Rush Limbaugh, the radio host who dominated conservative media for three-plus decades, died Wednesday at the age of 70. He was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in February 2020.
The Missouri native got his start in small-town radio stations in the 1970s, hosting in Kansas City in the early ’80s, then moving to Sacramento’s KFBK in 1984.
It was at KFBK where he developed the slogan “For those of you in Rio Linda”, taking a shot at the intelligence of what he mistakenly saw as an economically depressed community in the northern suburbs of Sacramento. On his radio show, Rio Linda was often referred to as “The Benighted Armpit of Sacramento”. It was later revealed that he had mistaken Rio Linda Boulevard in the Del Paso Heights neighborhood of the City of Sacramento for the community of Rio Linda.
A few years later, he moved away from KFBK and transitioned to national syndication with his EIB Network. From 1992-96, Limbaugh hosted a syndicated half-hour TV show that was produced by late Fox News founder Roger Ailes.
Limbaugh received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump at the 2020 State of the Union address, just one day after revealing his diagnosis to his listeners.
He is survived by his wife Kathryn Adams Limbaugh.
