Kresta, Tammy Hyun Jo, "Exec's crusade: to butt heads with Beavis & friend," San Francisco Examiner, October 10, 1993.
Dick Zimmerman is getting more than his share of 15 minutes in the spotlight. In the last three months, the retired broadcasting executive and Larkspur resident has been inundated with requests for interviews from radio, television and newspapers spanning three continents. His claim to fame? His crusade against MTV's popular animated show "Beavis and Butt-head." "The day I uttered the words 'Beavis and Butt-head,' my life changed dramatically," said Zimmerman, 44. His effort to rid the airwaves of the brazen cartoon program starring two pimple-faced teens began in February. After viewing the show's "Home Improvement" episode in which one of the characters suggested blowing up a friend's cat via a firecracker inserted through its butt, Zimmerman vowed that he would not be ignored in his pursuit to curb "gratuitous violence" on television. Zimmerman put his money where his zeal is. He donated $5,000 toward apprehending the killers of a cat in Santa Cruz -- people who performed the deed the cartoon had suggested one week earlier. The money for Zimmerman was no problem. It came from the roughly $10 million he won in the California State Lottery in 1988. "This crusade has taken my whole life, 18 hours a day," said Zimmerman between shooting for his latest media appearance, NBC's "Now" show with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric, which airs Wednesday at 9 p.m. Zimmerman starts his days sometimes at 3 a.m. to prepare for 4 a.m. radio talk shows. He never expected this much publicity, but he will take advantage of it to get his message to the public. To television producers, his message is: Stop profiting from people's misery. "They don't frankly care that they're wasting a generation, and I am fed up," he said resolutely. "I'm not making a mountain out of a molehill. This is a mountain." Zimmerman makes his point with the most recent Beavis and Butt-head tragedy: A 5-year-old in Ohio set his bed on fire after watching Beavis and Butt-head do the same, and the fire killed his 2-year-old sister and burned the family home. "(The fire chief) believes there's a strong correlation to the show," said Zimmerman. Surprisingly energetic after months of a nonstop media marathon, Zimmerman says he will continue his crusade as long as anyone will listen. "I believe the issue is of such importance that I have an obligation to continue," he said. "I've had a surprisingly good and full life but the last three months have probably been the most important." Zimmerman's hot line number to curb violence on television is (415) 485-2687. He plans to collect names and addresses of like-minded people, and he wants to publish a newsletter -- if he can break away from his schedule of interviews.