Rush Limbaugh Biography, Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Facts, Wiki & More

Rush Limbaugh was a famed political commentator. By the time he was 8 years old, Limbaugh had set his sights on a career in radio. Though Limbaugh's family frowned upon his aspirations for a career in radio, they didn't completely ignore his passion for broadcasting. At the age of 9, Limbaugh received a Remco Caravelle, a toy radio that could transmit on AM frequencies up to 500 feet away.

 

Limbaugh landed his first radio job when he was in high school; using the pseudonym "Rusty Sharpe," he worked as a DJ for the local station KGMO (co-owned by his father). Following high school, Limbaugh briefly attended Southeast Missouri State University; he left the school in 1971, after one year of enrollment, to pursue a career in radio. In 1987, the Federal Communications Commission repealed a long-standing rule known as the Fairness Doctrine, which required both television and radio stations to air for an equal amount of time each side to a political argument. The repeal of the Fairness Doctrine ultimately paved the way for Limbaugh's now-distinct, politically conservative radio style to take shape. Not long after, the on-air host left KFBK for a position at the ABC Radio Network, bringing his newfound fame with him, as well as a reputation for having strong, right wing ideologies.

 

The Rush Limbaugh Show, nationally syndicated from New York City by ABC Radio, premiered on August 1, 1988. Known for its heavy political focus and sometimes extreme conservative slant, The Rush Limbaugh Show has been on the air for more than three decades, at one point becoming the highest-rated American talk radio program. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1993 and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1998. 

 

Additionally, he's a five-time winner of the National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Award for Excellence in Syndicated and Network Broadcasting. In February 2020, he announced that he is suffering from advanced lung cancer.