Bernard McGuirk

In 2021, McGuirk was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. According to WABC personality Curtis Sliwa, McGuirk continued to work despite going through chemotherapy, and dealing with bouts of appendicitis and pneumonia. McGuirk died on October 5, 2022, of cancer which had metastasized to his brain.

In early 2016, McGuirk partnered with Sid Rosenberg to host a morning radio talk show on WABC, called The Bernie and Sid Show, which became the replacement show when Imus retired on March 29, 2018. The show aired for more than four years, until McGuirk's death.

On April 1, 2015, during the Imus in the Morning show on Fox Business, McGuirk called Apple CEO Tim Cook a "bigot hypocrite" for "running his mouth" about the subject of the religious freedom Indiana law passed the month prior.

On January 9, 2014, during a debate on Imus in the Morning about a group erecting a statue of Satan next to a sign of the Ten Commandments, McGuirk advocated that "They should be able to put the statue up, and then they should be shot right next to it, and then we take it down." McGuirk subsequently apologized, claiming that his comments were "rooted in ignorance".

McGuirk played a role in an on-air incident on April 4, 2007 that caused a nationwide controversy and ultimately led to both him and Imus being fired. During a discussion of the Rutgers University women's basketball team, Imus characterized the players as "rough girls with tattoos". McGuirk responded in his familiar "urban-speak" vernacular by referring to them as "hardcore hos". The ensuing "urban-speak" conversation involved Imus describing the girls as "nappy-headed hos" and McGuirk wondering if Imus meant to imply that the two teams looked like something out of Spike Lee's film School Daze, the "jigaboos versus the wannabes"; apparently referring to the two teams' differing appearances. Imus said "Yeah."

On April 11, 2007, MSNBC announced that it would immediately stop simulcasting the show. Originally, both CBS and MSNBC had announced a two-week suspension of the program. The next day, CBS fired Imus and canceled Imus in the Morning, effective immediately. CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves stated:

The day before, CBS chairman Sumner Redstone said he trusted Moonves would "do the right thing", but didn't elaborate. McGuirk was noticeably absent the following week when other Imus contributors, including newsman Charles McCord and sportscaster Chris Carlin, were on the air with the WFAN replacement team of Mike Francesa and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo. McGuirk was fired by WFAN on April 19, 2007.

On April 26, 2007, McGuirk appeared on the Fox News Channel program Hannity & Colmes to discuss his dismissal. On May 14, 2007, he reappeared on the program to debate Al Sharpton on the events that led to the cancellation of the Imus in the Morning program.

On May 2, 2007, McGuirk made a guest appearance on Jay Severin's radio program. Although there was some speculation in the media that the sometimes controversial station might be auditioning McGuirk for a job, executives of WTKK denied that this was the case. Boston talk radio station WRKO scheduled McGuirk to appear as a co-host with Thomas Finneran from May 23, 2007 to May 25, 2007, but canceled the appearance reportedly due to public criticism.

McGuirk returned to the airwaves with Imus on December 3, 2007. Along with serving as the executive producer, he also had an on-air role. The program was heard on WABC in New York as well being nationally syndicated on stations owned by or affiliated with the ABC Radio Network and was also seen on the Fox Business Network. McGuirk was one of several people who rotated hosting of the post-Imus midday slot from May to October 2010 on WABC, a job that eventually went to Joe Crummey.

McGuirk was an alum of Cardinal Hayes High School. He worked in radio and television since 1986 after he graduated from College of Mount Saint Vincent in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, New York. He was best known for his long run as the executive producer of Imus in the Morning, a show that was nationally syndicated from 1993 until its end in 2018.

Bernard J. McGuirk (October 26, 1957 – October 5, 2022) was an American radio personality. He was host at WABC in New York City alongside Sid Rosenberg. He was born and raised in the South Bronx, New York, where he worked in his younger years as a taxi driver.