Rush Limbaugh Dead: Radio Personality Dies at 70

Rush Limbaugh, a well-known radio personality, has died at age 70, his wife, Kathryn Adams Limbaugh, announced at the beginning of his show Wednesday, February 17, 2021. He was battling lung cancer, his family said in a statement.

“It is with profound sadness I must share with you directly that our beloved Rush, my wonderful husband, passed away this morning due to complications from lung cancer,” she said on the show.

Read on to listen to his wife’s statement or listen to it here. Limbaugh was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in January 2020. His radio show, “The Rush Limbaugh Show,” began in 1988. Former President Donald Trump also spoke to Fox News about his relationship with Limbaugh.

The program began 33 years ago on national syndication with only 56 radio stations and grew to be the most listened-to radio show in the country, airing on more than 600 stations, according to the show’s website. It had a fan base reaching 27 million people tuning in weekly. Limbaugh called his fans “Dittoheads,” because they often said “ditto” when they agreed with his commentary.

Here’s what you need to know:

Kathryn Adams Limbaugh Announced Her Husband Died in a Moving Statement on His Radio Show

Rush Limbaugh’s wife got behind the microphone on the “Rush Limbaugh Show” to announce her husband had passed away on Wednesday, February 17, 2021. In her announcement, she called him “the greatest of all time.”

“Hello everyone,” she says as the show opens. “I know that I am most certainly not the Limbaugh that you tuned in to listen to today. I, like you, very much wish Rush was behind this golden microphone right now welcoming you to another exceptional three hours of broadcasting.”

She spoke about her husband’s love for his fans, and told them he passed away.

“For over 32 years, he has cherished you, his loyal audience, and always looked forward to every single show,” she said. “It is with profound sadness I must share with you directly that our beloved Rush, my wonderful husband, passed away this morning due to complications from lung cancer.”

She called her husband “larger than life” and “the greatest of all time.”

“As so many of you know, losing a loved one is terribly difficult, even more so when that loved one is larger than life,” she said. “Rush will forever be the greatest of all time.”

Trump Described Meeting Limbaugh After Delivering a ‘Controversial’ Speech & Glenn Beck Called Limbaugh ‘a Revolutionary That Saved Radio’

Conservative politicians and journalists memorialized Rush Limbaugh in moving statements on Twitter and other social media channels.

“No words … I just got news the Rush Limbaugh has passed away,” wrote Glenn Beck. “Thanks Rush for all you taught, gave and were. A hero to many. An icon. A patriot. A revolutionary that saved radio. Heavens gain, our loss.”

President Donald Trump spoke to Fox News about the ceremony when he awarded Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the State of the Union address just days after Limbaugh announced he had lung cancer.

“100 percent of that room respected Rush,” Trump said.

He said he became friends with Limbaugh after Trump delivered a “controversial” speech, and Limbaugh “loved it.”

READ NEXT: Kathryn Adams Limbaugh Announced Husband Died on ‘The Rush Limbaugh Show’