Legendary conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, whose views shaped modern-day politics and caused considerable debate, died Wednesday at the age of 70.
His wife Kathryn made the announcement of his death in a personal message to start Wednesday's program.
Limbaugh was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in January 2020, and had said on his daily radio program in October 2020 that the prognosis was terminal.
Limbaugh got his start in media in 1971 at a radio station in Pennsylvania as Top-40 station DJ. His multiple career stops, which included a stint in sales for the Kansas City Royals baseball franchise, eventually led him to his long running syndicated show in 1988, launched from New York.
He had a short lived tenure as a syndicated television host in the early 1990s, as well as a quick stint at ESPN in 2003 as football commentator. Controversial remarks he made about coverage of then Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb had accusations of racism levied against Limbaugh.
Limbaugh's comments on his radio show stirred plenty of heated debate inside and outside political circles throughout his career, including takes on Michael J. Fox in 2006 over Parkinson's Disease, where Limbaugh claimed the actor was exaggerating his condition, as well as contraception in 2012, when he used a derogatory term to describe law student Sandra Fluke.
His legacy goes beyond radio, TV and authoring four books. Limbaugh's charitable work totals in the millions to causes like the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society as well as the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
President Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Limbaugh at the State of the Union in 2020.
KXNT will continue to air the Rush Limbaugh program from 9a-12p PT for the foreseeable future, with archived audio from Rush himself. The group who distributes his program to hundreds of stations across the U.S. says regular guest hosts will keep his legacy alive throughout the daily programs.