If you ever wondered what happened to Art Bell (W6OBB)

[uforadio]

If you ever wondered what happened to legendary Art Bell (hamradio W6OBB), here are some updates.

To make the long story short – On December 21, 2010, Art posted an image on his ham radio website with the title "The Wind No Longer Blows, in the End it was Without Direction. Long Live the Hot Air. 30" which represents sign-off when a Ham makes his final transmission from a certain location.

There were no further c2c shows with Art after that, and many started to elaborate different hypothesis. Will he ever return to C2C, will he transfer to a new network or is that actually a retirement? Mega thread was started on Coastgab.com on that note (and on other forums) on the title "Art Bell Quits Coast" that has a spectacular 123 pages so far.

On February 1st, I was able to find Arts posting on HAMRADIO forum that ended the speculation. Art actually retired. I've posted my finding at the Coastgab.com forum here:

http://coastgab.com/index.php/topic,2136.3600.html

My user name there is "archivist1947." My post caused a new wave of comments and because of that, incredibly, Art himself posted on the thread directly to end speculations once for all :)

You can read developments here:

http://coastgab.com/index.php/topic,2136.3600.html
http://coastgab.com/index.php/topic,2136.3630.html
http://coastgab.com/index.php/topic,2136.3660.html

Pasted Arts comments in the text below – thread just exploded and by the comments it is visible how many people are still inspired by C2C that Art created, its place in the pop culture and in radio history – Art left the door open for a possibility of comeback once in the future – maybe:

Art Bell
Re: Art Bell Quits Coast
« Reply #3617 on: February 02, 2012, 11:13:54 PM »
Hi there,
I thought it would be ok to stop in here and say hi from the High Desert! I have had so many people
send me links in email that refer to a post on this site. All is well with the Bell Family and we are
doing just fine in Pahrump.

As far as Retirement is concerned it has been great having time with my Family and my Hobby. I have
learned to "never say never" but I am enjoying life.

If any of you are Hams please feel free to join us on Echolink at W6OBB-L

I would be happy to try and answer any reasonable questions any of you may have.

Art

Art Bell
Re: Art Bell Quits Coast
« Reply #3655 on: February 03, 2012, 10:32:03 PM »

The mess is indeed cleaned up finally. It is strange that something designed to
save you in a emergency can cause one.

As for Coast, the show has changed which from my point of view is a shame but
it is the right of the Host doing the show to take it in the direction they see fit. I
have had many offers to join other Networks to compete if I wished BUT I have
decided that I do not wish to destroy what I built, or what is left of it.

I really am enjoying being Retired, I can be part of my Daughter's life as she grows
and it is a blast. I do miss all of you though. I am not saying I will not pick up a mike
one day, just not this day. I learned long ago, never say never.

Art

[Doc]

I used to travel late at night all over the Dark Desert Highways and I enjoyed Art Bell as often as I was out late enough to hear his show. I even drove through his then home town of Pahrump, Nevada a few times. One night I got home and sat in the car for well over an hour listening to him finish the interview with LtCol Corso.

Art Bell was one of the best interviewers I ever heard (Kevin Smith is great too, Hi, Kevin!). Art had a knack of asking the question I was thinking and he seemed to come at it as an audience surrogate rather than an expert or an interrogator. He also treated his guests with respect when it seemed to me he couldn't possibly be believing the baloney or drivel he was hearing. I hope he enjoys his retirement.

[atmjjc]

great news Art Bell returning Sept 16, 2013 !!

Art Bell returning to radio with Sirius show about the paranormal
By David Bauder, Associated Press
POSTED: 07/31/2013 01:08:22 PM MDT

Art Bell, radio's master of the paranormal and outward edges of science, will return to the microphone on Sept. 16 with a new nighttime show on Sirius XM Radio.

Bell was one of radio's top syndicated voices in the 1990s before walking away from his nightly show in 2002 due to family issues. He worked occasionally after that but hasn't been on the air since Halloween 2010.

"I missed it terribly," said Bell, 68, whose weeknight show will air live from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET. Sirius is building a studio at Bell's rural Nevada home where he will work.

A Sirius representative contacted Bell through social media a few months ago, leading to the formation of his show, "Art Bell's Dark Matter." He'll talk about things like UFOs, ghosts, near-death experiences and weird aspects of science. He'll do interviews and take calls from viewers.

Scott Greenstein, Sirius XM president and chief content officer, said the show will be "uncensored, unrestricted, uncluttered and utterly unique."

"There's probably more interest in the genre now than when I did it," Bell said. "When I did it, I was damned near alone."

Bell was on some 500 radio stations nationwide and "quit when he was at the top of his game," said Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers, a magazine that covers the radio industry

Harrison said Bell's subject matter has roots in old-time radio, and he predicted it will become popular once again in the coming years.

"He'll be looked at as one of the veteran, old masters," Harrison said. "He's the real deal when it comes to marching to the beat of a different drummer."

There's also a potential rivalry with George Noory, who replaced Bell on the syndicated show. Bell isn't a fan, saying he considers Noory "not edgy enough." Noory's program is on later at night, so the two will not compete directly live.

No contract terms were divulged.

Bell said he's intrigued to learn the differences between satellite and terrestrial radio.

"It seems to me they are the next step in technology," he said. "I've always been a technological junkie. The mix of what they're giving me, the freedom that they're giving me, is priceless."

http://www.timescall.com/entertainment/ci_23768487/art-bell-returning-radio-sirius-show-about-paranormal

[CasperParks]

Good to hear he is back on the air. Is Sirius sat radio?

[atmjjc]

Good to hear he is back on the air. Is Sirius sat radio?

yep

http://www.siriusxm.com/subscriptions

[Doc]

George Knapp has interviewed Art Bell recently and confirmed he is back. This is good news! I really enjoyed Art Bell's interviewing style. I have mentioned how he seemed to ask the next question a listener would ask, which was uncanny sometimes. Something else I learned from listening to him was that you could be quietly effective when being skeptical without being rude or obnoxious. Art interviewed more than a few loons and charlatans (and got criticized for being too easy on some of them) but he often was just giving the subject enough rope and letting the listener decide. Art also made a few careers by having some people on as repeat guests. One Ufology and Paranormal reporter would not be so widely known if not for constant exposure on his broadcasts. Welcome back, Art Bell!

[calikid]

Didn't Howard Stearn get a $1BILLION contract for signing up with Sirus?
Wonder what Art will earn?
Hard to say No to those kinds of numbers...

[atmjjc]

Didn't Howard Stearn get a $1BILLION contract for signing up with Sirus?
Wonder what Art will earn?
Hard to say No to those kinds of numbers...

I doubt it was in the billion $ category...I think more in the low millions.

[calikid]

Has anyone tuned into Art's new Sirius show?
A friend of mine, down at the Health Club, mentioned listening to Michio Kaku the other day....
Steven Greer had an email announcing an interview on the show....
I have heard neither.

[majicbar]

I doubt it was in the billion $ category...I think more in the low millions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Stern

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/12/09/howard-sterns-sirius-deal-the-400-million-contract.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/howard-stern-denied-300m-bonus-sirius-xm-merger-article-1.1314416

From what I can figure out Stern has earned (been paid) the better part of three quarters of a billion in salary and another three hundred million in stock bonuses, easily much, much more than he is worth, IMO.

[atmjjc]

Update from Art Bell



Art Bell
January 31 near Pahrump, NV · Edited

"Seems like time for a UPDATE. As many of you know I left Sirius/XM after
a short stint because we were having serious problems with the streaming
service. They refused a offer to allow free streaming until it could be
fixed. They promptly replaced Dark Matter with Coast to Coast AM on the
same channel (104). I could speculate here about why that was done but
I will not. I felt it was not reasonable to ask people to pay about $180.00
a Year to try and listen to a stream that so many complained was not
working right.

At this point they have come and collected their studio gear and have left.
I have asked to be released from my Non-Compete many times and they
refuse, I have my own feelings about what has gone on behind the scenes
and why at this point it matters to them, however it is what it is. So I will
wait it out, then start a show that will air for free on the Internet. I have
a time segment in mind which I will announce as we get closer to that time.

I am willing to give my all every time I crack the mike, but not for a show
that has a built in limit on how large it can grow based on how good it is.
So, that is where things stand today.

Otherwise the Bell Family is happy and well. My thanks to all of you that
have followed this tortured path with me."

[calikid]

Oh my.... that didn't last long!

[atmjjc]

Oh my.... that didn't last long!

Ya, he said he was only making 75K and wasn't in it for the money.

You never know what's going on behind the scenes in the entertainment biz.

[Doc]

It sounds as though he got screwed over. He may indeed do better with just an internet radio show. Art Bell is a big enough talent that if he wants to be on the air someone will find a way to make money doing it--more than one somebody will be finding ways. Show business in general and radio in particular are full strange people and strange deals. People will work for free, even pay, to be on the radio, which skews the whole financial picture. As long as Art Bell can "fill seats", someone will want to give him a mic.

[atmjjc]

Art's back!

I guess he has been back since July.

Missed his homecoming.

http://artbell.com/art-bells-new-show-faq/