Art Bell was an American broadcaster and author who was known as “The King of Late Night Radio” and whose radio talk program “Coast to Coast AM” was broadcast throughout the United States and Canada. At the age of 13, he obtained his amateur radio operator’s license and shortly after, he qualified for an “Amateur Extra Class” license with the call sign “W6OBB.” His license class is regarded as the most prestigious amateur license issued by the US Federation of Communications Commission. During the Vietnam War, while serving as a medic in the ‘US Air Force,’ he maintained a pirate radio station that broadcast anti-war music from ‘Amarillo Air Force Base.’ After returning to the United States, he began working for KIDD as a rock music DJ before moving on to host radio talk programs. On his talk show ‘Dreamland,’ he quickly gained notoriety for hosting discussions on topics such as gunrunning, the occult, UFOs, and conspiracy theories. He established the Pahrump-based radio station KNYE 95.1 FM, from which he produced and broadcast ‘Coast to Coast AM,’ one of the most popular radio programs of the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was married four times and endured tumultuous times, which negatively impacted his career. In December 2015, he posted his ultimate retirement message on Facebook.
Youth and Early Life
Arthur William Bell III was born in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, on June 17, 1945, to Arthur William Bell Sr. and Jane Lee Gumaer Bell. He was intrigued by the radio as a child. At the age of 13, he obtained an amateur radio operator’s license with the call sign ‘KN3JOX.’ He subsequently upgraded to the call sign ‘K3JOX’ and qualified for an ‘Amateur Extra Class license, which is the highest ‘US Federation Communications Commission amateur license.
He used the call sign ‘W6OBB’ He withdrew out of the University of Maryland’s engineering program to become a board operator. He frequently gained experience behind and in front of the microphone. According to him, working in the radio studio had taught him much more than the university had.
Art Bell’s Career
Art Bell served as a medic in the ‘US Air Force’ during the Vietnam War, where he and a friend ran an illegal pirate radio station that broadcast anti-war music from ‘Amarillo Air Force Base.’ After the war, he moved to Japan and began working as a DJ for ‘KSBK,’ the only civil English broadcasting station at the time.
In the 1970s, he returned to the United States and worked for KIDD in Monterey, California. He began as a rock music DJ before transitioning to radio talk programs. With his talk program ‘Dreamland,’ he graduated from routine political topics to more controversial ones, such as gunrunning, the occult, UFOs, pseudoscience, conspiracy theories, and protoscience.
He founded the Pahrump-based radio station KNYE 95.1 FM, which had its studio and transmitter near his Nye County, Nevada residence. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, ‘Coast to Coast AM’, which he produced in his studio, was one of the most popular radio programs. It was broadcast on over 500 stations and had approximately 15 million listeners.
Because he organized real-time question-and-answer sessions on his program, he gained credibility. He mastered the skill of attentively listening and providing impartial responses. In October 2006, when he broadcast from the Philippines, this was the only time he screened queries. On Halloween 2006, his program was renamed ‘Ghost to Ghost AM’.
He interviewed individuals from various backgrounds, including performers, writers, actors, DJs, and comedians. He conducted interviews with notable figures such as Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Greg Bear, Chris Carter, Dan Aykroyd, Casey Kasem, and George Carlin during his illustrious career. His shows were well-liked because they were laid-back while addressing significant and timely issues.
Due to a threat against his family, Bell abruptly resigned from his show ‘Coast to Coast AM’ in October 1998. He was off the air for approximately two weeks before returning when the issue was resolved. In April of 2000, he went off the air again after his son was sexually assaulted by his teacher. In February 2001, he returned to the show but refused to discuss his personal affairs. In his absence, the program was hosted by Mike Siegel.
Due to medical issues, he left the regular program in October 2002 and began hosting only weekend shows. In January 2003, George Noory succeeded Art Bell as the weekday host of the program. In September 2013, Bell debuted a new nighttime program titled ‘Art Bell’s Dark Matter’ on the ‘Independent Talk Channel’ of Sirius XM. The performance lasted six weeks. In July 2015, he premiered the online series ‘Midnight in the Desert,’ which was accessible via ‘Tuneln.’
His family was constantly threatened by various parties whose interests were harmed by his straightforward performances. In December 2015, Bell announced his ultimate retirement from the studio, citing the need to spend more time with his family.
Bell’s Major Opera
Beginning in the early 1970s, ‘Coast to Coast AM’ was his most popular talk show. “Midnight in the Desert” was made available online through “Tuneln.” He also appeared on numerous television programs, including the series Millennium.
The bestsellers ‘The Quickening: Today’s Trends, Tomorrow’s World’ and ‘The Edge: Man’s Mysterious Past & Incredible Future’ were co-authored by him.
Awards & Achievements
In 1998, Art Bell was awarded the “Snuffed Candle Award” by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry’s Council for Media Integrity. The Nevada Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame inducted him in August 2006, and the National Radio Hall of Fame inducted him in August 2008.
In 2007, he received a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Los Angeles-based trade publication Radio & Records.
Personal History and Legacy
In 1965, Bell wed Sachiko Toguchi Pontius, and the couple had two children. In 1968, personal differences caused the dissolution of the marriage. In March 1981, he wed Vickie L. Baker, and the couple had a son. In July 1991, however, the marriage again concluded in divorce.
In August of 1991, he wed for the third time to Ramona Lee Hayes. He lived with her until her death in January 2006 from acute asthma while they were on vacation. Reportedly, the couple had never spent a single day apart during their marriage, as she oversaw the production and administration of his programs.
In April of 2006, he shocked his admirers by relocating to the Philippines and marrying Airyn Ruiz, who was only 21 at the time. After returning to the United States, he encountered difficulty obtaining a passport for his Filipino citizen wife. They had two children and resided in the United States until his passing.
He began experiencing health issues at the age of 70 and endured a severe pneumonia attack in 2016. On April 13, 2018, he passed away at his residence in Pahrump, Nevada, at the age of 72.
Estimated Net Worth
Art Bell was an American broadcaster and author with a net worth of $10 million. Bell, who was born on June 17, 1945, in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, is best known for anchoring the paranormal radio program Coast to Coast AM.
Trivia
He set a ‘Guinness World Record’ by being on air for 116 hours and 15 minutes continuously on a solo program on ‘KENI.’ He used the proceeds to relocate 130 Vietnamese orphans to the United States, where they were adopted by American families. In 1996, he was criticized for claiming that a UFO was following Comet Hale-Bopp. Members of the ‘Heaven’s Gate cult reportedly committed suicide en masse in response to this rumor he disseminated.
He was a supporter of gun rights and same-sex marriage, though he refrained from overtly expressing his political opinions. He frequently performed his all-time favorite composition, “Some Velvet Morning” by Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra.
Among his co-authored works are ‘The Quickening: Today’s Trends, Tomorrow’s World’ and ‘The Edge: Man’s Mysterious Past & Incredible Future.’ During his time in the Philippines, he passed the ‘Philippine Class A’ amateur radio operators examination and was given the call sign ‘4F1AB’