Elvis Duran

Early life and career

Elvis Duran was born in McKinney, Texas; his radio career has spanned 30 years and has included both host and program director duties at Philadelphia’s WIOQ and Austin’s KBTS, as well as stints at Z-93 in Atlanta and KRBE Houston.

Elvis Duran and The Morning Show

He began hosting his daily radio show on New York’s Z100 in April 1996. The show expanded to Sussex County NJ in 2004 and Y100/WHYI-FM in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale on May 22, 2006. Since then, the show has enjoyed much success resulting in a national deal in March 2009 with the country’s leading radio syndication company, Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel. In only a year, Elvis Duran and the Morning Show added more than 30 stations including 96.5 KISS FM/WAKS-FM in Cleveland, Q102/WIOQ-FM in Philadelphia and WERZ (107.1 FM) in Portsmouth. The show also airs on XM Satellite Radio, iHeartRadio.com, and the iHeartRadio mobile app. The show replays each day on the Elvis Duran Replay Channel on ElvisDuran.com.

Consistently ranking #1 across multiple demographics in nearly 80 markets, EDMS is the most listened to Top 40 morning show in the U.S. Broadcasting live from New York’s Z100, the show consists of pop culture news, celebrity guests, hit songs, and regular features including the gossipy “Entertainment News."

Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month

Since 2013, Duran has his own 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 or twice a month. Past artists who have appeared on the segment include American bands like A Great Big World, American Authors, Los 5, MAGIC GIANT, Midnight Red, Ocean Park Standoff, The Revivalists, Saving Forever, the duos Lion Babe, Lipstick Gypsy and Secret Weapons, independent and emerging American artists like Jon Bellion, Cris Cab, Sabrina Carpenter, Greyson Chance, Jessie Chris, Rozzi Crane, Rachel Crow, Daya, Mikky Ekko, Roy English, Emily Estefan, Ferras, Jordan Fisher, Adam Freedman, Gallant, Todrick Hall, Olivia Holt, Parson James, Tori Kelly, Kirstin Maldonado, Laura Marano, Austin Mahone, MAX, Bea Miller, Jake Miller, Marina Morgan, Chord Overstreet, Ben Rector, Bebe Rexha, Skylar Stecker, Spencer Sutherland, VÉRITÉ, Tyler Ward, Whitney Woerz, Zendaya and more. Duran at times introduces non-American artists as Artist of the Month giving them huge exposure in the American markets. Such international artists include Grace, Vance Joy, Conrad Sewell and The Griswolds (Australia), Alessia Cara and Shawn Hook (Canada), Isac Elliot (Finland), AudioDamn! (Germany), Nikki Williams (South Africa), Låpsley, Katy Tiz, Labrinth, Tom Walker and the band MiC LOWRY (UK).

Other media ventures

In addition to his successful radio show, Elvis Duran launched his own entertainment company in 2007—The Elvis Duran Group (EDG). Owned by Duran and talent agent, David Katz, formerly of Don Buchwald and Associates, the company focuses on creating content for radio, television, broadband, internet, theater, and film. EDG’s first foray into television resulted in a four-episode deal that aired on Spike TV in 2010. The show Phowned, was an iteration of the radio show’s famous Phone Taps segment. The TV show members featured on the show spent an entire summer prank calling friends and family members of listeners.

Duran's career spans across many platforms. Besides his regular monthly segment "Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month" on Today, Duran is also a regular guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Talk, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood Live, and Extra. For two years in a row, Duran co-hosted the Live Grammy Red Carpet Show with Entertainment Tonight on Pop.

On August 5, 2014, Duran turned 50 years old. To commemorate this huge milestone, all of Duran's celebrity friends sent in surprise video messages to wish him a happy birthday. Celebrities from Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Pete Wentz, Katy Perry, Sam Smith, Michael Bublé, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Martin, and more contributed to the video.

In December 2014, ABC's Nightline with Dan Harris went behind the scenes of Elvis Duran and The Morning Show and sat down with Duran to discuss his long career and his "uncensored take on Hollywood." Duran explained his show is a 'safe place for women,' saying, “One of our rules for the show, I guess the filter we try to pass everything through, is it’s a safe place for women to be,” Duran said. “It’s not a show for women, because we’re basically 50/50 men/women in our audience, but it’s a safe place where women win. Women never lose on our show. I think that’s very important. It’s very unusual.”

In August 2015, People sat down with Duran to discuss his dramatic 105 pound weight loss. He described his bariatric sleeve procedure as not being "the easy way out" and involved "a lot of blood being drawn, a lot of needles, [and] a lot of hospital visits," but says it changed his life. The profile was featured online, and in People magazine's August 2015 issue.

Awards

The radio industry has honored Duran and EDMS with 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. 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. On June 28, 2016, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced that Duran will be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017. On Thursday, March 2, 2017, Elvis got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Additionally, Duran is an event chair for the upcoming GLAAD Manhattan Awards where in 2016 he is being honored for his contributions to the community.

Charity

He serves on the board of Rosie’s Theater Kids, an organization that brings enrichment through theater and the arts to underprivileged Manhattan children. With a soft spot for animals, he 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. Duran also contributes to the Staten Island Zoo’s annual endowment and Robin Hood Foundation, which fights poverty in New York City. Having publicly come out as gay in 2010, Duran is also heavily engaged in philanthropic efforts affecting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community and works closely with GLAAD and The Trevor Project. Duran also supports Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, as well as Musicians on Call.

Personal life

Duran currently lives in New York City with his longtime boyfriend Alex Carr, a zookeeper at the Staten Island Zoo. Duran lost 110 pounds by undergoing bariatric sleeve surgery in 2014. Duran, who came out as gay during a 2010 broadcast, was grand marshal of the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade in 2016.

Filmography