Opie and Anthony
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The Opie & Anthony Show
Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia
Genre	Talk, Comedy
Running time	5-6 hours per episode, Monday through Friday 2-3 hours are exclusive to Sirius XM Radio
Country	United States
Home station	The Virus (XM202/Sirius197) WXRK (92.3 K-ROCK in New York City) See affiliates below
Starring	Gregg "Opie" Hughes Anthony Cumia Jim Norton
Creators	Gregg Hughes Anthony Cumia
Executive producers	Steve Carlesi, Michael "Stuntbrain" Opelka
Air dates	March 27, 1995 to present
Opening theme	"The Ecstasy of Gold" by Ennio Morricone and Street Fighting Man by Rage Against the Machine
Ending theme	"Street Fighting Man" by Rage Against the Machine
Website http://opieandanthony.com
Podcast audible.com

Opie (Gregg Hughes, born May 23, 1963), Anthony (Anthony Cumia, born April 26, 1961), and Jim Norton (born July 19, 1968) are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing on XM Satellite Radio and syndicated on terrestrial radio stations in Canada and the United States. It is co-hosted by stand up comedian Jim Norton. The show is currently based in New York City; it was previously on WNEW-FM in New York, and prior to that, on WAAF-FM in Boston.

The Opie & Anthony Show airs weekdays live from 6am through 12pm ET , the first three hours of which are broadcast from CBS Radio's WXRK 92.3 K-ROCK studio in New York, and is aired on both terrestrial and satellite radio. The show then continues from 9am through 12pm, exclusively on XM Radio Channel 202 and Sirius Radio Channel 197 "The Virus". Unless the live show is running long, a "worst-of" segment is broadcast from 11am to 12pm. Replays are available throughout the day on their XM channel as well as on Direct TV channel 879.

On April 26, 2006, Opie and Anthony returned to the terrestrial airwaves after a four year absence, replacing CBS Radio's David Lee Roth Show, which aired mainly on the eastern coast of the United States. Syndication of The Opie & Anthony Show is handled by Robert Eatman Enterprises.^[1]

Background and history

Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia were raised on Long Island, New York, in Centerport and Elwood respectively. Hughes graduated from SUNY Geneseo and for the next seven years, interned and worked at several upstate New York radio stations such as WCMF in Rochester (where he first worked for Brother Wease) and WUFX in Buffalo. Opie eventually found his way back home to rock station WBAB on his native Long Island. Although not initially doing a talk-show, Hughes did experiment with certain talk elements, including a recurring character named "Spuds Buckley". Cumia was a high school dropout barely earning a living as an HVAC duct worker when he began performing songs with his brother Joe. Cumia showed remarkable skills at doing impressions. In August 1994, Hughes received an entry during an O.J. Simpson parody song contest. The song was titled "Gonna Electric Shock OJ" (sung to the tune of Otis Redding's "Sittin on the Dock of the Bay") by a local band known as Rotgut, of which Cumia was the lead singer. The song was a hit on Hughes' show, and he invited the Cumia brothers to the studio to play live in September 1994. This sparked several more appearances, where "Ant & Brother Joe" jumped at any opportunity to be on the air. In December 1994, Cumia also appeared on The Howard Stern Show during an impression contest in which he imitated Jackie the Jokeman, Beavis and Butt-head, and Sam Kinison. Soon afterward, Hughes and Cumia became a radio team. Hughes' show was called "The Nighttime Attitude", which aired from 8 pm-midnight on WBAB.^[2] Shortly after Cumia's arrival, he and Hughes requested that the show be moved to morning or afternoon drive, the two most listened-to timeslots in radio. When the station refused, Hughes and Cumia moved the show to afternoon drive on WAAF in Boston, where they premiered on March 27, 1995 as Opie & Anthony (O&A).

WAAF-FM

Among Opie and Anthony's most notable Boston stunts was when they hyped a giveaway of "100 Grand" for weeks. When they finally gave away the prize, the winning caller laid into the duo with biting invective after he realized the repairs he needed to make to his truck would be un-affordable with a 100 Grand candy bar instead of $100,000.^[3]

The duo was fired in April 1998 from WAAF for an April Fool's Day prank involving Mayor Thomas Menino. Opie and Anthony told their listeners Menino died in a fiery car accident while vacationing solo in Florida. Many believed the story, leading Menino to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, as the FCC prohibits the broadcast of knowingly false information if it causes public harm.^[4] WAAF suggested that the duo have pies thrown at them while being held in town square stocks. The idea was summarily dismissed by the mayor's office. Facing a possible license challenge, WAAF fired them, but Opie and Anthony promised that they would return to Boston and get revenge. During the early days of XM Anthony stated that the intent of the April Fool's prank was to allow the duo to be released from their contract with WAAF. He also stated that the duo had been having illegal meetings with WNEW prior to the April fools prank. He preempted these comments with "The statutes of limitations must be up on this"^[5]

WNEW-FM

In June 1998, O&A were back on New York station WNEW-FM, where they became a top 10 afternoon drive show in New York by 2000.^[6]

In November 2000, sixteen people associated with the show were arrested during a promotion for "The Voyeur Bus," a mostly glass bus carting naked women through Manhattan with a police escort.^[7] The stunt was harshly condemned by Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

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 O&A as chefs, inserting a cucumber in between two melons. O&A 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. O&A did this as God Bless America began to play before a game [3]. 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.

In 2001, O&A signed a syndication deal with Infinity to syndicate their show on 22 stations nationwide, including WBCN in Boston, longtime rival of WAAF. Onetime friend of the show Andrew Dice Clay then introduced O&A to Jim Norton, a comedian who toured with and opened for Clay. Norton was a hit on O&A and soon became a regular on the show, appearing three or four days per week.

Sex for Sam

One of O&A's stunts was "Sex for Sam", a yearly contest where the goal was to have sex in notable public places in New York City. Couples from various states would be selected to be trailed by a comedian or member of the show, who would call the program to report the location. The contest was sponsored by Boston Beer Company, maker of Samuel Adams beer; prizes included trips to Boston concerts sponsored by the beer company. The contest was approved by the station and had no major problems for the first two years.

However, in "Sex for Sam 3", comedian Paul Mecurio encouraged Brian Florence and Loretta Harper, a Virginia couple visiting Manhattan, to have sex in a vestibule at St. Patrick's Cathedral on August 15, 2002. When a security guard ordered Mecurio and the couple to leave the church immediately, Mecurio began to argue with the guard, who then contacted police. The couple was arrested and charged with public lewdness. Intense media scrutiny led to the Catholic League demanding that Opie and Anthony be fired. The Catholic League also threatened to get WNEW's license revoked.

O&A broadcast the next day, but were ordered not to directly address the incident for legal reasons. The show went into re-runs the following week. On August 22, Infinity suspended Opie and Anthony for the duration of their contract, and canceled the show. However, the company continued to pay the duo to stay off the air for the balance of their contract. The Catholic League immediately dropped its bid to revoke WNEW's license.

The repercussions of the incident were widespread:

• Infinity was fined $357,000 by the FCC--the maximum amount allowed by law, and the second-largest indecency fine in American radio history. It refused to pay the fine.^[8]
• WNEW's ratings, already dreadful aside from Opie and Anthony, dropped even lower than those of noncommercial stations and never recovered. The station returned to the music format in January 2003, starting with an adult contemporary format, later switching to a classic dance music format before returning to the AC format, at which point the station's call letters were changed to WWFS.
• Harper pleaded guilty a month later to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to seven days of community service.^[9]

XM Satellite Radio

Opie and Anthony returned to the air on October 4, 2004 exclusively for XM Satellite Radio after two years off the air. Initially, the show was offered to XM subscribers at a premium cost of $1.99 a month, to which they encountered some resistance. In April 2005, "High Voltage" became part of the basic XM subscription. There are no numbers available with respect to the number of premium subscribers. Hughes gave some indication, however, when he told the Long Island press in 2006, "We went from having a show that was syndicated in 17 major markets to having a few thousand", which did not help to remove the discrepancy.^[10]

On April 17, 2006, DirecTV ceased airing XM 202 (The High Voltage Channel) on their satellite TV service, citing subscriber requests for more music channels and less talk and sports channels. However, less than a week elapsed before inside sources stated that, due to overwhelming audience (and the Pests) demands that O&A return to DirecTV, the channel would be restored on April 26, 2006.^[11]

Opie & Anthony frequently mentioned on the air that they hated the name "High Voltage", which was selected by one of the company lawyers. They had been trying to change the name but were unsuccessful for the first 2 years until Eric Logan announced on their October 4, 2006 broadcast that High Voltage would be renamed "The Virus" on November 20, 2006, due to the demands of hardcore O&A fans, known as "The Pests".

A big part of the XM show was the "Assault on the Media", led by "The Pests" to give the show additional exposure. On May 19, 2005, show intern Nathaniel showed up behind Arthur Chi'en of WCBS-TV. The disruption caused Chi'en to shout "What the fuck is your problem, man?" while the cameras were still rolling. Chi'en was fired a few hours later. (The situation brought the show nationwide press.)

On May 15, 2007, XM suspended Opie & Anthony for 30 days, in response to a broadcast featuring an African-American homeless and derranged man who had wandered into the studio. Opie and Anthony dubbed the man "Homeless Charlie" and among the topics he discussed was the possibility of having forced sex with Condoleezza Rice and Laura Bush.^[12] Charlie spoke wildly for nearly twenty minutes, commenting on a wide variety of news topics. A right wing blogger posted a ten second excerpt of the discussion, and was later posted to The Drudge Report, with no context given to the audio. Commentary on the incident was especially incendiary from right wing commentator Bill O'Reilly, who called the situation "the worst I have ever seen." (O'Reilly had once had the boys on his show.)^{citation needed} CBS (terrestrial) radio continued to air the show from 6:00 am-9:00 am Eastern time, and had a decidedly more subdued sound, due to greater scrutiny.

Fans reacted to the news by canceling their XM Radio subscriptions. On the day the suspension was announced, callers to XM Radio customer service experienced lengthy hold times.^[13] Moreover, some sponsors pulled their advertising off XM, in protest of the suspension.^[14]

The duo's month-long suspension from XM ended on June 15, 2007, and they returned to XM's airwaves on that date. Shortly after the suspension was lifted, Opie closed on a $3.35 million 2,088 square foot apartment in Trump Place owned by Donald Trump.

On October 25, 2007, it was revealed that Opie and Anthony's weekly satellite audience was 216,800 - well behind the numbers alleged by their former rival, Howard Stern, although still substantially less than Stern's estimated audience of 3 to 4 million. Opie and Anthony contest the numbers and say they make more for XM than Howard does for Sirius. XM Executive Vice President of Programming Eric Logan also stated that the 216,800 number was partially taken when O&A was suspended from the XM airwaves in April-May 2007 and estimated their weekly numbers as actually being in excess of a million.^[15] The fall 2007 ratings, taken while Opie and Anthony were not suspended actually showed a drop in audience from the spring 2007 ratings to 171,300. ^[16]

Return to broadcast radio

On July 17, 2006, Opie and Anthony signed a deal with Citadel Broadcasting in which the first three hours of the show would be broadcast on nine of Citadel's rock stations.^[17]

After an 18-month run on XM, The Opie & Anthony Show began simulcasting on XM Radio and various terrestrial radio stations from 5 am to 10 am EST. From 9 am to 11 am (and on some days up to noon), the show will be broadcast exclusively on XM Radio. XM listeners are able to hear the show uncensored the entire time (except when the main feed is "self-censored" by the hosts), however from the 6-9 slot, the FM-only listeners will hear an FCC-compliant version of the show.^[18] In the initial Arbitron ratings released since their move to terrestrial radio, The Opie & Anthony Show doubled Free FM's ratings in the New York City market in the month of May.^[19] In Philadelphia O&A achieved a threefold increase in the month of May over David Lee Roth's April performance with listeners, ages 18-34.^[20][21] In Boston, they doubled the listeners of all ages and achieved an even larger increase in younger demographics.^[22] According to the winter 07 arbitron ratings, O&A have doubled Roth's ratings with their target of 18- to 34-year-olds. But so far that's only meant going from 2% to about 4% of the audience, a third of Stern's old numbers in NYC.^[23] Following the Summer 07 Arbitron ratings, O&A's 18- to 34-year-olds ratings slipped, while their morning drive rating in NYC of 2.1 left them only ahead of sports based WFAN network in the morning.^[24]

Rockstar Games gave the cast and crew of the show voice roles in the Play Station Portable game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, including Club Soda Kenny as the voice of Derek the Dodo. The only exception was Jimmy Norton because he was already given a voice role in another Rockstar game Bully.

On October 23, 2007, WYSP in Philadelphia cut Opie and Anthony from their line-up in favor of rock music, which the station had changed formats to a month prior.^[25]

During the summer of 2008, the Show featured a romance between Anthony Cumia and Jill Nicolini. Nicolini, a struggling model/actress who currently does traffic for a local NY based TV station and the aging Cumia are often photographed together at various events. A regular running bit on the show focuses on if this May-December romance is in fact real or not. While many initially doubted the beautiful Nicolini would really date the homely Cumia, the relationship appeared to grow over time, until it ended disastrously in August 2008.

In 2008, as part of Rockstar's newest addition to the "Grand Theft Auto" series, Cumia performed the viral "Pisswasser" (or "Piss Water") commercial for "Grand Theft Auto IV", as a parody to Budweiser's "King of Beers" campaign. It was later performed by Cumia on the Opie & Anthony show. Other members of the show's cast appear as characters in GTA IV.

Run-ins with the FCC

The Federal Commmunications Commission has twice fined O&A for broadcasting material deemed in violation of decency standards. The first fine involved several November 2000 - January 2001 airings of a jingle produced by Dru Boogie, a DJ/producer who regularly produces content for the show. The $21,000 fine also involved a segment of "Guess What's In My Pants", as well as a song titled, "I'm Horny for Little Girls".^[26] O&A's second FCC violation - the "Sex for Sam" broadcast - set a precedent for being the first time that a fine was issued to each individual station airing the alleged indecent material.^[27] The total was $357,500; $27,500 against each of the thirteen CBS Radio/Infinity-owned stations that broadcast the show.^[28] Infinity appealed both fines, after which its parent company Viacom made a $3.5 million settlement which canceled all pending indecency violations.^[29] The show has not been in trouble with the FCC since that time.

Program content

This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (May 2008)

Opie and Anthony often comment on American sociopolitical and popular culture. Their "cringe" style of entertainment has earned them the sobriquet "shock jocks". Hughes, Cumia and Norton broadcast for approximately five hours per day. Generally speaking, Opie sets the daily flow of the show and introduces topics, while Cumia and Norton provide color commentary. The show has few limits, and covers a wide array of topics interactively, with a great deal of time devoted to callers, and sound bites sent in from listeners. With their reemergence on terrestrial radio, however, the trio have been more conscientious about what might be censored. This has led to the "dump report", an XM segment in which the specific content of censored bits is lamented. Some of the more hardcore O&A fans, nicknamed "Pests", have been known to go to extreme grassroots efforts to promote the show.

Friends and regular guests on the show include Adam Ferrara, Louis C.K., Bill Burr, Patrice O'Neal, Brian Regan, Robert Kelly, Otto & George, Bob Saget, Rich Vos and Nick DiPaolo, all of whom have substituted for Norton when he has left New York to pursue his stand-up comedy and acting. Frequent guests include Doug Stanhope, Colin Quinn, Stephen Lynch, Joe Rogan, Jay Mohr, and Mike Birbiglia. Host Anthony Cumia does impressions of various personalities such as Charlton Heston, Don West, Sylvester Stallone, Fred Flintstone, Bill Cosby, Ben Stein, Richard Nixon, Sam Kinison, Popeye, Andrew Dice Clay, Tom Brokaw, Ronald Reagan, Mike Tyson, Tony Danza, Christopher Reeve, Robert Reed, Regis Philbin, Vince McMahon, Neil Diamond, Don Imus, The Greaseman and Howard Stern. O&A's style and jokes typically target males in the 18-49 demographic.

The song played at the beginning of both the FM and XM show is Rage Against the Machine's song "Street Fighting Man", a cover of the Rolling Stones' song of the same name.

Film references

O&A's show features many inside jokes that a new listener may not immediately understand.^[30] There are many references to films,^[31] The Shining being one of the most prominent. Other referenced films include Fargo,The Silence of the Lambs, Pulp Fiction, The Accused, Predator, Boogie Nights, American Psycho, Blazing Saddles, Apocalypse Now, Bad Lieutenant, Ed Wood, Jaws, Platoon, A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, Death Wish, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Schindler's List, Caddyshack, The Godfather, My Baby is Black, Mondo Topless, The Shawshank Redemption, Back to The Future, and anything starring Robert De Niro (most notably The King of Comedy).

Staff

• Steve Carlesi, Executive Producer (aka Martini Steve, Steve C, Steven Carr, Steve the Bear, "Homotron", "Gay", "Tom".) - Steve has worked on FoundryMusic [4] since 1998, which covers music (especially metal) news, and porn industry news and features Cam Girls. Steve was the lead singer of the band "Foundry", who had a song called "Pendulum". His acting ability and complete lack of improvisational skills are often showcased on the daily broadcast for humorous effect.
• Michael Opelka, Co-executive Producer (CBS) (aka Stuntbrain, Coach Mike,Stunt Google, Stuntikins) - "Stuntbrain" was brought in by CBS in May, 2008, to serve as the co-executive producer on the FM side, seeing as how he fits perfectly into the key demographics the show provides for. He's very experienced in the field of broadcasting, with 20 years working in both television and radio. He was the former executive producer for "Wake Up With Whoopi" a short-lived radio program starring Whoopi Goldberg.
• Danny Ross, Senior Producer - Former intern who became a regular staff member. Danny originally started as a writer for Foundry Music and Carlesi brought him on board as an intern. Also produces the 'Saturday Night Virus'.
• Erik Nagel, Producer (aka E-Rock) - Hired from Day 1 of the show coming to XM Radio. Erik is often a target of ridicule on the show.
• Travis Tefft, Producer - Former intern who became a regular staff member. Travis typically acts as the phone screener as well as providing minute to minute research.
• Derek Blair, Production Director - Former intern who became a regular staff member. Derek does not appear on the show to the same extent as the rest of the staff, as his primary responsibilities include show production i.e. sweepers, promos and intros.
• Sam Roberts, Associate Producer (aka Prime Time Sam Roberts, Conglomerated Sam) - Former intern who became a regular staff member. Also the co-host of The Than and Sam Show. Competed in Afro Wars with East Side Dave of the Ron and Fez Show.
• John "Club Soda Kenny" Feder, Security - A 22-year retiree of the West Orange, New Jersey Police Department, Feder met O&A while working for Andrew Dice Clay. Feder was cleared of departmental charges for conduct unbefitting of an officer when a videotape of his off-color act was sent to his superiors. Feder faced losing his 25-year pension.^[32] Feder's defense was that he kept his real name and law enforcement ties secret while performing comedy. Was part-time member of O&A's security staff since the summer of 2004, and joined O&A full-time in 2006 following his fully-reinstated retirement. Is often ridiculed for his "oafish" demeanor.
• Roland Campos, Guest Booker - Books all of the guest stars on the show. Roland becomes extremely nervous in front of a microphone, so most of his statements made on the show are brief, muddled phrases. Best known for the phrase "It's out ... Friday. Wide." Recently his silly child-like giggles he makes when tickled have been discovered and exploited by Jim and Danny.
• Pat Duffy, Intern - He got the job by participating in the third Eggnog Drinking Contest on December 1, 2006 and performing The Baby Bird with Pat from Moonachie. On July 18, 2007, he brushed his teeth with dog feces while using Erik "E-Rock" Nagel's toothbrush, and then kissed his girlfriend on the mouth. Frequent on-air "go-to guy" for revolting and shocking activities such as being kicked in the testicles and smelling potentially heinous parts of the human body.
• David the Intern, Intern - David initially made a big impression on the O & A staff with his old-timey Hebraic ways and mannerisms. Anthony lovingly refers to him as "My David", a nod to Judd Hirsch's portrayal of Julius Levinson in Independence Day. This rise to prominence led to David doing the "Stereotypical Jew Sports Report" (Known as "Kosher Sports"), as well as being an in house expert for all things pertaining to the Jew.

"Characters" of the show

• Pat from Moonachie (Patrick Philbin) - A 44-year old, 340-pound self-employed courier with 9 toes (due to diabetes), who became a friend after winning O&A's first annual Eggnog Drinking Contest. Philbin consumed 70 double shots of egg nog and subsequently vomited. He is a competitive eater, ranked 20th in the world by the I.F.O.C.E^[33] and placed 10th in Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. The "Baby Bird" video which came about from the 2006 Eggnog Drinking Challenge earned him infamy and caused him to be barred from the I.F.O.C.E for his "effluvic interchange." This banning proved to be quite short, as the I.F.O.C.E. seemingly had enough of the onslaught of email and other communication from the O&A Pests. Philbin's banishment was rescinded and he was eventually re-instated on December 6, 2006.^[34]
• Stalker Patti - A 52-year old virgin who is often subjected to degrading humiliation on the show. She lived in the [WNEW-FM|WNEW]] studio under the stairs for some time. Since then she got a job at Godiva Chocolates but was fired when new management used her as a fall girl. She also appeared on the Maury show in November 2005. Recently she pleasured herself on air.
• Big A (Andrew) - A tall, overweight Bronx cab driver with a speech impediment (he has a severe stutter, especially when trying to say words that begin with the "st" sound).
• No Filter Paul — A British man who works for Jimmy running his merchandising, claims to have "no decency filter." Notable for his original appearance with his wife, where they discussed many aspects of their sex lives. Was also one of the more successful 'Assaults on the Media' competitors, disrupting several live shots. Also known for taking a potent laxative and then walking up 57th Street to the XM studio wearing almost nothing but a diaper, then proceeding to excrete the contents in studio.
• Sandy Kane - A local cable personality in New York who was a stripper in the 1910s. Sandy is known on the show for Twatto (a genital wart) and a hemorrhoid that made guest Robert Kelly vomit. She claimed to have had sex with Demond Wilson of Sanford and Son, and claimed to have been raped by Richard Pryor and Phil Spector.
• Steve from Yellowstone - (AKA Ben from Boston, Danny from W-Town, Jimmy from New Jersey, Erik from Breathtown, Po from Jersey, etc.) Fake characters that are voiced by Norton. Occasionally used to mock and insult bad guests on the phone or in the studio.
• Tippy Tom - A homeless man from the streets of New York. Tippy Tom is a drunk homosexual, who once claimed to have AIDS, but has retracted that statement. O&A once had him showered, given fresh clothes, a fresh haircut, and a shave. Currently, he remains homeless, he is "AIDS free" and has introduced Grey Wolf to the show. He is known to sing old songs and has been a part of "Homeless Radio" and the "Homeless Shopping Spree".
• Tom - Tom is a recent addition to the show's characters, who was discovered after they took a call from "an elvish sounding man". He is now the focus of "Is Tom alive? Friday", as Tom has a fatal lung disease, was kicked out of his apartment, and has had a broken back and lesioned spinal column; he was told by his doctor that he is now likely in his last year of life, however Tom has repeatedly claimed he will commit suicide to avoid the pain accompanying his passing. On June 12th of 2008 Tom called into the show to thank Opie and Anthony for the show and planned to kill himself. After talking with Tom, Opie, Anthony and Jim convinced him to unload his weapons and come on the show the following day.^[35]
• Uncle Paul - A fake character voiced by Jim Norton. Uncle Paul is a child molester who sports a creepy voice that would most likely cause an adult victim of child molestation to have recurring nightmares, or at least some horrific flashbacks.

Other enterprises

Demented World

A CD released in November 1997 which includes a compilation of bits done on WAAF.

The Opie & Anthony Traveling Virus

Main article: Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus Comedy Tour (2006)

Main article: Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus Comedy Tour (2007)

The Traveling Virus is a comedy tour headlined by Opie and Anthony, as well as friends of the show, that began in 2006. In its first year, it spanned several locations in the eastern United States during the summer. In 2007, it visited 10 cities through the spring and summer. It was an event they had discussed for many years, but were never able to bring it to fruition until they made their latest deal with CBS radio.

The 2008 Traveling Virus Tour was canceled in favor of one show, held at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey on August 2, 2008. On the morning of Monday, August 4th, 2008, Opie stated that the August 2nd show in New Jersey would be "the last Traveling Virus show ever", due to the crowd consistently booing new comedians off the stage, causing established comedians to refuse to appear at the venue. ^[36]

Search and Destroy

On the morning of March 26, 2008, Opie & Anthony revealed they had taped the pilot episode of a new series for Comedy Central. The show is entitled Search & Destroy and will consist of teams of comedians performing various tasks throughout New York City.^[37] Although Opie and Anthony considered the pilot a success, Comedy Central has yet to pick the show up and put it into production.

Controversies

• April Fool's Day: On April 1, 1998, while still on WAAF in Boston, O&A, over the course of their show, announced that the mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, was in a fatal car accident in Florida. Things came to a head after Menino's daughter called the station believing the story to be true. The radio duo was terminated the following week. During the early days of XM Anthony stated that the intent of the April Fool's prank was to allow the duo to be released from their contract with WAAF. He also stated that the duo had been having illegal meetings with WNEW prior to the April fools prank. He prempted these comments with "The statutes of limitations must be up on this"

• W.O.W.: During their WAAF years, O&A established "W.O.W.", short for "Whip 'Em Out Wednesdays", which encouraged women to flash their breasts to anyone with a W.O.W. sign. As a result, it was common around Massachusetts to see cars with W.O.W. stickers, signs and even painted lettering. This campaign came to an end on WAAF in the summer of 1997, when the station forced the duo to discontinue the stunt and suspended the show for 3 weeks. W.O.W. has since been reintroduced to the show, but the level of its promotion varies depending on each syndicated affiliate's willingness to promote it. W.O.W. stickers and signs are more common in O&A's biggest markets, New York and Boston. They are less visible in other markets, such as San Francisco, that are more reluctant to back the W.O.W. promotion.

• Voyeur Bus: Several members of the show, including frequent guest Lewis Black, third microphone Jim Norton, and then-producer Rick Delgado were arrested for being on the transparent "Teen" Voyeur Bus, where six young teenage women were flashing all over Manhattan in 2000. Mayor Rudy Giuliani called the Voyeur Bus stunt "stupid".^[38]

• Homeless Shopping Spree: In late 1999, shortly before Christmas, O&A held the first "Homeless Shopping Spree", which has since become an annual event. The bit involves a dozen of New York's homeless, each given several hundred dollars by the show and much more by the fans, and are taken to a posh shopping mall, most notably the Mall at Short Hills in Short Hills, New Jersey. They are allowed to buy what they want including warm clothes and other items they would not normally afford, while being cheered on by the thousands of listeners who show up. During the first Homeless Shopping Spree, the mall's reaction was to close many of the nicer stores, and eventually force the twelve homeless men out of the mall. The event was repeated at the same mall on December 16, 2006. Boston mayor Thomas Menino claimed outrage at the event, and declared that the Homeless Shopping Spree degraded and humiliated the contestants, and that it was immoral to hold such an event on the same day the city was to do a census count of the homeless townspeople.^[39]

• "100 Grand": Early in their radio career together, O&A declared a contest one afternoon at WAAF that the 107th caller would receive "100 Grand". They continued this bit throughout the show, careful of never saying "$100,000", only "100 Grand". When the 107th caller got through, he was ecstatic, thinking he had actually won $100,000. He shouted happily that he was planning on buying a new truck and could barely speak, due to his surprise at winning. He was furious when Opie told him it was only the 100 Grand candy bar and proceeded to curse loudly on the air, famously calling the duo "a bunch of douche bags."^[3]

• T&A with O&A: Opie and Anthony had a beach party on the shores of Angola, NY on Saturday July 13th, 2002 which quickly was reduced to basically a giant lesbian orgy of strippers, included insertion of vegetables. the controversial part of all this was the fact that it was a public beach with families nearby. Buffalo basically told them if they came back they would be arrested. There were FCC complaints filed even though the event was not broadcast on any medium. Homemade multimedia from the event can be found on the internet.^[40]. One month after this event O&A were pulled from the air for a radio stunt in NYC.

• The Eggnog Drinking Challenge: An annual challenge where contestants have to drink as many shots of eggnog as possible before vomiting. On December 1, 2006, during the Challenge, Pat from Moonachie drank 76 double-shots of egg nog and subsequently vomited all over prospective intern Pat Duffy's mouth. This has been dubbed the "Baby Bird", and became a hit on both the O&A website as well as Break.com due to Youtube's initial refusal to carry the video.^[41]

• Condoleezza Rice, Laura Bush & Queen Elizabeth II: A homeless man making a guest appearance on the XM version of the show described how he would like to rape the United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, First Lady Laura Bush, also calling Queen Elizabeth II "horse-faced".^[42] In the wake of the Don Imus firing, there has been speculation that O&A may be fired following that segment that aired on their program May 9, 2007. On their Friday show, Opie and Anthony apologized for the bit by saying, "We apologize to the public officials for comments that were made on our XM show on May 9. We take very seriously the responsibility that comes with our creative freedom and regret any offense that this segment has caused."^[43] On May 15, 2007, XM suspended Opie and Anthony for 30 days.^[12]

• Donald Trump has called Opie and Anthony "two slobs" and swore never to appear on the show again.^[44][45] Trump was supposed to call the show on January 10, 2008, but did not.

• Sex Tape: On April 23, 2008, an article in the New York Post stated that the fiancee of Gregg "Opie" Hughes was present in a sex tape involving Bam Margera. Opie denied the accusations, claiming they were a ridiculous attempt of a disgruntled employee, believed to be Ben Sparks, to attack Opie. Ben Sparks was fired after an event that occurred in which he was involved in a fight with a fan of Howard Stern. Margera called in on April 24 to deny the existence of the sex tape. The Post printed a full retraction on May 5, 2008, after it was revealed that Chaunce Hayden of Steppin' Out Magazine had supplied false information about the existence of the tape. Hughes himself offered a cash reward to anyone who provided proof of the sex tape's existence, stating that it didn't even need to be the original tape, just simply a copy of the tape. Since then, no one has come forward with proof of any kind of the tape's existence. On June 23, 2008, Hughes filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against the New York Post company, Page Six writer Richard Johnson, and Chaunce Hayden for the April 23 article.^[46]

Station listings

The show's first three hours air from the WXRK studio in New York City. Markets are arranged from largest to smallest.

Calls	Frequency	Branding	Format	Market and market rank[47]	Timeslot	Group owner
Satellite stations
XM	202	The Virus	Uncensored Talk	United States, Canada	Live 6A-12P ET Adjust for time zone	Sirius XM Radio
Sirius	197			United States
BlackBerry	202
DIRECTV	879			United States
Telus	202			Canada
Terrestrial Stations
WXRK	92.3 MHz	92-3 K-Rock	Rock	New York NY / 1	Live 6A-9A	CBS Radio
WBCN	104.1 MHz	WBCN 104.1 The Rock of Boston	Active Rock	Boston, MA / 10	Live 6A-9A	CBS Radio
WKRK-FM	92.3 MHz	K-Rock	Alternative	Cleveland, OH / 28	Live 6A-9A	CBS Radio
WROX-FM	96.1 MHz	96X	Alternative	Norfolk, VA / 41	Tape 10A-2P	Sinclair Communications
WZNE	94.1 MHz	The Zone	Alternative	Rochester, NY / 54	Tape 2P-5P	Stephens Media Group
WPXC	102.9 MHz	Pixy 103	Rock	Cape Cod, MA / 189	Live 6A-9A	Nassau Broadcasting

- This station is pending a sale to the Educational Media Foundation.

Former affiliates include WCYI, KXTE, WXYT, KLLI, WEDG, WAZU, KIFR, WKRK, WTZN-FM, WYSP, WPBZ, WCKG, WJFK-FM, WMOS, WSKO (AM), WKLQ-FM, KHYT, WSKO-FM, KSFN and KBZU.

References

See also

• The Virus (XM)

External links

Official Sites

• OpieandAnthony.com Official Website.
• XM Satellite Radio (XM 202 "The Virus" - The Virus Homepage)
• OandARadio.com - Opie and Anthony on WXRK 92.3 FM's official site.
• Opie and Anthony at MySpace