Fascinating And Interesting Facts About Howard Stern
Howard Stern has been a relevant figure in the public eye for decades, which isn't all that typical in Hollywood. He's managed to make a career out of being both shocking and engaging. He knows what the people want, and he always delivers, whether that's in book form, on the radio, or on television.
Keep reading to find out some insane facts about this bushy haired radio personality. Did you know that he's into meditation now?
He's A Decorated Radio Host
Howard Stern has won numerous industry awards, including Billboard's Nationally Syndicated Air Personality of the Year eight consecutive times. He even became the first person to have the number one morning show in New York City and Los Angeles simultaneously.
To say this guy is an industry giant would be an understatement. I don't even know where radio would be right now if it weren't for Howard Stern's revolutionary ways.
He Ran For Governor Of New York
Howard Stern ran for Governor of New York in 1994, promising to limit road work to night hours. He eventually withdrew, but later that year, The Howard Stern Bill was signed into law which limited road construction in New York City and Long Island to night hours.
I honestly think it would be so cool if Stern actually was the governor of New York. At least he got that road work thing done.
He Once Saved A Man's Life Through The Radio
Howard Stern once saved a suicidal man's life live on the radio. A police officer was listening in to the show and responded to the conversation. The man was standing on George Washington bridge, so the police officer drove over there and helped to get him down.
Stern publicly thanked the police officer who saved his caller, as well as police officers all over the country. He said, "Any time the police need me I'm there."
He's Been Around The Radio Block
From 1976 to 1982, Stern developed his on-air personality through numerous morning positions at WRNW in Briarcliff Manor, New York, WCCC in Hartford, Connecticut, WWWW in Detroit, Michigan, and WWDC in Washington, D.C.
When he finally got his own show, you better believe that he was ready for it. All that experience can only be good for your career. I wonder how he felt about moving around so much, though.
Do It For The Cats
Howard Stern and his wife Beth spend much of their time and money saving cats. This couple owns a few homes, and there are cats in every single one of them. They've saved over 500 cats and kittens since 2013.
If you're used to Howard Stern's tough on-air persona, it might be hard to imagine him spending his time grooming and bottle feeding adorable kittens, but that's what he likes to do more than anything else.
He's An Accomplished Photographer
In recent years, Stern's photography has been featured in Hamptons and WHIRL magazines. He mostly takes pictures of his everyday life, his pets, and his wife, Beth.
Stern took up photography as a hobby, but it hasn't been the easiest thing for him to learn. He's found that the learning curve is pretty steep and he even told his fans, "don't start. Save yourself the time." That doesn't sound very encouraging.
King Of All Media
Howard Stern has described himself as the "King of All Media" since 1992 for his successes outside of radio. I mean, that's a pretty arrogant thing to say, but it's not like it's not true. This guy started on the radio, but now he's a judge on America's Got Talent.
He's also written books, been in movies, been on other people's podcasts... basically, if it's media related, he's done it.
He's Into Meditation
Howard Stern probably isn't the guy who you'd expect would be into transcendental meditation, but surprise, he said that this ritual completely changed his life.
On Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Stern told Jerry Seinfeld, "I got to interview the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi twice in my life and I brought my mother with me and she was in tears, she owes her life to him and people shouldn't think that it's a religion or anything like that. It's just like brushing your teeth, it's a technique and yet this technique changed her, from the inside out. She is a completely different human being, like reincarnated."
He Met Michael Jackson
Howard confessed that his first thought after hearing about Michael Jackson's death was that Michael wasn't the father of his children. He said, "I don't think they even used his sperm." He thought that Michael just wanted kids around.
He also spoke about a meeting he once had with Michael. He said, "it is so scary to see a man who's done what he's done to himself...he was like Frankenstein."
He Honored Bon Jovi
In April 2018, Stern inducted Bon Jovi into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was pretty upset about the way his speech was edited, though. There was nothing offensive in the speech at all. He spent time crafting a speech about his love for Bon Jovi and then HBO cut his speech for time.
They only cut out three minutes, but to Stern, those three minutes were important.
Beth Is His Second Wife
Stern met his first wife, Alison Berns, while he was studying at Boston University. He said that within a week of meeting her, he was sure that he wanted to marry her. They got married in 1978 when they were both 24 years old. They had three daughters together, and then decided to separate in 1999.
After the divorce, Stern dated a bit before meeting model and TV personality Beth Ostrosky. The couple got married in 2008.
He's A Pescetarian
Stern's animal advocacy doesn't stop at cats. Yes, he rescues abandoned kittens, but he also doesn't eat meat if he can help it. In 2012, he told The Examiner that he'd adopted a pescatarian lifestyle. That means he's a vegetarian, but he still eats fish and seafood.
Stern is also a supporter and fundraiser for North Shore Animal League America. Stern might be a bit grumpy around people, but he's very kind to the animals in his life.
He Has OCD
Howard Stern has struggled with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder for most of his life. Before he was willing to seek treatment for his condition, it made him impossible to be around. He told David Letterman,
"I've apologized to a lot of people. And I'll tell you why. I think I did a lot of growing up. And I do attribute this to psychotherapy. I was just a young man full of rage," Stern said. "Through psychotherapy, I started to fall in love with life a little bit. I started to appreciate what was good.
He's Had Plastic Surgery
As part of his radio show's Staff Revelations Game in January 2006, Stern revealed he underwent rhinoplasty and had liposuction under his chin in the 1990s. Stern started out on the radio, so initially, what he looked like didn't matter all that much.
When he started to appear on TV and in movies, he became more self-conscious about his appearance. I think his surgeon did a good job though. He still very much looks like himself.
He Has A Collection Of Tattoos
Stern has a whole bunch of tattoos including two on his hands. One is the letter B for his wife, Beth. The couple got tattoos instead of wedding rings when they got married. The other is the Om symbol -- a sacred symbol for a number of religions including Hinduism and Buddhism.
Stern said the Om is pretty much meaningless to him, but now that he's into transcendental meditation, it may have acquired some new meaning.
About Those Meaningless Tattoos...
Howard and Beth also have matching tattoos of their bulldog, Bianca. He admitted that many of his tattoos don't mean anything to him. He said he just picked them all pretty much at random, "like an idiot."
He got a Capricorn on his shoulder, which he almost instantly regretted and had covered up with a dragon. He later admitted, "I don't care about either one of them. It's an idiotic tattoo." He also has a Gaelic letter on the back of his neck. He doesn't know what it means and he doesn't care to because he can't see it anyway.
He Was Supposed To Be Fartman
Stern was supposed to star in a movie as Fartman, a superhero originating from a humor magazine. In 1992, he came to an agreement with New Line Cinema to release it. Unfortunately for everybody involved, the movie was canceled in 1993 due to a disagreement between Stern and New Line Cinema.
Fartman has evil, superpowered flatulence that he uses to fly through the air. He also wears a toilet seat necklace.
He Makes A Lot Of Money
In August, 2013, Stern, along with Simon Cowell, was named one of the top earners on the Forbes' list of America’s highest paid television personalities. He had earned $95 million between June 2012 and 2013.
I can only assume that his yearly earnings have gone up since then. Get all the liposuction and meaningless tattoos that you want, bro. What do you even do with all that money? Save a bunch of cats, I guess.
He's Really Good At Chess
Howard Stern started playing chess from an early age. He started playing online on Internet Chess Club. He has even taken lessons from the website's founder, Dan Heisman, a chess master. Stern has achieved a rating of 1600.
Stern is really serious about chess and about continually improving his chess score. I guess when you have hundreds of millions of dollars, you have a lot of time on your hands for tedious board games.
He's A New York Times Bestseller
In 1993, he wrote his first book Private Parts, which was co-authored with Larry Sloman. It was released on October 7, 1993, and sold 225,000 copies within the first hour of release. It stayed on top of The New York Times Best Seller list for nearly 20 weeks.
That's pretty impressive for 1993. That was before internet access was ubiquitous and celebrities were marketing their books to us at every online opportunity.
Private Parts: The Movie
After the wild success of Stern's book Private Parts, several production companies expressed a desire to turn it into a movie. Production began on a film adaptation of Private Parts in 1996. The process lasted over two years because Stern kept rejecting scripts.
Then producer Ivan Reitman got involved and Stern agreed to a script by Lee Blum and Michael Kalesniko. The movie came out on February 27, 1997, and the film made over $40 million at the box office.
He Mocked Selena's Death
Howard Stern is known for being something of a shock jock. He likes to say the most offensive things he can think of just to provoke people. One time, he took it a wee bit too far.
When Tejano artist Selena was killed in 1995, Howard Stern mocked her murder and mourners and criticized her music. He said, "This music does absolutely nothing for me... Spanish people have the worst taste in music. They have no depth." He then played her songs with gunshot noises in the background.
He's Always Been Indecent
Howard Stern alone has received $2.5 million in fines from the FCC (the Federal Communications Commission) for indecency. One fine of $600,000 was the single largest indecency penalty issued to any individual broadcaster in US history.
I think you know you've made it big when you receive a single fine that's larger than most peoples' yearly salaries. Maybe Stern should cut back on the swearing if he wants to keep his fortune.
He Knows Karate
Apparently, according to Howard Stern himself, Stern has earned a brown belt in Japanese Shotokan Karate. That might be why he gave that karate kid on America's Got Talent the golden buzzer. He knows how much strength, discipline, and perseverance go into the martial art.
Some of Howard's faithful listeners aren't buying it though. They think Stern is too sensitive to physical pain. He says he's done it though, so do with that what you will.
He's Really Tall
You can tell by looking at Howard Stern that he's a pretty tall guy. But do you know how tall? You can guess. I'll wait.
Howard Stern is actually six feet and five inches tall. Were you close? Is he taller than you thought? I mean, the guy is pretty lanky. His wife, Beth Stern, is also pretty tall. She's five foot eight, but she looks pretty small next to Howard's towering figure.
Beth And Howard's Meet Cute
Beth and Howard Stern met in 2000 at a friend's dinner party. Beth told Radio Andy, "in walks Howard Stern … There was one seat open, and it was right across from me. And he was just in the grumpiest mood. He was starving, so he just puts his head down, he starts eating."
As a joke, Beth got up from the table to imitate a woman who had been following Howard around all night. She continued, "So I walked over to Howard, and I, like, flipped my hair back, and I'm like, 'You've got the most beautiful eyes,' and he looked at me, and he goes, 'I do?' And he looked at me, and he did! And that was our moment. He looked at me, he looked through my soul, and I was like…I'm done, and he said that was his moment, too."
He Never Wanted To Get Married Again
After his first marriage failed, Stern vowed to never get married again. After dating Beth for seven years, Stern decided that it was time to pop the question. He got her a 5.2-carat ring as an early Valentine's day present.
The whole engagement story is a little bit more explicit (in true Howard Stern fashion), but I'll leave all of that up to your imagination. All you need to know is that she said yes.
He Had A Star-Studded Wedding
Howard Stern has interviewed a lot of celebrity guests over the years, and he's remained friends with quite a few of them. When he got married to Beth, the whole venue was full of famous faces.
A few of the guests you might recognize include Joan Rivers, Chevy Chase, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, John Stamos, and Barbara Walters. Billy Joel was there too and he even performed at the reception.
He Got Married For A Reason
Stern said that things changed between him and Beth after they got married.
"Everyone before was like, 'Oh, are you Howard Stern's blonde bimbo that hangs out with him?' But suddenly, when we were married, it was like, 'Oh, this is Howard's wife.' And that was important to me. Part of the reason I got married was that I wanted Beth to understand how important she is and also how equal I feel she is to me."
Stern Is A Total Romantic
You probably wouldn't guess it from his public persona, but Stern is a total softie at heart. In 2014, Beth told Access Hollywood, "Howard is so romantic. He writes love letters. He tells me every day I'm beautiful. He's the best kisser."
She added, "he has been doing watercolors and paintings lately, and I just cherish the ones he gives me. He has painted many roses for me. My walls are covered with Howard originals."
