165-466: Alexander Winter is a British and American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, he is best known for playing Bill S. Preston Esq. in the 1989 film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and its sequels Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) and Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020). He is also known for his role as Marko in the 1987 vampire film The Lost Boys , for co-writing, co-directing, and starring in
330-475: A military school in Alaska , ending Bill and Ted's fledgling band, Wyld Stallyns , and altering history. Rufus finds the two teens at a Circle K convenience store, struggling to finish their history report, in which they must describe how historical figures would view the present San Dimas. Rufus offers help before another phone-booth time machine arrives and future versions of Bill and Ted step out. After assuring
495-496: A progressive rock station in Briarcliff Manor , New York. He was unsure of his talent and questioned his future as a professional in the industry, writing "I freaked out. I got real nervous that I wasn't good enough". Stern accepted a marketing role at Benton & Bowles , a New York advertising agency, which he soon "quit without giving notice" in favor of a position in the creative department. He lasted three hours before he
660-545: A 20-year run at WXRK in New York City; his morning show entered syndication in 1986 and aired in 60 markets and attracted 20 million listeners at its peak. In recent years, Stern's photography has been featured in Hamptons and WHIRL magazines. From 2012 to 2015, he served as a judge on America's Got Talent . Stern has won numerous industry awards, including Billboard ' s Nationally Syndicated Air Personality of
825-478: A bald-headed man in a sheet whom they persist in calling 'Soh-kraytz'?" (Holland inaccurately names Socrates as the first historical figure Bill and Ted encounter, when it is actually Billy the Kid.) Holland continued: Even to metalheads, then, the philosophy of ancient Greece serves as something that is both primal and emblematic of civilisation as a whole. Socrates, in particular, the 'lover of wisdom' who insisted that
990-405: A baseball cap backwards and pulling part of his hair through that opening. Winter described the casting of George Carlin as Rufus as a "very happy accident". The role of Rufus had not been established when filming started. Herek stated that their intention was to have Eddie Van Halen as Rufus, given the frequency of Van Halen references in the screenplay, but this was not possible because of
1155-524: A bill that limited construction on state roads to night hours in New York City and Long Island, which was named the "Howard Stern Bill" in honor of Stern originally proposing the plan. Stern has since felt "firmly opposed" to the death penalty. In June 1994, Stern founded the Howard Stern Production Company for "original film and television production enterprises as well as joint production and development ventures". He intended to assist in
1320-427: A brief stop in prehistoric times to repair the booth, they program it to return to the present but end up outside Circle K the night before, where Rufus first introduced himself. They convince their earlier selves of Rufus's trustworthiness before he explains how to get to the next day; he further warns them that they have two hours left before their history report is due. When they arrive at the current time, they leave
1485-522: A child. He has an older brother named Stephen. His father has English ancestry and his mother is Jewish, of Ukrainian Jewish descent. When Winter was five, his family moved to Missouri , where his father ran the Mid-American Dance Company (later, Modern American Dance Company), while his mother taught dance at Washington University in St. Louis . The two divorced in 1973. In 1978, Winter moved to
1650-440: A co-owner and operator at Aura Recording Inc., a Manhattan recording studio where cartoons and commercials were cut. Stern described his older sister Ellen as the "complete opposite" of himself and "very quiet." In 1955, the family moved to Roosevelt, New York , on Long Island , where Stern attended Washington-Rose Elementary School followed by Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School . Stern also attended Hebrew school where he
1815-654: A common interest in bass guitar and motorcycles . They quickly developed a rapport between each other during auditions, which earned them the title roles. A longstanding urban legend has it that Reeves auditioned for Bill and Winter for Ted. According to Winter, the story emerged because the characters are so similar, and even he and Reeves sometimes became confused about who was who. Through rehearsals, Winter and Reeves worked on developing their Bill & Ted characters to move them away from being stereotypical comedic slackers and insert sincerity and other more human elements into them. While they developed mannerisms outside of
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#17330936594301980-433: A deal with CBS to compete with Saturday Night Live on NBC and MADtv on Fox. His show, The Howard Stern Radio Show , an hour-long program that aired on mostly CBS affiliates, was formed of taped highlights from the radio show with additional material unseen from his nightly E! show, including animated segments and exclusive behind the scenes footage. Following its debut on August 22, 1998, on 79 stations nationwide,
2145-465: A deal with Simon & Schuster worth around $ 1 million to write his first book, Private Parts . He spent the summer writing it with collaborator Larry "Ratso" Sloman and editor Judith Regan , calling the experience "the most challenging thing I have ever done in my career". Upon its release on October 7, 1993, Private Parts was an immediate commercial success. The entire first print of 225,000 copies sold within hours. In five days, it became
2310-571: A deal with the iN DEMAND network to launch Howard Stern On Demand , a digital cable video-on-demand service, to broadcast uncensored tapings of the Sirius radio show. The service was relaunched as HowardTV in March 2006 and lasted until it was discontinued in December 2013. A new, state-of-the-art studio and office space were constructed for the show at Sirius' headquarters in New York City. On January 9, 2006,
2475-454: A draft was complete. Winter said in March 2012 that he and Reeves both liked the finished script, which revisits the two characters after the changes of the past 20 years. The script did not feature the return of the Grim Reaper from Bogus Journey; but when actor William Sadler expressed interest, the writers considered ways to include the character. In August 2012, Dean Parisot (director of
2640-724: A feature film adaptation of Brother Sam , the biography of comedian Sam Kinison written by his brother. In the same month, the E! network began to air weekday highlights from Stern's radio show using cameras installed in the studio. Howard Stern ran for eleven years; the last original episode aired on July 8, 2005. On April 3, 1995, three days after the shooting of singer Selena , Stern's comments regarding her death and Mexican Americans caused controversy among his listeners in Texas and some Mexican American communities. Among his criticisms of her music, sound effects of gunfire were played: "This music does absolutely nothing for me. Alvin and
2805-554: A former nurse in the air force and news reporter at WFBR in Baltimore . Quivers was sent a tape of Stern interviewing a prostitute on the air, and she accepted the job without meeting him. She assumed she "would come in and do the news ... but it wasn't that way". Despite several issues management had over content, which led to the installation of a seven-second delay to censor questionable moments, Stern "kept chipping away at management's archaic approach, and we began to assemble
2970-531: A freak radiation burst, [the show] follows the travels of the Bradley family as they cross the country in an RV looking for a new place to call home". Stern was to produce the series and voice Orinthal, the family's dog, but the show never made it to air. Stern's most successful executive production was Son of the Beach , a television parody sitcom of Baywatch that ran from March 2000 to October 2002 on FX . The show
3135-447: A gross of over $ 10 million. In November 1992, Stern returned to Saturday night television as the host of The Howard Stern "Interview" , a weekly one-on-one celebrity interview series on the E! network which ended in 1993. Stern appeared at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards as Fartman , a fictional superhero originating from the humor magazine National Lampoon . Presenting an award with Luke Perry , Stern appeared on stage in
3300-471: A hazmat suit with his buttocks exposed similarly to his 1992 MTV Music Video Awards appearance. In November 2001, Stern's production company had begun development on a weekly television sitcom titled Kane for CBS, originally intended to replace The Howard Stern Radio Show following its cancellation, with Ron Zimmerman as the writer of its pilot episode. Its premise followed "an oddball southern family and its strong-willed patriarch. The lead character's life
3465-429: A high-school project, it is chiefly remembered for bringing Keanu Reeves to the attention of a mass audience. Classicists, however, will always cherish it as the only film ever to combine the music of Van Halen with Greek philosophy. When Bill and Ted embark on their quest, what should be their first destination if not classical Athens, and who should be the very first 'historical dude' bundled into their time machine if not
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#17330936594303630-434: A highway rest stop after Stern in exchange for his endorsement on Interstate 295 , south of Trenton , New Jersey. A $ 1,000 plaque was installed at the stop, which was stolen days later and mailed to Stern. The rest area closed in 2003 as part of budget cuts by Governor Jim McGreevey . Stern held his second pay-per-view special, The Miss Howard Stern New Year's Eve Pageant , on December 31, 1993. The show centered around
3795-484: A late-night talk show, this time replacing Chevy Chase , whose show had been cancelled in October of that year. After The Adventures of Fartman was shelved, Buchwald started to pitch deals with book publishers as "there was a perception that [Stern] had taken a hit ... we thought of the book as something that would both produce income and suggest to people that Howard had economic clout". In early 1993, Stern signed
3960-402: A lawsuit against SiriusXM for $ 300 million, claiming further annual bonuses were not paid despite Stern meeting subscriber growth targets. On April 17, 2012, Judge Barbara Kapnick disagreed with their suit and dismissed it "with prejudice", thus preventing Stern and Buchwald from filing other suits over similar allegations against the company. The pair filed an appeal to the decision, but it
4125-561: A live stage show. He declined offers to work in Los Angeles , including NBC's offer of $ 50,000 if he accepted the move, but chose to stay in New York to "kick NBC's ass". In a press conference held in October 1985, Stern announced the signing of a five-year contract with Infinity Broadcasting worth an estimated $ 500,000 to host afternoons on its rock music station WXRK from November 18. WNBC agreed to let Stern out of his contract. Otherwise,
4290-451: A microphone, tape machine, and turntable in the basement of his home, which Stern used to record his make-believe radio shows, incorporating different characters and pre-recorded prank calls, sketches, and commercials. He made several visits to his father's recording studio and witnessed "some of the great voice guys" work with him, including Don Adams and Larry Storch voice Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales , which began his desire to be on
4455-536: A mock beauty pageant with celebrity judges to crown the first "Miss Howard Stern". An estimated 400,000 households purchased the show for a gross of $ 16 million, breaking the subscriber record for a non-sports event held by a New Kids on the Block concert in 1990. The New York Post called it "The most disgusting two hours in the history of television". The show was released for home video in early 1994, entitled Howard Stern's New Year's Rotten Eve 1994 . It cost Stern
4620-458: A morning host at WWWW , a struggling rock station in Detroit , Michigan . His aircheck was well received by management who made an offer, but Douglas advised Stern against the move and suggested he wait for an offer from a better station. Stern went ahead regardless and accepted a deal, starting on April 21, 1980. He thought of new ways to improve his show and to be more open on the air, "to cut down
4785-486: A new one-day record for the chain, and 120,000 in its first week. It entered The New York Times Best-Seller list at number one and stayed on the list for 16 weeks. According to Publishers Weekly , 1.39 million copies were sold in 1995 alone which ranked it the year's third best-selling book. As with Private Parts , Stern's book signings attracted thousands. His November 30, 1995, appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno caused controversy after he appeared on
4950-477: A new show, determined to become more successful as the station presented a good chance for him to work in New York City, his career goal. He was determined to "kill my competition. I was going to say whatever the fuck I was going to say ... The first step was to put my team together". He sought a co-host with a sense of humor to riff with on news and current events. The station then paired Stern with Robin Quivers ,
5115-531: A non-famous medieval person called John the Serf (who is nonetheless listed in the credits). Herek screened between 200 and 300 actors for the main roles, asking actors to try for both parts during auditions. Pauly Shore and Gary Riley were among the hundreds of actors considered for the role of Ted, while Matt Adler , River Phoenix , Donovan Leitch , Gary Riley, Sean Penn and then-upcoming actor Brendan Fraser reportedly auditioned for Bill. Keanu Reeves
Alex Winter - Misplaced Pages Continue
5280-822: A number of 16 mm short films. As an actor, Winter spent many years on Broadway with supporting roles in productions of The King and I , Peter Pan , and the American premiere of Simon Gray 's Close of Play at the Manhattan Theatre Club . Winter dropped out of NYU film school before his senior year, and he and Tom Stern moved out to Hollywood, where the two wrote and directed a number of short films and music videos. Winter continued to find work as an actor, landing notable roles in such big productions as The Lost Boys and Rosalie Goes Shopping . In 1989, Winter found international success when he co-starred with Keanu Reeves , playing William "Bill" S. Preston Esq. in
5445-649: A potential maximum fine of $ 500 if he entered the state. Stern was never arrested on the warrant. In 1995, Stern signed an advance deal with ReganBooks worth around $ 3 million to write his second book, Miss America . Stern wrote about various topics, including his cybersex experiences on the Internet service Prodigy , a private meeting with Michael Jackson , his suffering with back pain and obsessive–compulsive disorder , and his run for Governor of New York. Following its release on November 7, 1995, Miss America sold 33,000 copies at Barnes & Noble stores which set
5610-476: A press conference hours before the suit was filed; he stressed to the media that the suit was nothing more than a "personal vendetta" against him by CBS president Leslie Moonves , and a distraction to the failure of the company's radio division in the aftermath of his departure from terrestrial radio as it struggled to attain ratings as strong as Stern's. Suit was filed in the New York Supreme Court , and
5775-406: A recording engineer ... I was enamored. Looking at how my father was so reverential to those people, I thought that maybe he could look at me with that kind of respect if I could get behind a microphone. Stern wished to be in radio at the age of five. He was an infrequent listener in his youth, but names talk personalities Bob Grant and Brad Crandall as early influences. His father set up
5940-595: A replacement for Piers Morgan as a judge on America's Got Talent for its seventh season. He had the show relocate to Radio City Music Hall in New York City to cater to his radio show schedule. Stern subsequently reappeared on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list at No. 26. He continued as a judge on the show for the eighth , ninth and tenth seasons. Stern left at the end of the show's tenth season in September 2015 to devote more time to his radio show. Stern
6105-548: A room in a monastery in Armonk , New York. In 1979, Stern spotted an advertisement in Radio & Records for a "wild, fun morning guy" at rock station WCCC in Hartford , Connecticut. He used some morning airtime to assemble an aircheck with more outrageous bits, including Robert Klein and Cheech and Chong records with added flatulence routines and one-liners. Stern was hired for
6270-401: A scene involving a prom, and a running gag involving the pudding cups and the "John the Serf" character that remained in the film's credits. While they had tried to find the film reels with this cut footage, Winter said that with the fate of DEG following the film, it is likely lost. The picture had been planned for a 1988 release, and filming and production had completed on schedule. However,
6435-423: A script and to direct the film with producer David Permut , and it received a budget of $ 8–11 million. Lawton described the film as "a real comedy with a beginning, middle and an end with a strong story". In 1993, the project was abandoned due to disagreements between Stern and New Line regarding the film's content, rating, and merchandising rights. In November 1993, Stern was again in talks with Fox to host
6600-590: A second television deal with Fox after network executives had disliked the content of the event and ceased discussions. During his radio show on March 22, 1994, Stern announced his candidacy for Governor of New York under the Libertarian Party ticket, challenging Mario Cuomo for re-election. Stern planned to reinstate the death penalty , remove highway tolls to improve traffic flow and limit road work to graveyard shifts hours. Stern announced that once those three goals were accomplished, he would resign and pass
6765-432: A test audience of volunteers pulled from local malls, which led to a small bidding war from production companies to get the title. Some of the former DEG executives ended up at Nelson Entertainment , and along with Orion Pictures , were able to secure new distribution rights for the film by 1988 for about US$ 1 million . Excellent Adventure was released on VHS on August 31, 1989, and on DVD on December 4, 2001. It
Alex Winter - Misplaced Pages Continue
6930-457: A video featuring Winter and Reeves was posted online which announced that the franchise's third film would be released in the summer of 2020. After a delay due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic , it was released on August 28, 2020. Two spin-off television series were produced, both titled Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures . Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954)
7095-465: A waterslide to Billy the Kid and Socrates (a.k.a. "So-crayts", of course) picking up chicks in a California mall to George Carlin acting in a film alongside Keanu Reeves and a member of the Go-Go's – none would have seemed more unlikely on its release than the idea that one day, with much media fanfare, the public would be celebrating the film's 25th anniversary. By the time Bill & Ted was released in 1989,
7260-460: A word of ancient Greek. Even the miracle of time travel, it appears, cannot serve to alter what is, for any historian, a most awkward fact: that it is impossible to be certain of what Socrates actually said. " Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is many things: a time-traveling buddy comedy, an early Keanu Reeves vehicle, and—according to at least one expert—the standard for Regency period costuming on film. Fashion historian Hilary Davidson created
7425-404: Is a flawless, purpose-built junk movie". The successes of the film and the animated series spawned a short-lived breakfast cereal called Bill & Ted's Excellent Cereal . A phone booth used in the sequel was given away in a contest presented by Nintendo Power magazine, to promote Bill & Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventure . It was won by Kenneth Grayson of Mississippi. In 2010,
7590-407: Is altered when his previously long-lost wife returns home to him and their group of eccentric children". The project was canceled before the filming stage. In late 2002, Stern acquired the rights to the comedy films Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979) and Porky's (1982) with Arclight Films. He expressed a wish to use a remake of the former as a launchpad for an unknown band. Under the deal, Stern
7755-698: Is an American broadcaster and media personality. He is best known for his radio show, The Howard Stern Show , which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1986 to 2005. He has broadcast on Sirius XM since 2006. Stern landed his first radio jobs while at Boston University . From 1976 to 1982, he developed his on-air personality through morning positions at WRNW in Briarcliff Manor, New York ; WCCC in Hartford, Connecticut ; WWWW in Detroit, Michigan ; and WWDC in Washington, D.C. He worked afternoons at WNBC in New York City from 1982 until his firing in 1985. In 1985, he began
7920-724: Is now the AMF Tempe Village Lanes on Rural Road at SR 360 (now signed as US 60 ), three miles south of Arizona State University . The mall was Phoenix Metrocenter , between Peoria and Dunlap Avenues at Interstate 17 . It closed on June 30, 2020. The Circle K store is at the intersection of Southern and Hardy in Tempe. An empty office building in Scottsdale served as the police station. Additional filming took place at selected locations in Italy, including Odescalchi castle standing in as
8085-503: Is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: Writing in British Sunday newspaper The Observer , Tom Holland noted, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure does not tend to be rated as one of cinema's profounder treatments of the relationship between present and past. The story of two Californian slackers with a time machine who, for complicated reasons, have to assemble assorted celebrities from history in order to pass
8250-787: Is the way the two teen-age heroes communicate in superlatives. We are about to fail most egregiously, says Ted to Bill, or maybe it's Bill to Ted. They are also fond of odd words, such as bodacious." In the Los Angeles Times , Chris Willman was also unimpressed, concluding: "Make no mistake, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure [...] is not a satire of mindlessness; it's unabashed glorification of dumbness for dumbness' sake. Bill and Ted are heroic in their ability to reduce some of history's great minds to their level. However, writing for Radio Times , Alan Jones decided: "A nonstop giggle from start to finish, this beguiling grab-bag of time-travel clichés, hard-rock music and Valley-speaking cool dudes
8415-525: The Bill & Ted franchise , it stars Keanu Reeves , Alex Winter and George Carlin . It follows Bill (Winter) and Ted (Reeves), who travel through time to assemble historical figures for their high school history presentation. It received positive reviews and was a modest box office success, grossing $ 40 million against a $ 10 million budget. Winter and Reeves reprised their roles in two sequels: Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) and Bill & Ted Face
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#17330936594308580-628: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over material it deemed indecent. As part of his rally against the FCC's actions, Stern released a compilation album of censored radio segments titled Crucified by the FCC in early 1991. Stern's rise as a popular radio and television figure in 1992 led to the first instance of his self-proclaimed title "King of All Media". This was initially a tongue-in-cheek jab at Michael Jackson , who had been dubbed "King of Pop". In October 1992, Stern became
8745-584: The Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens in New York City. Stern's parents are Jewish . Their families are from Poland and Austria-Hungary . Ray was an office clerk in New York City before she became a homemaker and later took up work as an inhalation therapist . Ben served in the U.S. Army on Long Island and in California during the war. He later worked as a radio engineer at WHOM in Manhattan and as
8910-542: The Panama Papers , and Trust Machine: The Story Of Blockchain , which premiered in Los Angeles on November 16, 2018. In July 2015, Winter began work on a biographical documentary of the rock guitarist and composer Frank Zappa . The Zappa Family Trust publicly gave its approval to Winter's plans for the film. Released on November 27, 2020, Zappa was not only the first documentary with access to his archives, but this project
9075-624: The live-action adaptation of the hit Cartoon Network series Ben 10 , which aired in November 2007 and garnered the highest ratings in Cartoon Network history. He directed its sequel, Ben 10: Alien Swarm , which aired on Cartoon Network in November 2009 and captured over 16 million viewers in its premiere weekend. As of 2008, he was attached to write the screenplay for the Howard Stern -produced remake of Rock 'n' Roll High School . In 2010, he
9240-472: The "King of All Media" since 1992 for his successes outside radio. He hosted and produced numerous late-night television shows , pay-per-view events, and home videos . Two of his books, Private Parts (1993) and Miss America (1995), entered The New York Times Best Seller list at number one and sold over one million copies. The former was made into a biographical comedy film in 1997 that had Stern and his radio show staff star as themselves. It topped
9405-467: The #1 documentary on iTunes. In 2013, he had a role in the thriller Grand Piano , starring Elijah Wood and John Cusack , playing The Assistant. In 2016, Winter released a short documentary entitled Relatively Free about journalist Barrett Brown 's release from prison. This was followed in 2017 by another short documentary, Trump's Lobby about President elect Donald Trump . In 2018, Winter released two documentaries, The Panama Papers , about
9570-565: The 1993 film Freaked , and for directing documentaries in the 2010s. Winter was born in London, England. His mother, Gregg Mayer, is a New York-born dancer who trained with Martha Graham , and founded a modern-dance company in London in the mid-1960s. His father, Ross Albert Winter, is an Australian who danced with Winter's mother's troupe and co-founded the Mid American Dance Company in St. Louis. Winter received training in dance as
9735-618: The 80s teen film explosion was starting to taper out. [...] Moreover, there had already been plenty of films about time-travelling teens by the time Bill & Ted rocked up in cinemas, such as Peggy Sue Got Married and Back to the Future . Few who were around then would have bet that a goofy movie about a pair of California metalheads skipping back through time in a phonebox collecting historical characters to bring back to 20th-century California for their history report would still be remembered today. But I am very much among those few". The film
9900-562: The Bill & Ted test after noticing that a scene in which the two slackers kidnap Ludwig van Beethoven features surprisingly well-executed costumes for the era." Davidson described being impressed at the authenticity of the costuming of the scenes set in Beethoven's time, after seeing the movie. Since even the background characters in those scenes were wearing quite authentic costumes, it seemed to her like an accessible and accurate measuring stick for
10065-610: The Chipmunks have more soul ... Spanish people have the worst taste in music. They have no depth". After three days of widespread media reaction and boycott threats, Stern responded with a statement in Spanish, stressing his comments were made in satire and were not intended to hurt those who loved her. The next day, Eloy Cano, a Justice of the Peace of Harlingen , Texas, issued an arrest warrant on Stern for disorderly conduct that carried
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#173309365943010230-464: The Christmas holidays in 1976. Impressed with his reliability and professional approach, the station's director hired Stern full-time for a four-hour midday shift for six days a week, for $ 96 a week. After several months, Stern became the station's production director, which lasted until November 1977 when he became its program director for an increased salary of $ 250 a week. To save money, Stern rented
10395-595: The Circuits of Time along with them. Rufus explains that time will progress normally for Bill and Ted and that they cannot miss their class presentation the next day; he then departs, leaving the empty time booth for them. As they discuss where to go next, they discover Napoleon stuck in a nearby tree, inspiring them to abduct historical figures and take them to the present for their school presentation. They leave Napoleon with Ted's younger brother, Deacon, and ask him to take Napoleon out of town before they go. They befriend Billy
10560-507: The Evil Duke's castle. The film also employs computer-generated imagery for the scenes where Bill & Ted are traveling through the 'Circuits of Time', created by the VFX house Perpetual Motion Pictures in Tempe. Winter called the experience of filming these booths difficult because in order to come up with the desired effects, the filming required multiple people to stand inside the booth, which
10725-451: The FCC deemed indecent, the situation culminated on October 6, 2004, when Stern announced the signing of a five-year deal with Sirius Satellite Radio , a subscription-based satellite radio service exempt from the FCC's broadcast regulations, starting in 2006. It was a move that has been regarded as the start of "a new era of radio". Stern's final live show on terrestrial airwaves aired on December 16, 2005. Stern's first contract with Sirius
10890-520: The Fartman costume with his buttocks exposed. According to the trademark Stern filed for the character in October 1992, he first used Fartman at WWDC in July 1981. Development for The Adventures of Fartman , a feature film based around the character, began in late 1992 with Stern reaching a verbal agreement with New Line Cinema to release it. Screenwriter J. F. Lawton was hired to prepare an outline to
11055-539: The Internet and privacy inspired him to make the 2012 documentary film Downloaded , about internet file sharing and Napster, and the 2015 film Deep Web , about the Silk Road , bitcoin , and the dark web . Winter was married to Sonya Dawson, with whom he had a son, born in 1998. The couple later divorced. In 2010, he married Ramsey Ann Naito . They have two children. Winter maintains dual British and American citizenship. On February 2, 2018, Winter revealed that he
11220-697: The Kid in the Wild West and Socrates in Ancient Greece before stopping in 15th-century England, where they fall in love with princesses Joanna and Elizabeth. Their father, the king, tries to have them executed, but Billy and Socrates help them escape. The booth, slightly damaged by an attacking knight in the process, takes them to 2688, where they discover that society reveres them and their future band. They are inspired to complete their report with "extra credit" by abducting Sigmund Freud , Ludwig van Beethoven , Joan of Arc , Genghis Khan and Abraham Lincoln . After
11385-684: The Music (2020). In 2688, humanity exists as a utopian society due to the inspiration of the music and philosophy of the Two Great Ones: William "Bill" S. Preston, Esq., and Ted "Theodore" Logan. One of the citizens, Rufus, is tasked by the leaders to travel back to San Dimas, California in 1988 using a phone booth -shaped time machine to ensure that the young Bill and Ted, two dim-witted high school students, successfully pass history class. If they fail, they won't graduate high school, and Ted's father, police Captain Logan, plans to ship Ted to
11550-579: The Nationally Syndicated Air Personality of the Year category to its annual awards, based on "entertainment value, creativity, and ratings success"; Stern was awarded the title each year from 1994 to 2002. In late 1993, Stern urged his listeners to elect Christine Todd Whitman as Governor of New Jersey after Stern promised to support the first candidate to phone in his radio show. In March 1995, following her election success, Whitman named
11715-673: The New York City area, where he and his mother lived in Montclair, New Jersey . During this time Winter began performing as an actor on and off Broadway, commuting into New York City. He reports his experience in New Jersey as being positive. In 1983, after graduating from Montclair High School , Winter was accepted into the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University . While at NYU, he met fellow aspiring filmmaker Tom Stern . The two collaborated on
11880-526: The US box office in its opening week and grossed $ 41.2 million domestically. Stern performs on its soundtrack, which charted the Billboard 200 at number one and was certified platinum for one million copies sold. Stern's third book, Howard Stern Comes Again , was released in 2019. Howard Allan Stern was born on January 12, 1954, the second child of Ben (1923–2022) and Ray ( née Schiffman) Stern (b. 1927), in
12045-457: The US box office in its opening weekend with a gross of $ 14.6 million and earned a domestic total of $ 41.2 million. In 1998, Stern received a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Male Newcomer. The soundtrack, Private Parts: The Album , sold 178,000 copies in its first week of release and entered the Billboard 200 chart in the United States at number one in March 1997,
12210-462: The Year eight consecutive times, and he is the first to have the number one morning show in New York City and Los Angeles simultaneously. He became the most fined radio host when the Federal Communications Commission issued fines totaling $ 2.5 million to station owners for content it deemed indecent. Stern became one of the highest-paid radio figures after signing a five-year deal with Sirius in 2004 worth $ 500 million. Stern has described himself as
12375-435: The air and "do a show", rather than play records. In the late 1960s, Roosevelt became a predominantly black area; Stern remembered just "a handful of white kids" had remained in his school and repeated instances of bullying from black students. In June 1969, the family moved to nearby Rockville Centre , and Stern, at age fifteen, transferred to South Side High School where he became "a total introvert." He graduated from
12540-471: The air, including an incident when he revealed the manager's salary. The situation culminated on June 25, 1982, when Stern was terminated from the station. Towards the end of his stay, Stern had more than tripled his ratings since he began, and The Washingtonian named him the city's best disc jockey. It was often believed that Stern was suspended over a controversial bit regarding the 1982 crash of Air Florida Flight 90 that made people believe he had called
12705-420: The airline and asked for prices to the 14th Street bridge , the site of the crash, and if it would be a "regular stop". But Stern said it was false, claiming "no one ever complained about it". In his last few months, Stern secured a $ 35,000 advance deal with Wren Records to produce a comedy album of song parodies with Norris, titled 50 Ways to Rank Your Mother . It was reissued in 1994 as Unclean Beaver . I
12870-453: The audience grew despite management's continual restrictions. On May 21, 1984, he made his debut appearance on Late Night with David Letterman and was featured in People magazine, increasing his national exposure. Around this time Stern appeared in the low budget comedy film Ryder, P.I. (1986) as Ben Wah, an out of control newscaster, for which he was paid $ 1,000. In May 1985, Stern claimed
13035-638: The auditorium were filmed inside the East High School auditorium, which was in Phoenix on 48th Street just north of Van Buren. East High School was demolished in 2002 as part of a redevelopment project. The production also shot a sequence on the Western Street on the back lot of Southwestern Studio in Carefree, Arizona , as well as the scenes set in the future. The scenes at the "Waterloops" water park (a play on
13200-480: The barriers ... strip down all the ego ... and be totally honest". His efforts paid off with his first industry recognition, winning a Billboard Award for Album-Oriented Rock Personality of the Year For a Major Market and the debut Top Five Talent Search contest in the album-oriented rock category from radio syndication firm Drake-Chenault , which then distributed the winning radio segments to stations across
13365-525: The battle at Waterloo) are a combination of establishing shots at Raging Waters in San Dimas and shots with the actors at Golfland Sunsplash in Mesa, Arizona . Because of the limited budget, they could not close down the waterparks for filming, and thus, all those in the background of these shots were paying customers to the waterparks on those days. The bowling alley was a Fair Lanes-branded alley at that time but
13530-402: The characters of Bill and Ted were originally seen as "14-year-old skinny guys, with low-rider bell-bottoms and heavy metal T-shirts" who were despised by the popular kids at school. Casting Reeves and Winter changed the filmmakers' images of the characters because "...once you cast Alex and Keanu, who look like pretty cool guys, that was hard to believe". Originally as a spec script , the film
13695-665: The city of San Dimas celebrated 50 years of incorporation. The celebration's slogan was San Dimas, 1960–2010 – An Excellent Adventure . Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure was selected as number 8 in Rolling Stone 's '10 Best Stoner Movies of All Time' in 2013. Writing in The Guardian on the occasion of the film's 25th anniversary, Hadley Freeman found: "Of all the delightfully improbable scenarios depicted in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure – from Napoleon Bonaparte causing havoc on
13860-419: The company paid Stern $ 25 million as per a clause in his contract. In 2006, Stern filed a trademark for the name "King of All Media". On February 28, 2006, CBS Radio , formerly Infinity Broadcasting, filed a lawsuit against Stern, Buchwald, and Sirius, claiming that Stern misused CBS broadcast time to promote Sirius for unjust enrichment during his last fourteen months on terrestrial radio. Stern held
14025-455: The controversial nature of his show. The piece caused NBC executives to discuss the potential withdrawal of Stern's contract, but rather than spend money on buying Stern out of the deal, management agreed to control Stern. To make matters worse, the station did not allow Stern to bring his show partners at first, which caused some friction between Stern and Quivers for several months. Stern began his afternoon show at WNBC on August 30, 1982, and
14190-463: The country. Despite the success, WWWW continued to decline in the ratings and failed to overtake the three more popular rock stations in the area. The quarterly Arbitron ratings released in January 1981 showed no signs of a strong audience, causing the station to change formats overnight from rock to country music, to Stern's surprise and annoyance. He lasted another two weeks before "it was time to hit
14355-641: The day of his first broadcast on Sirius, Stern and Buchwald received a total of 34.3 million shares of Sirius stock worth $ 218 million for exceeding agreed subscriber number targets set when the contract was signed. A second subscriber bonus was met in January 2007, and Stern received 22 million shares of stock worth $ 82.9 million. In 2006, Time magazine included Stern in its Time 100 list, and he also ranked seventh on Forbes ' Celebrity 100 list in June 2006. When Sirius merged with rival service XM Satellite Radio in 2008 to form SiriusXM,
14520-433: The fastest selling title in the history of Simon & Schuster. Over one million copies were distributed after two weeks. Private Parts entered The New York Times Best-Seller list at number one and stayed on the list for 20 weeks. Stern held book signings across the country, with sessions lasting as long as seven hours. The first, held in New York City, was attended by an estimated ten thousand people. Suddenly, I
14685-518: The film holds a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". The Washington Post gave the film a negative review, finding the script written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon as "made only the sketchiest attempts to draw their historical characters. They exist as foils and nothing else, and the gags that are hung on them are far from first-rate", and that if director "Stephen Herek, has any talent for comedy, it's not visible here. More than anything,
14850-532: The film was never widely released, despite positive reviews from The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly , Winter did not return to directing until 1999, when he filmed Fever . The film was shown at film festivals worldwide, including Official Selection in the Director's Fortnight at Cannes . New York Daily News praised the film, calling it "a claustrophobic mind bender. Winter sustains an aura of creepiness worthy of Roman Polanski ." Winter directed
15015-439: The film which included numerous television appearances and magazine interviews in his attempt to appeal to people who were not listeners of his radio show. Private Parts premiered on February 27, 1997, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden ; outside the theatre, Stern and Rob Zombie performed " The Great American Nightmare ", a track they recorded for its soundtrack. The film's wide release followed on March 7, 1997. It topped
15180-616: The film's ice cream scene as the "stupid" and "ugly" waiters, respectively. When Rufus plays his guitar solo, the hands in the close-up are those of Stevie Salas , who composed the film's guitar music. The film was shot on a US$ 8.5 million budget over a period of 10 weeks, including two weeks in Italy. As Herek was going after the same comedic approach to history as in Monty Python and the Holy Grail , they brought in its production designer, Roy Forge Smith , for this film. Principal filming
15345-530: The film's production nearly complete, were able to get him to complete filming. The Three Most Important People in the utopian society were envisioned to be portrayed by the band members of ZZ Top . However, Solomon had connections to the E Street Band , The Tubes and The Motels , and were able to get Clarence Clemons , Fee Waybill , and Martha Davis , respectively, for the Most Important People. The film's writers, Solomon and Matheson, appear in
15510-540: The filmed version of the scene on an old hard drive and shared them on the Internet with some additional details on its production. Winter believed that Kenny Ortega had been involved in establishing the choreography based on the time period and his recollection. Winter said neither he nor Reeves could dance prior to shooting this scene, so the scene was rehearsed for roughly an hour a day across several weeks concurrent to other parts of filming. Winter identified other scenes that he recalled filming that had been cut, including
15675-409: The first to have the number one morning radio show in the New York and Los Angeles markets simultaneously. In the same month, Stern released Butt Bongo Fiesta , a home video containing the highlight feature of "butt bongoing", an act Stern described as "frenetic spanking in time to a rock record playing in the background". The video was a commercial success; approximately 260,000 copies were sold for
15840-400: The following order: "Breakaway", "Dancing with a Gypsy", "Father Time", "Dangerous", "In Time", "Two Heads Are Better Than One", "The Boys and Girls Are Doing It", "Play with Me", "Walk Away", "Not So Far Away" and "Two Heads" (reprised over the credits). The following songs appeared in the film but were not included in the soundtrack: A theatrical sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey ,
16005-470: The four of them will change the world with their music. He asks to jam with them, but on hearing their fledgling attempts to play, he turns to the movie audience and assures them, "They do get better." The screenplay was written by Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson in early 1987, based on a comedy stand-up routine they had performed in college. Director Stephen Herek called the screenplay "incredibly laugh-out-loud", but recognized that because of some of
16170-578: The governorship to his lieutenant. At the party's nomination convention on April 23, Stern won the required two-thirds majority on the first ballot, receiving 287 of the 381 votes cast; James Ostrowski finished second with 34 votes. To place his name on the final ballot, Stern was obliged to state his home address and complete a financial disclosure form under the Ethics in Government Act . Stern applied for an injunction as he wished to avoid stating his income;
16335-433: The highest ratings at WNBC in four years with a 5.7% market share of the afternoon audience. In a sudden turn of events, Stern and Quivers were fired shortly before they were to go on air on September 30, 1985, for what WNBC management termed "conceptual differences" regarding the show. Program director John Hayes explained: "Over the course of time we made a very conscious effort to make Stern aware that certain elements of
16500-487: The highest selling debut release for a soundtrack to a feature film. Three months after its release, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping one million copies. Stern also provides vocals on " Tortured Man ", a track he recorded with The Dust Brothers . In October 1997, Stern filed a $ 1.5 million lawsuit against Ministry of Film Inc., claiming
16665-420: The historical figures at the mall to learn about San Dimas culture while seeking Napoleon. After learning that Deacon has abandoned Napoleon at a bowling alley, Bill and Ted find him having fun at Waterloo, a local water park. The historical figures are intrigued by San Dimas culture, but they get into trouble for various reasons and are arrested by Captain Logan. Bill and Ted execute an escape plan based on using
16830-517: The humour targeted a specific audience, the film was "either going to be a huge hit or a huge flop". He has said that shopping the film for distributors was difficult; Warner Bros. wanted to produce it within a US$ 10 million budget, but could not figure out how to fund it. The film was eventually picked up by Dino De Laurentiis through the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG). In a 1991 interview, co-writer Ed Solomon said
16995-402: The idea of large numbers of anonymous users discussing a variety of topics in an anonymous space. "I found that really striking then. And it seemed liked the beginning of something." He has criticized media companies and news outlets for exaggerating how many people used Napster for digital piracy . "Napster was a huge threat to the power structure," Winter said. Winter's interest in technology,
17160-504: The larger auditorium presentation as to give a better sense of scale, with a sound and light show to make a more dramatic setting. The initial cut of the film was 2 hours and 25 minutes long, and was pruned significantly. One such filmed scene was a lengthy choreographed song number that would have led off the film, starting with Bill and Ted dancing via air-guitaring on their way to school and ended up getting bullied by jocks once they arrived. In February 2020, Winter found some stills from
17325-423: The low budget for the film. They started looking at other actors who would fit the rock motif, making a short list that had included Ringo Starr , Roger Daltrey , Sean Connery , and Charlie Sheen . They soon recognized that no one on this list was a comedian, except for perhaps Starr. Producers Scott Kroopf and Bob Cort had just finished filming Outrageous Fortune , which co-starred George Carlin , and, with
17490-561: The most fundamental presumptions of his countrymen should be subjected to experimental investigation, and who ended up being made to drink hemlock for his pains, has always been admired as the very fountainhead of rationalism. Yet when it comes to identifying what he taught and believed, there is a problem, on which Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure , rather unexpectedly, puts its finger. Socrates, transplanted to 1980s California, can only communicate with his abductors by gesturing and gurning – since Bill and Ted, it goes without saying, speak not
17655-423: The news, and hosted interview programs. With three fellow students, he later co-hosted a weekly comedy show named The King Schmaltz Bagel Hour , which was initially canceled during its first broadcast for a racial sketch named "Godzilla Goes to Harlem". Stern took cannabis, Quaaludes , and LSD during his studies, but he quit after he experienced a difficult trip on too much LSD. In 1974, he gained admission to
17820-427: The next five months, he taught students basic electronics in preparation for their own FCC exams. In May 1976, Stern graduated magna cum laude with a 3.8- grade point average . His major was broadcasting and film, and his minor was English and speech. In the past, he funded a scholarship at the university. In his search for radio work following his graduation, Stern took up an offer to work evenings at WRNW ,
17985-418: The original film distributor, DEG, fell into significant debt in late 1987, and by 1988 had filed for bankruptcy. At this point, the film was in post-production, and Herek attempted to show around the rough cut to other distributors. Herek said many of these companies were confused, asking him "Are there kids that really speak like this?" on seeing the film. However, the cut had an extremely popular reaction from
18150-414: The ownership of the film's rights. In March 2003, Stern filed a $ 100-million lawsuit against ABC , Telepictures and the producers of its reality television series Are You Hot? . He claimed its premise was copied from a radio show segment of his known as The Evaluators, whereby its staff and guests evaluate the bodies of contestants. Before the show aired, Stern was in talks of producing his version of
18315-443: The picture looks paltry and undernourished." Variety wrote about each historical figure that Bill & Ted meet, stating that "Each encounter is so brief and utterly cliched that history has little chance to contribute anything to this pic's two dimensions." Vincent Canby of The New York Times referred to the film as a "painfully inept comedy" and that the "one dimly interesting thing about Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
18480-423: The plot as, "Basically, they're supposed to write a song to save the world and they haven't done that." In January, 2024, Alex hinted about a possibility of a 4th film "Bill & Ted 4". Destroy All Neighbors is another film from 2024 of gonzo horror genre. Winter began devoting a lot of his attention to the internet not just because he liked technology, but also because "I found this community there." Winter liked
18645-415: The present-day Bill and Ted that Rufus's claims are valid and that they can trust him, they disappear in the time booth. Rufus shows Bill and Ted how to operate the time booth, taking them back to 1805, where they find Napoleon Bonaparte leading his forces against Austria . As Rufus, Bill, and Ted return to the present, Napoleon gets thrown by a cannonball explosion into their wake and gets dragged through
18810-415: The program I had envisioned", which included the addition of Norris as his writer and producer. In one incident, Stern revealed his wife's miscarriage on the air. In January 1982, Stern had the second highest-rated morning show in the city. Impressed with his rapid rise in the ratings, WWDC management offered Stern an initial one-year extension to his contract, but Stern wished for a more long-term deal. At
18975-439: The program should be changed ... I don't think it's appropriate to say what those specifics were". Stern was not told whose decision it was. In 1992, he believed Thornton Bradshaw, chairman of WNBC owner RCA , heard his "Bestiality Dial-a-Date" segment that aired ten days before his suspension and ordered the show's cancellation. After his firing from WNBC, Stern kept in touch with his audience by booking dates at clubs with
19140-447: The project was soon shelved. Stern explained the series could have been produced "on the cheap" at $ 300,000 per episode, but the quality he demanded would have cost over $ 1 million each. Actor Michael Cera was cast as the lead voice. Stern also worked on a pilot with Robert Schimmel for The WB , based around the comedian's real-life experience of falling in love with his daughter's best friend following his battle with cancer, but
19305-406: The quality of period authentic costumes in movies. According to Davidson, "If a production's main costumes are less well done than those of the extras in a minor part of a 1980s teen comedy movie, we have a problem." The film's soundtrack was released in 1989. The tracks are as follows: These tracks are ordered for the album differently than they are in the movie. In the movie, the songs appear in
19470-410: The radio more than anything. Take the average guy and dissect what he does". In the summer of the 1979 energy crisis , Stern urged listeners to a two-day boycott of Shell Oil Company , a stunt that attracted media attention. It was at WCCC where Stern first met Fred Norris , the overnight disc jockey, who went on to become Stern's writer and producer since 1981. Stern left WCCC in early 1980 after he
19635-465: The request was denied by a judge on August 2. Stern withdrew his candidacy in an on-air press conference two days later, saying: "I spend 25 hours a week telling you all the most intimate details of my life ... One fact I've never revealed is how much I make and how much money I have ... it's none of your business". In the gubernatorial election on November 8, Cuomo was defeated by George Pataki , whom Stern backed. In August 1995, Pataki signed
19800-614: The road again. Somehow, I couldn't see myself as Hopalong Howie". He declined offers to work at WXRT in Chicago and CHUM in Toronto , Ontario , Canada. Douglas found Stern's next job, hosting mornings at album-oriented rock station WWDC in Washington, D.C. Stern was cautious about the offer at first as the general manager "was not really aware of what I did," but he accepted the offer and started on March 2, 1981. During his time relocating from Detroit, Stern spent several weeks planning out
19965-403: The same salary but worked a more intense schedule. After four hours on the air, he voiced and produced commercials for another four. On Saturdays, following a six-hour show, he did production work for the next three. He also completed duties as the station's public affairs director and hosted a Sunday morning talk show that he favored above playing records, as it "represented what I wanted to do on
20130-466: The same time, he was offered a five-year deal worth $ 1 million to work afternoons at WNBC in New York City, then an adult contemporary station, after radio manager Jerry Nachman became a fan of Stern and suggested his name to the station. Stern signed with WNBC in March 1982, four months before his contract with WWDC was to expire. His relationship with station management declined from then on, and he repeatedly criticized them and other deejays on
20295-431: The school in 1972; his yearbook lists Stern's sole student activity, a membership of Key Club . In 1972, Stern declined a place at Elmira College to instead pursue a communications degree at Boston University , but his average high school grades caused him to spend the first two years in its College of Basic Studies. In his second year, he started work at the campus radio station WTBU , where he played records, read
20460-476: The sci-fi/comedy film Galaxy Quest ) signed on to direct, although MGM, which held the rights to the Bill & Ted franchise, did not officially green-light the film until several years later. In an April 2014 article on the original film's 25th anniversary, Alex Winter reported that work on moving the third film forward was still in progress. Bill & Ted Face the Music was officially announced to be in pre-production on May 8, 2018. On March 20, 2019,
20625-420: The script, influenced partially by British comedians like Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan , the pair kept to the dialog written by Solomon and Mathseon, with Winter calling it "very floral, so paradoxical to how you think dumb Valley guys would speak". Winter said that to develop Bill's character, he borrowed from the looks and trends along Venice Beach , California, where he had been living, including wearing
20790-623: The show began to lose affiliates after two episodes as local broadcasters became concerned with the risque content. By June 1999, the number of stations carrying the show had decreased to fifty-five. After three seasons, the final show aired on November 17, 2001, to around thirty stations. Stern reflected on the endeavor: "It was a weird thing. When I did the Channel 9 show we used to beat Saturday Night Live in New York ;... I didn't think [the CBS show]
20955-491: The show with two bikini-clad women who kissed each other and received spanks from Stern. Leno, who urged that both acts would be edited out from the final broadcast, walked off the stage after the segment without thanking Stern. In February 1996, production began on a biographical comedy film adaptation of Private Parts for Paramount Pictures . Development had lasted over two years as Stern, who had final script approval, "rejected every script there was ... they were over
21120-532: The show's announcer. The show was subject to screen tests among focus groups in California, after which Fox decided not to pick it up. One Fox executive described the pilots as "poorly produced", "in poor taste", and "boring". Stern went on to host his first pay-per-view event, Howard Stern's Negligeé and Underpants Party , in February 1988. The special was purchased in 60,000 homes and grossed $ 1.2 million. After Stern joked about drugs being used backstage at
21285-623: The show, Michael Levine of the Drug Enforcement Administration complained to the Daily News which sparked media attention, though no investigation was made. In October 1989, fans sold out Nassau Coliseum in four hours for Howard Stern's U.S. Open Sores , a live event that featured a tennis match between Stern and his producer Gary Dell'Abate following an on-air challenge. Stern released both events for home video. In its 1990 feature on Stern, Rolling Stone predicted he
21450-491: The show. A settlement was reached five months later. In early 2004, Stern spoke of talks with ABC to host an hour television interview special as part of its Primetime series, but the project never came to fruition. In August 2004, cable channel Spike ordered thirteen episodes of Howard Stern: The High School Years , an animated series set during Stern's childhood that he was to executive produce. By late 2005, episode scripts and some test animation had been completed, but
21615-510: The smash-hit comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure , a role he reprised in its 1991 sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey . Following the success of Bill & Ted , Winter and creative collaborators Tom Stern and Tim Burns were hired to develop a sketch comedy show for MTV. The result, 1991's The Idiot Box , was canceled after six episodes. Winter, Stern and Burns accepted a $ 12 million deal from 20th Century Fox to film their own feature film, which became 1993's Freaked . While
21780-491: The station was obliged to pay him for the remainder of his deal. Determined to beat Imus and WNBC in the ratings, Stern moved to the prime time morning slot in February 1986. The show entered syndication on August 18 that year when WYSP in Philadelphia began to simulcast the program. In the New York market, Stern had the highest-rated morning radio program between 1994 and 2001. During Stern's twenty years at WXRK, his show
21945-463: The studio recruited him for a film called Jane starring Melanie Griffith while knowing it had insufficient funds. Stern, who remained unpaid when production ceased, accused the studio of breach of contract, fraud, and negligent representation. A settlement was reached in 1999 which resulted in Stern receiving $ 50,000. In April 1998, Stern announced his return to Saturday night television after he signed
22110-435: The summer, the show continued to air and entered syndication in 1991 to a peak of 65 markets across the country, including cities where the radio show did not air. In the New York area, the show frequently beat Saturday Night Live in the ratings during the thirty minutes when the two overlapped. Stern ended the program after 69 episodes, in 1992. By this time, the radio show had been the subject of several fines issued by
22275-452: The time booth in the future to set up what they need in the present. They break their historical friends out of jail, then present each to the assembled school using stage lighting effects and rousing music. Their "report" earns a standing ovation , and they pass the course. Sometime later, Rufus returns, accompanied by the two princesses he has rescued from pre-arranged marriages . He says that they will also be part of Wyld Stallyns and that
22440-485: The time of his CBS television show, Stern ventured into work as an executive producer through his production company for several television and film projects. In September 1999, the UPN network announced the production of Doomsday , an animated science-fiction comedy television series, for an initial thirteen episodes originally set to air in 2000. The series was described as: "Set in a post-apocalyptic America nearly destroyed by
22605-546: The top comedies that I think were dumb, boring and dull". After producer Ivan Reitman got involved with the project, Stern agreed to a script developed by Len Blum and Michael Kalesniko. Filming began in May 1996 with director Betty Thomas and lasted four months with Stern, Quivers, and Norris acting as their younger and current selves. The crew traveled to the film set after each radio show and stayed there to shoot on weekends. Stern embarked on an extensive publicity tour to promote
22770-732: The university's School of Public Communications . He then studied for a diploma at the Radio Engineering Institute of Electronics in Fredericksburg , Virginia, in July 1975, which earned him a first-class radio-telephone operator license , a required certificate for all radio broadcasters at the time, which was issued by the Federal Communications Commission . With the license, Stern landed his first professional radio job at WNTN in Newton , Massachusetts from August to December 1975 doing air shifts, news casting, and production work. For
22935-503: Was "on the fast track to multimedia stardom". He re-signed with Infinity Broadcasting that year to continue his radio show for five years, a deal that New York Magazine estimated was worth over $ 10 million. In July 1990, Stern became the host of the Saturday night variety television show The Howard Stern Show on WWOR-TV , starring himself and his radio show staff . Initially produced as four, one-hour specials and broadcast during
23100-612: Was a good idea actually because [the radio show] was already running on the E! network. It was a mistake ... they ultimately wanted what the Channel 9 show was doing". This executive-producing thing is fun stuff, and unlike my radio career, has been a remarkably smooth experience. I'm very much into this. It's absolutely joyous to be behind the scenes as a responsible businessman. In the first Celebrity 100 list compiled by Forbes magazine in March 1999, Stern ranked at number 27 with an estimated $ 20 million earned that year. During
23265-496: Was a mainstream performer who had real clout in the marketplace—I was bankable. Immediately they would forget about my most controversial material and the fact that I could be real dangerous as a broadcaster. In its twentieth anniversary issue in 1993, Radio & Records named Stern "the most influential air personality of the past two decades". In February 1994, Stern was featured in Rolling Stone magazine for his first of three cover stories. That year, Billboard magazine added
23430-510: Was attached to direct a 3D-remake of the 1987 horror film The Gate , which was scheduled for release in 2011. Winter's 2012 VH1 rock doc Downloaded earned worldwide critical acclaim at theatrical and festival screenings. Winter's multiple award-winning 2015 documentary Deep Web had its world premiere at SXSW and a broadcast premiere in the U.S. on the Epix network alongside a global festival tour. The film went wide in September 2015, opening as
23595-508: Was before Judge Ira Gammerman . A settlement was reached out of court in May 2006 which involved Sirius paying CBS $ 2 million for the rights to Stern's radio shows since 1985, which CBS had until then prohibited Stern from playing on Sirius. In December 2010, Stern renewed his contract with SiriusXM to continue his radio show for a further five years. His new deal allows him to work a reduced schedule from four to three live radio shows each week. On March 22, 2011, Stern and Buchwald filed
23760-566: Was called Bill & Ted's Time Van . The core plot was similar, with Bill and Ted on the verge of failing their history class, ruining their plans to form a band. However, it deviated from the film version when they borrowed a van from their 28-year-old friend Rufus. While driving the van, they end up in Nazi Germany ; and after some hijinks, bring Adolf Hitler back to present-day San Dimas before continuing to collect other historical figures. Solomon said this approach became problematic, and Hitler
23925-937: Was closely monitored, instructed to avoid discussions of a sexual or religious nature. In his first month, he was suspended for "Virgin Mary Kong", a sketch about a video game where a group of men pursued the Virgin Mary around a singles bar in Jerusalem . The station then hired an attorney to operate a seven-second delay if Stern said something potentially offensive. This soon became the task of program director Kevin Metheny , who Stern infamously feuded with and nicknamed "Pig Virus". While at WNBC, Stern also began his longtime feud with its morning host Don Imus . In 1984, Stern acquired Don Buchwald as his agent, who supervised Stern's new three-year contract with WNBC in early 1985. His popularity with
24090-711: Was considered too similar to the DeLorean used in the Back to the Future trilogy . It was later replaced with a phone booth—which, contrary to common belief, was not intended as a reference to the TARDIS from the British sci-fi show Doctor Who . (Matheson said, "All of us were so clueless and knew nothing about Doctor Who .") In earlier drafts of the script, other historical figures Bill and Ted plucked from history included Charlemagne (whom they referred to as "Charlie Mangay"), Babe Ruth , and
24255-720: Was denied a "lousy, stinking twenty-five-dollar-a-week raise". At the same time, local rival station WHCN had assembled tapes and press clippings of Stern and forwarded them to Burkhart/Abrams, a radio consulting firm, to get Stern out of the Hartford market as a rise in his ratings increased his threat to the station's numbers. The tapes were received by Dwight Douglas, a consultant at Burkhart/Abrams, who offered Stern work in Columbus , Ohio, but Stern declined. In his search for new work, Stern found an advertised position in Radio & Records for
24420-416: Was finally getting my shot at working in New York. I was going to work for the world-famous, first-class National Broadcasting Company. This was my dream come true, I thought. Little did I realize it was more like "Welcome to My Worst Nightmare". In April 1982, four months before he started at WNBC, NBC Magazine aired a critical news report on shock radio by Douglas Kiker that centered around Stern and
24585-449: Was fired "because their personnel department realized that I was the guy who just quit". Stern then worked in Queens as a radio salesman selling advertising time without considerable success. He wrote, "All of a sudden ... I realized I had turned down a job in radio". With encouragement from his mother and girlfriend, Stern contacted WRNW for work and agreed to take cover shifts surrounding
24750-658: Was given the name Tzvi. As a youngster Stern took five years of piano lessons and took an interest in marionettes , using them to entertain his friends with explicit shows. He formed a band with two school friends, the Electric Comicbook, on vocals and keyboards. From the age of nine to his second year at university, Stern spent his summers at Camp Wel-Met, a youth camp in Narrowsburg, New York where he worked camper, kitchen, and counselor duties. He recalled his time there as "the greatest experience." When I saw my father as
24915-506: Was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2012. He has been openly critical of the organization. In August 2013, Stern and Simon Cowell shared first place on Forbes ' list of America's highest-paid television personalities with $ 95 million earned between June 2012–13. Stern and Cowell tied first place in the following year's poll with the same amount earned from June 2013–14. In 2015, Forbes placed Stern as
25080-485: Was molested by an older man at age 13 while acting on Broadway. Winter refused to name his abuser, but revealed he is coping with PTSD since the incident, saying "I had extreme PTSD for many, many years, and that will wreak havoc on you." Bill %26 Ted%27s Excellent Adventure Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film directed by Stephen Herek and written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon . The first installment of
25245-483: Was not picked up. The controversy surrounding the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, aired live on February 1, 2004, led to the government's crackdown on indecency in radio and television following a surge in audience complaints. The situation prompted tighter control over content by station managers which made Stern feel "dead" creatively. After Clear Channel Communications and Viacom were fined for content
25410-411: Was not renewed for a fourth season. On December 16, 2000, Stern's last live radio show of the year, he announced the signing of his new contract with Infinity Broadcasting to continue his show for five years after four months of negotiations. Forbes estimated his new earnings ranged between $ 17 million and $ 20 million a year. Stern spoke at The Concert for New York City in October 2001 in
25575-427: Was on a gimbal in front of a green screen . Numerous equipment and prop failures ensued, and Reeves has called it "a death ride canoe from the worst carny ride you've ever been on". Initially, the film had ended with Bill and Ted giving their report within a small classroom, passing their class, and then going to the prom with the rescued princesses. The production team recognized this felt underwhelming, and created
25740-437: Was one of the first to audition, and Herek quickly identified him as their Ted, making much of the rest of casting to find a match against Reeves. Alongside Reeves, 24 actors were called back and auditioned in various pairs to find a good chemistry. On that day, Reeves was one of the first to arrive along with Alex Winter , and while waiting for the auditions to start, found out they had a lot of personal details in common, such as
25905-636: Was rejected by an appeal court. By mid-2011, Stern had reduced his time playing chess and took up photography. Among his first shoots was taking layouts for Hamptons magazine in July. He continued to shoot throughout the year, including WHIRL magazine and the North Shore Animal League , and established his photography company Conlon Road Photography, a reference to the name of the road he lived on while growing up in Roosevelt. Later in 2011, Stern announced his return to network television as
26070-469: Was released in 1991. A third theatrical film in the Bill & Ted franchise was planned, and a screenplay was written, but never got past the pre-production phase. Although rumors claimed that the script was adapted into the 1996 film Bio-Dome , Alex Winter has said that it was not. In 2010, Reeves indicated that Matheson and Solomon were working on a script for a third film, confirming in April 2011 that
26235-493: Was released on Blu-ray on November 13, 2012. Bill & Ted had its theatrical release on February 17, 1989 and grossed $ 40.4 million domestically on a budget of about $ 10 million. On Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds an approval rating of 82% based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 6.80/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are just charming, goofy, and silly enough to make this fluffy time-travel Adventure work". On Metacritic ,
26400-422: Was served as executive producer and was allowed to place "Howard Stern Presents" in the titles. He reasoned, "If I say to ... my audience, this is 'Howard Stern Presents', it means something to them ... it's going to be crazy. It means that it's going to be different, and they know I'm not going to be giving them any schlock". Development for Porky's came to a halt in 2011 following legal action regarding
26565-479: Was shot in 1987 in the Phoenix, Arizona and Tempe, Arizona metropolitan areas. Many scenes were filmed in and around Scottsdale's Coronado High School . Coronado's auditorium was torn down during 2005-07 renovations, but its unique roof and intricate exterior mosaic, seen in an opening scene when Bill and Ted leave school in a red Mustang, was saved and moved, piece by piece, to the new auditorium. The interior shots of
26730-471: Was switched out with Napoleon in their final script. Other ideas in the spec script that were dropped included more involvement of Bill and Ted's classmates, including having them time-travel with them; visiting Julius Caesar in the Roman Empire and ending up causing his death; and helping a prehistoric caveman invent fire so that they could light up a joint. The van, a 1969 Chevrolet , was abandoned as it
26895-542: Was syndicated in 60 markets across North America and gained a peak audience of 20 million listeners. Stern's first venture into television began when the Fox network sought a replacement for The Late Show , a late-night talk show hosted by Joan Rivers . Following discussions with the network that began in late 1986, Stern agreed to five one-hour pilots that were produced for an estimated $ 400,000, with guitarist Leslie West as his band leader and comedian Steve Rossi as
27060-404: Was the highest funded documentary in crowdfunding history, via Kickstarter . In April 2011, Winter's Bill & Ted co-star Keanu Reeves confirmed that a third installment of the film series was under way; the film was in development for most of the 2010s. Winter returned as Bill Preston in the film, Bill & Ted Face the Music , which was released on August 28, 2020; with Reeves describing
27225-404: Was worth $ 500 million; a budget of $ 100 million a year for production, staff, and programming costs. In 2005, he formed two channels, Howard 100 and Howard 101 , which launched in September, and formed Howard 100 News , a team of news reporters hired to report daily stories surrounding the radio show and those associated with it. Stern ended his eleven-year association with E! and secured
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