Remembering Rush Limbaugh: Today Marks 1 Year Since Legendary Broadcaster Died

On February 17, 2021, the broadcasting world was turned upside down when Rush Limbaugh's wife, Kathryn, announced his death at the top of his show.

Nearly one year before, on February 3rd of 2020, Rush made the stunning announcement that he was fighting advanced lung cancer and that he had began treatment. Since then, he continued to do his show, along with guest hosts who would fill in for him on treatment days or days when he wasn't able to be on the air.

I wrote "the broadcasting world" because everyone was affected by Rush's death - radio, television, and even podcasting personalities. Rush was an inspiration to many - whether it was future broadcasters, future conservatives, or even future politicians.

Rush was also hated by many. Some even celebrated his death on Twitter.

And that's only part of what made him such an iconic broadcaster. He elicited change and elicited reaction from millions of people.

The Rush Limbaugh Show began 33 years ago. As pointed out by Fox News, his nationally-syndicated talk show grew from 56 stations to more than 600.

For me, one of the most enjoyable things about listening to the Rush Limbaugh Show was hearing the nicknames he gave political figures. Some of them made people laugh. Some of them made people angry, especially liberals who Rush poked fun at daily.

Rush's nicknames also caused controversy, which Rush loved stirring up. For instance, do you remember what he called former U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La.)? Mary "cute little baby fat" Landrieu, according to Media Matters. He also described Landrieu as "the most expensive prostitute in the history of prostitution" after she casted a deciding vote for Obamacare in 2009, according to nola.com.

Of course, there were also the nicknames he had for himself and his staff - "the Maha Rushie," James Golden aka "Bo Snerdley" (call screener, producer, and engineer) and Katherine "Cookie" Gleason Prayias (Executive Producer) - to name just a few.

A Special Honor For A Larger-Than-Life Icon

President Donald Trump, who awarded Rush the Presidential Medal of Freedom, spoke with Fox News that day about Limbaugh's fight against cancer, how Kathryn took such great care of Rush, and Limbaugh's support of his presidency.

"He was a fantastic man; a fantastic talent," said Trump about Limbaugh.