Art Bell immortalized in bronze

The image of late legendary radio talk show host and Pahrump resident Art Bell has been enshrined on a bronze plaque installed at the Calvada Eye.

Bell, a longtime Pahrump resident and radio personality, passed away Friday, April 13, 2018.

The plaque is displayed on a pedestal near a park bench also in Bell’s memory.

Both were paid for by a group known as “Friends and Fans of Art Bell,” along with a contribution approved by the Nye County Board of Commissioners, following an agenda item discussion last March.

Total cost for the project came to $2,675.

Of that amount, the group, by way of a GoFundMe campaign, raised $1,546.07.

The county contribution totaled $1,128.93.

Bell died in the bedroom of his Pahrump home at age 72.

The Clark County Coroner’s Office determined he had four prescription medications in his system, including the opioid oxycodone, the analgesic hydrocodone, diazepam, often marketed as Valium, and carisoprodol, a muscle relaxant.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, (COPD), and hypertension also contributed to Bell’s death, the coroner’s office said.

The Nye County Sheriff’s Office noted that the drugs were lawfully prescribed to him.

As a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame and the Nevada Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame, Bell was best known for his paranormal-based radio show “Coast to Coast AM.”

He also was the founder and original owner of KNYE 95.1 FM in 1999, which still operates today under owner and Bell’s close friend Karen Jackson, who purchased the radio station in 2007.

Roughly seven years ago, Bell returned to the airwaves after signing a contract with Sirius XM satellite radio to host a new program entitled, “Art Bell’s Dark Matter.”

At the time, Bell, told the Pahrump Valley Times that the decision to come back to radio was not a very difficult one to make.

“That was easy, because I love it. It’s my life and that’s all I have ever done,” he said. “I went through a lot of family problems, so that interrupted things and I was overseas for four years and that certainly interrupted things. I went back into radio because I love it.”

Though the show began on Sept. 16, 2013, Bell decided to end the program roughly six weeks later.

His decision to end the program was due to technological issues and a disagreement over the show’s distribution.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes