Radio Active
This book can be opened with
Note on our eBooks: you can read our eBooks (ePUB or PDF) on the free Fordham Books app on iOS, Android, and desktop. To purchase a digital book you will need to create an account if you don’t already have one. After purchasing you will receive instructions on how to get started.
Radio Active is William O’Shaughnessy’s fifth collection of essays, on-air interviews, tributes and eulogies, endorsements, recollections of an evening, and more from “perhaps the finest broadcaster in America” whose commentaries are akin to “potato chips” per former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger because “You can’t stop with only one.”
The book opens with a ringing signature defense of the First Amendment and collected O’Shaughnessy correspondence with heroes and “villains,” and insightful sections honoring former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, who said, “When O’Shaughnessy is on his game . . . he’s better than anyone on the air or in print.” There is also a section on the estimable Bush family.
In eliciting “provocative and candid revelations” from his wide circle, this new compendium pulses with brilliant, insightful prose and a life-affirming reverence for luminous people, places, and events, past and present.
“I applaud the white-haired mogul’s editorials. So many remain silent. He has always been there for me. —Howard Stern
“I enjoy Bill O’Shaughnessy’s ‘character’ portraits. They are like potato chips — you can’t stop with only one!” —Henry Kissinger
“O’Shaughnessy’s commentaries are great and beautifully said.” —Jack Welch, Former Chairman, General Electric
“His listeners love him — and his radio stations. O’Shaughnessy really understands.” —Rush Hudson Limbaugh III
“Bill O’Shaughnessy is a commentator of insight, wit, uncompromising honesty, and overwhelming persuasion.” —Congresswoman Nita Lowey, Chair, House Appropriations Committee
“What a terrific pen Bill O’Shaughnessy has. His writings are touching and strong.” —Jonathan Bush, brother of President George H.W. Bush
“I always enjoy Bill O’Shaughnessy’s writings.” —Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York
“I always look forward to reading the history of our times [that] Bill O’Shaughnessy has captured.” —David McCullough, Historian and Author
“I’m the Voice of the Yankees . . . but he’s clearly the Voice of New York!” —John Sterling, New York Yankees
“He can’t describe a scene as well as Jimmy Breslin . . . and he’s not as ‘easy’ a writer as Pete Hamill . . . but when O’Shaughnessy is on his game he’s better than anyone on the air or in print.” —Mario M. Cuomo, 52d Governor of New York
“There was a big, broad range to the life of Nelson Rockefeller. He was a high roller as much at ease with the Emperor of Japan and the Shah as he was with Meade Esposito of Brooklyn or any Yonkers politician,” nonpareil broadcaster William O’Shaughnessy said on January 27, 1979. It was a fairly mild day in New York City and Westchester, home to Rocky and O’Shaughnessy’s influential radio stations, WVOX and WVIP. The deep, numbing cold came from another source; Rockefeller, the “Great Squire of Pocantico Hills,” had died of a heart attack the night before.
O’Shaughnessy’s tribute to the dazzling New York governor and vice president—in the admiring voice of a personal friend—is representative of what readers will encounter in this rich, generous trove of interviews, commentaries on the great issues of the day, eulogies, endorsements, recollections of an evening and other poetic enthusiasms. O’Shaughnessy’s fifth anthology, Radio Active paints a vivid portrait of American life, politics, history, entertainment, and much more from the author’s perch in Westchester, the heart of the Eastern Establishment—and through his exquisite lens of probing but compassionate observation.
You’ll get an insider’s perspective—and more than a few “classified” tales—through masterful chronicles of the passions, pronouncements, deeds, and amusements of O’Shaughnessy’s power-broker acquaintances and famous friends—from Governor Mario Cuomo, the Bush family, writer Philip Roth, and that provocative but altogether generous titan of the airwaves Rush Limbaugh, to priests, bishops and cardinals, as well as beloved local characters, the “Townies” of Westchester, a/k/a the “Golden Apple.”
O’Shaughnessy may be a Rockefeller Republican—and friend and fan of President Donald Trump—but his decades-long “love affair” with Mario Cuomo and the Cuomo family is an important counterbalance endowing the author with a unique voice that rises above divisions and distinctions in today’s roiling politics to embrace not the hard-line ideologies or mean-spirited partisanship, but instead exalt a life-affirming willingness to listen, and let his subjects be heard uncensored, their faults and felicities in full view.
Radio Active notably opens with powerful voices ardently defending the First Amendment and Free Speech—and from there O’Shaughnessy’s passion and Irish lyricism, rolls out copiously in piece after magnetic piece.
Ultimately what makes Radio Active so powerful is the author’s insights borne of keen perception and impressive and unique access—as well as his own rarefied status in the world of fellow communicators. His praise of others is ultimately an exact portrait of his own salutary station. To paraphrase his paean to Rockefeller: “There is a big, broad range to the life of William O’Shaughnessy. He is a high roller … as much at ease with President Trump, Governor Andrew Cuomo and the archbishop of New York Timothy Cardinal Dolan as he is with any swashbuckling and “colorful” Corona restaurateur or powerful Bronx politico.”
A great testament to the distinguished career of a renowned author, writer, broadcaster, and journalist... a must-read book.---Pacific Book Review
Radio Active is a glorious hodgepodge of snippets from the O'Shaughnessy files.---Foreword Reviews
If you love great thoughts expressed in very good writing, I urge you to pick up a copy of Radio Active... Not only is it a good read, but it serves as a textbook on interviewing skills, ammunition for defending the First Amendment, and an object lesson in respecting and reconciling widely-differing points of view.---The Small Market Radio Newsletter
In an era where social media creates echo chambers of thoughts, O'Shaughnessy's style is his own, and he owns it; yet it makes the readers of his books nostalgic for an older style of political discourse that was inclusive and civil. The more private moments, personal stories, and fond memories here further establish that beyond every opinion is a human being, and we ought to listen to what those human beings have to say. Recommended.---The US Review of Books
Foreword by Mario M. Cuomo | xv
Introduction | 1
PART I. THE FIRST AMENDMENT
“Forty-five Simple Words” by Jack Valenti | 5
Bill O’Reilly’s “Character Assassination”: A WVOX Commentary | 8
The Silencing of Imus | 12
Bob Grant on the Imus Controversy | 15
“Don’t Hush Rush . . . ” | 18
Missing in Action by Patrick D. Maines | 21
The Real Obscenity | 24
Floyd Abrams: Notes and Observations on the First Amendment | 26
Free Speech on the Airwaves: Confab with Mario Cuomo | 32
Ambassador Ogden Rogers Reid | 43
Nancy Pelosi v. James Madison | 46
Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism | 57
Obsequious Acquiescence by William O’Shaughnessy | 62
Issue Advertising Is the Issue | 69
Re: Corporate Censorship | 71
First Amendment Warriors by William O’Shaughnessy | 72
A Towering Triumvirate | 77
PART II. OPEN MIC RADIO INTERVIEWS
Chris Ruddy, Chairman of Newsmax | 85
Interview with Dan Rather on his Book What Unites Us | 90
Bill Mohl, President, Entergy Wholesale Commodities | 93
Roger Stone on The Man Who Killed Kennedy, the Cuomos, and More | 105
Richard Norton Smith, Historian and Biographer | 115
Angelo Martinelli, Publisher | 137
“The Mendicant,” Father Paul Lostritto, O.F.M. | 147
Bishop Joseph Sullivan | 161
Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York | 170
Dr. Christopher Comfort, Medical Director, Calvary Hospital | 174
Frank Gifford: “#16” | 185
William O’Shaughnessy on the Fred Dicker Radio Show | 188
Alfred F. Kelly Jr. | 191
Gerald Shargel, Esq. | 204
John Cahill | 212
PART III. OF AN EVENING...
A Little Night Music | 231
The Best Interpreters of the Great American Songbook | 234
“A Real New York Evening . . . ” Review | 236
On the Occasion of Sirio Maccioni’s Eightieth Birthday | 237
Sirio Maccioni of Le Cirque | 238
Saloon Songs from Toots Shor to Sirio Maccioni | 249
More “Saloon Songs” (an Update) | 257
“The Numbers” | 264
The One Night Stand of Charles Osgood | 268
PART IV. IN PRAISE OF “VIVID SOULS”
The Unforgettables | 273
A Different Kind of List | 289
Vivid Women in Every Season | 293
Notes for the Four Seasons Tribute Evening | 296
Westchester County Press Ninetieth Anniversary | 299
Richard Clark’s Eightieth Birthday | 301
Judge Samuel Fredman’s Ninetieth-Birthday Celebration | 304
HOPE Community Services Gala: Honoring Frank Endress | 311
Celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Christian Brothers | 314
A Community Celebration Honoring Commissioner Patrick J. Carroll | 316
PART V. EULOGIES: THE LAST WORD
Eulogy for John S. Pritchard III | 323
Henry Kissinger’s Tribute to John McCain | 326
Philip Roth, Out and About of an Evening | 329
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Eulogy for Jimmy Breslin | 333
A Personal Tribute to Jimmy Breslin | 336
Our Neighbor Ruby Dee | 344
Tribute to Ruby Dee by Harry Belafonte | 346
“A Death in the Family”: Tim Russert | 349
Don Rickles and the Focaccia Kid at Le Cirque! | 354
Frances W. Preston, “Th e Lady from Nashville” | 355
Kate O’Shaughnessy Nulty’s Tribute to Mary Jane Wharton, Her Grandmother | 357
Nelson: A Child of the Neighborhood | 359
William O’Shaughnessy’s Tribute to Martin Beck | 365
Tribute to Paul Hutton | 368
Tribute to Peter Mustich, Townie | 370
Another Beloved Townie Open Line Caller | 372
Tribute to Rick Buckley, Beloved Broadcaster | 376
Tribute to Stu Olds, Beloved Broadcast Exec | 379
Tribute to Ward Quaal, Broadcasting’s Greatest Statesman | 382
William B. Williams’s Hall of Fame Induction | 384
Tribute to Dawson B. “Tack” Nail | 387
The Passing of Peggy Burton | 390
Diane Gagliardi Collins Passes Away at Ninety | 392
John Mara’s Eulogy for Ann T. Mara | 393
Eulogy for Joseph A. Anastasi, “The Captain” | 398
Eulogy for the Hon. Salvatore T. Generoso, “The Last Legend” | 401
Caryl Donnelly Plunkett: An Appreciation | 404
An Appreciation of Jim Delmonico (1920–2012) | 408
The Incomparable “Joe Slick”: An Appreciation | 410
John Scully: A Sailor and a Gentleman | 414
A Tribute to “Colonel” Marty Rochelle | 417
Tribute to Ambassador Edward Noonan Ney | 420
Tribute to Bob Grant | 421
“The Amazin’ ” Bill Mazer | 422
Tribute to Governor Brendan Byrne | 423
Page Morton Black, the “Chock full o’Nuts” Lady | 424
Brother Driscoll of Iona, Great Educator and More | 427
Rush Limbaugh III Tribute to Ed McLaughlin | 430
PART VI. THE OBLIGATORY MARIO M. CUOMO SECTION IN EVERY BILL O’SHAUGHNESSY BOOK
“The Morning After”: A Stunningly Candid Interview with Governor Andrew M. Cuomo | 441
Remarks of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo at Central Synagogue Interfaith Service | 455
Mario Cuomo: A Dream | 460
Matilda Cuomo | 461
William O’Shaughnessy Interview with Mario Cuomo Re: Andy O’Rourke | 472
Interview with Mario M. Cuomo | 476
Dutch Treat Club Annual Dinner Presentation of the Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement
in the Arts for Governor Mario M. Cuomo | 484
Dutch Treat Club Luncheon | 486
An Evanescent Supreme Court Nomination: The Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Story | 497
Andrew Cuomo’s Eulogy for Mario Cuomo | 500
Mario: This Is Personal | 513
“Quotable Quotes”—Reviews of Mario Cuomo: Remembrances of a Remarkable Man | 523
A Note on Mario Cuomo and Teilhard de Chardin | 532
Mario Cuomo’s Omega Society Speech: A Meditation on Ultimate Values | 533
PART VII. THE EXTRAORDINARY BUSH FAMILY
George W. Bush’s Eulogy for His Father, President George H.W. Bush | 541
Whitney Global Media Endorsement: George H.W. Bush for President, 1992 | 546
Thank You Letter from “41” | 551
George W. Bush for President, 2000 | 552
Billy Bush Deserves a Second Chance | 555
Phil Reisman: In Defense of Billy Bush | 557
“Great on Imus”: A Letter from Jonathan Bush | 559
Jonathan Bush’s Letter on Imus to CBS Radio | 560
PART VIII. AIRBORNE ENDORSEMENTS
Governor Andrew Cuomo for Governor | 565
Alessandra Biaggi for State Senate | 569
Julie Killian for State Senate | 571
George Latimer for Westchester County Executive | 576
Rob Astorino for County Executive | 580
Judge Daniel Angiolillo | 584
Ernie Davis for Mayor | 587
Stay the Course with Mayor Bradley | 589
PART IX. A MAN OF LETTERS
Letter to Rush Limbaugh (March 1, 2018) | 593
Letter to Rush Limbaugh (March 26, 2018) | 594
Letter from Rush Limbaugh to William O’Shaughnessy | 596
Letter to Rush Limbaugh (April 23, 2018) | 597
The Holy Roman Catholic Church: Letter to Michael “Lionel” Lebron | 598
A Note from Dan Rather | 600
Facebook Note from Kate O’Shaughnessy Nulty | 601
In Defense of Le Cirque: Letter to Pete Wells | 602
Letter to Pete Wells Regarding the new Four Seasons | 605
Admiring John Sterling: Letter to Scott Herman | 607
“A Westchester Legend”: Letter from Samuel G. Fredman | 609
Re: William B. Williams and Rick Buckley: Letter from Dick Robinson | 611
Letter to William O’Shaughnessy from Ralph Graves | 613
PART X. THE GREAT ISSUES. ABORTION AND THE DEATH PENALTY: LIFE IN EVERY INSTANCE
Timothy Cardinal Dolan: Reclaim the Truth of the Human Person | 617
The Greatest Issue, Abortion: A WVOX Commentary | 624
The Death Penalty (Pope Francis’s view) | 625
The Death Penalty (Gov. Mario M. Cuomo’s view) | 626
Las Vegas Shooting: Another “Thoughts and Prayers” Day | 631
The New Killing Season | 634
Comments from “The Deplorables” | 636
The 137 Real Reasons Why Hillary Lost and Trump Won | 639
“Those People” | 644
Down-Home Democracy in the Land of Thomas Paine | 646
Fifty Years after President Kennedy Was Assassinated | 647
Acknowledgments | 649
Index | 657
Photographs follow pages 200 and 424