Who knows if The Howard Stern Show would be today without the influence of Fred Norris, the show’s longest-serving staffer. Norris has been working as a presenter and writer on the show since he and its host, Howard Stern, moved together to New York to start working on the show. Read on to learn more about his early life, family, career, and other facts.
the biography
Fred Norris was born Fred Leo Nukis, the second of two sons of Latvian immigrant parents; Valija and Henry Nukis on July 9, 1955, in Willimantic, Connecticut. Norris had a very torrid childhood filled with anger from his alcoholic father. Around the age of about 5, Henry Nukis abandoned the family, but this did not prevent his youngest son from being abused, his older brother, Robert, neglecting him or using him as a punching bag.
To escape the horror, Norris found solace in watching television, reading books, or taking long bike rides. Around the age of 15, his mother married a cabinetmaker named Lewis Norris. Under the guidance of his new stepfather, Norris began to thrive and get involved in extra-curricular activities such as guitar lessons.
It is not known what high school Fred Norris attended, however, for his college education, he enrolled at Western Connecticut State University. It was around this time that Norris began exploring in radio while working night shifts at radio station WCCC, a place where he first met Howard Stern. From 1979 to 1981, Norris worked for the Hartford, Connecticut-based station before joining WAQY-FM in Springfield, Massachusetts. His stint at WAQY-FM was very short, just a few months later Stern, who had created a huge following and was turning heads at WWDC in Washington, used his position and success to capitalize on the station to hire his former colleague to work as a producer on his show.
This began the long-term working relationship. A year after Norris joined Stern, the pair had moved to New York to work at WNBC, the station where they have been since.
Family – wife, daughter
Fred Norris is married to Allison Furman. The couple, who met through The Howard Stern Show’s ‘Dial-A-Date’ segment, exchanged vows on July 10, 1994. According to the IMDB website, Ms. Norris is an actress who has starred in films like Requiem for a Dream (2000), Intimate Parts (1997), and Happiness (1998). Together the couple have one child, a daughter named Tess Norris.
Radio Presenter Facts
Name change
When Fred Norris began his career in radio, he used his first name and the surname of his stepfather, whom he began to be known for. However, it wasn’t until 1991 that he decided to make it official and legally change his name from Fred Leo Nukis to Eric Fred Norris. Norris later explained that his motivation was to remove anything that reminded him of his very mean biological father. He further revealed that his middle name, Leo, was given to him by his godmother, who later ran away with his father.
Acting career
Fred Norris is best known for his career as a radio host on The Howard Stern Show, however, the Connecticut native is also an actor. He starred in a number of small roles in films and television series, including: Intimate Parts (1997) where he played the younger version of himself and Cruel Intentions (1999) where he played a metric. In 2013, Norris starred as a store owner in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Height and width
The blue-eyed, brown-haired, blue-eyed radio presenter is 1.89m (6ft 2½in) tall and weighs 80kg (176lbs).
Salary and net worth
According to the Celebrity Net Worth website, Fred Norris earns an average annual salary of $6 million. It also states that the radio presenter has an estimated net worth of around $16 million. Norris was able to earn such an income through his various professions as an actor, screenwriter, and disc jockey.