Eric Fred Norris (born Fred Leo Nukis; July 9, 1955) is a Latvian-American radio personality known for being the longest-tenured staff member of The Howard Stern Show aside from Stern himself. He first met Stern while working at WCCC-FM, a radio station in Hartford, Connecticut. Born in Willimantic, Connecticut, Norris is the son of Valija and Henry Nukis who were Latvian immigrants. Fred was raised in Manchester, Connecticut. By the time Fred, the second of two sons, was born, his parents' marriage was already on the ropes. His biological father left home when Fred was five, but those first few years were turbulent. "There was always tension and rage," Norris remembers. "My father had an alcohol problem. When Dad came home, you hid in the closet because there was always something going on you'd rather not be a part of." Fred spent most of his early childhood alone. When his older brother wasn't using Fred as a human punching bag, the brother wanted nothing to do with him. So Fred would escape by reading books, taking long bicycle rides, or watching lots of afternoon TV reruns (whence came his encyclopedic knowledge of trashy fifties TV).