By the age of 13, Art was an FCC licensed radio technician. A few years
later, as a young airman, Bell and an equally foolhardy buddy built
their own pirate radio station right on Amarillo Air Force base,
secretly broadcasing Rock 'n' Roll to appreciative locals. These kind
of antics were not limited to bootleg military radio. As a civilian
DJ., Art Bell landed in the Guinness Book of Records for a 116 hour
(and 15 minutes) solo broadcast marathon "playing the hits" on KENI in
Anchorage Alaska. The money raised there allowed Art to charter a DC 8,
fly to Vietnam and rescue 130 Vietnamese Orphans stranded in Saigon at
the war's end. They were eventually all brought to America and adopted
by American families. Art's no-nonsense demeanor doesn't fool his
listerners who sense he's more complex underneath.
