Howard Stern is mourning the loss of his father.
The radio host in an interview with Dan's Papers announced his dad, Ben Stern, died recently at the age of 99. Although the popular TV and radio personality revealed the passing, he did not provide any further details on the matter.
"I lost my father recently, he was 99 years old," Stern told the outlet.
Ben's death announcement was partnered with a creative project that Howard is working on in honor of his late father. Specifically, Howard is planning to paint barns with a tie to his dad.
"Next up: Corwith Barns," he explained of his project. "I've done a bunch of smaller paintings of the barns but this one is a larger size. The barns are no longer there but I photographed them many times, and I'm doing a big painting that hopefully captures every broken board on that fading structure."
"Not sure how old those barns were, but I feel like painting the barns is honoring him and all those growing older and then gone," he added.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(663x0:665x2)/ben-stern-recording-for-howard-stern-81222-ab599ca4fe284493af1a0b60534f3c93.jpg "Howard Stern Announces His Father Ben Recently Died at Age 99 (1)")
Ben was a recording engineer who contributed to some of Howard's projects, including The Howard Stern Show, U.S. Open Sores, and Howard Stern on Demand, according to Distractify.
Though he wasn't in the limelight alongside Howard, Ben was well known by Howard's fans for some advice he gave Howard as a child.
"My dad is in the audience and he would sit you down — I'm speaking for my father now — he would sit you down and say to you, 'Look, you're my son, but you're a nudnik.' Do you know what a nudnik is?" Howard told a performer on America's Got Talent.
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The camera then panned to Ben, who laughed. "Dad, tell the guy — tell him he's got to get a real job," he continued, as Ben grabbed a microphone.
Ben then addressed the performer. "Well, look, I look at things, and after completely analyzing it, that was the answer."
Ben joined the performer on stage before recounting what he used to tell Howard as a child: "Don't be stupid, you moron."
After Howard announced his death, fans and friends sent heartfelt messages in honor of Ben.
"R.I.P. Ben Stern. My condolences to Howard, @BethStern, Ray, & the entire Stern family. Ben was a damn nice guy, & I'm deeply sorry for your loss. #BenStern," John Melendez, who formerly appeared as "Stuttering John" on The Howard Stern Show, tweeted.
