Radio star ‘fine,’ sheriff assures worried listeners

Wednesday, Oct. 14, 1998 | 11:05 a.m.

Art Bell's sudden on-air resignation from radio has sent waves of concern rippling far beyond his home in the desert town of Pahrump, where he long based his popular nationwide overnight talk show.

Bell told listeners that he was leaving the airwaves because of a "threatening terrible event." However, Nye County authorities said Tuesday that Bell was all right.

"This is being taken totally out of context -- Art's life is not in immediate danger," said Nye County Sheriff Wade Lieseke Jr., who visited Bell at Bell's modest Pahrump home Tuesday.

"I had contacted him because I was concerned. But he's fine."

"Quite a few" calls about Bell's well-being tied up his department's phone lines, Lieseke said, but he wouldn't estimate how many.

"This (on-air resignation) is big news," said Christine Burke, radio columnist for the New York Post, "because Art is the biggest thing in overnight radio -- really the only thing since Larry King ended his radio show."

Bell had the No. 1-rated overnight show in the nation and the top show in the lucrative New York market, where reports had said he was to do a promotional visit soon.

While Las Vegas insomniacs, late-shift workers and other early-morning listeners heard Bell's shocking farewell shortly before 3 a.m. Tuesday, many listeners in other markets, especially New York, did not.

The last hour of Bell's show runs into the morning drive at 5 a.m. in New York, and so it is not aired, Burke said.

However, faithful New York followers of the show, known for its frank discussion of strange topics such as UFOs, heard Bell quit when they switched to a powerful Philadelphia station to pick up the signal.

In Las Vegas, the response from listeners was one of great concern.

"I'd say a conservative guess is that we got at least 200 calls" by late Tuesday morning, said Dane Wilt, general manager of KVBC-FM 105.1.

Premiere Radio said a selection of the best of Art Bell shows will air until further notice.

Bell's goodbye came minutes before his live broadcast ended:

"You may recall about a year ago ... I told you that there was an event -- a threatening terrible event occurred to my family -- which I could not tell you about. Because of that event and a succession of other events, what you're listening to now is my final broadcast on the air. ... I'm going off the air and will not return."

Bell, 52, was the host of the "Dreamland" and "Coast to Coast AM" shows, heard over more than 400 stations with an estimated 15 million listeners.

Attempts to reach Bell for comment were not successful. Lieseke confirmed a wire-service report that Bell's phone was disconnected Tuesday.

Bell's decision to retire -- should it stick -- would bring to an end a radio career marked with quirky milestones.

He claims that his father was a Marine colonel and his mother was a drill sergeant, and that by age 13 he was a Federal Communications Commission-licensed radio technician.

While serving in the Air Force, Bell says he helped run a pirate radio station on an Amarillo base.

Bell got his first DJ job at a station in Anchorage, Alaska, where he reportedly set a marathon on-air record of 116 hours, 15 minutes.

His many radio jobs -- at least two dozen -- in the years that followed included a brief stint at stations in Tijuana, Mexico, and on Okinawa.

Bell started "Coast to Coast" about a decade ago, and he quickly discovered a strong base of loyal listeners when he talked about paranormal topics.

Bell broadcast his shows from his bedroom-size home studio, rarely coming to the Las Vegas station that carried his broadcasts.