Radio host Art Bell died of accidental drug overdose
https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-nevada/radio-host-art-bell-died-of-accidental-drug-overdose/ VIDEO ON THIS LINK
Longtime Pahrump radio personality Art Bell died of an accidental overdose from a cocktail of prescription drugs, the Clark County coroner’s office said Wednesday.
Bell died April 13 in a bedroom of his Pahrump home at age 72. The coroner’s office determined he had four prescription medications in his system: the opioids oxycodone and hydrocodone, diazepam (often marketed as Valium) and the muscle relaxant carisoprodol. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and hypertension also contributed to his death, the coroner’s office said.
The drugs that killed Bell were lawfully prescribed to him, the Nye County Sheriff’s Office said in a video posted to Facebook.
Bell was known as the late-night host, engineer and producer of the show “Coast to Coast AM.” He specialized in talking about all things weird, including UFOs, alien abductions and crop circles, on his nationally syndicated show to as many as 15 million people nightly. After retiring from hosting full time in 2003, he started his own satellite radio show from his home.
His work captured the imaginations of long-haul truckers and insomniacs alike during his late-night shows. He was inducted into the Nevada Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2006 and into the National Radio Hall of Fame two years later.
Bell stepped away from radio for good in 2015, about five months after launching “Midnight in the Desert.”
Here you have a 72 y/o dealing with/suffering from Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and hypertension and had 4 different controlled substances legally prescribed to him…
ACCIDENTAL DRUG OVERDOSE ???
Was he being prescribed sufficient doses to help him mitigate his pain or was he being cut back by his prescriber likes so many others are experiencing across the country and got to a point where he would no longer tolerate the intensity of pain level that he was now experiencing ?
Did he leave a SUICIDE NOTE – that was not discovered – or just DISAPPEARED ?
Recent coverage of the “other side” of the opiate crisis by KLAS TV in Las Vegas and a new opiate dosing law in Nevada. Did this new dosing law/limits cause this chronic pain pt to END IT ALL ?
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Filed under: General Problems
I was a fan of Art Bell’s in the 90’s & 2000’s before he quit. Something he did a lot. I was fortunate to get to talk with him privately (and you can choose not to believe that) via PM on Facebook quite often.
I was also the Associate Producer, for a while, on DrJ Radio with DrJ & Johny Webb, both still very good friends!. Dr J was Art Bell’s producer, originally, when he returned to radio (Midnight in the Desert on Dark Matter Digital) after 2 yrs under a non-compete clause by Sirius XM radio. Stay with me…
I talked with Art by phone about 10x on air and 3x off air. But I really got to know the man in PM.
He was VERY familiar with Opiates. He had a lot of back pain. We discussed this many times. The Opiate component was not something he was naive to.its public knowledge he had back pain but he did not discuss opiates, muscle relaxers or benzos online, to my best knowledge.
Art died on Friday the 13th. How fitting for a man who was known as the Godfather of Late Night Paranormal talk radio.
Art also was a news junkie! He loved watching and absorbing everything in the news. I doubt very seriously he wasn’t aware of what happened to his guest John Lear, losing his pain meds in Nevada. As was reported by his once friend (maybe still was friends up until his death) & co-host George Knapp another Coast To Coast AM Radio host (which Art started)
He had to have seen or heard about Knapp’s ‘Other Side of Opioids’ series on 8 News Now in Nevada. Bell’s State was Nevada. It would have been nearly impossible for him to NOT see the 12+ part series or the writing on the wall in relation to the forced tapers on the way, if he had not already been hit by them.
There is so much more to this I could bore most of you with. His wife made a crying statement when someone very close to Art said this was a Suicide. But that’s neither here nor there.
Art was from a different generation then me. He was the type of man, IMHO, that wasn’t going to end up with people giving him baths and changing his linens. He was going out on his own terms. That is what I believe without a doubt!
Friday the 13th. If he was going to go out, it was going to be on a day fans would remember. As a sort of nod or wink… You would have to be a listener to understand, I guess.
I would like to see the toxicology report, but that is something I cannot find online. The Sherrif’s office made a Statement on Facebook calling it a Accidental Suicide. So I guess we have to believe that, right?!
I have fond memories of Art & after getting to know him, not so fond, but it was still a great privilege! RIP Art Bell.
Danny,
. The toxicology report probably will not be made public in its entirety. But, his family should be able to get a copy of it.
heather wade says she read his suicide letter
He was 72 with COPD and other issues.
too many co-morbidity issues and too little information… but they still labeled it as a accidental OD… maybe just to put another “mark” on their OD stats column ..besides labeling it as a accidental OD… and not a suicide .. don’t have to spend any money on an investigation..
I think you are on point, Steve!
Sounds like he just died.
And the meds were incidental?
This will add to lowering or eliminating opiates, Valium and Soma.
The contributing factors do not matter here. It is common for patients prescribed these drugs. to have other serious health conditions.