Gary Patrick Dell'Abate (born March 14, 1961) is the producer of The Howard Stern Show and co-host of The Wrap-Up Show.

Early life

Dell'Abate was born in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island. He comes from a large Italian-American family, the youngest of 23 first cousins. His father, Sal, was an ice cream salesman. He attended Adelphi University where he interned at several college radio stations. While interning with Roz Frank, a traffic reporter on WNBC, he came into contact with Howard Stern, who took pity on him for the way he was treated.

Howard Stern Show

Dell'Abate has worked on The Howard Stern Show since September 4, 1984: originally on 66 WNBC, then syndicated at K-Rock in New York, and now Sirius Satellite Radio.

His nickname is Baba Booey (sometimes misspelled Ba Ba Booey or other variants) and is frequently used on Stern's show, as well as sometimes shouted by fans when they call into other radio or television shows (generally to the irritation of other hosts - see below). Despite the seemingly relentless jokes, pranks and taunts at Dell'Abate's expense, Stern readily acknowledges Dell'Abate's intelligence, organizational abilities, excellent memory and strong work ethic.

Anecdotes

Gary is generally the most mocked person on the show, he is almost regularly made fun of for having large teeth, big gums, big lips and bad breath. A related point of ridicule is the speech pattern in which he turns "s" into "f". Fans also mock Dell'Abate - one fan used to wear a gorilla mask to Gary's public appearances as well as make his own animation cels featuring Baba Booey. In particular, fellow Stern Show staff member Sal the Stockbroker has routinely mocked and tortured Gary with prank calls, various song parodies, and a large number of jokes. Gary is often forced to wear a beekeeper's mask while holding the microphone for Stern show female guests so his lips and teeth do not distract the rest of the cast.

Gary is also often mocked for his yo-yo dieting. He has attributed his bouts with weight gain to his love of chocolate. He is also an on-again, off-again cigarette smoker. He is also often made fun of for enjoying anilingus.

A fan created a likeness of Gary, the "Gary Puppet", which is now stationed in the Howard Stern Show studio and equipped with a mechanism to cause its comically oversized mouth to move whenever Gary speaks to Howard through the studio intercom. The puppet seems to be one of Stern's most prized possessions, possibly due to his fondness for Gary. He was featured in the May 2007 issue of "Sound and Vision magazine" where his home theater was profiled. In this article, he revealed that his favorite album is Aja by Steely Dan, he was later ridiculed and mocked by the staff for his choice. He was also ridiculed for stating that he could not mount his TV to the wall because they'd get in the way of his sconces. During this segment he also stated that he has a light system that lights up a trail from his bedroom to his kitchen.

Baba Booey

Previously nicknamed "Boy Gary", Dell'Abate's "Baba Booey" moniker originated on the Howard Stern Show in 1989, after telling a story of his prized collection of animation cels. In the course of discussing a Quick Draw McGraw cel he might purchase, he misstated the name of McGraw's sidekick "Baba Looey" as "Baba Booey" (In actuality, Gary was not entirely wrong when he referred to "Baba Booey". Quickdraw McGraw frequently referred to Baba Looey as "Baba Boy", which tended to sound like "Baba Booey" and could easily be misunderstood). As is typical of the show, the rest of the cast "goofed" on his mistake, becoming especially merciless since he was mulling the purchase of a cel of a character without even knowing the character's correct name. Dell'Abate said something to the effect that they would forget the name by the next day, yet after nearly two decades it is still his nickname.

Dell'Abate has often recounted that people unfamiliar with the Stern show think "Baba Booey" is his real name. A frequent guest on the TV game show The Hollywood Squares, Dell'Abate was sometimes just called "Bob" or "Baba" by unknowing contestants.

"Baba Booey" as a term has become a mantra for fans of the Howard Stern Show and is often used as a tag for crank calls to live network television or radio broadcasts. For specific examples, see References in popular culture below.

Baba Booey variations

Depending on the context, variations of Gary's nickname are used (e.g. if Gary makes a mistake, he is likely to be called "Rara Retard", if the discussion is about dental procedures, "Tata Toothy"). The following list is by no means comprehensive; if the first syllable of the nickname is repeated twice, the person under discussion is inevitably Gary.

• Fla Fla Flo Fly
• Fafa Fooey
• Fla Fla Flunky
• Mama Monkey
• Rara Retard
• Sasa Smelly
• Tata Toothy
• Baba Bad News (Coined by David Spade)
• Baba Bozo
• Baba Boo-Hai
• FaFa Fo Hi (Coined by J. Kurtains)
• Dada Dummy

Other Non-Baba Booey Nicknames

• Horse Tooth Jackass, or HTJ
• Bucky Beaver (coined by Riley Martin)
• Mac-Hine (pronounced "Mack Hine" - was created after Gary failed an on-air word game challenge where a caller asked what "m-a-c (pause) h-i-n-e" spells on November 7, 2006)
• Boy Gary (The original nickname of Gary)
• Tuckleberry
• Beaver Teeth (also coined by Riley Martin)

References in popular culture

The Bloodhound Gang's song Why's Everybody Always Picking On Me? samples Dell'Abate's 1989 original "Baba Booey" quote.

During CBS News coverage of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, prank caller Captain Janks told Dan Rather that they had found Baba Booey's teeth in the wreckage.

During the OJ Simpson low-speed chase, "Baba Booey" was spoken at the end of a prank phone call to signal the newscaster, Peter Jennings, that he had been fooled. Fellow broadcaster and Monday Night Football host Al Michaels had to tell an oblivious Jennings that it was a phony call.

On their final album, The Jerky Boys featured a prank call (titled "Bright") wherein Johnny Brennan — using his Sol Rosenberg voice — called a hair salon claiming to be "Gary Dell'Abate's mom". The call featured Brennan growing increasingly hysterical and accusing the stylists of ruining Gary's haircut "just to make fools of him" and that "he has enough problems with that mouth of his" as well as "his face and his fat ass." The phone call finally ended when Brennan threatened to find Bright (the eponymous stylist of the call) and "kick [her] in the cunt" for what she had done to "my beautiful, horse-faced boy".

Dell'Abate was once portrayed by Adam Sandler in a sketch on Saturday Night Live. In the sketch Michael McKean portrayed Howard Stern and Ellen Cleghorne portrayed Robin Quivers.

In the Family Guy episode Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington, Peter has a flashback in which he is giving testimony at the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court hearings. When it becomes evident that Peter's testimony is false, he grabs the microphone and begins shouting, "Baba Booey! Baba Booey! Howard Stern’s penis! Baba Booey! Baba Booey!"

In the tenth strip from Chapter 19 of the Better Days comic, Beth prank calls the radio show that Lucy is hosting. Once Lucy catches on, Beth proceeds to punctuate the joke with "Baba Booey."

Song parodies

Dell'Abate is the subject of more song parodies than any other topic on the Stern Show. Most of the songs involve melodically repeating one of Dell'Abate's nicknames over and over (usually Ba-Ba-Booey), although some contain actual lyrics, most of which insult Dell'Abate's appearance.

• "A Horse With No Name" by America as "Boy with Horse Teeth"
• "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" by Led Zeppelin
• "Bad Boys" by Inner Circle (Also known as the "Cops" theme song)"
• "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty
• "The Entertainment Tonight Theme"
• "The Imperial March" by John Williams, the Darth Vader Theme
• "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath
• "Let The Music Play" by Shannon, premiered September 12, 2007, Howard 100, Sirius Satellite Radio
• "Macarena" by Los del Río
• "Pop Muzik" by M, premiered September 6, 2007, Howard 100, Sirius Satellite Radio
• "Proud Mary" by CCR, premiered September 12, 2007, Howard 100, Sirius Satellite Radio
• "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse, premiered September 6, 2007, Howard 100, Sirius Satellite Radio
• "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire
• "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake
• "Summer Nights" by Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta
• "These Boots are Made for Walking" by Nancy Sinatra as "These Teeth are Made for Chomping"
• "These Eyes" by The Guess Who as "These Teeth" featuring Burton Cummings [1]

Notable Stern Show events

In 1988, Dell'Abate made a videotaped bid to win back an ex-girlfriend, which came to light in the late 1990s when an ex-boyfriend of the woman called Howard's show claiming to have seen the tape. On the tape, Gary frequently refers to his ex as "man" (e.g., "I miss you, man"), states that his professional life is a 9 (pronounced like "noin") while his personal life is at a 2, and since their split, she has gained a lover and a best friend while he has gained a couple of lovers but has no friends. He also points out that his hair had grown longer during their time apart and that he is wearing his favorite t-shirt, one he often wore while they were together. Such proclamations invited much ridicule from Stern fans and regulars, and snippets of the audio from the tape became oft-used soundbites on the show. While his bid to win back his lady love proved successful, they ultimately broke up for good the following year. He was paid over $25,000 by members of Stern's audience and staff to hand over the tape.

Dell'Abate's contribution to The Revelations Game, announced on January 16, 2006, was that he and a friend of his once paid massage girls to come to their hotel room, but that the girls ended up ripping the two off and left them staring at each other in their underwear. The Stern Show staff roundly criticized Dell'Abate for this sub-par revelation.

Dell'Abate is a devotee of 1980s music, and he sometimes plays "Stump the Booey", an Eighties music trivia game, usually beating his competitor.

Dell'Abate has sung songs on the show written by Fred Norris, in which he ridicules himself for his work habits, eating habits, bad breath, large teeth, and "monkey like" features.

During a hallway fight between A.J. Benza and Stuttering John Melendez, Dell'Abate was accidentally punched in the face while trying to keep the two apart.

On the March 28, 2006 show, Dell'Abate was inadvertently squirted in the eye by a stream of female ejaculate during a segment in which Annie Cruz used various high-powered tools to achieve orgasm. Discussion ensued on whether the fluid was actually different from urine, and concerned callers raised the possibility of it containing HIV.

On October 26th, 2006, Gary became the second regular Stern Show personality, after Artie Lange, to be roasted. The Roast Master was the Reverend Bob Levy.

Personal life

Gary and Mary on their Wedding Day c. 1992.

In 1992, Dell'Abate married his current wife Mary. The couple currently live in Cos Cob, Connecticut with their two sons, Jackson and Lucas. His sons appeared on the show during a bit titled "Daddy or Dummy".

After Gary's brother, Steven, died of AIDS in January 1991, Dell'Abate became a supporter of LIFEbeat The Music Industry Fights AIDS and serves on the charity's Board of Directors. He said Richard Simmons helped cheer up his brother and "light up the whole hospital". Gary is an avid New York Jets & Mets Fan.