Anthony Cumia
| Anthony Cumia | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 26, 1961 Elwood, New York |
| Alma mater | John Glenn High School |
| Show | The Anthony Cumia Show |
| Previous show(s) | Opie and Anthony |
| Website | AnthonyCumia.com |
Anthony Cumia (born April 26, 1961) is an American talk radio broadcaster known for his long association with Gregg "Opie" Hughes, most notably on a series of radio shows named The Opie and Anthony Show or Opie and Anthony from 1995 to 2014. Comedian Jim Norton was a frequent collaborator of the pair. In 2014 he was fired from XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Soon after that, he started his own video podcast, known as The Anthony Cumia Show.
Early life
Cumia was raised on Long Island, New York, in Elwood and attended John Glenn High School but did not graduate.[1] Before breaking into radio, he was earning a living as a "tin knocker," and began recording comedy songs with his brother Joe.
Radio career
Early years
Opie's Nighttime Attitude, an evening show at WBAB on Long Island, 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 the band Rotgut, of which the Cumia brothers were both founding members and the primary creative force.[2] After Joseph Cumia hand-delivered the cassette tape directly to Opie by being persistent with the interns trying have him drop it off, the song was played by Opie and it was a hit. Opie invited the Cumia brothers to the studio to play live in September 1994.[3] Soon afterward, Hughes and Cumia became a radio team. Cumia, prior to meeting up with Opie, always wanted to get into radio, after listening to his idols Howard Stern and Don Imus.[4]
Opie and Anthony
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WAAF (1995–1998)
Shortly after Cumia's arrival, Hughes and Cumia moved the show to afternoon drive on WAAF in Worcester, Massachusetts, where they premiered on March 13, 1995 as Opie & Anthony.[5] They remained in Worcester 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.[6]
Anthony, originally thought that by getting into radio he would make very good money, however at WAAF he barely was making more than he did as a tin knocker.[7] Anthony has referred to their days on WAAF as the most cringe inducing moments of his career.[8]
WNEW-FM (1998–2002)
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.[9] In 1999, Opie considered leaving the show, however Anthony convinced him to stay, and bring Jim Norton on full time, as a go between for their off air 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.
XM Satellite Radio (2004–2014)
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.
Live from the Compound (2012—2014)
Cumia, looking for more freedom than he had on Sirius XM decided to build a studio in his home. He would often pop on live whenever there was something he wished to discuss, and occasionally would broadcast a schedule show, and made it available to download online.[13] Cumia retired this show when he began The Anthony Cumia Show.
The Anthony Cumia Show (2014—Present)
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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".[14] Cumia stated on the Saturday, July 12 episode of Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld that he was not going to apologize for the incident,[15] even if it meant he would get his job back.[16]
Cumia announced on July 8, 2014, that he would launch a new Internet-based podcast as "The Anthony Cumia Show," which began airing in August 2014.[17] This show was kept separate from his old internet radio show Live from the Compound.[18] Cumia's website later specified that "his live, uncensored HD video podcast" called The Anthony Cumia Show would launch on August 4.[19]
Since August 2014 the show airs from Cumia's home studio where he hosted his previous show "Live From the Compound". Cumia and his producers are currently fixing up the recently purchased studio in Mid-Town, New York City.[citation needed] Cumia in June 2015 expanded The Anthony Cumia Network adding additional shows to the platform, the Legion of Skanks, The Gavin McInnes Show, NYC Crime Report with Pat Dixon and starting in January of 2016 The East Side Dave Show begins.[20] Upon completion of the new studio, all shows will broadcast from NY.
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.[21] 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
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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.[22]
Opie and Anthony Traveling Virus
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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 it featured teams of comedians performing various tasks throughout New York City.[23] Opie and Anthony believe that it may have been too graphic even for cable television.[23] Although Opie and Anthony considered the pilot a success, Comedy Central did not pick the show up.
Personal life
Anthony is a strong supporter of the National Rifle Association and has a carry permit for New York City.[24] His favorite weapon is the Heckler & Koch P2000 40 Cal.,[8] which he normally carries with him, in addition to his PPKS .380 ACP.[25]
Anthony has had several long relationships. In 1989 he began dating Jennifer Cumia, whom he later married. After 7 years of marriage they separated in a very public, high profile divorce.[26] Cumia later stated that marrying Jennifer was the biggest mistake of his life.[4] He dated Jill Nicolini in 2008,[27] and Melissa Stetten in 2012.[28] Cumia also took an 18-year-old date to his high school reunion.[29]
On December 19, 2015, Cumia was arrested by Nassau County Police on charges of strangulation, assault, criminal mischief, and unlawful imprisonment. Cumia was released without bail on December 21 pending a court appearance in early January 2016. Cumia was in an alleged argument with his 26-year old girlfriend and sometimes cohost Danielle "Dani Golightly" Brand in his house, which allegedly turned violent. Cumia's attorney said he "emphatically denies the allegations."[30]
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Rotgut
- ↑ Opie and Anthony celebrate twenty years in radio with a live SiriusXM Unmasked from Carolines in NYC
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Anthony Cumia Interview: On Becoming a Media Mogul, and the Surprising Person Who Inspired Him
- ↑ Opie and Anthony Archive
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Straight From The Mouth
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 IamA Anthony Cumia, host of The Anthony Cumia Show. AMA!
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ February 17, 2015, Opie stated during Larry King interview
- ↑ Opie & Anthony are in. NY Daily News. April 22, 2006
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Live From The Compound
- ↑ Todd Leopold, Opie & Anthony's' Anthony Cumia fired over tweets CNN, July 4, 2014.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Anthony Cumia Plays The Victim Over His Race-Baiting Tweets
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Anthony Cumia Was "Getting Tired of SiriusXM's Bullshit" Anyway
- ↑ Embattled Former Opie and Anthony Host to Launch New Show. theblaze.com. Retrieved on July 23, 2014.
- ↑ Former Sirius XM Host Anthony Cumia Hires Controversial Media Personality Gavin McInnes
- ↑ Media: Scrambling Fr The Ball At Xfl. Foundrymusic.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-11.
- ↑ Opie & Anthony's Demented World
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lafayette, Jon. (2008-03-12) Opie & Anthony, 'Krod Mandoon' on Burgeoning Comedy Central Slate – TVWeek – News. TVWeek. Retrieved on 2011-11-11.
- ↑ Anthony Cumia: ‘I Have No Regrets’
- ↑ High Profile NYC Celeb With a Concealed Carry Permit Responds to New York’s New Laws: ‘We’re All Just Sheep Now’
- ↑ http://nypost.com/2002/03/20/radio-raunch-man-in-r-rated-divorce/ RADIO-RAUNCH MAN IN R-RATED DIVORCE]
- ↑ 'Opie and Anthony' host Anthony Cumia caught in a jam
- ↑ Two Years After My Breakup, I’m STILL Being Harassed Online
- ↑ Ant takes an 18 year old girl to his high school reunion
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
