https://youtu.be/u1a5ykcqSz4
If you were a night owl in the 1990s as I was, what with being a security guard, you probably were at least a casual listener or an avid listener to Coast to Coast AM hosted by Art Bell.
Art Bell has died at his home in Pahrump, Nevada at the age of 72.
Listening to Art Bell I know he wasn't a born again Christian, but it is my sincere hope that he found Jesus in his last hours on this earth.
Broadcasting from Nye county Nevada, he was a radio talk legend who enjoyed much success during the 90s hosting an overnight AM radio show that delved into the fascinating subjects of the paranormal, UFO'S, politics, secret government projects, conspiracy theories, and the bizarre.
If you worked the overnight shift and you needed some entertainment then Coast to Coast AM was likely your only consistent choice. Yes, these were the days before internet was available on cellphones. But Art Bell was always on top of his game. His show never was dull for any extended period of time. Too many times a guest with an interesting topic was cut off due to time constraints and we, the listeners, were left wanting more.
Though it irked Art Bell at the time, I remember a caller who jokingly bundled Art's three biggest, and most consistent advertisers, into a single product dubbing it the "Gold tuna radio". Art Bell used to peddle a tuna product, a real rose dipped in 14 carat gold, and a fancy wind up AM/FM wide bandwidth radio made in South Africa, I think it was. Every hour at the top of the hour, Art would devote eight minutes of what could have been talk time pushing these products. I remember one year I gave in to the pressure and bought my mother a gold flower for Mother's Day. She was impressed.
Another long term sponsor of the show was Direct Flowers or something like that. It was a company that shipped various flower arrangements to whomever you liked. But, as much as I thought Art Bell's advertisers were tedious and dull, you sure missed the live show on weeknights and had to listen to rebroadcast shows on the weekends.
Naturally, a show of this nature brought with it regular callers who could be most colorful. Two or three times a month, Art would receive a call from his nemesis, Charlie. Liberal. California. And that is how Charlie identified himself when calling in. I can still remember Charlie's obnoxious tone of voice from his calls. The more you listened to Charlie, the more you grew to despise him due to his unique blend of nonchalant arrogance and narcissism.
I've got to wonder if Charlie wasn't a C.I.A. operative whose hobby was to mess with Art Bell. Who knows the real truth.
I was such a fan of the show, that in 1996, while traveling through Nevada, I deliberately detoured myself into the Kingdom of Nye and drove through Pahrump, Nevada. The Kingdom of Nye I think was Art Bell's own term of endearment for the county in which he lived. I know he used to utter that phrase fairly often during monologues on his show. It actually took me a while to realize what he was talking about. I never sought out his house, but rather I simply drove through this little town and wondered why anyone would want to live there. I was also quite certain that if I came across a house with an antenna tower, that this was to be Art Bell's house.
Of course I was disappointed when Art Bell suddenly quit his show and dropped out of sight. From what I have heard, some lunatic or lunatics, sought to harm Art Bell, and Art went into hiding.
Coast to Coast AM then was left in the hands of George Noory.
But for me, it wasn't the same show, and I eventually quit tuning in.
If anyone listened to Coast to Coast, tell me your experience as a listener.
I rarely shed a tear for someone whom I have never met, but I did for Art Bell. I even bought his book The Quickening while at an airport bookstore. That's amore.
Via con Dios, Art. You will be missed.
