Originally published on March 09, 2007

Art Bell

Premiere Radio Network
Founder and Weekend Host of "Coast to Coast"

Ham radio hooked him as a kid. Political talk led to the paranormal and a "Coast to Coast" radio empire

Art Bell loves being on the radio. As founder and original host of "Coast to Coast," Bell has become one of radio's most successful and recognizable personalities. Now a weekend host for the paranormal-themed, Premiere-syndicated overnight show, Bell has learned firsthand the toll that dealing with personal tragedy can take when you are a public figure. Displaying a calm demeanor, Bell is a hands-on broadcaster and one of the few talk show hosts who does not screen listener calls.

Getting into the business: "I became interested in ham radio when I was 12 and went to the closest commercial broadcast station, and eventually ended up working for about 30 stations. I'm a Marine brat. I moved from the technical to the microphone side because I felt like it. Later I was in rock'n'roll radio and worked for a lot of big ones."

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Moving into talk radio: "After doing talk radio in Anchorage, Alaska, and Monterey, Calif., I moved to Las Vegas, left radio and built all the microwave and satellite gear for what is now Cox Cable in Las Vegas. It was a very secure position with all the benefits one could ever hope to have. Then KDWN/Las Vegas, a mom-and-pop 50-kilowatt, learned I had done talk radio and hired me in afternoons. I was hooked again. I started angling for overnights, when they cover 13 states like a blanket, and got it."

Becoming interested in the paranormal: "I got sick of doing political talk and started venturing forth a little. The owners went bezerk. They fired and then re-hired me because it was the most popular thing anybody had ever done. I had seven lines lit up all the time. The Arbitrons would come in and I would be No. 1, so the protests from management became fewer. We started syndication regionally on a very small scale: Phoenix, San Diego, Portland [Ore.]. But before you knew it, we were sneaking up on 300 affiliates. Premiere purchased me at about the 400-affiliate mark."

Connecting with your audience: "I've got radio in my blood. I chose to do what I wanted, what was fun for me, which turned out to be fun for the audience, too. The people that succeed in radio find some sort of different niche and then, inevitably, copycats come along but they are never the same. I got lucky. I found one of those niches. And it didn't come from the hunt for money, that is for sure."

Dealing with personal tragedy: "First, my son was attacked by one his teachers who was HIV-positive, and then my wife Ramona died when she was only 47. She was the light of my life. When she died, I didn't want to keep living. And actually, I almost didn't.
"Time went by and this magical thing happened. I started hearing from this young Filipina gal on my private e-mail. Remember, Ramona was half Filipina, so we began a dialogue. I finally had enough common sense to ask her, 'Who are you?' As it turns out, it was through a fellow named Carl Richardson, who is now my brother-in-law. He was a ham radio operator in Arkansas and was engaged to the woman who is now my wife's sister. He knew my wife died and he knew that Sharon had a sister, and he said, 'Why don't you have your sister write to Art? He's lonely and in bad shape.' We began corresponding and doing video conferences and it began to be a fairly serious thing. I flew to the Philippines and she was everything I imagined and more, and we ended up getting married. I bought a condominium in Manila and did the show from there for seven months. I think it's the first time anyone has done a regularly scheduled, long-form talk show from the other side of the world."

State of radio: "It still looks healthy to me. People are constantly declaring radio dead or that satellite radio killed it but, lo and behold, it is still there and will continue to evolve. The last great big change in radio was talk radio. I own a radio station, KNYE here in Pahrump [Nev.], so I'm a big believer. You can't go around this little town without hearing our station virtually everywhere."

Career highlight: "I am most proud of moving from a political talk show to one about the unknown. You can't imagine the screaming, the yelling and the chest-pounding that went on when I did that. Anything new is not always going to meet with approval. I am also proud that I raised a lot of money and brought 130 orphans back at the end of the [Vietnam] war."

Career disappointment: "It really seems like the most successful people have a lot of tragedy that goes on in their life, but I guess you can't change that. I've seen the best and the worst."

Most influential individual: "[Former business partner and longtime associate] Alan Korbuth and [Premiere Radio Networks president/COO] Kraig Kitchen helped me the most. I am my own influence. I intentionally don't listen to others because I don't want to consciously or subconsciously copy them."

Advice for people managing talent: "Muster all the patience you can because you're going to need a great deal of it. Talent people are, well, flaky."

Liner Notes
Profile: Art Bell
Title: Founder and weekend host, Premiere Radio Network's "Coast to Coast"
Favorite radio format: Oldies
Favorite TV show: "House"
Favorite movie: "Contact""
Favorite book: "Gravity" by Tess Gerritsen
Favorite restaurant: "I love Japanese food but I can't give you a name of one right now."
Beverage of choice: Coffee
Hobbies: "Ham radio. That's a big hobby of mine."
E-mail address: artbell@mindspring.com

"You can't imagine the screaming, the yelling and the chest-pounding when I went from political talk to discussing the unknown. Anything new is not always going to meet with approval." —Art Bell