Getty Former "Dancing With the Stars" host Tom Bergeron mourned the loss of his close friend.
Former “Dancing With the Stars” host Tom Bergeron mourned the loss of his friend, former “Howard Stern Show” writer and comedian Al Rosenberg. He was 78 years old, per NJ.com. A cause of death was not shared publicly.
Bergeron wrote a tribute to his friend via Instagram on June 27. He shared a collage, showing pictures of himself and Rosenberg.
“During interviews, I’ve often been asked to pick my favorite of the many shows I’ve hosted or co-hosted. It must be either the Tic-Tac-Toe one, the slapstick video one or the fancy dancing one, right? Nope,” Bergeron wrote. “None of the above.”
According to the Internet Movie Database, Bergeron is known for “DWTS,” “Hollywood Squares,” “Star Trek: Enterprise” and “Castle.”
Bergeron has a net worth of $14 million, per Celebrity Net Worth.
Bergeron Reveals His Favorite Place to Work
Bergeron and Rosenberg worked together on “Breakfast Time,” a morning show that aired on FX from 1994 to 996, per the Internet Movie Database.
“My absolute favorite, no contest, was “Breakfast Time” on fX, which the Los Angeles Times referred to as ‘masterfully choreographed chaos,’” Bergeron said. “The three other people in those pictures are the major reason why.”
“Al Rosenberg, via his wart-laden, bug-eyed alter ego of Bob the Puppet, was our comedic Greek chorus,” he continued in his Instagram post. “I’ve never enjoyed going to ‘work’ more. This morning, after a brave, months-long fight, Al moved on from being our Greek chorus to, I’d like to believe, joining a heavenly one. Rest in peace, my friend.”
Bergeron is an Emmy award-winning actor who hosted “DWTS” from 2005 to 2019, per Us Weekly.
Bergeron said his firing from “DWTS” wasn’t a surprise.
“In all candor, the show that I left was not the show that I loved,” Bergeron said on Bob Saget’s podcast, “Here For You.”
“The end of the season that turned out to be my last season, I kind of knew. So I took everything out of my dressing room that I really wanted,” he continued. “It was kind of obvious that we were butting heads.”
Bergeron wrote in a since-deleted tweet that he was displeased after “DWTS” was considering adding former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer to the lineup, as noted by The Wrap. Spicer competed in season 28, which turned out to be Bergeron’s last season.
Rosenberg Had a Falling Out With a Radio Host
Rosenberg originally worked for radio host Don Imus on WNBC’s “Imus in the Morning.” The two had a falling out.
“I left on bad terms,” Rosenberg said during a 2022 YouTube interview on “Here’s the Pitch.” “When I left it was because I had to.”
Rosenberg started to work for Stern in the ’80s after leaving Imus’ show.
“He would sit in on our show and all of a sudden he’d do a voice in the background and yell something out and it was pretty funny,” Stern said on his June 28 show, per NJ.com. “I was like, ‘Hmm, this feels good.’”
“Stern Show” staff member Fred Norris said Rosenberg support Stern and the show when many others didn’t.
“The man was a saint,” Norris said about Rosenberg, per NJ.com. “We were in a den of s*** and Al was the only [one] who came up to us and spoke to us like we were human beings. He showed us respect, he showed us love, and I swear to God … I never heard him say a bad word about anybody — the guy didn’t have a mean bone in his body.”