Atlanta’s own Neal Boortz has been named a member of the national Radio Hall of Fame.
After being nominated, Boortz actively campaigned for a spot. “I’m not going to sit back and sing ‘Que Sera Sera,’ ” he said. “Obama campaigned!”
It obviously worked. He asked folks at Cox corporate, his syndicators and the 300,000 people on the Fair Tax organization email list to vote, vote, vote.
His producer Royal Marshall emailed him a note saying that, yes, he is now officially a legend. “At least in my own mind,” Boortz added.
The man with Libertarian leanings has been in talk radio for four decades and is now heard on more than 250 radio stations nationwide including WSB-AM.
“I got emails. Even people who don’t like me voted for me,” he said. “They wrote that I deserved it since I’ve been around so long.” ,
“So it’s all about being around a long time?” I asked.
“Longevity trumps talent apparently,” he cracked.
“He is on Cloud Nine,” said his producer Belinda Skelton. “When he found out, he was almost to the point of tears.” She heard he won by a landslide.
The ceremony is on November 7 in Chicago.
“I will modestly boast about it tomorrow,” he said. Modest? Is that word even in his vocabulary?
Past inductees include Abbott & Costello. Jack Benny, Don Imus, Casey Kasem, Rush Limbaugh, Red Skelton, Scott Shannon, Bob Hope, Paul Harvey. Harry Carey and Edward R. Murrow. Esteemed company indeed.
118 comments Add your comment
Rah
August 5th, 2009
6:20 pm
Good for Boortzie! I don’t agree with too much of him too often, but he has definitely earned his keep, going back to the day of the old WRNG/680. He still entertains, in this current day of crap-radio.
dana
August 5th, 2009
6:23 pm
blah, blah, blah!!!
Congrats Boortz!!!
Marconi
August 5th, 2009
6:31 pm
It’s about time Boortz! Congrats from the beyond.
Manny
August 5th, 2009
6:35 pm
I cannot stand Neal Boortz. But I am a fan of Neal Boortz and listen to him more than any other conservative talk show host.
Congratulations, Neal Boortz! I’m happy for you. (And tomorrow, I will be listening to you and shaking my head.)
NA
August 5th, 2009
6:36 pm
well deserved
Now with all of this recognition can you use it to turn up the heat on the fair tax, and slow down the senseless destruction of American way of life by our own government. Stay on the offensive.
Freddy Mertz
August 5th, 2009
6:37 pm
Boortz? Weren’t you a John Bircher way back when?
Marcy
August 5th, 2009
6:37 pm
Way to go!!! Definately deserves it.
Freddy Mertz
August 5th, 2009
6:38 pm
Boortz-Why does Brian Wilson hate your guts? (remember him? you screwed him on a tv station deal back in the 90’s)
Evander Holyfield
August 5th, 2009
6:40 pm
Boortz- you used to represent me as my agent. Told me to get into ownership of lousy car dealerships. I sued you for malpractice. Now in the Hall of Fame? WTF? Loser
Denver
August 5th, 2009
6:43 pm
right up there with Ludlow Porch!
Anne
August 5th, 2009
6:46 pm
Damm, you won…I was praying that you would lose by a landslide. I can stand you or your crew…
TUESDAY VANDY GIRL
August 5th, 2009
6:46 pm
Libertine Free Market principles will always win out in the end…
Love ya Uncle Neal!
Kim Petersen
August 5th, 2009
6:46 pm
Neal
The number of folks in the Atlanta radio business with tiretracks on their backs from you is beyond measure. You’re a truly s*%ty person. Karma will not be your friend. An evil persona has a funny way of bringing on terminal illnesses. You my friend are evil
Tom Houck
August 5th, 2009
6:50 pm
Neal Boortz = The turd in the Hall of Fame punchbowl.
Vanilla Shake
August 5th, 2009
6:51 pm
Who in the world would vote for this JERK! I think people just felt sorry for him and decided why not.
Tammy Lloyd
August 5th, 2009
6:53 pm
I worked with Boortz in the 1980’s. I would trust a rabid pitbull before Boortz. Backstabber…liar…arrogant pr-ck…hypocrite. Take your pick
Bob
August 5th, 2009
6:57 pm
” worked with Boortz in the 1980’s. I would trust a rabid pitbull before Boortz. Backstabber…liar…arrogant pr-ck…hypocrite. Take your pick”
Truer words never written.
Jeff
August 5th, 2009
7:02 pm
Congratulations, Mr. Boortz. You’re also in the distinguished company of Fibber McGee & Molly, Goodman Ace, Alan Freed, Amos ‘n’ Andy, Eve Arden, William B. Williams, and Jimmy Durante.
Unfortunately, you’re also in the extinguished company of Walter Winchell.
Well, nobody said the Hall of Fame was perfect!
Simpleton Wiseman
August 5th, 2009
7:04 pm
Just D@m# , Boortz CongratulationI still think you are Satan’s twin.
OedipusTax
August 5th, 2009
7:08 pm
Some delightful hate mail. Neal loves them, and I love them too. They hate, by the folks that supposedly are the nobel ones, that stand above the rest of us! You can be they don’t give a dime to charity. Look at those lefties reveal their true nature, which is more filled with hate than anybody they criticize, by a country mile! No wonder Pepto Bismol still sells, and they’re 27 million on anti-depressants!
atl1000
August 5th, 2009
7:11 pm
“Karma will not be your friend. An evil persona has a funny way of bringing on terminal illnesses”
gee, i didn’t know a ‘persona’ could contract a terminal illness, dumba$$! you haters need to go away and pout and leave the majority of us who enjoy neal alone! goodbye and good riddance!
Ralph from Ben Hill
August 5th, 2009
7:13 pm
Boortz makes a nice living from stoking the fires of racism and dissension. Everything is a black/white issue cos that’s what his low brow audience tune in to hear. “Welfare brood mares”, “boo got shott”; all radio schtick to get ratings at the expense of poor folks. He is an equal opportunity hater, I will grant him that. Folks in trailer parks, projects, blue collar workers, are all grist for his mill. What’s sad is that he wouldnt give his blue collar audience the time of day if he met you. Fact is he hates you. He’s a lousy classist snob
Billy
August 5th, 2009
7:13 pm
Jeez, I haven’t heard his show in years. Didn’t he say he was going to retire at 60?
Tom Houck
August 5th, 2009
7:18 pm
To Oedipus: Did you finish 3rd grade?
<>? Did you mean “noble?
<>?
<>??
English as a Second Language classes are not that expensive chump
Tom Hughes
August 5th, 2009
7:22 pm
Congrats big guy, well deserved.
Steve Holman
August 5th, 2009
7:24 pm
Hall of Fame? Far out, you owe it all to Bugsy
Radio Wisdom
August 5th, 2009
7:30 pm
Boortz deserves this for running countless wgst
hosts out of town.
Gentleman Jim
August 5th, 2009
7:34 pm
2008: Howard Stern orders his listeners NOT to vote for him because he considers the Radio Hall of Fame to be a meaningless farce. 2009: Boortz campaigns hard for inclusion. I can’t believe Boortz is more vain than Stern!
Brad
August 5th, 2009
7:38 pm
Congratulations! You deserve it. I started listening to you just after 9/11 and have been loyal ever since. Thanks for what you are doing with the FairTax.
chris
August 5th, 2009
7:40 pm
Love him or hate him this thread is evidence enough he deserves the award.
Grats Neal!
Liz F.
August 5th, 2009
8:01 pm
Well-deserved indeed. What a couple of weeks — a new grandbaby and now this? People might start calling him fortunate…
Johnson
August 5th, 2009
8:04 pm
F**K him and his mama.
Mark Mays
August 5th, 2009
8:05 pm
Thanks to you Neal, Clear Channel Atlanta
is the worst big market we operate,
Danny Schaefer
August 5th, 2009
8:10 pm
Congrats Neal, privledge to have competed
against you, I mean gotten my butt beaten
by you on gst.
Throckmorton
August 5th, 2009
8:27 pm
Hmmm…
DHD
August 5th, 2009
8:31 pm
Does that mean we can talk about abortion now?
Good job, Neal.
Eric Seidell
August 5th, 2009
8:31 pm
Damn u and moceri for ruining gst.
Sarah
August 5th, 2009
8:32 pm
Well done Neal, luv ya lots
James in roswell
August 5th, 2009
8:33 pm
Now use your newly found fame to get the
damn fair tax adopted.
Ryno
August 5th, 2009
8:34 pm
Amazon.com best selling author and Radio Hall of Fame – the man has talent to burn and he’s getting better w/ age. Congrats Mr. Boorttz
Mark
August 5th, 2009
8:35 pm
Neal Boortz but still no Howard Stern
the whole award is BS
The Mays Family
August 5th, 2009
8:36 pm
Bite me Boortz!
Tony
August 5th, 2009
8:37 pm
just reading the emails show why you are so popular..luv or hate, you da man…
Kelli
August 5th, 2009
8:39 pm
Congratulations Mr Boortz, you’re an
inspiration to those who wish to follow in your
footsteps
The Kimmer
August 5th, 2009
8:41 pm
Always despised you brother, but kudos for
the recognition.
Semper Fi
Randall B, Tom Parker, Ken Charles
August 5th, 2009
8:45 pm
And all the other former PD’s of WGST:
thanks for getting us fired.
jimbo
August 5th, 2009
8:49 pm
wonder if he would have gotten this if he stuck with WGST instead of bolting to “We’re Such Buttheads” (his words back then). Same host. Oh well, I guess butt-heads paying you a butt-load of money make them less of a butt-head, huh Neal?
Amy
August 5th, 2009
8:50 pm
Clark is going to be SO jealous when he finds
out. Congrats Mr Boortz
Brad Steel
August 5th, 2009
8:53 pm
looks like the inductees are a who’s who of racist a$$holes
this ranks up there with millie vanilli getting grammy
Gave Hobbs
August 5th, 2009
8:57 pm
Had a good thing going at the News Monster
till you bailed to the giant cox down the street.
Thanks for the battles early on, congrats grandpa.