XM Satellite Radio Programming

Opie and Anthony

Who are Opie and Anthony?
Page 1 | Page 2

Opie & Anthony have found a new home on XM Radio for their cutting-edge style of outrageous radio. Their new show airs coast-to-coast each weekday morning from 6-10AM ET & 7-11AM PT, with additional encores around the clock.

Only XM subscribers can listen to Opie & Anthony on XM's newest premium channel - High Voltage (XM 202) - for an additional monthly fee of only $1.99 per radio.

Opie and Anthony were both native New Yorkers, born in Queens and raised in Long Island, although they never knew each other as kids. Opie (Gregg Hughes) was raised among a veritable brood of brothers and one sister, along with various foundlings his parents took in over the years. The Hughes boys spent their days cementing the backyard for no apparent reason, using the same cement bags to haul their meager lunches into school, and sharing bathtub water weekly. On rare occasions they took vacations to faraway lands, where they'd brave perilous rapids, vicious mosquitoes, and horrible sun poisoning to enjoy sugar and margarine sandwiches with their Grandmother in upstate NY.

Anthony Cumia, on the other hand, spent an exciting childhood in Long Island with his mother and a pot growing uncle, who assured dear old Mrs. Cumia it was only a basil-oregano hybrid. Later, perhaps to avoid any unpleasant entanglements, Ant shipped off to beautiful San Juan Capistrano, CA, where he lived with his dad, a cheery guy who once got him laid for his birthday. Ant also enjoyed horse riding and CB radios. He was the notorious "Wrangler," known throughout the land for picking up fat gals with enchanting handles. (Hey, when the biggest event of the year in your town is watching the swallows come home, you gotta do something.) Eventually Ant found his way back to Long Island, where many a day in high school was spent exactly that - high.

Opie, however, made his parents proud and set off for Geneseo college, where he soon found his penchant for DJ'ing at a local bar, although he had to be careful what time of the month he worked. Nevertheless, Op was determined and eventually he ended up working the late shift back in Long Island, spinning records into the wee hours at WBAB with the likes of Bob Buchman. It was during an OJ Simpson parody song contest in August of 1994 when he received the entry "Gonna Electric Shock OJ," by a local band known as Rotgut. The lineup included Anthony, who was spending his days knocking tin for Apollo Air Conditioning in Bay Shore and using the company van to go jet skiing, as well as his brother Joe. The song became a hit on Opie's show, and he invited Anthony and Joe down to the studio to play live. This sparked many further appearances, where Ant & Joe jumped at any airtime opportunity they could, hoping to escape the inevitable pit of destruction so many Long Island bands fall into at some point or another.

The chemistry between O&A began to build however, with Ant's impressions catching Op's interest, although he did find his newfound friend with an afro a bit strange. The idea to form some sort of show was born at the infamous "Pancake Summit" at IHOP, but they needed an outlet to get going. Soon enough, in February 1995, they were discovered by Ron Valeri, then program director at WAAF in Wooster, MA. Taking a deep breath, O&A took the job and moved to the Boston area, where they lived with Ant's mother-in-law Judy and her cute little dog Chester. They were now fully committed to a radio career together, and began to forge their partnership into something far, far larger than either could have imagined.

Part Two

In March of 1995, Ron Valeri decided to head for greener pastures and abandoned O&A to the program directing of the man from Nebraska, Dave Douglass. It took Dave a month before he tried to split O&A up, cornering Op at the water cooler and expressing his concerns about Anthony. Opie ignored him, and in May of 1995 they unleashed their greatest promotion of all time, Whip 'Em Out Wednesdays, or simply WOW.

This promotion encouraged listeners to put WOW stickers on their cars, and female listeners who saw them were then enticed to flash their breasts. This promotion helped Op & Ack become the hottest show in the Boston radio market, putting WAAF significantly on the map for the first time ever. With outrageous stunts and hilarious content, O&A's show began to take on a life of it's own, burying the competition. As their fan base built, however, so too did their enemies, and Dave Douglass, along with station general manager Brucie Mitman, fought many a legal battle with women's groups, gay rights activists, and more. Eventually, in May of 1997, Douglass caved in and ordered O&A to stop the WOW promotion. This put O&A at odds with management, and they felt compelled to do more, and push the limits of radio even further.

Things culminated in April of 1998, when Opie called Anthony bright and early on the first of the month to unveil his newest idea for an April Fool's Prank. Ant, still groggy and hung over, agreed, and that day on air the boys reported the tragic death of Boston's Mayor Menino, whose limo had been struck by a tractor trailer in Florida. Since Menino was in the air at the time, it took some time before City Hall could confirm or deny the report, and the gag caught hold around town. The outrage was so severe that the very next day O&A were suspended without pay.

A week went by in minute increments as various public relations personnel scrambled to fix things, but the damage was done. Despite silly attempts at making good to the public, including public pie throwing and gift giving to cancer ridden kids, on April 9, 1995, O&A were called to the Colonnade Hotel and summarily terminated by Don Belucas. It was then that O&A, after drowning their sorrows, knew they could never fully trust another radio station's management ever again. They were on their own, and they knew without a doubt that they could rebound and become bigger than ever. Vowing to one day return and get their revenge on WAAF, O&A left the state of Massachusetts.

Part Three

On June 26, 1998, O&A were back on the air, this time on the legendary rock station 102.7 WNEW in New York City. They were hired by Scott Herman, who unfortunately followed in the steps of Ron Valeri and soon left the station after O&A arrived. Nevertheless, the boys were excited to be in the hottest market in the country, and along with such famous personalities as Scott Muni and Carol Miller, began mixing their trademark humor in-between Two For Tuesdays and Rock Of NY promos. They trusted their new PD, Roger, who had a "master plan" that included O&A in a big way.

As time went on, however, tensions rose as O&A began to eclipse the music DJ's with their talk segments. The "plan" turned out to be nothing but a vague idea, and before long it was all out war between the boys and the DJ's. The station began to boil as personalities clashed and ratings rose and fell. Eventually the decision to go all talk was made, and many people left WNEW, seeking to escape a sinking ship.

Continue To page 2

Find other Personalities:
XM Satellite Radio Personalities
Sirius Satellite Radio Personalities