This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous.Find sources: "Elvis Duran" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Elvis Duran
Duran at the Grammy Awards in 2015
Born
Barry Brian Cope[1]

(1964-08-05) August 5, 1964 (age 59)[1]
McKinney, Texas, U.S.
Spouse
Alex Carr
​
(m. 2019)​
Career
ShowElvis Duran and the Morning Show
Station(s)Z100, Y100, Q102, 107.5 KISS-FM
Time slotMonday-Friday 6am–10am ET
CountryUnited States

Elvis Duran (born Barry Brian Cope; August 5, 1964)[1] is an American radio personality. He is the host of the daily morning radio program Elvis Duran and the Morning Show in New York on Z100 and in syndication on Premiere Networks.[2][3]

Before his job at Z100, Duran's previous radio work included a stint as an on-air personality at WIOQ in Philadelphia. He served as WIOQ's program director from May 1989[4] until just before he was fired in February 1990.[5][6] In October 1991, Duran became both the program director and morning show host of KBTS (now KGSR) in Austin, Texas.[7]

Prior to working at Z100, Duran also worked evenings at Z-93 with sidekick "Hot Henrietta" in Atlanta, and at Power 104 KRBE in Houston. He began his run at Z100 hosting the afternoon slot until April 1996,[8] when Tom Poleman, the newly appointed program director (previously at KRBE Houston), moved Duran to the morning slot, where he has been ever since.

Elvis Duran and the Morning Show

Duran began hosting his daily radio show on New York's Z100 in April 1996. The show expanded to Sussex County NJ in 2003 on WHCY-FM Max 106.3 and Y100/WHYI-FM in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale on May 22, 2006. The show signed a national deal in March 2009 with the radio syndication company, Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel.[9]

Elvis Duran and the Morning Show has since added more than 75 stations including 101.1 Y101/WHYA-FM Cape Cod, 96.5 KISS FM/WAKS-FM in Cleveland, Q102/WIOQ-FM in Philadelphia, WERZ (107.1 FM) in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Z96.3 in Manhattan, Kansas. The show premiered on its first Canadian station, CIRR-FM in Toronto, the world's first commercially licensed LGBTQ radio station, on October 5, 2020.[10][11][12] The show also airs on XM Satellite Radio, iHeartRadio.com, and the iHeartRadio mobile app. The show had the Elvis Duran Replay Channel on iHeartradio but was removed in 2019 in favor of the On Demand channel.

Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month

Main article: Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month

Since 2013, Duran has had a segment on NBC's Today show with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb called "Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month", where Duran selects a new up and coming artist to spotlight each month[13] or twice a month. Although a majority of the artists are American, international acts have been featured as well.

Other media ventures

In 2007, Duran launched his own entertainment company, The Elvis Duran Group (EDG). Owned by Duran and talent agent David Katz, the company focuses on content creation across all media. EDG's first foray into television resulted was the four-episode, 2010 Spike TV series Phowned, an iteration of the radio show's Phone Taps prank-call segment.[14]

For two years in a row, Duran co-hosted the Live Grammy Red Carpet Show with Entertainment Tonight on Pop.[citation needed]

In 2019, he released his first book through Simon & Schuster titled, Where Do I Begin? Stories (I Sort of Remember) from a Life Lived Out Loud.[15] The book became a New York Times bestseller.

Awards

Duran and EDMS have received several awards and nominations, such as “Best Morning Show” by New York's Achievement in Radio Awards, “Personality of the Year” by the Radio Music Awards, “Best Personality” by Radio & Records, “Best Top 40 Disc Jockey” nomination by Billboard Magazine Radio, and “Best Major Market Top 40 Air Personality” by Billboard/Airplay Monitor. The National Association of Broadcasters recently nominated EDMS for the 2012 NAB Marconi Award for Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year. In 2014, Duran was featured on Out magazine's "20th Anniversary Out 100" list as one of the most influential figures in the LGBT community.[16] In 2015, Duran was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame as the Music Format On-Air Personality, and the Today Show celebrated this milestone.[17]

Duran served as an event chair for the 2016 GLAAD Manhattan Awards, where he was honored for his contributions to the community.[18] On Thursday, March 2, 2017, Duran was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On April 9, 2018, he was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters's Broadcasting Hall of Fame, along with television game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.[19]

Philanthropy

Duran serves on the board of directors for Rock & Rawhide, a non-profit organization that aims to increase adoptions while also providing a quieter, stress-free life for animals surrendered to shelters.[20] Duran also contributes to the Staten Island Zoo’s[21][22] annual endowment and Robin Hood Foundation.[23] Having publicly come out as gay in 2010, Duran is also engaged in philanthropic efforts affecting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community, and works closely with GLAAD and The Trevor Project.[24]

Personal life

Duran lost 110 pounds by undergoing bariatric sleeve surgery in 2014. He came out as gay during a 2010 broadcast, and was grand marshal of the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade in 2016.[25]

Duran and his partner Alex Carr were engaged on July 13, 2018.[26] They were married in a civil ceremony at the Richmond County Surrogate Court on Carr's native Staten Island on August 22, 2019,[27] and had a wedding ceremony on September 14, 2019, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[28]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ a b c Lovece, Frank (October 11, 2019). "Z100's Elvis Duran is coming to Huntington". Newsday. New York City/Long Island. Archived from the original on October 12, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  2. ^ Edel, Raymond A. (July 9, 1999). "Co-Host Leaves The Zoo For A Gig In Washington". The Bergen County Record. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2008.
  3. ^ "Elvisduran | Bizshark Find Business Contacts, Email, Phone and More". Bizshark.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  4. ^ Logan, Joe (May 8, 1989). "The Man Behind That Syllabic Sign-Off". The Philadelphia Inquirer. At WIOQ-FM (102.1), program director Mark Driscoll has been upped to operations manager, and jock Elvis Duran has been named program director.
  5. ^ Logan, Joe (February 12, 1990). "A Battle Plan For A War Against Static". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. F10. WIOQ-FM (102.1) afternoon-drive jock Elvis Duran has relinquished his title of program director at the contemporary dance station.
  6. ^ Logan, Joe (February 19, 1990). "Democrats Not Rushing To Get Rizzo Off Air". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Elvis Duran, WIOQ-FM (102.1) jock and former program director, is out, only days after acknowledging that he was looking for work in other cities.
  7. ^ Herndon, John (October 31, 1991). "KNNC-FM targets collegiate crowd; Station debuting today offers alternative rock, acts that appeal to local student crowd". Austin American-Statesman. After the very public firing of morning host Mike Butts and program director Lisa Tonacci last month, B-93 has quietly hired Elvis Duran to fill both positions.
  8. ^ Hinckley, David (June 28, 1999). "Z-100's Come Long Way In Three Years". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2008.
  9. ^ Rachel, Nelson (March 30, 2009). "Premiere Radio Networks Syndicates Elvis Duran And The Morning Show" (Press release). Los Angeles. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  10. ^ Thiessen, Connie (September 28, 2020). "Syndicated Elvis Duran show joins Proud FM lineup as part of station refresh". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  11. ^ "Elvis Duran Debuts In Toronto". Radio Ink. September 28, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  12. ^ "Elvis Duran Gains First Canadian Affiliate, Toronto's 'Proud-FM 103.9' CIRR-FM". Inside Radio. September 28, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  13. ^ "25-year-old Conrad is Artist of the Month". Today. March 12, 2015. Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  14. ^ Huff, Richard (December 13, 2010). "Spike TV signs on 'Phowned,' televised version of the 'Elvis Duran' morning radio show". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  15. ^ "Elvis Duran". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  16. ^ "Out100: Elvis Duran". Out. November 11, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  17. ^ "Celebrating Elvis Duran as he enters the Radio Hall of Fame". Today. November 6, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  18. ^ "GLAAD Manhattan". Glaad.org. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  19. ^ "Elvis Duran To Be Inducted Into NAB Hall Of Fame - RadioInsight". January 16, 2018.
  20. ^ "Rock & Rawhide". Rockandrawhide.org. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  21. ^ Buccellatto, Sarah (July 17, 2012). "Z100's Elvis Duran to host celebration at the Staten Island Zoo". Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  22. ^ "Staten Island Zoo". Statenislandzoo.org. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  23. ^ Foundation, The Robin Hood. "The Robin Hood Foundation". Robinhood.org. Retrieved July 25, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  24. ^ Nichols, James (August 19, 2013). "Elvis Duran, Gay DJ, Talks Coming Out, LGBT Issues And The Future Of Radio". Huffington Post. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  25. ^ Rothaus, Steve (April 5, 2016). "Radio's Elvis Duran to show his gay pride all weekend in Miami Beach". Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  26. ^ Santos, Gracelyn (July 16, 2018). "Z100's Elvis Duran and long-time partner Alex Carr of Staten Island are engaged". Staten Island Advance. New York City. Archived from the original on September 16, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  27. ^ Santos, Gracelyn (August 23, 2019). "Z-100's Elvis Duran and Staten Islander Alex Carr tie the knot, celebrate at Stone House Restaurant". Staten Island Advance. New York City. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  28. ^ Telling, Gillian (September 14, 2019). "Elvis Duran Is Married! All the Details on His Festive Santa Fe Wedding". People. Archived from the original on September 16, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2019. The longtime Z-100 radio deejay, 55...
  29. ^ "Elvis Is Dead...On Tonight's 'Law and Order: SVU.'". Insideradio.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elvis Duran.
Elvis Duran and the Morning Show
Authority control databases
Categories