Gary Dell'Abate
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Gary Patrick Dell'Abate (born March 14, 1961 in Uniondale, Long Island, New York) is the producer of the Howard Stern radio show. His nickname "Baba Booey" (sometimes mis-spelled "Ba Ba Booey"), frequently used on Stern's show, originated in 1987 when Dell'Abate (at that time called "Boy Gary") was telling the story of his prized collection of Animation cells, and in the course of discussing a Quick Draw McGraw cell he was considering buying mis-stated "Baba Looey", the name of McGraw's sidekick, under the wrong impression that Baba Booey was the character's name. As is typical on the show, the rest of the cast "goofed" on his mistake, becoming especially merciless since Gary was considering purchasing a cell 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 nearly two decades have passed and 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 unsuspecting 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 broadcasts. For example, during the OJ Simpson low-speed chase, "Baba Booey" was spoken at the end of the call to signal the host that they had been fooled. In the case of OJ Simpson, Peter Jennings had been duped. It's also been used on Dell'Abate himself when a Las Vegas casino at which he was vacationing was called by members of The Wack Pack who asked for Mr. Bob a'Bui to be paged to the front desk.
The moniker is also the source for many variations on the theme, such as "Fafa Fooie" or "Baba Bonehead".
Dell'Abate is mocked on the show for having large teeth, big lips and bad breath. A related point of ridicule is his speech pattern that turns "s" into "f". Even though the Stern Show crew members are always up to the task of goofing on Gary, some of the most memorable jabs at Baba Booey have been made by Stern Show fans. For example, one fan used to wear a gorilla mask and go to places where Gary would appear, and would also make his own animation cells featuring Baba Booey. Elliot Offen, a regular Stern Show guest well known for running through the streets of New York wearing full drag and high heels, often fights with Gary calling him such names as scum of the earth, chipmunk, mongrel, mongoloid and horse face. However, the most famous of all Baba Booey pranksters is Sal the Stockbroker, who has routinely mocked and tortured Gary with prank calls, various song parodies and an infinite number of jokes at Gary's expense.
Another topic of "goofing" on Gary is his yo-yo dieting. His bouts with weight-gain have been attributed to his love of chocolate. On the other hand, Stern readily acknowledges Gary's intelligence, organizational abilities, excellent memory and work ethic.
Dell'Abate is also well-known for sending an apology video tape to a former girlfriend, seven months after they had broken up. He was paid over $25,000 by members of Stern's audience and staff to hand over the tape and he has been abused with its clips and song parodies ever since. He made an appearance by way of the 1987 "Baba Booey" sound bite sampled in the Bloodhound Gang's song Why's Everybody Always Picking On Me?
He has also been immortalized in the form of the "Gary Puppet", which is equipped with a mechanism to cause its massive mouth to move whenever Gary speaks to Howard through the studio intercom. The Gary Puppet appears to be one of Stern's most prized possessions, possibly due to his fondness for Gary.
Since 1992, Dell'Abate has been married to Mary Dell'Abate. The couple have two sons, Jackson and Lucas. Jackson has now made at least one appearance on Howard 100 News, where he indicated that his father can ski.
Booey Trivia and Quotes
- Made a videotaped bid to win back an ex-girlfriend in 1988, which came to light in the late 90's when a former boyfriend of the woman called into Howard's show and said he had a copy of the tape. On it, Gary frequently refers to his ex as "man" (e.g. "I miss you, man"), states that his professional life is at a 9 while his personal life is at a 2, and says that, 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 was 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.
- His son Jackson was born in 1994, and son Lucas was born in 1997.
- Was once videotaped picking his nose during a Stern rally, and the incident was aired several times on Howard's channel 9 show. He was also taped in December 1993 with a visible erection in his pants while walking on the stage where Howard's New Year's Eve pay-per-view special, New Year's Rotten Eve, was to be held.
- Is a devotee of Eighties music, and usually beats his competitors in Stump the Booey, an Eighties music trivia game.
- Has often sung songs on the show written by Fred Norris and Jackie Martling ridiculing himself for his work habits, eating habits, bad breath and large teeth.
- His contribution to The Revelations Game, announced on January 16, 2006, was that he and a friend of his once ordered massage girls to come up to their hotel room, but the girls ended up ripping the two off and leaving them staring at each other in their underwear. His original contribution was retracted and Booey was roundly criticized for replacing it with a sub-par revelation.