Art Bell Returns Again To Coast To Coast AM And Says The Economy Is The Scariest Subject

Art's wife and child Wednesday enjoying a rare Pahrump snowfall

Update: Art will host New Year's 2009 Prediction Shows

Annual Predictions Shows 2009 - w/Art Bell

Art Bell hosts Part I of his Annual Predictions Show on Tuesday December 30th and Part II on New Years Eve, with callers invited to share one event they see coming in 2009. Art will also review callers' predictions made for 2008.

Art's Latest ( Last ) Show

At first Art seemed a little tired and slow on the draw at the beginning ( well he is over 64 years old ! ) but really rose to the occasion as the night progressed to pull off one of the most memorable C2C shows of all time. He signed off by saying he will be back before the end of the month, presumably filling in for George. I will look forward to any future shows he hosts. Long live Art Bell!

I get a free newsletter called CoastZone, which anybody can sign up for on Coast To Coast AM. The following is taken from the newsletter:

Economy & Financial Fraud:

Art Bell was joined by financial advisor Catherine Austin Fitts for a discussion on fraud and the economy. Financial fraud is tied into the black budget-- "the local narcotics trade is financing Tony Soprano, who's financing James Bond," she quipped. Offering her analysis of the recent fraud case involving Bernie Madoff siphoning off $50 billion, she suggested that he couldn't have done it without some kind of institutional support.

The shakeout from the bubble economy is going to continue, Fitts warned, with the Dow possibly dropping as low as 4500 during 2009. Pension funds will take huge losses, and municipalities will be handed the bill, she continued. There are pockets of people around the country who are successfully adapting, said Fitts, who advocated investing in local banks and farmers, as well as precious metals.

First hour guest, trends analyst Gerald Celente added his dire economic outlook into the mix. By February, there will be major bankruptcies in the retail sector, leading into a global depression, he said.

QuoteOf The Night

"This economic stuff...This one is as frightening as anything Coast's ever talked about. It's as frightening as any ghost story, the best you've ever heard. It's as frightening, if not more so, than just about anything scary we've ever talked about on this program. And if it's not yet personally affected you, get ready because it's going to. Our economy is like a living thing, that's had a stroke. It's as though we've all had a stroke. Some of us don't know it yet...but eventually it's going to cause us at the very least, a grievous illness, grievous pain." --Art Bell

A History Of Art Bells Retirements & Comebacks From Wikipedia

Bell has retired and returned to Coast to Coast AM several times.

• Retirement: His first retirement, highly unexpected, was announced on October 13, 1998. Bell: 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 right now is my final broadcast on the air. Coast To Coast AM is broadcast on more than 400 stations and is the country's most listened to overnight radio show, heard by some 15 million listeners. (That from "The Seattle Times" 10-13-98.) Hilly Rose filled in after Bell's departure.



• Return: He returned on October 28, 1998, leading many to believe it was merely a publicity stunt. Bell asserted that the brief departure was brought on by threats made against his family. On May 29, 1999, Art Bell explained that this retirement was due to an allegation made by hosts of WWCR shortwave radio that Bell had paid to cover up a criminal indictment. (Announcement date from "The Washington Post" 5-29-99, where Bell's show was said to be on 460 stations.)
  
  The actual facts of the matter became public knowledge with Art Bell's second retirement in 2000, when it was revealed that an actual criminal indictment was filed against a person who had assaulted a member of Bell's family. Due to the nature of the crime, Bell had wanted to keep the matter private. The hosts at WWCR shortwave radio had accused Bell of the crime. (Bell took legal action against the hosts and stations, which was settled in 2000.



• Retirement: On April 1, 2000, Bell once again announced to his audience his retirement, which would occur on April 26, 2000 (that from "The Washington Post" 4-1-00), but he offered no details other than expressing intentions to "resolve a family crisis." On April 11, 2000, Mike Siegel was introduced as the new host of Coast To Coast AM. On April 27, 2000, Siegel took over the program which at the this time had an estimated 22 million listeners. (That from "The Seattle Times" 4-12-00.) It was later explained he had left to deal with the aftermath of a sexual assault against his son. Brian Lepley, a substitute teacher, was convicted of sexual assault and attempted transmission of HIV and was sentenced to 10 to 25 years.



• Return: On January 24, 2001, it was announced (in Vancouver, Washington's "The Columbian" newspaper), Art Bell would return to Coast To Coast AM on February 5, 2001. Bell noted that since his departure the show had lost a number of affiliates, commercial content had risen to an unbearable level, and Siegel had taken the program in a "different direction" of which Bell disapproved. He retained some authority over the program as its creator and thus felt his return was necessary.



• Retirement: On October 23, 2002, Bell announced he would be retiring because recurring back pain (the result of a fall from a telephone pole during his youth) forced yet another departure, and Bell was permanently replaced by George Noory as weekday host of Coast to Coast AM on January 1, 2003. It was also said that Barbara Simpson would host weekends and that Bell planned to be an occasional guest host for Noory. (Most information from "The Seattle Times" 10-26-02.)



• Return: Bell again on September 23, 2003, announced (in Vancouver, Washington's "The Columbian" newspaper) would return as a weekend host on September 27, 2003, having missed the microphone, this time replacing Barbara Simpson and Ian Punnett as host of the Saturday and Sunday evening broadcasts. In June 2005, he scaled this schedule back a bit (a "semiretirement"), deciding to host only the last two Sundays of every month. Bell went back to hosting every weekend show as his schedule permitted after his wife Ramona’s death a few months later.



• Retirement: on July 1, 2007, Bell announced his retirement again, stating that he wished to spend more time with his wife and daughter. He made it explicitly clear that, unlike the circumstances surrounding previous retirements, this one was an entirely positive and joyful decision and that he would not disappear completely--he would occasionally substitute for other hosts and host "special" shows. According to George Noory, Bell is on board to do 15 shows per year. Art Bell confirmed this fact in a post on the Fantastic Forum fan site.

It just prooves to me that when you love what you do there is no such thing as retirement!

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Art's Daughter Asia Rayne Bell

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