Mother of mercy, is this the end of Howard?

NEW YORK (AP) _ Howard Stern, unplugged? <br><br>After nearly a quarter-century on the air, the founding father of shock radio has stunned his legion of listeners again _ this time with word that his radio

Thursday, December 7th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Howard Stern, unplugged?

After nearly a quarter-century on the air, the founding father of shock radio has stunned his legion of listeners again _ this time with word that his radio career could end on Dec. 15.

Stern's current five-year contract expires at the end of this year, and the self-proclaimed King of All Media says negotiations for a new deal have sputtered. While interviewing Arnold Schwarzenegger in mid-November, Stern told the mega-star that the December date could be his broadcast finale.

``This is not a disc jockey stunt,'' promised Stern, the creator of Lesbian Dial-A-Date and the Homeless Hollywood Squares. ``I don't do disc jockey stunts.''

Stern's nationally syndicated show remains the No. 1-rated morning show in New York City by a wide margin despite a sharp dip in spring 2000.

Outside New York, his numbers are not as strong. In several markets, Arbitron figures have shown his audience eroding _ particularly in Los Angeles, where Stern lost 20 percent of his listeners over the last two years.

Stern's program, which airs on more than three dozen stations in North America, has long reflected his personal life _ including his split last year from his wife of 21 years.

Stern, typically, has used the contract talks to hype his show. ``Howard says good-bye,'' one show promo blared. ``You won't want to miss the King of All Media's fond farewells.''

It's likely that the Dec. 15 ``last show'' will air before there's a resolution of the contract negotiations. Stern & Co. go on vacation for the rest of the year after that show, and any decision would likely occur closer to the expiration date.

``I don't want to leave,'' Stern said last Friday after a listener called in to ask about his plans. ``I want to re-sign.''

This week, Stern estimated his chances of returning at 60 percent.

A spokesman for Stern's employer, Infinity Broadcasting, declined to discuss the talks.

Stern has advised members of his twisted radio family _ sidekick Robin Quivers, producer Gary Dell'Abate, celebrity stalker Stuttering John _ to start looking for new work.

Quivers, speaking on the air, said she had delivered a farewell to her WXRK-FM boss _ just in case. Stern and his crew joined the station in 1985, shortly after he was fired from WNBC-AM in Manhattan over his show's content.

Deal or not, Stern won't lack for work. His Howard Stern Productions has started work on 22 new episodes of his ``Baywatch'' parody, ``Son of the Beach,'' for the FX cable network.

His syndicated weekly TV program, ``The Howard Stern Radio Program,'' has not fared as well. While its ratings have held steady, it never challenged ``Saturday Night Live'' for weekend superiority.

Stern has told his audience he would like the opportunity to ``totally reinvent'' himself, and mentioned there's a movie he would like to pursue.

His first movie, the autobiographical ``Private Parts,'' grossed more than $40 million in its first five weeks of release in 1997.