Gregg Hughes

Gregg Hughes
Born (1963-05-23) May 23, 1963
Centerport, New York, U.S.
Alma mater State University of New York at Geneseo
Show The Opie Radio Show (2016–present)
Previous show(s) Opie and Anthony (1995–2014)
Opie with Jim Norton (2014–16)
Spouse(s) Lynsi Smigo (m. 2008)
Children 2
Website http://www.opieradio.com

Gregg Hughes (born May 23, 1963), better known as his air name Opie, is an American radio personality best known as the former co-host of the Opie and Anthony radio show that aired from 1995 to 2014 with Anthony Cumia and comedian Jim Norton. From 2014 to 2016, Hughes and Norton stayed at SiriusXM as co-hosts of Opie with Jim Norton. In October 2016, Hughes became the host of his own show, The Opie Radio Show.

Early life

Hughes was born on May 23, 1963, and was raised in Centerport, New York on Long Island with a mother who he described as "pretty strict". He gained the nickname "Opie" because of his childhood resemblance to Opie Taylor, a fictional character from The Andy Griffith Show portrayed by Ron Howard.[1][2] Hughes graduated from State University of New York at Geneseo with a degree in communications.[3] He developed a taste for radio during his time at the university, working air shifts at the college radio station.[1]

Career

Early career

Following his graduation from university, Hughes landed a job in the promotions department at WCMF in Rochester, New York, but soon moved to work on the station's morning show, then hosted by Brother Wease. Hughes credits Wease as a mentor in developing his air personality and furthering his career.[1] Hughes left WCMF to work the midnight to 6:00 a.m. shift at WUFX in Buffalo, New York. As the station was unsupervised during his shift, Hughes was able to develop his style further by performing more outrageous bits, like broadcasting from the roof of the station's building and interviewing passers by on the street.[1]

Hughes' next job was at WBAB on Long Island as the host of The Nighttime Attitude, a rock music show from 8:00 p.m.to midnight. In August 1994, Hughes held an O.J. Simpson song parody contest for listeners surrounding the outcome of Simpson's murder case. One of the participants was from a local group named Rotgut that featured Anthony Cumia as lead singer with his brother Joe. The two performed "Gonna Electric Shock O.J." sung to the tune of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding.[4] The song became a hit on Hughes' show, and the two made their first appearance in September 1994 to perform the song live.[5] Cumia made several more appearances soon after; in early 1995, he and Hughes decided to become radio team.

Opie and Anthony

Main article: Opie and Anthony

After Hughes produced an air check and had sent it to several radio stations, he and Cumia accepted an offer from WAAF in Boston, Massachusetts to host afternoons. The show launched as Opie and Anthony on March 13, 1995.[6] They remained in Boston until they were fired in April 1998 from WAAF for an April Fool's Day prank involving Mayor Thomas Menino. Opie and Anthony told their listeners that the Mayor had been killed in a car accident while transporting a young female Haitian prostitute.[7]

In June 1998, Opie along with Anthony were back on New York station WNEW-FM, where they became a top 10 afternoon drive show in New York by 2000.[8] In 1999, Opie considered leaving the show, how Anthony convinced him to stay, and bring Jim Norton on full-time, as a go between for their off air troubles.[9] Anthony attributed these issues to his divorce and off air personal troubles.[10]

In 2001, Opie and Anthony signed a syndication deal with Infinity to syndicate their show on 22 stations nationwide, including WBCN in Boston, longtime rival of WAAF.

On August 15, 2002, during "Sex for Sam 3", comedian Paul Mecurio encouraged Brian Florence and Loretta Harper, a Virginia couple visiting Manhattan, to have simulated sex in a vestibule at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Intense media scrutiny led to many demanding that Opie and Anthony be fired. Opie and Anthony broadcast the next day, but the show went into reruns the following week. On August 22, Infinity suspended Opie and Anthony for the duration of their contract, and canceled the show.

Opie and Anthony returned to the air on October 4, 2004 exclusively for XM Satellite Radio.

On April 24, 2006, Opie and Anthony announced that they signed a deal with CBS Radio in which the first three hours of the show would be broadcast on nine of CBS's rock stations, the first official show airing April 26.[11]

On May 15, 2007, XM suspended Opie & Anthony for 30 days, in response to a broadcast featuring a homeless man who wandered into the studio. Opie and Anthony dubbed the man "Homeless Charlie", who mentioned the possibility of raping Condoleezza Rice and Laura Bush.[12] After the suspension they returned to their normal split schedule.

On March 9, 2009, Opie & Anthony were heard on FM for the last time, and spent much of the time discussing the impending format change, and how their services were "no longer needed" at the station. Their executive producer for the FM portion, Michael "Stuntbrain" Opelka, was fired the following day. Following their removal from FM, they returned to being exclusively heard on Sirius XM until Anthony's firing in July 2014.

Opie with Jim Norton

Main article: Opie with Jim Norton

On July 3, 2014, Cumia was fired by SiriusXM, after making a series of tweets following an alleged off-air incident with a black woman on the street. Cumia tweeted that he was punched by the woman while attempting to take a picture in Times Square. The tweets were described by Sirius XM as "racially-charged and hate-filled".[13]

At the time of Cumia's firing SiriusXM made no comment as to Hughes' possible future with the company at that time. Cumia gave his blessing for the Sirius XM show to continue without him, acknowledging Hughes and Norton's obligation to fulfill their contract with SiriusXM.[14] A relaunched Opie with Jim Norton Show resumed on July 14, 2014 with Hughes and Norton discussing the incident and noting that "The Opie and Anthony Channel" was renamed "Sirius XM Talk", along with various other alterations by the company in light of the firing.[15] In October 2014, Hughes and Norton signed a new contract to continue the SiriusXM show,[16] which appears on the rebranded Opie Radio Channel.

The Opie Radio Show

On October 3, 2016, Hughes announced his new weekday afternoon show on Opie Radio 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Hughes was not happy with the move as he felt "blindsided" by Norton's decision to host the channel's morning program with Sam Roberts. He claimed he was uninformed with the news until the week previous, which is why he felt "so mad".[17] On October 4, 2016, Hughes became the host of a new weekday afternoon show, The Opie Radio Show.[18] During his first show Hughes spoke to Cumia on the air, the first time the pair had talked to each other in over two years.[19]

Other ventures

XFL Gameday

O&A hosted the short-lived XFL Gameday – the pregame show for Vince McMahon's startup football league – for four weeks in February 2001. The half-hour show aired nationally on Saturday nights on select NBC affiliates prior to the evening's games. The show was taped on Wednesdays at the WWF's theme restaurant in Times Square, and was open to the public. It featured analysis by WNBC sportscaster Bruce Beck and New York/New Jersey Hitmen head coach Rusty Tillman, but also featured plenty of raunch. One particular segment featured Opie and Anthony as chefs, inserting a cucumber in between two melons. Opie and Anthony were almost banned from Giants Stadium for life during the filming of one episode when they imitated a proposed XFL rule where first possession was determined by placing the ball at midfield and having two opposing team-members attempt to get it. Opie and Anthony did this as "God Bless America" began to play before a game.[20] They said that the $100,000 cost of making each new show was the cause of its demise, though no official reason was given for its cancellation.

Demented World

Main article: Demented World

Opie, along with Anthony released a compilation of segments from their show that aired on WAAF on a CD entitled Demented World in November 1997.[21]

Opie and Anthony Traveling Virus

The Traveling Virus is a comedy tour headlined by Opie and Anthony, as well as friends of the show, that had shows in various cities during 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Search and Destroy

On the morning of March 26, 2008, Opie & Anthony revealed they had taped a pilot for Comedy Central. The show was titled Search & Destroy and features teams of comedians performing various tasks throughout New York City.[22] Opie and Anthony believe that it may have been too graphic even for cable television.[22] Although Opie and Anthony considered the pilot a success, Comedy Central did not pick the show up.

Personal life

In 2004, Hughes began to date Lynsi Smigo.[23] The two met during an event in Philadelphia to promote the return of Opie and Anthony on XM. On September 5, 2007, Hughes announced their engagement; the two married on November 22, 2008. They have two children.[24] In 2008, the couple sued news reporter Chaunce Hayden for $10 million who claimed to possess a sex tape of Smigo and Jackass star Bam Margera.[25] On March 16, 2010, the lawsuit was dismissed as the judge claimed that the original news story was newsworthy. Thus, whether the sex tape exists or not remains unclear.[26] The family live in New York City.[27]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Spiegelman, Ian (August 20, 2001). "Gross Prophets". New York Magazine.
  2. ↑ "Rock Radio Scrapbook: Rochester, N.Y., lineups".
  3. ↑ cityfile. "Gregg "Opie" Hughes".
  4. ↑ "Untitled Document".
  5. ↑ "Opie and Anthony celebrate twenty years in radio with a live SiriusXM Unmasked from Carolines in NYC". 23 April 2014.
  6. ↑ "Unofficial Opie and Anthony Audio Archive".
  7. ↑ "FCC hoax policy". 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  8. ↑ "Opie & Anthony Return To CBS Radio Beginning Wednesday, April 26". CBS Radio. 2006-04-24. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  9. ↑ February 17, 2015, Opie stated during Larry King interview
  10. ↑ The Anthony Cumia Show, Episode 109, ~9:00 marker
  11. ↑ Opie & Anthony are in. NY Daily News. April 22, 2006
  12. ↑ "XM Radio Suspends Opie & Anthony". XM Satellite Radio. 2007-05-15. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  13. ↑ Todd Leopold, Opie & Anthony's' Anthony Cumia fired over tweets CNN, July 4, 2014.
  14. ↑ Anthony Cumia confirms he'll launch new Internet-based show from his home after SiriusXM firing. New York Daily News. Retrieved on July 9, 2014.
  15. ↑ 'Opie & Anthony' Co-Host: 'I Absolutely Do Not Believe That Anthony Should've Been Fired'. Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on July 14, 2014.
  16. ↑ Gregg 'Opie' Hughes and new partner Jim Norton sign deal to maintain morning radio show on SiriusXM. New York Daily News. Retrieved on October 6, 2014.
  17. ↑ http://pagesix.com/2016/10/03/radio-host-blindsided-by-new-afternoon-time-slot/
  18. ↑ http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/celebrities/gregg-opie-hughes-anthony-cumia-reunite-on-air-after-2-years-1.12410672
  19. ↑ Opie and Anthony reunite on air
  20. ↑ Media: Scrambling Fr The Ball At Xfl. Foundrymusic.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-11.
  21. ↑ Noble, Barnes &. "No Results Page".
  22. 1 2 Lafayette, Jon. (2008-03-12) Opie & Anthony, 'Krod Mandoon' on Burgeoning Comedy Central Slate – TVWeek – News. TVWeek. Retrieved on 2011-11-11.
  23. ↑ ""Opie" Gal's Sex Tape Lawsuit". 30 April 2012.
  24. ↑ "'Opie And Anthony': 'I Don't Know Why We're Not Having A Revolution' Over Obamacare".
  25. ↑ "Chaunce Hayden Says He Talked About a Sex Tape, But He Didn't TALK About It".
  26. ↑ Smigo v NYP Holdings, Inc. - Unified Court System
  27. ↑ "Opie and Anthony's Gregg "Opie" Hughes buys Trump Place condo". 19 February 2015.

External links

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