An autopsy found the 72-year-old Bell’s death April 13 at home in rural Pahrump was from “multiple drug intoxication from his own lawfully prescribed prescriptions,” Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly’s office said in a brief Facebook announcement . It called the death an accidental overdose…
Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg, whose office in Las Vegas handled the medical examination, said Bell had the painkillers oxycodone and hydrocodone, the sedative diazepam and the muscle-relaxant carisoprodol in his system.
High blood pressure and the lung disease chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder were additional “significant conditions” in Bell’s death, Fudenberg said .. The coroner said there was no indication of foul play..
Dead on Friday the 13th. And missed forever since, and well beyond these years.
The Clark County Coroner’s office still has not determined the cause of death for radio legend Art Bell, who died April 13 at his home in Pahrump…
Chaos has reigned supreme since the talk show legend’s Friday the 13th demise..
Midnight in the Desert host Heather Wade was replaced by Dave Schrader, but Wade started her own Kingdom of Nye show. A rather awkward and public battle has ensued between Wade and long time Bell associate Keith Rowland. Yesterday Rowland even posted a note on Twitter sarcastically thanking whoever signed him up for travel brochures.
The newest information about the Clark County Coroner’s inaction was posted today on Facebook by sometimes Coast to Coast AM host and news reporter George Knapp. Knapp was a long time friend of Art Bell and reported several stories on him throughout the years during his routine comebacks and routine quittings..
On Monday, the Nye County Sheriff’s Office found itself defending its decision to announce Bell’s death with a video on Facebook about 12 hours after he was found dead at his home in Pahrump on Friday.
The move has drawn some criticism online from people calling it an invasion of the Bell family’s privacy. But a spokesman for the rural department said Sheriff Sharon Wehrly recorded the video statement because Bell was “a huge celebrity” and “we knew we would be inundated with questions.”
“We received information that his death had already begun to circulate via Facebook, and in an effort to get factual information out to the public, prior to the onslaught of public records requests, we decided to do a short press release announcing his death and the pending autopsy,” said Lt. David Boruchowitz. “The release was made once public conversation and requests started coming in.”
Meanwhile the Dark Matter radio network will utilize this week to play classic MIDNIGHT IN THE DESERT shows with host Art Bell.. and on Thursday Coast to Coast Am will feature a full program of clips of Bell, guests, and open lines, hosted by George Noory..
This video is somewhat appropriate for the time at hand.. Art Bell, dead at the age of 72 on a Friday the 13th in the spring month of April. This was Art, healthy and alive, waving us all a grand goodbye as a drone flew above his compound in the kingdom of Nye. Pahrump… The desert where he was king.
Initially when the death news was revealed, it was strange. For some reason I woke up around 2am on the East Coast. I fell asleep listening to Clyde Lewis and awoke to him lamenting that he was often the opening act for Bell but never met him.. and now Art Bell was dead.
I was in shock.. I hardly slept from that point and immediately tuned into Coast to hear Noory conduct open lines focusing on Art.
The emotion hit about 24 hours later when I realized just what we lost. Not only a legend, but quite honestly a maverick in industry.. a friend.. someone who comforted us during some of the worst times in history. Someone who had human emotions himself, contemplating suicide after the death of Ramona.. someone who is a father of a new baby.. someone who gave us amazing nostalgic memories in only a style he could. Someone who re-branded 70s and 80s era music as a bumper to his program, complete with the WAV file of the thunder crack that he recorded himself.
His final drone video, featured with this post, fills not only me bit also fans with heartache and joy.
He was famous for not knowing if he would enter the light.. if he would think of it as a bug zapper or if he’d just brave it and figure out the afterlife in the same style he tried to question our current reality.
I post this with tears at this moment. Anyone who grew up with him listening nightly on old fashioned radios or new fangled smartphones have the same appreciation. He took us beyond where we exist.. he took us to the limits of time and space. Was he hokey at times with Mel’s hole or fear of the Oiujia Board? Absolutely. But that is what made it all better. The fact we never knew.. the fact he was neutral. Sure, you can get a sense of his thought from the tone of his voice. But boy oh boy.. you just never knew for sure..
And now things are done. Times have changed. There is no ‘return to the airwaves.’ Heather Wade will decide how MIDNIGHT tears into the night.. Keith Rowland will figure out what to do with his WEB version of events. Bellgab will figure out what’s left to gab about in the absence of the man who spawned the site. And we will collectively contemplate his time and space on this planet.. and conjure up some thoughts of his travels as he now contemplates the next realm.
Fans across the word of the radio giant are overwhelmed with emotions at this hour. Art Bell, the legend of our time, has finally found an answer to his question of what happens when we leave this earthly dwellings.
Radio show host and long-time Pahrump resident Art Bell has died according to the Nye County Sheriff Department. Bell was the original owner of the Pahrump-based radio station KNYE 95.1FM and was known across the U.S. and in Canada for his paranormal radio program, “Coast to Coast.” He passed away at his home in Pahrump at age 72. With the history of Bell, perhaps Friday the 13th was actually the best time to meet a maker …
George Noory announced news during his Friday night Coast to Coast with his voice quivering..
Heather Wade surprisingly took off from Midnight in the Desert tonight.. this prior to the death being announced by the Sherrif..
George Knapp posted news online..
Clyde Lewis grieved on air during Ground Zero..
Ian Punnett and Dave Schrader also gave online condolences on the matter..
Punnet called into Coast to Coast AM last night commenting on the surreal nature of events… He relayed a brief story of how he was originally unsure if Art Bell even liked him as the Saturday host to begin with!
Whitley Streiber, arguably one of Art Bell’s closest friends, was distraught when George Noory spoke to him last night. Streiber seemed shocked by the sudden nature of events, commenting that Bell seemed fine a day earlier when he spoke to him..
A law exists in the state that autopsies are performed on people who die in their homes. Same will occur in this case, it is reported.
Meanwhile, a slight scandal is developing between the Bell inner circle and the law enforcement from Nye County.. From the Midnight Facebook page:
The Nye County Sherrif was asked to NOT announce Art’s passing by his wife, until an appropriate time. Airyn did not want the media exposure until she was ready. In fact some family members were not even notified. Why would Nye County Sherrif publicize Art’s passing until the family was ready? They are a disgrace to the community and an assault to privacy. Those of us in Art’s inner circle had a plan to inform the family and fans of Art’s passing in an appropriate manner, and they took this away from us. Shame on Nye county sheriff department.
Heather Wade announced that she was going to go to Area 51 this coming June.. People have been responding fast and furious, with some stating she is in danger of being arrested–or even killed!
Talk show legend and original MIDNIGHT IN THE DESERT host Art Bell is responding in kind to people on Facebook..
What Heather is doing is a brave act. For all my life people have talked Disclosure and talked and talked. I have no illusion that she will get to any Alien anything but at least she feels the need to do something, anything to move beyond talk and raise the stakes in trying to get to the truth. If we have been visited (and I believe we have) we have a right to know. It seems to me we have a moral right to know, will it change people’s basic faith? Not any more than the Pope suddenly being quoted as saying “There is no Hell”. We have a right to know, she is right and if a act of Civil Disobedience helps I am all for it.
On acts of civil disobedience..
Not much has ever happened in America until people have engaged in some act that ended up with jail or a sore head
On whether he would join..
I completely understand what she is doing and why, if I was younger I would join. I guess if you really want change you have to do more then ask
When asked about the famed pilot who called into his show while flying directly into Area 51 in the 1990s,
They don’t know when she is coming, like I have said I have no illusions that she will meet any Aliens or even get close, I think it just makes the point that talking won’t get it done, I feel we have a right to know and have always hoped it would be before I go…
MIDNIGHT IN THE DESERT host Heather Wade posted what appears to be a potentially ominous message for fans of the late night radio show..She wrote that she is unsure how long the program may last. She gave a heartfelt thank you to all who gave support.. and finally finished by saying it was the most fun she has ever had..
Wade was thrust into a strange scenario when Art Bell abruptly quit December two years ago. Those who recall the HORROR REPORT coverage of the ordeal most likely recall that he reported gunshots were being fired during live programs, that his life was in danger from an intruder to his property in Pahrump Nevada, and that he was ending his program over fears of his safety.
Wade stepped in and, over the past two years, has evolved into a permanent radio host of the program, picking up a strong fan base and listenership.
However, numbers may not be enough behind the scenes to support the program.
While Wade is not commenting yet on the hundreds of public reactions her Facebook post received, some are questioning why Art Bell himself can’t pick up a night or two, or even weekends, to boost the potential money problems.
Bell has given a courtesy post for the show many times over the previous two years, and also heralded Heather Wade as a great radio alternative to Coast to Coast AM’s George Noory..
Bell’s messages through the years have been mysterious and reassuring. For fans of MITD, Heather Wade’s is ominous and alarming..
Sooo… I am playing the new remade Playstation 4 Crash game while listening to Art Bell ‘somewhere in time’ on my local A radio station. It feels like 1999 again and it feels great. from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2ueFmnS
The TIMES’ tone seemed positive.. but also nostalgic for the predecessor.. From the text:
Given the size of its audience, the show might be expected to cover topics squarely in the mainstream. But Mr. Noory’s listeners, whom he refers to as “the night people,” tend to focus more on fringier fare, whether it’s U.F.O. sightings near Area 51 or the myriad conspiracy theories that Mr. Noory’s predecessor, Art Bell, established as signatures of the program.
……
“Coast to Coast” began in 1984 as a talk radio program broadcasting from the Las Vegas station KDWN. Mr. Bell, its founder and first host, had originally been a D.J. He switched his focus to talk radio at a time when music listeners began to favor higher-fidelity FM stations, forcing many AM channels to switch formats. When “Coast to Coast” went national, in 1992, he started to receive calls from listeners about their paranormal experiences. Those calls soon became the show’s trademark.
When Mr. Bell left the show, he advised Mr. Noory not to imitate his hosting style, which gave listeners the (accurate) sense that he was broadcasting from a compound in the desert. He was isolated from his audience and occasionally confrontational with callers.
On one call from a man claiming to have worked for Area 51, Mr. Bell made his suspicion known right away: “Well, look, let’s begin by finding out whether you’re using this line properly or not.” And on Oct. 13, 1998, Mr. Bell signed off by saying: “This is it, folks. I’m going off the air and will not return.” When Mr. Noory took over, after his forerunner returned and vanished from the show a few more times, listeners noticed a shift in tone, from skeptical and sometimes critical to open-minded and kind.
“Art was a little more, if he thought you were loo-la, he would tell you,” said Veronica Costin, who started tuning in during the 1990s. It became a ritual for her: drifting off in her San Antonio bedroom to the sounds of faraway voices.
….I think it sounds like Bell had a fandom in the TIMES’ press room.. perhaps those late nights burning the fish wrapper oil with Bell in the background yelling at callers with insanity.. ?
Back to the present time: Noory is given some kind words as well from the TIMES article.. But one section pointed out just how different Bell and Noory actually are.. even reminding readers that Noory appears on Alex Jones’ radio show.. And a little product placement as well:
Each episode of “Coast to Coast” begins with a news segment, but when asked if he saw himself as a journalist, Mr. Noory responded that he was “a facilitator of the truth, wherever that takes us.”
His audience seems to see him as an authoritative, unifying force at a time when the country appears more fragmented than ever. Through his radio show, live events and two dating sites — Paranormal Date and Conspiracy Date — he acts as a connector and a surrogate for his listeners, whom he considers extended family. (Mr. Noory has three children and six grandchildren. He is private about his relationship status.)
Nearly 200 stations have added “Coast to Coast” in the last 18 months. One is WABC. The station’s late-night ratings have increased 30 percent, to 8.9 percent of the audience, since November. “I saw the numbers from across the country,” said Phil Boyce, WABC’s program director. “I wanted to get on that freight train.”
