Jay Diamond is a former American

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

host from the Manhattan Beach neighborhood of

Brooklyn, New York City Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

who began his move to the radio by being a frequent caller to other radio programs, especially

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

's popular Bob Grant's show. Diamond broadcast for several years in the 1990s and early 2000s in New York City, first on WABC (then home to Bob Grant, who at the time considered Diamond a sort of protégé.) Having started in the left of center before moving to the right, by the mid-2000s he had moved back to the political left, on

WEVD WEVD was the call sign held by three New York City commercial radio stations, with related ownership, from 1927 until 2003. This call sign was formed from the initials of recently deceased Socialist Party of America leader Eugene Victor Debs. H ...

, and finally on WOR. His last scheduled broadcast was in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, his ''Jay Diamond Show'' appearing on

WRKO WRKO (680 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by iHeartMedia, WRKO is a Class B AM station that provides secondary coverage to portio ...

until 2005. Diamond is a voice

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and has given short radio plays performed by "The Mighty Diamond Art Players," all of whom are himself. One of his famous impersonations was of

Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights and social justice activist, Baptists, Baptist minister, radio talk show host, and TV personality, who is also the founder of the National Action Network civil rig ...

. Diamond also

parodied A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satirical or ironic imitation. Often its subject is an original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, etc), but a parody can also b ...

the speaking style of other New York City politicians, such as then-Governor

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo ( , ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

and former Mayor

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. Koch was a lifelong Democrat who ...

. In 2009, Diamond wrote an opinion essay for the ''Buzzflash'' site, "Talk Radio is a Cancerous Blight on the Nation, Not 'Entertainment.'" His last time hosting a radio program was in February 2013 when he and Frank Morano filled in on

CRN Digital Talk Radio Networks CRN Digital Talk Radio Networks, sometimes simply referred to as ''CRN'' or ''CRN Digital Talk'', is a syndicator and distributor of radio programs and talk radio networks. History CRN was founded in 1983 as Cable Radio Network to provide commerc ...

External links

Diamond's Twitter page

References

1956 births American impressionists (entertainers) American talk radio hosts People from Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn Radio personalities from New York City Living people {{US-radio-bio-stub

See also

External links

References