philosophical and ideological direction, featuring more contemporary content and more local information." According to Arbitron monthly ratings, KNEW dropped in the ratings since Savage was let go. San Francisco station KTRB picked up the program for the San Francisco market, and saw a ratings boost in the afternoon drive. However, the program was among the first casualties when KTRB went into receivership in September 2010.

On January 22, 2010, Savage revealed to his audience that a writer for Playboy had contacted him via email to do a lengthy interview, and again asked his listeners if he should accept the offer. During the show, Savage read from personal emails between the Playboy writer and himself. The writer admitted to being a listener of the Savage Nation but a critic of the profile done by The New Yorker. The writer also stated that the purpose of the interview was to "rattle" Playboys readers. On May 12, 2010, Savage revealed that he had granted the interview at his home. Playboy published the interview in June 2010. He read from a pre-publication copy of the 8,000-word Playboy interview, in which the writer expressed animosity for Savage and his views. Savage said that he was disappointed at the lack of journalistic objectivity, but did not harbor hatred for the writer. He referred back to the New Yorker interview by Kelefa Sanneh, and praised Sanneh as a "real writer" who had understood his subject.

On September 27, 2012, Savage's talk show left the airwaves after he won a legal battle with Talk Radio Network, his longtime employer, and his attorney said discussions with new networks were underway. Savage began an occasional series of video webcasts via Ustream on September 30, 2012. On October 17, 2012, Savage and his new syndicator Cumulus Media Networks announced that they had made a deal and the program, after several weeks off the air, would be returning as of October 23, 2012. By April 2013, according to the radio industry's Talkers Magazine, Savage had 3.5+ million weekly listeners, putting him in a six-way tie for sixth place, and six talk show hosts getting 7.5+ million weekly listeners. On September 26, 2013 Cumulus Media Networks announced that Michael Savage's radio show, The Savage Nation, would move to the 3p-6p ET time-slot beginning in January 2014. This time slot had been occupied by Sean Hannity.

In January 2015, it was announced that Savage and Westwood One had reached agreement on a long-term contract renewal for The Savage Nation.

In January 2019, Savage in collaboration with Westwood One introduced a podcast format with a mixture of live-broadcast and studio material.

On March 24, 2019, Savage celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the radio show.

On January 1, 2021, The Savage Nation was discontinued by Cumulus Media and Westwood One.

TV
Savage had a brief political talk show on MSNBC beginning March 8, 2003, and ending July 7, 2003. Savage was hired by MSNBC president Erik Sorenson to do the one-hour show despite Savage's previous criticism of the network in his book The Savage Nation and the objections of NBC employees. Sorenson called Savage "brash, passionate and smart," and promised that he would provide "compelling opinion and analysis with an edge." After four months, Savage was fired from the show after remarks made in response to a caller, later identified as prank caller Bob Foster, caused controversy in the gay community.

Savage is a regular guest on Newsmax television with appearances on "Stinchfield" and "The Count."

Podcast 
In 2019 Savage launched The Savage Nation podcast with episodes posted on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Political views
Michael Savage calls himself an "independent-minded individualist" and says that he "fits no stereotype." In a 2006 interview, Savage cited Barry Goldwater as an influence, saying “I’m a Goldwater conservative…. If [another] Goldwater appeared, I’d work for him, I’d give money to him"

Savage criticizes big government as well as liberalism and liberal activism, and accuses the mainstream news media of liberal bias. He considers the three aspects that define a nation as borders, language, and culture; those aspects inspired the motto of the Paul Revere Society.

Wildlife conservation
Savage is a longtime advocate of wildlife conservation, and often points out that "conservative" and "conservation" have the same root, meaning "to conserve".  He argues that conservatives should "own" environmental protection and conservation of wildlife resources.   A December 2017 Huffington Post article quotes Savage regarding President Trump's revoking of an Obama-era trophy hunting ban: "... long-time animal activist Michael Savage ... implored the president to reconsider:

'Not all Obama legislation was bad,” said Savage. 'Some of it (like this) was grand.' "

The article continues ...  "Savage also addressed the (biblical) aspects of killing an elephant, lion or giraffe, animals that we don’t normally hunt.

'Dominion over animals doesn’t mean destroying or terrorizing them,' he said."

A March 2018 article at The Hill quotes him at greater length: "Conservative radio host Michael Savage has also spoken out against the Fish & Wildlife Service proposed policy this week, writing in a blog post Wednesday that he 'felt betrayed' by the administration’s secret decision after having previously spoken in person with Trump on the issue.

'I had spent a dinner talking to the President about environmental issues, and especially this, and this is what happened anyway,' Savage wrote. 'I made it clear that this was a red line that could not be crossed, that now elephants, lions and other big game had a target painted on them. I explained that the root of ‘conservative’ is the same as ‘conservation’ and the two do not need to be diametrically opposed. I explained what was meant by dominion, as I carefully spelled out in God Faith and Reason.'  'We hope that the president will step in here and overrule this order,'  he added.'

The private meeting with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago followed a series of pleas on his radio show for Trump to support legislation that protected wildlife. In August 2019, following the Trump administration's reauthorization of the use of cyanide bombs against wild animals, Savage called on the White House and the US Environmental Protection Agency to reverse approval.

Immigration
Savage opposes immigration, citing the black tar heroin epidemic, large percentage of immigrant prisoners, illegal use of public services, and diminishing American nationalism. in a tweet on May 17, 2019, Michael said, "Read my lips: no new immigrants." He frequently warns that migrants carry diseases. On March 28, 2006, following pro-immigration rallies in California, he encouraged his listeners to burn Mexican flags as an act of American nationalism to protest illegal immigration from Mexico.

European Union
Savage describes the European Union as "Hitler's dream of a united Europe under German control." He equates Britain's vote to leave the Union with the Second World War, saying it was "in many ways the Battle of Britain all over again." Savage foresees that, after Brexit, the E.U. risks igniting a civil war to gain total control of the population for their plans of "a new Soviet-style superstate, which have been long on the drawing books."

Republican presidential candidates

In 2003, Savage said that he voted in 2000 for George W. Bush "quite reluctantly, incidentally." In 2004, Savage and the Revere Society hosted a party at Schroeder's Cafe in San Francisco celebrating the re-election of Bush. Savage donated $5,600 to the campaign of Democratic candidate Jerry Brown in the 2006 California Attorney General election.

Savage strongly supported Donald Trump, a regular guest on his talk show, since Trump's June 2015 announcement of his candidacy in the United States 2016 presidential election. Trump has claimed to be a listener and a fan of Savage's show, and an April 2016 Salon article described Savage as having been a major influence on Trump's campaign.

Savage has disagreed strongly with some of Trump's actions and policies, including the appointment of John Bolton as National Security Advisor, the bombings of Syria, what Savage describes as a failure to get illegal immigration to the United States under control, and failure to protect endangered and vulnerable wild animals. Nevertheless, he has endorsed Trump for president in the 2020 United States presidential election.

Dubai Ports World controversy

In early 2006, the administration of President George W. Bush approved sale of a port security contract to a company, Dubai Ports World (DP World), headquartered in The United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Michael Savage was highly influential in the defeat of the deal. On February 13, the first day it was reported in the news, “Savage used his radio show to attack the transfer of American homeland assets to a company owned by an Arab state.” Savage's concerns were based in part on the fact that “two of the 9/11 suicide hijackers came from the United Arab Emirates, and much of the funding for the attacks flowed through United Arab Emirates banks.” On his February 17 radio show, Savage interviewed Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, a longtime nemesis with whom Savage otherwise agreed on the Dubai ports issue.

The White House was listening to Savage: “Though the deal had received some newspaper attention before then, Mr. Savage's angry message raised early concerns inside the Bush White House about trouble ahead." Savage and other opponents of the deal “generated a wave of anger from Americans across the country that left lawmakers in Washington -- by their own admission -- following their constituents much more than leading them.” Lawmakers said the negative response from constituents was overwhelming. Congressional offices on Capitol Hill were deluged by phone calls and emails protesting the deal, and congressmen told of being pulled aside wherever they went in their districts. Rep. Don Manzullo, a Republican from Illinois who is chairman of the House subcommittee on small business, said "I got stopped all over the place," he said. "People are big-time upset."

"White genocide"
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Savage subscribes to the white genocide conspiracy theory, a white nationalist belief, which claims that white people are becoming extinct through forced assimilation or violent genocide. Savage blames Barack Obama and the Democratic Party for promoting the concept within the United States. He has claimed there is a "cultural genocide being promulgated against Caucasians".

COVID-19 pandemic and positions on vaccines
A January 31, 2020 article in Stat News quoted Savage's call for a stop to flights from China: “QUARANTINE! STOP TRAVELERS FROM CHINA NOW!"  Two months later, an April 16, 2020 New York Times feature article credited Savage for being one of the first in the media, especially the conservative media, to take the COVID-19 epidemic seriously.  On his radio show Savage used his credentials—a PhD with training in epidemiology—to speak to his fans on coronavirus research: How the virus is transmitted; which treatments were proving effective; and the difference between morbidity and mortality rates.  "Savage's views were a departure from those of other conservative commentators, who made a concerted effort to deny that they downplayed the epidemic. Savage attacked their credibility and demanded that they be held accountable for misleading millions of Americans." As early as February 24, 2020 Savage was saying of Limbaugh and Hannity: “How can we not let our side be called on the carpet when they lie to the people?” Savage is also sharply critical of the Director of the NIAID, Dr. Anthony Fauci, dismissing him as “a grandstander” who mishandled the AIDS epidemic by refusing to close down the gay bathhouses. Savage believes that one-size-fits-all lockdowns are a threat to individual liberty, and calls instead for selective quarantine of at-risk populations.

In a May 4, 2020 article in the Washington Examiner, Savage is quoted as saying he will refuse to take a coronavirus vaccine, saying that it will likely be "ineffective and dangerous."  Savage has a history of opposing the flu vaccine, for reasons he outlined in a January 15, 2013 interview.  Savage argued that the Centers for Disease Control authorities have to guess what the vaccine should be made of.  “So they choose five strains out of 250-plus strains of Influenza A, and if they don’t choose the right one, you’re going to get sick,” he said.  “So you’re putting your faith in the CDC’s ability to guess the one that might be a pandemic."  He said that "this year" (2013), the CDC guessed right on two of the strains and wrong on one of them.

In contrast to his views on the flu vaccine, Savage supports vaccines, such as for polio, that last for many years because they address an infectious agent with a low mutation rate.  A 2013 Ethics Alarms article recounts Savage saying that "...one of his heroes growing up was Jonas Salk, not because he invented the first effective polio vaccine, but because he refused to patent it, and gave it to the world for the benefit of humanity. A bit later, Savage noted that Albert Sabin, Salk’s bitter rival who later invented the oral vaccine, also declined to profit from his invention.  Could all this be true, I wondered?  If it is true, why did I not know about it? Why doesn’t everybody know about it? It is true. Asked why he didn’t patent his vaccine, Salk famously answered, “Can you patent the sun?”

Savage opposes wearing masks to slow the spread of COVID-19 in both indoor and outdoor settings. Recently, he accepted wearing masks in indoor public places.

Activism

Legal defense contributions
Savage has regularly donated money toward the legal defense of the U.S. Marines accused of murdering civilians in Haditha, Iraq; occasionally, Savage will offer proceeds from any sales through his website. Savage had regular contact with the attorneys of the accused and criticizes their treatment at Camp Pendleton. Most recently, Savage has donated over $10,000 to the U.S. Marines Charity Defense Fund at the Thomas More Law Center On April 25, 2007, he pledged $1 for each copy of Healing Children Naturally and Reducing the Risk of Alzheimer's purchased from his website to be donated to the U.S. Marines Defense Fund.
The Marines were ultimately found not guilty.

Awards
On March 26, 2020, Savage was named by President Trump to serve on the Board of Directors of The Presidio Trust, which teams with the National Park Service to manage the Presidio of San Francisco, the former military fort that is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Savage stated that he hopes "to help save this great legacy while also reminding the public of the military significance of this land.” Once on the board, he regularly protested what he believed to be the museum's overemphasis on the facility's use as a Japanese American internment camp during World War II, an action he insisted was not motivated by racism but military necessity. He also did not get along with other board members, often writing them angry ALL CAPS emails about small things that greatly angered him; in turn, the rest of the board felt he could have lobbied the administration for additional funding far more intensively than he ever did, given his connections. On May 20, 2021 he was ordered to resign from the Board of Directors of The Presidio Trust or he would be fired by the end of the workday. The current website for the Presidio Trust Board of Directors no longer shows him as a board member.

On November 17, 2016, Savage was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. Savage describes this event as "The capstone of my career."

Criticism and controversies

In July 2005, former CBS reporter Bernard Goldberg ranked Savage as number 61 in his book 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America. Goldberg wrote that "Savage's brand of over-the-top bile ... puts him right in there with the angriest haters of the Left." David Klinghoffer, a National Review columnist, speculated that The Savage Nation "is an act, a put-on." Various progressive advocacy groups such as GLAAD and FAIR accuse Savage of racism, homophobia, transphobia, and Islamophobia because of his controversial statements about homosexuality, Islam, feminism, sex education, and immigration.

On April 17, 2006, Savage said on the topic of Muslims, "They say, 'Oh, there's a billion of them.' I said, 'So, kill 100 million of them, then there'll be 900 million of them.' I mean, would you rather die—would you rather us die than them?"  The remarks made by Savage were seriously criticized worldwide and was taken from an argument dealing with the possibility of a nuclear conflict in that region. This was repeated in the media after Savage was barred from entering the UK.

In the wake of the actor Robin Williams' suicide, Savage said that suicide is an "aggressive act" that shows no consideration for loved ones left behind. The assertion prompted criticism.

Controversial MSNBC exchange
Savage was hired by MSNBC to do a one-hour show which began in March 2003.  Controversy arose four months later over remarks made in response to a caller who insulted Savage's teeth. Savage responded by asking if the caller was a "sodomite", and when the caller replied that he was, Savage said:   "Oh, so you're one of those sodomites. You should only get AIDS and die, you pig; how's that? Why don't you see if you can sue me, you pig? You got nothing better to do than to put me down, you piece of garbage? You got nothing to do today? Go eat a sausage, and choke on it. Get trichinosis. Now do we have another nice caller here who's busy because he didn't have a nice night in the bathhouse who's angry at me today? Put another, put another sodomite on ... no more calls? ... I don't care about these bums; they mean nothing to me. They're all sausages."The interchange created a firestorm of protest including calls for his firing by the LGBT group GLAAD.  Savage apologized on his radio program and on his website. He explained that he believed that MSNBC had gone to commercial to cover the gaffe of the attempted sabotage by a prank caller and that he was off the air at the time of the offensive comments, despite the fact that clips of the segment show Savage going to commercial after he made the comments. He also said his remarks were meant only to insult the caller, not all people with AIDS.  Nevertheless, MSNBC fired him within days of the event.

Catholic Church and immigration
In March 2006, Savage criticised Roman Catholic assistance to illegal immigrants (in response to statements by Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles calling it "pastoral support"). Bill Donohue of the Catholic League canceled an appearance on the show, saying "what is not fine is Savage's diatribe about the 'greedy pigs' in the Catholic Church and how 'the institution is rotten from the top to the bottom.

C-SPAN broadcast of Talkers Award
When Talkers Magazine awarded Savage with the publication's annual "Freedom of Speech Award," C-SPAN opted not to broadcast a pre-recorded speech that had been sent by Savage. Although the award ceremony had received coverage in previous years, C-SPAN did not televise it due to its policy of televising such speeches only when delivered in person. Savage told his listeners to express their ire to C-SPAN through calls and e-mails to the organization.

Dispute with CAIR
In early November 2007, the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on radio listeners to contact companies that advertise on Savage's program to express their concerns about his comments concerning Muslims. Savage was quoted as saying Muslims "need deportation", and that adherents of Islam would do well to "take your religion and shove it up your behind" because "I'm sick of you." On his show and website, Savage answered by accusing CAIR of supporting Hamas.

On November 5, 2007, following a campaign by CAIR meant to get Savage off the air by alerting his sponsors to the nature of his comments, Citrix Systems, Inc. pulled its advertisements from his show.

Savage sued CAIR for copyright infringement for using excerpts from his show on CAIR's website. The suit alleged that CAIR's repackaging of Savage's comments was "deliberately designed to obscure the specific message conveyed by Michael Savage". The excerpts included Savage's characterization of the Qur'an as "a throwback document" and a "book of hate". CAIR called the suit "bizarre, sloppy and baseless". On July 25, 2008, United States district court Judge Susan Illston dismissed Savage's suit against CAIR, holding that the posting of the audio clip was protected under fair use. The court gave Savage the opportunity to file an amended complaint if he wanted to try to cure the defects in his suit. That amended complaint alleged that CAIR was a RICO conspirator in support of terror, including the 9/11 terror attack on the World Trade Center. Permission was granted to allow that filing but on August 14, 2008, however, Savage's lawyer, Daniel Horowitz, announced that Savage would not file an amended complaint and would drop the case. CAIR then sought attorneys fees against Savage, Judge Illston denied that request.

Autism
In July 2008, Savage said that the increasing rate of autism diagnoses was the result of "a racket" designed to get disability payments for "poorer families who have found a new way to be parasites on the government." He returned to the subject on his July 16, 2008, show with the following remarks:

In July 2008 the progressive pressure group Media Matters for America picketed the studios of WOR in New York, along with parents of autistic children. WOR issued a statement saying, "We regret any consternation that his remarks may have caused to our listeners." Also that day, the insurance company Aflac pulled its advertising, and the Supertalk Mississippi radio network dropped Savage's program, replacing it with The Dennis Miller Show. Later that evening, Savage devoted his entire three-hour program to the subject, taking calls from parents who took issue with his comments. On that show Savage stated that his remarks had been "ripped out of context" by "far left Stalinists" who want him off of the air. He appeared on Larry King Live with Glenn Beck as the substitute host for Larry King, and said that the real issue he was commenting on was the overdiagnosis of children due to pharmaceutical companies' drive to drug children for higher profits. On July 25, 2008, Autism United advocates gathered to announce that several advertisers, including RadioShack, Sears, The Home Depot, and DirectBuy, would discontinue their support for Savage's show.

Savage's syndicator, Talk Radio Network, responded by releasing a lengthy statement, along with a selection of 20 audio clips drawn from Savage's discussions of autism, to show that the comments were taken out of context.

Permanently banned from entering the United Kingdom
On May 5, 2009, it was announced by then-Home Secretary Jacqui Smith of the Labour party that Savage was on a list of people banned from entering the United Kingdom as he is "considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour by seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence". During his radio broadcast on that same day, Savage declared that he would sue Smith personally for defamation, calling her a "lunatic".

During a subsequent NPR talk show, Savage said that he has never advocated violence and repeatedly invoked the United States Constitution's First Amendment. After host Neal Conan pointed out that the U.S. Constitution does not apply to the United Kingdom, Savage replied, "No. Thank God I'm an American. But for this lunatic ... to link me up with Nazi skinheads who are killing people in Russia ... to put me in league with Hamas murderers who killed Jews on buses, is astonishing". Savage also called on his listeners to support him by canceling travel and business in Britain as well as by boycotting British-made goods, commenting, "If they want to play hardball, we'll play hardball." When a caller challenged Savage about his talk show rhetoric, Savage called him a "foaming lunatic ... someone in pajamas in a mental asylum ... You're nobody and I'm not going to talk to you!" At that point, Neal Conan invited him to leave.

Of the banning, the former Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, wrote:
"America still has a constitutional protection of free speech, and I have been amazed ... to see how few people in this country are willing to stick up for that elementary principle ... a country once famous for free speech is now hysterically and expensively sensitive to anything that could be taken as a slight." After Johnson became Prime Minister in 2019, Savage's attorney requested the ban be overturned, however no action has been taken by the Conservative government as of 2020. In The Guardian, Catherine Bennett wrote: "The ban on Savage is so far from being a comprehensible act, so staggeringly capricious and stupid, as to defy evaluation." Sam Leith wrote: "Barring this shock-jock from Britain risks turning a rabid blabbermouth into a beacon for free speech."

Veteran PTSD
On October 14, 2014, Savage criticized veteran sufferers of posttraumatic stress disorder, accusing them of "weakness". According to Savage, "Everyone has depression in their life. But if the whole nation is told, 'boo-hoo-hoo, come and get a medication, come and get treatment, talk about mental illness.' You know what you wind up with? You wind up with Obama in the White House and liars in every phase of the government. That's what you wind up with. It's a weak, sick, nation. A weak, sick, broken nation. And you need men like me to save the country. You need men to stand up and say stop crying like a baby over everything ... No wonder we're being laughed at around the world. No wonder ISIS can defeat our military."

Personal life
While in the South Pacific, he became fascinated with the 19th-century sailor Charles Savage, who was believed to have been the first man to bring firearms to Fiji. That fascination led to Weiner's name change to Savage.

Savage and his second wife, Janet, have two children, a daughter and a son; his son, Russell Weiner, is the founder of the company that produces the Rockstar energy drink. Russell's mother, Janet, served as CFO of his company until July 2009. In 1974, Savage and his family moved to Fairfax, California, after Savage completed his master's degree at the University of Hawaii. Savage has homes in Larkspur and Tiburon in Marin County, California, an apartment in San Francisco, as well as residences in Beverly Hills, California and West Palm Beach, Florida.

During the 1980s, Savage attended Friday night services at a Jewish Synagogue Chabad house in Berkeley. In a 2003 interview on The O'Reilly Factor, Savage has said that although he believes in God, he attends houses of worship only once or twice a year. In his 2012 book Trickle Down Tyranny, Savage wrote: "... I'm not religious. Do I believe in God? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't."
In his podcast aired 25 November 2020, Savage stated: "Trust in God. God leads my footsteps. God has determined that I will be on podcast come January. God determines a lot of things in our lives and you have to trust in God and just say its fate at a certain point. Now, I've always believed that we make our own fate. I've not been one of these leaves-in-a-stream type of personalities..."

In December 2019, Savage notably suffered a heart attack, but subsequently recovered and returned on air.

Savage has had many pet dogs throughout his life. His beloved toy poodle Teddy died in late 2021.

Books
In total, Savage has written 44 books, twenty under his real name of Michael Weiner, and twenty-four under the pseudonym of Michael Savage. As Michael Savage, his works include two #1 New York Times Best Sellers and three additional books which made The New York Times Best Seller list. have also been reprinted under his alias of Michael Savage.

His earlier books as Michael A. Weiner, Ph.D., draw on his doctoral expertise in the field of nutritional ethnomedicine. In them, he advocates nutritional, herbal, and homeopathic options to approach the prevention and treatment of diseases such as poor diet, aging, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, allergies, cocaine addiction, the common cold, and HIV/AIDS. He has also written about tree planting, beer-tasting, and nutritional cooking.

His more recent books as Michael Savage are political in nature and published by a variety of different companies. His recent works also include holiday family stories and thrillers.

In 1991, Savage self-published The Death of the White Male, an argument against affirmative action, through Quantum Books. In the book, Savage, calls affirmative action "reverse discrimination", and demonstrates his emerging philosophy. This eventually led to his starting the Paul Revere Society and he continues to sell the book to raise money for this group.

In January 2003, Savage published The Savage Nation: Saving America from the Liberal Assault on Our Borders, Language and Culture, his first major book under the pseudonym Michael Savage. The book directs attacks at "liberal media bias", the "dominating culture of 'she-ocracy'", gay activists, and liberals.

In January 2004, Savage published his second political book The Enemy Within: Saving America from the Liberal Assault on Our Schools, Faith, and Military. His next book, Liberalism Is a Mental Disorder, was released on April 12, 2005. Unlike The Savage Nation, both of these books cited sources for some of the more controversial claims made.

In April 2006, Savage released The Political Zoo. The book contains satirical profiles and cartoons of different public figures, most of whom are liberal political figures and celebrities, depicted in caricature as animals in the "Political Zoo", with Savage portrayed as the zoo keeper.

In October 2010, Savage released Trickle Up Poverty: Stopping Obama's Attack on Our Borders, Economy, and Security. Released through the HarperCollins imprint of William Morrow and Company, Savage argues in the book that "Americans are boiling mad over the way Congress and this Marxist/Leninist-oriented President are manipulating the current economic crisis to nationalize businesses."

In November 2010, it was confirmed that Savage had signed a deal to write two thrillers for publisher St. Martin's Press. The first political thriller, Abuse of Power, was released on September 13, 2011. The novel is based on "My fictionalized account of being banned from Britain and hunted by overbearing governments is set in the San Francisco only I know", said Savage. It is set in San Francisco, mainly in North Beach, as well as London, and Tel Aviv. It tells the story of a failed carjacking that reveals a government cover-up. A dark plot involving British officials and a terrorist group known as "the Hand of Allah". The publisher has described the novel by saying, "will make 9/11 look like child's play".

In 2014, Savage released Stop the Coming Civil War: My Savage Truth, in which Savage writes in part, "We are under assault from both inside and out as our government moves to consolidate its domestic power, while at the same time weakening our defenses against the growing power of our enemies."

In 2015, Savage released another a book titled Government Zero: No Borders, No Language, No Culture. In it he writes that the country has been left without the founding principles of his radio show, "borders, language and culture," and describes what he calls the destruction that the Presidency of Barack Obama brought to the country. He offers several solutions to rebuild the nation.

In 2016, Savage's book Scorched Earth: Restoring The Country After Obama. This work was a blueprint for how then candidate Donald Trump could help get the country back on the right track should he win the election.

In March 2017, Savage released what he said would be his last political book, Trump's War: His Battle For America. The book debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller List.

In November 2017, Savage released a non-political book on his search for spiritual truth, God, Faith, and Reason.

In October 2018, Savage published a book on American psychology, Stop Mass Hysteria: America's Insanity from the Salem Witch Trials to the Trump Witch Hunt.  In it he discusses what he calls the many "loud flashpoints" that he believes have engulfed American thought over the nation's history, and relates those phenomena to what he describes as a current obsession with Trump hatred.

In June 2019, Savage published a new book of stories and anecdotes entitled A Savage Life.

Bibliography

Literature as Michael A. Weiner
 Earth Medicine – Earth Foods: Plant Remedies, Drugs, and Natural Foods of the North American Indians, New York: Macmillan Publishers US, 1972, 
 Plant a Tree: A Working Guide to Regreening America, New York: Collier Books, 1975, 
 Bugs in the Peanut Butter: Dangers in Everyday Food, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1976, 
 Man's Useful Plants, New York: Macmillan Publishers US, 1976, 
 The Taster's Guide to Beer: Brews and Breweries of the World, New York: Macmillan Publishers US, 1977, 
 Weiner's Herbal: The Guide to Herb Medicine with Janet Weiner and Norman R. Farnsworth, New York: Stein and Day Publishers, 1980,  
 The Way of the Skeptical Nutritionist: A Strategy for Designing Your Own Nutritional Profile, New York: Macmillan Publishers US, 1981, 
 The Art of Feeding Children Well with Kathleen Goss, Warner Books, 1982, 
 Nutrition Against Aging, New York: Bantam Books, 1983, 
 Secrets of Fijian Medicine, San Rafael, Calif.: Quantum Books, 1983, 
 Vital Signs, San Diego: Avant Books, 1983, 
 Dr. Savage's High Fiber Counter, New York: Pinnacle Books, 1984, 
 Getting Off Cocaine, New York: Avon Publications, 1984, 
 The People's Herbal: A Family Guide to Herbal Home Remedies, Los Angeles: Putnam Publishing Group, 1984, 
 Maximum Immunity: How to Fortify Your Natural Defenses Against Cancer, AIDS, Arthritis, Allergies – Even the Common Cold – And Free Yourself from Unnecessary Worry for Life, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1986, 
 Reducing the Risk of Alzheimer's, New York: Stein and Day Publishers, 1987, republished under the name Michael Savage, Ph.D., 2007, 
 The Complete Book of Homeopathy: The Holistic & Natural Way to Good Health, Garden City Park, N.Y.: Avery Publishing, 1989, 
 The Herbal Bible: A Family Guide to Herbal Home Remedies, San Rafael, Calif.: Quantum Books, 1992, 
 Healing Children Naturally, San Rafael, Calif.: Quantum Books, 1993, republished under the name Michael Savage, Ph.D., 2007, 
 Herbs That Heal: Prescription for Herbal Healing, Mill Valley, Calif.: Quantum Books, 1994, 
 The Antioxidant Cookbook: A Nutritionist's Secret Strategy for Delicious and Healthy Eating, Mill Valley, Calif.: Quantum Books, 1995,

Literature as Michael Savage
 The Death of the White Male: The Case Against Affirmative Action, Mill Valley, Calif.: Quantum Books, 1991, 
 The Compassionate Conservative Speaks, San Rafael, Calif.: Quantum Books, 1995, 
 The Savage Nation: Saving America from the Liberal Assault on Our Borders, Language, and Culture, Nashville, Tenn: WND Books, 2002, 
 The Enemy Within: Saving America from the Liberal Assault on Our Churches, Schools, and Military, Nashville, Tenn: Nelson Current, 2003, 
 Liberalism Is a Mental Disorder: Savage Solutions, Nashville, Tenn: Nelson Current, 2005, 
 The Political Zoo, Nashville, Tenn: Nelson Current, 2006, 
 Psychological Nudity: Savage Radio Stories, San Francisco: Savage Productions, 2008, 
 Banned in Britain: Beating the Liberal Blacklist, New York: Plume, 2009, 
 Trickle Up Poverty: Stopping Obama's Attack on Our Borders, Economy, and Security, New York: William Morrow and Company, 2010, 
 Abuse of Power, New York: St. Martin's Press, 2011, 
 Trickle Down Tyranny, New York: William Morrow and Company, April 3, 2012, 
 Train Tracks: Family Stories of the Holidays, New York: HarperCollins, 2012, 
 A Time for War, New York: St. Martin's Press, 2013, 
 Stop the Coming Civil War: My Savage Truth, Center Street, 2014, 
 Countdown to Mecca, St. Martin's Press, 2015,  (hardcover)
 Government Zero: No Borders, No Language, No Culture, Hachette Book Group, Inc., 2015,  (hardcover)
 Diseases without Borders: Boosting Your Immunity Against Infectious Diseases from the Flu and Measles to Tuberculosis, Center StreetPublication., 2016,  (E-Book)
 Teddy and Me: Confessions of a Service Human, Center Street, 2016, 
 Scorched Earth: Restoring the Country after Obama, Center Street, 2016, 
 Trump's War: His Battle for America, Center Street, 2017, 
 God, Faith, and Reason, Center Street, 2017, 
 Xenon, Utopia Productions, 2018, 
 Stop Mass Hysteria: America's Insanity from the Salem Witch Trials to the Trump Witch Hunt, from the Red Scare to Russian Collusion, Center Street, 2018, 
 A Savage Life, HarperCollins, 2019,

References

External links

 
 
 
 
 

1942 births
Living people
Activists from New York (state)
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American agnostics
American anti–illegal immigration activists
American conservationists
American health and wellness writers
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American political activists
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Critics of multiculturalism
English-only movement
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"Live from the Grill-O-Mat" is the fifth episode of Series 2 of Monty Python's Flying Circus. This show aired 27 October 1970 and was recorded 10 September 1970. The episode featured sketches including "Blackmail", "Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things", "Accidents Sketch (Prawn Salad Ltd.)" and "The Butcher Who is Alternately Rude and Polite".

Introduction
The program begins with John Cleese (ostentatiously portraying himself) speaking "live" from a table at the Grill-O-Mat snack bar in Paignton; followed by the opening credits.  Serving as the official host for the entire episode, he provides a means by which to link the various sketches together.

"Blackmail"
This sketch features Michael Palin wearing a leopard-print jacket as the host of a television show which attempts to blackmail its viewers by showing pictures or film of them engaging in compromising acts of a sexual nature. The address to where the blackmailed viewers are to send their payments is "Behind The Hot Water Pipes, Third Washroom Along, Victoria Station".

"Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things"
In this sketch, Sir William (Graham Chapman), the President of the Royal Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things, tells about how their Staffordshire branch has not succeeded on putting one thing on top of another before Cutler (John Cleese) who is delegate of Staffordshire, tells him that the whole branch thinks the whole thing is a bit silly. After some objections, Sir William agrees and dissolves the society before going out for a pipe. As he does so, he finds himself on film and goes to another door to see film, and out a window. He informs the society of the predicament and after they did a round of checking it out, they decide to tunnel their way out as well as vaulting over a vaulting horse while two Germans (Ian Davidson and Terry Gilliam) mock them about their predicament before Cutler called out that he had just found another exit. The moment they got through, they are sent down a tunnel, into someone's digestive system.

"Current Affairs"
Mr. Praline (Cleese) and his roommate, Brooky (Idle), do a new half hour show on current affairs, but due to the show being too long, their scene has been cut, the floor manager (Terry Jones) tells them about this, but gives them an offer to appear in another sketch if they can find a piano stool. After accepting it, Praline hears something and placed his ear down into the floor to hear the Society of Putting Things on Top of Other Things travelling down a pipe.

This later followed an animation of the society entering a mech-like figure and as they manage to control it, they end up defeated by another one before Sir William is knocked into "The Last Supper", spilling an entire bottle of Chateau Latour before he is sent into a cloud where he reunites with the other members. Some people on another cloud tells them not to jump as the fire brigade, on a red cloud, are coming before they're shot down by a Nazi on a cloud-like jet as the members notice him coming back.

"Accidents Sketch (Prawn Salad Ltd.)"
Eric Idle plays an innocent-looking but seemingly accident-prone man who enters an establishment called 'Prawn Salad Ltd', and is blamed for setting off a series of catastrophic events. 

During the course of about a minute of sketch time, circumstantial evidence relentlessly piles up indicating that Idle's character breaks an expensive mirror, knocks over an ornate bookcase, fatally stabs the maid (Carol Cleveland), causes the handy man to fall out the window to his death, induces an investigating policeman into a fatal heart attack, collapses the roof in on the butler who was trying to help the policeman, and finally, causes the entire 'Prawn Salad Ltd' building to explode.

The running gag of the skit is that while everyone in the sketch is convinced of the Idle character's complicity, the viewer is perfectly aware of his innocence in the series of events.

"The Butcher Who is Alternately Rude and Polite"
Michael Palin plays a customer at a butcher's attempting to buy a chicken and some stuffing, but is confused by the butcher (Eric Idle) who is alternately rude ("Don't give me that posh talk you nasty stuck-up twit") and polite ("That's all right sir, call again.") Palin's character attempts to ignore the rude comments at first, but later confronts the proprietor about his behavior. The sketch ends after Idle's characters' last rude comment by going back to Cleese's narrator character at the eponymous Grill-O-Mat, who has appeared between most of the sketches as a method of linking the sketches.

The sketch is preceded by an animation of two identical United States Civil War generals, one of whom expresses his desire to "hunt piggy banks". The figures are actually photographs of U.S. military figure and Massachusetts governor Benjamin Franklin Butler.

See also 
 List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes

References

External links
The Accidents Sketch at Orange Cow

Monty Python Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American professional wrestler who performed for many promotions, including World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).

Rude wrestled from 1982 until his 1994 retirement due to injury, with a final match following in 1997. Among other accolades, he was a four time world champion, a three-time WCW International World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time WCWA World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, and a one-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion. Rude also challenged for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on pay-per-view cards, competing for the former in the main event of SummerSlam in 1990. Following his retirement, Rude managed multiple wrestlers.

In late 1997, Rude founded the D-Generation X stable alongside Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Chyna. On November 17 of that year, in the midst of the Monday Night Wars, he became the only person to appear on the WWF's Raw and WCW's Monday Nitro programs on the same night, as the former was pre-recorded and Rude had left for WCW in the interim. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017.

Early life 
Rude was born in St. Peter, Minnesota to Richard Clyde Rood and Sally Jean Thompson. He attended Robbinsdale High School in Robbinsdale, Minnesota with Tom Zenk, Brady Boone, Nikita Koloff, Curt Hennig, John Nord, and Barry Darsow, all of whom later became professional wrestlers. He was especially close with his childhood friend Curt Hennig.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1982–1984) 
After graduating from Anoka-Ramsey Community College with a degree in physical education, Rude worked as a bouncer for a short period of time and later did a small stint as an arm wrestler. It was at that point in time that he would be introduced into the world of professional wrestling. Rude trained as a wrestler under Eddie Sharkey, the same trainer responsible for training other wrestling stars like Bob Backlund, The Road Warriors, Sean Waltman, Austin Aries, and Erick Rowan. He began wrestling in 1982 as Ricky Rood, a babyface jobber. Rude lost his TV debut against Jos LeDuc on the November 6, 1982 episode of Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling. He started with Vancouver's NWA: All-Star Wrestling before moving on to compete for Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) and later the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association (CWA). Rude debuted on the May 28, 1983 episode of World Championship Wrestling, defeating Pat Rose with a dropkick. Gordon Solie interviewed Rude the following week, with Rude discussing transitioning from arm wrestling to pro wrestling and dropping weight to increase speed He returned to Memphis in 1984, this time as "Ravishing" Rick Rude, an overconfident, arrogant heel managed by Jimmy Hart. Rude feuded with Jerry Lawler and later his former partner, King Kong Bundy..  He later debuted in WCCW in a match against Kamala that he lost, and then went on to (NWA) affiliate Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) where he and a variety of tag team partners feuded with The Road Warriors.

Championship Wrestling from Florida (1984–1985) 
Rude was hired by Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) in December 1984, where he was managed by Percy Pringle. He defeated Pez Whatley for the NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship on January 16, 1985 and lost it to Brian Blair on April 10, 1985. He captured the championship again on July 20, 1985, when he defeated Mike Graham in the finals of a Southern title tournament. He held the belt until October 2 of that year when he dropped it to Wahoo McDaniel, who was booking Florida during this time. While teaming with Jesse Barr, he won the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship on April 16, 1985, and feuded with Billy Jack Haynes and Wahoo McDaniel over the belts, losing the straps to McDaniel and Haynes on July 9, 1985.

World Class Championship Wrestling (1985–1986) 
Debuting on October 18, 1985, Rude jumped to World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) along with Pringle, where he feuded with Kevin Von Erich and Chris Adams. During his time in WCCW, Rude captured the NWA American Heavyweight Championship on November 4, 1985. However, WCCW withdrew from the NWA on February 20, 1986, and changed its name to the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The NWA American Championship was renamed the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship while Rude was still holding the title. As a result, Rude became the promotion's first world champion. After losing the title to Chris Adams in July 1986, he fired Pringle and briefly replaced him with his sister, Raven. He formed a short-lived tag team with The Dingo Warrior, but the Warrior turned on him and became a face.

Jim Crockett Promotions (1986–1987) 
In September 1986, Rude returned to JCP and joined Manny Fernandez and his manager Paul Jones in their rivalry with Wahoo McDaniel. Rude and Fernandez, known collectively as the "Awesome Twosome", won the NWA World Tag Team Championship on December 6, 1986 from The Rock 'n' Roll Express, and they began a feud that ended only when Rude left the promotion for the World Wrestling Federation in April 1987. To explain the sudden departure, Jim Crockett, Jr. aired a pre-taped non-title match where the Express defeated Rude and Fernandez and claimed that Rude had been injured as a result.

World Wrestling Federation (1987−1990)

Debut (1987–1988) 
Rude made his World Wrestling Federation (WWF) debut on Superstars Of Wrestling on July 15, 1987 as the newest addition to the Bobby Heenan Family. His first feud in the WWF was with Heenan's former muscle bound charge "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff (who Heenan had dropped after Rude joined the Family), and then challenged Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship on January 9, 1988 in the Boston Garden before starting one of his most famous feuds with Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Rude had a routine where, before the match, he would make a show of removing his robe while insulting the males in the crowd (usually calling them "fat, out-of-shape sweathogs") from their hometowns and, after his victories, he would kiss a woman whom Heenan selected from the audience. One of Rude's trademarks was his specially airbrushed tights that he wore during matches. In the Roberts angle, Rude tried to get Roberts' real-life wife, Cheryl, to participate (though not knowing when Heenan chose her that she was in fact Roberts' wife). After Mrs. Roberts rejected him and revealed who she was there to see, Rude became angry (after she slapped him and according to Jake, busting his eardrum), grabbed her wrist, and berated her on the microphone when Roberts ran from the dressing room to make the save. To retaliate a few days later, Rude came to the ring with a likeness of Cheryl stenciled on the front of his tights. A furious Roberts charged the ring and stripped Rude, appearing to television viewers to leave him naked (as indicated by black-spot censoring Rude's genital area), although the live audience saw him actually stripped to a g-string.

Through mid-1988 Rude continued to wear a second pair of tights under the one he wore to the ring, including during his match against the Junkyard Dog at the inaugural SummerSlam at Madison Square Garden. During the match Rude had the JYD on his back and had climbed to the top turnbuckle. While up there he pulled down his tights to reveal a second with Cheryl Roberts printed on them. After hitting the Dog with a flying fist, he was attacked by Roberts who had seen the action from the dressing room. Roberts attack on Rude caused the JYD to be disqualified, giving Rude the win. Rude's feud with Roberts came to its conclusion when Roberts pinned Rude following a DDT during the 1988 Survivor Series.

Intercontinental Champion and departure (1989–1990) 
Rude's next big feud was with The Ultimate Warrior and began in January at the 1989 Royal Rumble pay-per-view in a "Super Posedown" that ended with Rude attacking Warrior with a metal pose bar. With help from Heenan, Rude won the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship from The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania V, before dropping it back to Warrior at SummerSlam that same year, due in large part to interference from "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Rude then feuded with Piper which led to a conflict between their respective teams at the 1989 Survivor Series in which both men brawled to a double count-out. Rude would go on to have many matches with Piper including inside a steel cage, losing the majority of them, before having a brief program against Jimmy Snuka getting a win over him at WrestleMania 6. Rude resumed his conflict with The Ultimate Warrior in the summer of 1990 after Warrior had won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Rude began rigorous training in preparation for the Warrior, and took a more serious approach by neglecting women and cutting his hair short (a style he would maintain for the rest of his career). The feud culminated in a steel cage at SummerSlam 1990; wherein, Rude was defeated by the Warrior. Next, he was scheduled to feud with Big Boss Man, which had its start when Rude's manager Bobby Heenan started to make degrading comments about Boss Man's mother. Rude would later backup the statements and call out the Boss Man. Rude was scheduled to be a part of a team called the Natural Disasters at the Survivor Series, consisting of Earthquake, Dino Bravo, and The Barbarian against Hulk Hogan and Boss Man's team, but was replaced by Haku after being suspended indefinitely by Jack Tunney. Tunney explained that Rude's comments towards the Boss Man were the reason for his suspension and that his manager Bobby Heenan was obligated to wrestle the Boss Man in his place. In reality Rude had a dispute with WWF owner Vince McMahon that led to him leaving the company.

Freelance (1991) 
After leaving the WWF, Rude attempted to join Herb Abram's UWF. Still under contract with the WWF, his former company sent a cease and desist order that prevented Rude from appearing on UWF television. He would not wrestle again until May 18, 1991, when he appeared at the TWA Spring Spectacular II event held by the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance in Philadelphia, PA. He faced Paul Orndorff and lost by disqualification. Two months later he joined All Japan Pro Wrestling for their Summer Action Series 1991, making his initial appearance on July 6, 1991 at a show in Yokosuka, Japan. In his first match on the tour, he teamed with Johnny Ace to defeat Billy Black and Joel Deaton. In singles matches Rude was undefeated, beating Isamu Teranishi and Akira Taue. His final appearance came on July 19, where he teamed with Johnny Ace in a losing effort to Dan Spivey and Stan Hansen. Rude also appeared in International World Class Championship Wrestling (IWCCW), where he had confrontations with The Honky Tonk Man.

World Championship Wrestling (1991−1994)

The Dangerous Alliance and United States Heavyweight Champion (1991–1993) 

After spending a year wrestling on select shows on the independent circuit, as well as a July 1991 tour for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Rude returned to WCW, which had originally been JCP prior to being sold to Ted Turner in late 1988; he returned under a mask as The WCW Phantom at Halloween Havoc on October 27, 1991, unmasking himself later that night. He led The Dangerous Alliance, consisting of himself, Paul E. Dangerously, Madusa, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Larry Zbyszko, and "Stunning" Steve Austin. On November 19, 1991, Rude defeated Sting for the United States Heavyweight Championship and engaged in a number of high-profile feuds, including one with Ricky Steamboat. At one point during their feud, Steamboat suffered a kayfabe broken nose in a gang attack.

In 1992, Rude and Madusa left The Dangerous Alliance and feuded with Nikita Koloff. Rude challenged reigning World Heavyweight Champion Ron Simmons on several occasions but failed to win the title. In December 1992, Rude suffered a legitimate neck injury and was forced to forfeit the United States Championship, thus ending his reign of nearly 14 months, a reign that still stands today as the second longest reign in the almost 40-year history of the title. Rude returned alone in April 1993 and tried to reclaim the title from Dustin Rhodes, who had won it while he was injured. The title was eventually held up after several controversial finishes to matches between the two. After a 30-minute Iron Man Match ended in a 1–1 draw at Beach Blast on July 18, a best-of-three series was set between the two on Saturday Night; Rude won the first match on August 28, but lost to Rhodes twice on September 4 and 11, losing his chance at regaining the United States Heavyweight Championship.

International World Heavyweight Champion and retirement (1993–1994) 
Rude switched his sights to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, making his intentions clear on August 28, 1993, when he was the guest on then-champion Ric Flair's "A Flair For the Gold" talk segment. Rude defeated Flair for the title in September 1993 at Fall Brawl. As WCW had recently withdrawn from the NWA, WCW lost the rights to continue using the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. WCW created their own championship, dubbing it the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship, which Rude lost to Hiroshi Hase on March 16, 1994 in Tokyo, Japan. Rude regained the title just eight days later in Kyoto, Japan. After dropping the title to Sting on April 17 at Spring Stampede, Rude pinned Sting on May 1 at Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka to become a three-time champion. Rude, however, injured his back during the match when, upon receiving a suicide dive at ringside, he landed on the corner of the raised platform surrounding the ring; unable to wrestle, he was stripped of the title (with the storyline excuse that he was found to have used the title belt as a weapon in the course of the match). Rude retired shortly thereafter.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1997) 
Rude collected on a Lloyd's of London insurance policy and did not appear in wrestling again until January 1997, when he joined Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as a masked man. Rude debuted at House Party, declaring that his New Year's resolution was to "fuck with the Franchise" (Shane Douglas). Rude went on to repeatedly harass Douglas, at one point spanking Douglas' valet Francine during Crossing the Line Again. He eventually unmasked and became a color commentator before later aligning himself, for a short time, with Douglas and his Triple Threat stable. In the main event of ECW Heat Wave 1997, Rude made a one-off return to the ring in a six-man tag team match, where he partnered with ECW mainstays Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman to face Jerry Lawler and ECW stars Rob Van Dam and Sabu, only to betray Dreamer and The Sandman. During the ECW versus USWA/WWF inter-company competition, Rude helped Lawler win matches against Dreamer and The Sandman.

Return to the WWF (1997) 

On August 11, 1997, Rude returned to the WWF as the "insurance policy" of the group that would become known as D-Generation X (DX) (Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Chyna). The D-Generation X name was first used on October 13, 1997. As a member of DX, Rude never wrestled, but stayed ringside during the group's matches. A few days after the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series, Rude once again left the WWF. According to Bret Hart, Rude stayed in the locker room during Bret's confrontation with Vince McMahon after the match in Montreal, and later called Eric Bischoff, informing Bischoff that what had happened was in fact real. Rude was not signed to a full-time contract with the WWF, and was instead performing on a "pay-per-appearance" basis, Rude was able to negotiate a deal with Bischoff and WCW, in large part due to his anger over the Montreal Screwjob.

Return to WCW (1997–1999) 

Rude appeared on both the WWF's Raw Is War and WCW's Monday Nitro in the same night on November 17, 1997. A mustached Rude appeared on Nitro, which was live, and proceeded to criticize Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels, DX, and the WWF, calling the company the "Titanic" (a reference to Titan Sports, as WWF's parent company was then known, as the "sinking ship"). An hour later on Raw Is War (which had been taped six days earlier), Rude then appeared with the full beard he had been sporting during his last few weeks in the WWF. Rude also appeared on ECW's Hardcore TV during that weekend (November 14–16 as the show was syndicated differently depending on the market). Rude was still making ECW appearances while he was in D-Generation X, as the WWF and ECW often co-operated in terms of talent.

In WCW, Rude became a member of the New World Order (nWo), managing his friend Curt Hennig. Thus, Rude became the first wrestler to be part of both DX and nWo. When the nWo split, Hennig and Rude initially sided with the nWo Wolfpac during May 1998. But their time with the "Red & Black" was very brief. At The Great American Bash, they turned on fellow Wolfpac member Konnan by attacking him after he lost to the then-undefeated Goldberg, resulting in Hennig and Rude both joining nWo Hollywood instead. By late 1998, both Rude and Hennig were off WCW television due to injuries. Hennig had an ongoing leg injury that year, and Rude was thought to have had testicular cancer which later turned out to be a spermatocele. Hennig returned to the nWo from his injury at Starrcade without Rude, who was still unable to appear and was not included in the nWo reunion that happened during January 1999. Rude officially left WCW in April 1999, with his last appearance coming on the April 4, 1999 edition of WCW Monday Nitro Backstage Blast.

Personal life
In 1976, Rood married his love interest, Cheryl Holler. The couple later divorced in 1982. Rood married his second wife Michelle in 1988, and the couple remained together until his death in 1999. They had three children together, Richard Jr., Merissa, and Colton. His younger son, Colton, died on September 3, 2016, in a motorcycle accident in Rome, Georgia, at the age of 19.

Bret Hart has stated that in spite of the "Ravishing One" persona, Rude was a devoted family man who never took his wedding ring off even during matches, but instead covered it up with tape.

Death 
Rude was found unconscious by his wife and died on the morning of April 20, 1999, at the age of 40 when he suffered heart failure. An autopsy report showed he died from an overdose of "mixed medications". At the time of his death, Rude was in training for a return to the ring. The effects of gamma-hydroxybutyrate, a narcolepsy prevention drug, may have contributed to his death.

Legacy 

Rude also was a noted arm wrestler, finishing sixth in the world championships in Las Vegas in the light heavyweight division in 1983.

On March 6, 2017, it was announced that Rick Rude would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat inducted Rude. Michelle, Merissa, and Richard Jr. accepted on his behalf.

Championships and accomplishments 
 Championship Wrestling from Florida
 NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (2 times)
 NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Florida version) (1 time) – with Jesse Barr
 Continental Wrestling Association
 NWA/AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 NWA/AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with King Kong Bundy
 Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling
 WCW International World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
 WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (1 time) – with Manny Fernandez
 Nintendo Top Ten Challenge Tournament (1992)
 Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1992)
 PWI ranked him No. 4 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1992
PWI ranked him No. 57 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
 World Class Championship Wrestling / World Class Wrestling Association
 NWA American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 WCWA Television Championship (1 time)
 WCWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 World Wrestling Federation / WWE
 WWF Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
 WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2017)
 20 Man Royal Rumble (March 16, 1988)
 Slammy Award (1 time)
 Jesse "The Body" Award (1987)
 Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 Best Heel (1992)
 Most Unimproved (1993)
 Worst Worked Match of the Year (1992) vs. Masahiro Chono at Halloween Havoc

See also
 List of premature professional wrestling deaths

References

Further reading

External links 

 
 
 

1958 births
1999 deaths
20th-century American male actors
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