We’ve been flooded with comments from around the industry since we first announced the death of Art Bell this past weekend. Bell died at his home in Las Vegas on Friday, April 13. Here are the details along with comments from George Noory, Kraig Kitchin and others…

The Nye County Sheriff’s Office announced that an autopsy will be done later this week to determine the cause of death.

Bell’s paranormal-themed overnight show, “Coast to Coast AM,” was syndicated on hundreds of stations by Premiere back in the 90’s. He left the show in 2002. He also had a show on SiriusXM in 2013. Bell was 72 years old. Most recently Premiere was syndicating Bell’s show Somewhere In Time which was the best in classic Art Bell shows from 6pm – 10pm on Saturdays.

Kraig Kitchen was very involved in launching Art Bell’s program and syndicating him on hundreds of stations. “Art Bell’s late night conversations made you interested in what he found interested him. He defined the word, compelling. You respected what he inspected. You listened much longer into the night than you told yourself you would. He caused lots of sleep deprivation by his craft, but opened the eyes and minds of so many to the “what if…” of our world. He will be missed.”

The Nye County Sheriff made the announcement of Bell’s sudden death on Facebook and Twitter…



At one time Bell had close to 10 million listeners before his sudden retirement. He did his shows about UFOs, conspiracies and cover-ups for over 15 years from his home in the Nevada desert. He came out of retirement several times but was eventually replaced by George Noory who still hosts the overnight program today.

Noory told Radio Ink: “Art was a legend – a radio icon who went against the grain and developed an amazing show called Coast to Coast AM. His impact on my life is beyond words. He will be missed, but I know he is now on another journey.”

Bell also had a show on SiriusXM in 2013 but that only lasted 6 weeks. Bell returned to radio in 2015 with a new show called Midnight in the Desert, available online and on a few stations. He announced what would be his final retirement on December 11, 2015, citing security concerns at his home. Bell founded and was the original owner of Pahrump-based radio station KNYE 95.1 FM.

In 1986 KDWN in Las Vegas offered Bell a five-hour time slot in the middle of the night. Syndication of his program began in 1993.