Stern Untamed : Boasting of besting rivals’ ratings, a rude radio personality leaves no self-promotional stone unturned to show that he is

Radio personality Howard Stern, the self-proclaimed “king of all media,” proved himself the undeniable king of self-promoters Tuesday in a raunchy celebration in Hollywood of his ascension to No. 1 status on Los Angeles’ airwaves.

Since debuting as a morning drive-time personality on KLSX-FM in July, 1991, Stern has promised that he would overtake KLOS’s Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps, then rated No. 1 in the Arbitron radio ratings survey.

Vowing at the same time to hold a mock funeral for the pair, Stern made good on his promise Tuesday in a rite that some fans likened to Woodstock, but unfolded more like a Vegas-style traveling circus show.

Stern’s funeral for the pair outside the Palace Theater forced the closure of Vine and Yucca streets, required the deployment of 50 police officers for crowd control and resulted in a host of no-shows at area colleges and workplaces.

“I’m supposed to be in school,” said Tommy Anderson, a 21-year-old business major at Cal State Los Angeles. “I paid my tuition, but I’m watching Howard Stern.”

There were no tickets sold for the event, which cost KLSX an estimated $110,000. But it took on the festive atmosphere of a rock concert, complete with a rowdy crowd chanting “Howard! Howard! Howard!”

By dawn, long before the mock funeral procession began about 8 a.m., die-hard fans had already gathered to assure themselves a spot in the crowd, which police estimated at 5,000. Stern, either by accident or design, told his radio audience that the crowd numbered 25,000.

Two Santa Monica men displayed a 10-foot papier-mache phallus. Another fan was dressed as a pile of excrement. Urged on by the unruly crowd, women were hoisted onto men’s shoulders and exhorted to bare their breasts.

People stationed themselves on nearby fire escapes, scaled roofs and climbed into trees to gain a better vantage point to watch Jessica Hahn, in a see-though bodysuit, and six other scantily clad women pulling Stern in a chariot from the movie “Ben Hur.”

Dressed as a Roman emperor, Stern presided over the guillotining of dummies made to look like Thompson and Phelps, the KLOS disc jockeys. The dummies were equipped with fake blood that spurted at the crowd.

The show consisted of song parodies, all denouncing Thompson and Phelps. Most were performed by amateur singers, among them a dwarf in a wheelchair. There were also ditties ad-libbed by Stern, co-host Robin Quivers and a cast of regular Stern show characters.

Thompson and Phelps refused to comment on Stern’s stunt. But KLOS program director Carey Curelop said: “I hardly think Mark and Brian are finished. That’s Howard’s shtick. It’s just an act and it doesn’t faze us.”

Alluding to recent run-ins with the Federal Communications Commission, Stern, who is now heard in 10 cities around the country, said to the crowd: “They tell us we’re too raunchy. Are we too raunchy? Is this the kind of radio you want to hear?”

The crowd roared its approval.

Greater Media Inc., which owns KLSX, recently was ordered to pay a record $105,000 fine for what the FCC deemed indecent broadcasting by Stern.

A radio personality in New York for 10 years, Stern has also come under fire from a variety of protest groups labeling his brand of comedy offensive. At Tuesday’s event, members of the Filipino community held placards and protested Stern’s on-air comment that “Filipinos are the most depraved people in the world. . . . Parents are selling their children for prostitution.”

“To insult an entire people is totally irresponsible,” said Gil Roy D. Gorre, spokesman for the Philippine consulate general. “In the aftermath of the L.A. riots, that’s the last thing we need. It’s inflammatory and it’s ignorant. We cannot let that pass without protesting. Not everybody agrees with this guy.”

Stern brushed off the protests.

“My comments are those of one person--Howard Stern,” he said when asked about his remarks by a woman representing the Filipino community. “I said it sarcastically. It was a goof joke. I don’t apologize to anybody for anything I ever said. I don’t understand all these sensitivities.”

When he spotted the woman’s 12-year-old son at the press conference, Stern snarled at her: “How old is your son? Why isn’t your son in school today?”

Even Stern sarcastically acknowledged the absurdity of all the hoopla generated by his stunts.

Asked a question by a CNN reporter, he responded with an aside: “Can you believe this? We have world coverage. This is stupid. This is really stupid.”