Art Bell Net Worth

What was Art Bell's Net Worth and Salary?

Art Bell was an American radio broadcaster who had a net worth of $10 million. Art Bell was best known as the founder and original host of the late-night radio talk show "Coast to Coast AM," which is syndicated throughout the United States and Canada and infamously focuses on paranormal topics and conspiracy theories. Bell later created and hosted the short-lived radio shows "Art Bell's Dark Matter" and "Midnight in the Desert." Art Bell died on April 13, 2018, at the age of 72 at his home in Nevada.

Salary

At the peak of his syndicated "Coast to Coast" career, Art Bell's salary was $1 million per year.

Early Life and Military Service

Arthur Bell III was born on June 17, 1945, in North Carolina to parents who both served in the US military. Interested in radio from a very early age, he became a licensed amateur radio operator when he was 13 years old. His call sign was W6OBB. In the 1960s, Bell did basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas and served in the US Air Force as a medic. During his four-year service, he was stationed at hospitals in Vietnam and the Philippines. Bell managed to pursue his passion for radio in the military by operating a pirate radio station from Amarillo Air Force Base as well as broadcasting from the Philippines with the call sign 4F1AB.

Career Beginnings

After leaving the military in 1966, Bell worked at a number of radio stations in the US before he moved to Okinawa, Japan. There, he served for six years as a disc jockey at the English-language station KSBK. Bell then returned to the US and spent about 20 years as a disc jockey for rock music radio stations.

Coast to Coast AM

In 1978, Bell transitioned to talk radio when he launched the late-night show "West Coast AM" on KDWN in Las Vegas. A decade later, he and Alan Corberth retitled the show "Coast to Coast AM" and moved it to Bell's home in Pahrump, Nevada. Bell served as the original host of the show, covering various topics but focusing largely on paranormal subjects and conspiracy theories. "Coast to Coast AM" became hugely popular; at its peak, it was syndicated on over 500 radio stations throughout the US and Canada. Regular guests on the show included Terence McKenna, Robert Bigelow, Dannion Brinkley, and Richard C. Hoagland. Bell also interviewed a wide range of public figures, including singers Crystal Gale, Willie Nelson, and Eric Burdon; comedian George Carlin; actors Dan Aykroyd, Leonard Nimoy, and Jane Seymour; and authors Dean Koontz and Greg Bear.

Due to its focus on conspiracy theories, "Coast to Coast AM" has been heavily criticized for promoting pseudoscience and other dangerous ideas. Bell made a number of temporary retirements from the show before leaving it for good. The first was a brief two-week retirement in 1998, and the second was a longer hiatus from April 2000 to February 2001. Next, on New Year's Day, 2003, Bell retired due to back pain. He returned later in the year as a weekend host of the show on Premiere Networks. Bell retired from weekend hosting in 2007 but served as a guest host on occasion through 2010. His final retirement was announced in late 2015, due to safety concerns for his family. Today, "Coast to Coast AM" is hosted by George Noory.

Later Shows

Bell hosted a companion show to "Coast to Coast AM" called "Dreamland," which was nearly the same except less caller-focused. In 2013, he launched a new show, "Art Bell's Dark Matter," on the SiriusXM channel Indie Talk. Also focused on paranormal and pseudoscientific topics, it aired for just six weeks. Bell returned in 2015 with the new show "Midnight in the Desert," which was available on the Internet and on some terrestrial stations. He left the show at the end of the year and was succeeded as host by Heather Wade.

Personal Life and Death

Bell was married a total of four times and had six children. He married his first wife, Sachiko Toguchi Pontius, in 1965; they had two children, Vincent and Lisa, before divorcing in 1968. Bell wed his second wife, Vickie Baker, in 1981; they had a son named Arthur and divorced in 1991. A month after their divorce, Bell married Ramona Lee Hayes. They remained together until Hayes died unexpectedly in early 2006. That spring, Bell wed his fourth and final wife, Airyn Ruiz, with whom he had two children named Asia and Alexander.

On April 13, 2018, Bell passed away at his home in Pahrump. A coroner's report stated the cause of death was an accidental overdose from a cocktail of prescription medications, compounded by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and hypertension.

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