Bernie

 

(Photo: WABC Radio)

"Good morning and God bless!"

When the news hit that Bernard McGuirk had died at the age of 64, those were the first words that entered my brain.

Now, I realize we're in an era where it's frowned upon to express admiration for such a ribald person but I readily admit that Bernard McGuirk -- Bernie -- made me laugh to the point that I nearly drove off the road while commuting to work back in the 1990s.

Bernie was the executive producer and a chief foil on the "Imus in the Morning" radio program.

I will not hide from the fact that Bernie was also fired as a result of the Rutgers women's basketball commentary made on the show in April 2007. He was instrumental in that and paid a price.

But I think back to the 90s when the show's irreverent humor -- in which literally everyone was the target of barbs -- was good and as influential as anything I've ever listened to.

No, I'm not kidding. Everyone got thrown into the fire, including the "Imus in the Morning" crew. In fact, especially the "Imus in the Morning" crew. Bernie, always calling Don Imus "Chief," always spewed vitriol at his boss, especially in the guise of his most popular character.

The Cardinal. John Cardinal O'Connor.

The good Cardinal, wearing a FedEx envelope on his head, was ostensibly there to read the New York lottery numbers. Often, he would, but more importantly, he'd offer commentary on events on the day.

Every time he did it, the segment opened the same way: "Good morning and God Bless!" said in an Irish brogue.

It ended with the same thing: a multiple-choice quiz called "Which Doesn't Belong and Why?"

It was irreverent. It was fierce.

It. Was. Hysterical.

It also crossed lines that wouldn't get crossed today.

It was also brilliant satire.

But we've evolved and some of it can now induce cringing because I know the reactions wouldn't be kind.

Don Imus and Bernard McGuirk (Photo: Richard Drew, AP)

Look, I'm not here to try to defend Bernie, Charles McCord, Imus, or anyone else. I'll offer that it was a different time. We've moved forward. I'm certainly not the same as I was in 1993. Things have changed.

I listened to some of the audio online following the news of Bernie's passing. Most of it still makes me laugh out loud. A few things make me groan.

McGuirk eventually returned to radio when Imus came back on WABC in Dec 2007. By then the raucousness of the older days was mostly gone and, eventually, Bernie began to shuffle toward his post-Imus career. he began doing political commentary and hosting some talk shows on his own. Eventually, he began hosting "The Bernie & Sid" show with fellow "Imus" alum Sid Rosenberg.

You had to be on your game with Bernard McGuirk. I talked to him a few times off the air and he was as fast as anyone with a quip. That's what made him brilliant on the air.

He was charitable, helping Imus with the annual Radiothon as well as supporting the Imus Ranch for kids with cancer as well as SIDS. 

Tributes poured in from those who worked with Bernie or simply encountered him.

A guy from the South Bronx who once drove a cab before working on one of the biggest radio shows in the world is gone.

He would have been 65 in just a few days.

The Bald-Headed Stooge is gone.