Howard Stern started his career on the radio in the mid-1970s. The next decade, he went on to become a sought-after host who was also expanding into TV and other media projects. In 1992, he began calling himself the "King of all Media." But the road to his current $650 million net worth wasn't easy.

Growing up, his parody performances in front of his middle-class parents — which was his way of gaining their "acceptance" — became his "training ground" for provoking struggling public figures. In a 2019 interview with Stephen Colbert, the snarky broadcaster opened up about being a "poster boy for psychotherapy" as it helped him realize his upbringing had something to do with his ratings obsession.

He previously tried to convince Stephen Colbert that he was also that competitive during their first-ever interview in 2015. But the latter slammed him for "pouring poison in my ear." So in 2019, the Late Show host was praised for his "therapist skills" — listening to Stern rant about leaving and not being fired by Simon Cowell from America's Got Talent; and then explaining his past fixation with talk show ratings.

Stephen Colbert Was Like A Therapist To Howard Stern Talking About His Offensive Interviews

In 2019, Stern came on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote his memoir, Howard Stern Comes Again. He then opened up about the sad truth behind his controversial radio gimmicks, which he all realized during psychotherapy. "I was so worried about the ratings [when he first started on the radio]. I was number one in all these markets," he recalled. "I had 20-million something people listening every morning."

As a result, back then, he'd mock David Letterman even though he admired him. "I love David Letterman, and yet I would make fun of David Letterman, and his ratings, and this and that, and the other thing," he added. "It's because I just was not open to allowing anyone else to have ratings." Colbert asked if Stern apologized to Letterman and the other people he'd made fun of.

"I called several people and apologized," the latter replied. When asked if they accepted his apology, he said: "Some did, some didn't. There was a famous comedian I called, he said, 'You know what, Howard? You hurt me too much. I'm glad you called me, great, but I want nothing to do with you.'"

"And I said, 'I absolutely understand, but I just wanted to let you know I feel badly about the way things went,'" he continued. "He said 'Okay,' and that was it." Fans praised Colbert for his therapist skills, getting Stern to share such a vulnerable story. "Oh man that felt like a therapy session," someone wrote in the YouTube comments. "One of the best interviews I have seen."

Stephen Colbert And Howard Stern's Therapist Agree With His "Poison" Ratings Obsession

via: YouTube

Speaking about his "viciousness," Stern said it "had nothing to do with any reality" and that "it was almost like sibling rivalry: everyone in show business was my enemy, and I was going to have every single person listening to me. If you had ratings, you were my enemy." Colbert cut in and reminded him of their first-ever interview on The Howard Stern Show where the radio icon said, "Oh come on, you want a war [in ratings]," per the former's recollection.

At that time, Colbert responded by asking, "Did that make you happy?" to which Stern said, "No." The Late Show host remembered telling the comedian back then, "Why are you putting the poison in my ear?" Earlier in the interview, Stern said that his therapist called him out on that, too. Even when he made hilarious impressions of his parents during their sessions, the latter just told him: "I don't find any of this funny. In fact, I see that it's rather sad."

Stern also said that being on the radio was the only way to get his father's attention. "The way my father would look at the radio announcers and the way he would look at these performers, I said, 'Oh that's how you get my father's attention,'" he said. "I think I became transfixed that this would be the way I could really communicate with my father — by getting on the radio." However, he clarified that "none of this was conscious" at first.

Here's a timeline of Stern's career milestones:

Stephen Colbert Called Howard Stern "The Best Interviewer"

via: Instar

During Stern's Late Show visit, Colbert said his guest "may be the best interviewer I've ever been interviewed by." The host later said told the former: "An hour and a half with you is incredibly enjoyable because your research is extraordinary... Almost every one of your questions was different than any other question I've gotten before."

Stern revealed "the reason" behind that was that he "didn't know" Colbert "personally at all" during their first-ever interview. "We got into a rather heavy discussion," he said of their "serious" bonding moment. "You and I shared a moment in that interview that I'm very proud of. You were talking about the death of your father in the family and your siblings."

"And I said to you, 'What was it like to have a sad depressed mother?' And did you find it was a burden to have to cheer your mother up?'" Stern added. "And you kind of stopped, and you said, 'How do you know how to ask this?' And I said, 'Because my mother was depressed. She was very sad. She lost her mother when she was nine. She had really grown up in difficult circumstances.'"