Bob Grant
Birth name	Robert Ciro Gigante
Born	March 14, 1929 (1929-03-14) (age 78) U.S.

Bob Grant (born Robert Ciro Gigante on March 14, 1929 is an American radio personality, who has broadcast mostly from New York City stations and who has been widely credited as a pioneer of the "angry" or "controversial" talk radio show format. [1] [2] If you hold the copyright to an image (e. ... is the 73rd day of the year (74th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... For other uses, see Talk Radio. ...

Career

Bob Grant graduated from the University of Illinois. He began working in radio in the 1940s at the news department at WBBM in Chicago, as a radio personality and television talk show host at KNX in Los Angeles, and as an actor. He later became sports director at KABC in Los Angeles, where after some substitute appearances he inherited the talk show of early controversialist Joe Pyne in 1964 and began to build a following. A Corner of Main Quad The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, or simply Illinois), is the oldest, largest, and most prestigious campus in the University of Illinois system. ... WBBM (AM), also known on-air as Newsradio 780, is an all-news radio station in Chicago, Illinois. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... KNX (1070 kHz) is an all-news radio station in Los Angeles, California. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... KABC 790 AM is a Los Angeles radio station, and a West Coast flagship station for the Citadel Broadcasting company. ... Joe Pyne (December 22, 1925- March 23, 1970) was a radio and television talk show host, who pioneered the confrontational style of hosting in which the host advocates a viewpoint and argues with guests and audience members. ...

Grant came to New York in 1970, where he hosted a talk show on WMCA as the "house conservative", distinctively out of fashion with both the times and with some countercultural WMCA personalities, including Alex Bennett. His offbeat but (to some endearingly) combative style (along with Fairness Doctrine requirements of the era) won him seven years on WMCA, with a growing and loyal audience. Year 1970 ([[Rf 1970 == January 1 - The Unix epoch begins at 00:00:00 UTC January 2 - The last studio performance of The Beatles oman numerals|MCMLXX]]) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... WMCA, 570 AM, is a radio station in New York City, most known for its Good Guys Top 40 era in the 1960s. ... In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. ... Alex Bennett is a leftist radio personality who hosts The Alex Bennett Program. ... The Fairness Doctrine was a United States FCC regulation requiring broadcast licensees to present controversial issues of public importance in a manner deemed by the FCC to be honest, equitable and balanced. ...

After leaving WMCA, Grant went up the dial to New York's WOR for a time, after which he worked at WWDB in Philadelphia. WOR-AM is a class A (nighttime clear channel), AM radio station located in New York, New York, USA, operating on 710kHz. ... WWDB, 860 AM, is a daytime-only radio station based in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania (in the Delaware Valley region near the city of Philadelphia. ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ...

After returning to New York in 1984 to join talk radio powerhouse WABC, The Bob Grant Show consistently dominated the ratings in the highly competitive afternoon drive time slot in New York City. Reminding listeners during the daily introduction that the "program was unscripted and unrehearsed", the gravelly-voiced Grant offered a mix of insight, opinion and controversy and historical fact. WABC (770 kHz), known as NewsTalkRadio 77, is a radio station in New York City. ... Connes nippian recapers sang terning faizing relist revisi. ...

Grant was known for on-air attacks on public officials including New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman and New York Governor Mario Cuomo. Critics charged that Grant was an inflammatory racist, pointing out Grant's statements (in disputed contexts) describing African Americans "savages" and former New York Mayor David Dinkins as "the men's room attendant at the 21 Club." (This appellation was made while Grant was reading the New York Post on-air and saw a picture of a white dinner jacket clad Dinkins at a summer soiree on the gossip-oriented Page Six; Grant was famous for sharing his immediate first impressions over the airwaves). Grant was occasionally admonished or suspended for short periods by station management, typically with a bluster of controversial, but possibly welcome, publicity. This article is about the U.S. state. ... Christine Todd Christie Whitman (born September 26, 1946) is an American Republican politician and author, who served as the 50th Governor of New Jersey and was the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration of President George W. Bush. ... This article is about the state. ... Mario Matthew Cuomo (born June 15, 1932) served as the Governor of New York from 1983 to 1995. ... African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or black Americans, are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan and West Africa. ... David Norman Dinkins (born July 10, 1927 in Trenton, New Jersey) was the Mayor of New York City from 1990 through 1993, being the first and to date only African American to hold that office. ... The 21 Club is a restaurant and former prohibition-era speakeasy, located at 21 West 52nd Street in New York City. ... The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and the oldest to have been published continually as a daily. ...

Grant's political philosophy generally followed American conservatism, but with some lurches into populism, libertarianism, conspiracy theory, and unorthodoxy (such as being pro-choice and anti-Flag Desecration Amendment). As a resident of Manalapan, New Jersey in the mid-1990s, he considered running for statewide office, but eventually decided against it. American conservatism is a constellation of political ideologies within the United States under the blanket heading of conservative. ... For other uses, see Libertarianism (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Conspiracy theory (disambiguation). ... Issues of discussion Pro-choice describes the political and ethical view that a woman should have complete control over her fertility and pregnancy. ... The Flag Desecration Amendment, often referred to as the flag burning amendment, is a controversial proposed constitutional amendment to the United States Constitution that would allow the United States Congress to statutorily prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States. ... Manalapan Township is a township located in Monmouth County, New Jersey. ...

Grant's long stay at WABC ended when he was fired for a remark about the April 3, 1996 airplane crash involving Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. Grant remarked to caller Carl Limbacher, "My hunch is [Brown] is the one survivor. I just have that hunch. Maybe it's because at heart I'm a pessimist." When Brown was found dead, many regarded Grant's comments as insensitive and his contract was terminated.[3] is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Capt. ... The office of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the mid-20th century. ... Ronald Harmon Brown (August 1, 1941 – April 3, 1996), was the United States Secretary of Commerce, serving during the first term of President Bill Clinton. ...

After being fired, Grant moved down the dial to WOR to host the same type of show in the same time slot, where he would occasionally criticize his WABC replacement Sean Hannity. On October 10, 2003, Grant's colleague Rush Limbaugh admitted on air to being addicted to painkillers. On that same day, Grant defended Limbaugh against the media scrutiny he was facing. In the late 1990s his show went into national syndication, in the manner of Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh and other successful talkers, but few stations picked it up and it reverted to a local show. After being number one in the ratings in his former time slot at WABC, he was now regularly bested by Hannity <needs source>. WOR-AM is a class A (nighttime clear channel), AM radio station located in New York, New York, USA, operating on 710kHz. ... Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961, in New York City, New York) is an Irish American, conservative talk radio host (The Sean Hannity Show), co-host of Fox News Channels program Hannity & Colmes, host of the Fox News weekend program Hannitys America, and author of two books. ... This article is a biography of Howard Stern as an individual; for information regarding his radio show see The Howard Stern Show. ... For other uses, see Limbaugh. ...

Grant's WOR run ended on January 13, 2006. Grant's ratings were not to blame for his departure, according to the New York Post, which mentioned that the decision was reached because the station's other shows had niche audiences to garner more advertising dollars [4]. January 13 is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and the oldest to have been published continually as a daily. ...

Having left his options open for "an offer he cannot refuse," Bob Grant returned to WOR in February 2006 doing one minute "Straight Ahead" commentaries, airing twice daily after news broadcasts until September 2006. Grant then made various isolated radio appearances. He appeared as a guest host on WFNY (now WXRK) in December, 2006. Grant appeared a couple of times on Sean Hannity's show on WABC.[5][6] WXRK (92. ... Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961, in New York City, New York) is an Irish American, conservative talk radio host (The Sean Hannity Show), co-host of Fox News Channels program Hannity & Colmes, host of the Fox News weekend program Hannitys America, and author of two books. ...

His guest appearances became more frequent beginning in July 2007. On July 7, 2007 he guest hosted for John R. Gambling, and appeared on Mark Levin's show (which is flagshipped from WABC) on July 10. Grant, guest hosted for Jerry Agar on July 9, 10, 11 and re-appeared as a fill-in host again for John Gambling on August 20 and 21. Then, on August 22, while appearing on Hannity's show, he unexpectedly announced that he was returning as a regular host to WABC, in the 8-10 PM slot that at the time was filled by Agar. It would later be revealed, on what was Agar's final show a few hours later, that he would be starting effective immediately, as Grant took over the final segments of the show. His first full show on ABC since 1996 was on Thursday, August 23. The story of Grant's return, as reported by the New York Daily News, had been discovered only a couple of hours before Grant's official announcement. John R. Gambling is the son of John A. Gambling and the grandson of John B. Gambling. ... Mark Reed Levin (b. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Characteristics of Grant's radio shows

Grant was known for using a number of catchphrases on his show, such as "You're a fake, a phony, and a fraud!", "Straight ahead", "Get off my phone!", and his closing line, "Your influence counts ... use it!" His opening line was used as the title of his 1996 book, Let's Be Heard, a title representing an abbreviated version of his original opener, "And let's be heard! Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen, and welcome to another hour of the free and open exchange of ideas and opinions in the belief that as American citizens you have the right to hear, and to be heard." Before his daily monologue, Grant would ask the rhetorical question, "And what's on your mind today, hmmm?", and would sometimes call women "chickie-poos". During his WMCA years, Grant often ended his show with a blustery "Get Khadafi." On the WOR show, Grant often closed his show with the phrase, "Someone's got to say these things, it has to be me!" A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ...

Grant was known for assigning derogatory names to public officials he disliked, such as Jim "Flim-Flam" Florio, Frank "Lousenberg," Liz "Hatchet-Face, the Face-That-Could-Stop-a-Runaway-Train" Holzmann, Jimmy "I'll-Never-Lie-To-You" Carter, Dave "The men's room attendant-at-the-21-Club" Dinkins, Ted "The Swimmer" Kennedy, Al "Sharpie" Sharpton, and "Jessie Jerkson (or "Jessie Jackal")". During the infamous Tawana Brawley case, Grant referred to Brawley's advisors Alton Maddux, C. Vernon Mason, and Al Sharpton as "Moe, Larry, and Fatso." As an Italian American, Grant also used several Italian quasi-obscene phrases for those he disliked, such as calling Mario Cuomo "the Sfachim" or "il Supremo". It is quite a credit to his powerful influence that both Florio and Cuomo cited Grant's merciless attacks as being instrumental in costing them gubernatorial reelections. During the 1988 presidential campaign, he referred to Democractic candidate Michael Dukakis as "Du-cagasotto" (an Italian obscenity meaning a fearful or timid person). An Italian-American is an American of Italian descent either born in America or someone who has immigrated. ... Mario Matthew Cuomo (born June 15, 1932) served as the Governor of New York from 1983 to 1995. ...

About society, he would remark "It's sick out there, and getting sicker," he would intone, or "We are sliding down a slippery slope, and there's no climbing back up." Callers he disliked were not spared either, as Grant would sometimes invite them to his studio, remarking, "...so I could punch your dumb nose right down your dumb throat!" He would dryly suggest to others, "Why don't you go gargle with a cup of razor blades?"

A typical exchange with a caller: Grant: "Where are you from, Pal?" Caller:"Brooklyn, Bob," in a heavy accent. Grant: "No, I mean before you came to my country. Where were you born?" Caller:"I was born here in Brooklyn, Bob," accent just as pronounced. Grant: "Yeah, right, get off my phone, you creep!"

Also:

Grant: "Say, do you know what time it is?" Caller: "It's about 3:30." Grant: "I just wanted to make sure you were going to have enough time to go downtown to pick up your welfare check. Get off my phone!"

One of Grant's quirks is that he often despised small talk, such as being asked how he was.

Caller: "Hi, how are you, Bob?" Grant: (agitated) "So what's on your MIND?"

Listeners tuned into the show not only to hear Grant, but to hear unique callers that Grant would attract: Carl from Oyster Bay (who emerged from the radio audience to become Carl Limbacher of NewsMax), John of Staten Island, George the Atheist, Cheryl of Spotswood, Jimmy of Brooklyn, Alex of White Plains, Sal from Queens, Dorothy of Montclair, David of Irvington (and later of Newark), Eugene of Albany, Steve of Manhattan, Bernie of the Bronx, Michael of Manhattan, Hilly of Jamaica, and Tom in the Bronx. Most renowned of all was "Vintage" Frank of Queens, whom some have labelled the "greatest caller ever in talk radio" - his quick, splenetic screeds were typified by remarks such as, "Did you see the picture of those two quasi-humanoid mutants they arrested down there, Bob Grant? That's 450 pounds of food stamps for ya!" [7] NewsMax. ...

One of Bob Grant's most memorable regular call-in guests was Ms. Trivia, who aired her "Beef of the Week", a series of seemingly trivial complaints, such as her objection to stale gum in baseball card packets, the exaltation of the lowly mouse in popular cartoon culture (Micky Mouse, Mighty Mouse) at the expense of portraying felines in a discriminatory manner (Felix, the trickster, Sylvester, the loser cat with a lisp, etc.) Ms. Trivia's complaints were expressed intelligently, with a seriousness and her characteristic deep tone which provided comic relief for the controverisal talk show. She later insisted that she be called "Mm. Trivia" rather than "Ms. Trivia" in support of doing away with titles that differentiated men from women (such as Miss, Ms. or Mister). Grant referred to Mm. Trivia as the most popular personage on WMCA radio, yet wasn't even on the payroll. Ms. Trivia was Bob Grant's guest at a Halloween Festival dinner held at Lauritano's Restaurant in the Bronx, New York, where a young Ms. Trivia, not long out of her teens, revealed herself for the first time to a startled radio audience, many who had expected and assumed, based upon her articulation and intonation, that she would be an elderly, prudish woman. Instead, a statuesque and fashionable Ms. Trivia, wearing an elaborate Victorian costume, was the surprise guest seated next to Grant at the dias table along with several political figures from New York. The following day the majority of calls to the show were for the purpose of obtaining information about the mysterious Mm. Trivia, with Grant in his typical manner finally in exasperation hanging up on the callers, shouting, "THIS IS NOT Mm. TRIVIA'S SHOW!"

Grant occasionally made on-air reference to an ethereal Beatrice-like presence à la Dante's Paradiso section in The Divine Comedy, "The Lady Josephine", to whom he constantly paid fawning obeisance. Never did he refer to her as his "wife" or "girlfriend". Listeners were mystified as to his relationship with her. Were (are) the two married? Cohabiting? Grant was never specific. His son, Jeff Grant, a traffic reporter with a different station, would call in occasionally. Grant made frequent references to the REO Diner in Woodbridge, New Jersey, his regular haunt. Although the details surrounding the life of Beatrice Portinari, pronounced bay-a-treech-eh, (1266-1290) are subject to much dispute, there is little doubt she was a major influence in Dante Alighieris life, influencing particularly his works of La Vita Nuova and La Divina Commedia. ... Dante in a fresco series of famous men by Andrea del Castagno, ca. ... For other uses see The Divine Comedy (disambiguation), Dantes Inferno (disambiguation), and The Inferno (disambiguation) Dante shown holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, with the spheres of Heaven above, in Michelino... For other uses see The Divine Comedy (disambiguation), Dantes Inferno (disambiguation), and The Inferno (disambiguation) Dante shown holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, with the spheres of Heaven above, in Michelino... Woodbridge Township is a township located in Middlesex County, New Jersey. ...

When once asked by the caller George the Atheist whether he believed in God, Grant replied, "What if I tell you, George, that sometimes I do and sometimes I don't?" The issue was never pursued. On his July 21, 2005 broadcast, Grant, a baptized and raised Roman Catholic, unequivocally stated to the same caller his opinion on the Second Coming of Jesus: "He's not coming back. Look, I don't believe he's coming back. I think that's a myth and I say it. I don't trumpet it but if a person asks - and you know one thing for sure, I've been deadly honest, dead-on honest all the time I've been on the air talking to people and they ask me questions or they make a comment that elicits a response, they are going to get an honest response. It may always not be 'correct' but it's honest". For longtime listeners, this candid theological exchange was among the more memorable of Grant's entire career — a career known mostly for candor, frankness and heated passion over issues political and social, not theological. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... For other uses, see Second Coming (disambiguation). ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ...

Influence and legacy

Over the years, New York radio talk personality Howard Stern has often cited Grant as an early influence, although Stern has frequently criticized him for changing his act to appease management. Grant has related being at a public appearance by Ben Stern, his teenage son Howard in tow. Ben told Grant of Howard's desire to go into radio. "I looked at this big, gawky kid and I said to him, 'Just be yourself,'" Grant recalled. Soon after Grant's firing from WABC, and before his first WOR show, Grant was a guest caller on Stern's radio show. This article is a biography of Howard Stern as an individual; for information regarding his radio show see The Howard Stern Show. ...

Glenn Beck now uses the catchphrase "Get off my phone!" as a homage to Grant, as do Tom Scharpling and Mark Levin; similarly, Sean Hannity sometimes uses Grant's phrase "Straight ahead." Levin has also picked up Grant's tradition of nasty-naming public officials. Grant's general angry-to-resigned-to-humorous tone changes and idiosyncratic political beliefs has obviously influenced New York bred commentator Michael Savage. Glenn Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative talk-radio and television host. ... Tom Scharpling is the host of The Best Show on WFMU, a 3-hour comedy, music and talk radio program which airs every Tuesday night on New Jersey freeform radio station, WFMU. He is also a supervising producer and writer for the television series Monk, on the USA Network, as... Mark Reed Levin (b. ... Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961, in New York City, New York) is an Irish American, conservative talk radio host (The Sean Hannity Show), co-host of Fox News Channels program Hannity & Colmes, host of the Fox News weekend program Hannitys America, and author of two books. ... Michael Savage is the pseudonym of Michael Alan Weiner (born March 31, 1942), a controversial[1] American conservative talk radio host, author, and political pundit. ...

In 2002, industry magazine Talkers ranked Grant as the 16th greatest radio talk show host of all time. [8] Talkers magazine is a trade industry publication related to talk radio in the United States. ...

On March 28th, 2007 Bob Grant was nominated for induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame. [9] The National Radio Hall of Fame and Museum, an offshoot of the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago, Illinois, recognizes and showcases those who have contributed to the development of the medium throughout its history in the United States. ...

References

• Colford, Paul D. (1997). Howard Stern: King of All Media. ISBN 0312962215. 
• Grant, Bob (1996). Let's Be Heard. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 0671537210. 

External links

• Bob Grant's Web Page
• WABC 770AM bio & links - WABC Personality Page
• Grant's Return to WABC - New York Daily News article, August 22, 2007
• Bob Grant Entry - About.com
• WOR 710AM bio - archive entry from WebArchive.org
• FAIR page on Bob Grant - from Fair.org
• FAIR archive of Grant quotes - from Fair.org
• Bob Grant Group on myspace myspace.com