April 20, 2018 • 12 mins
George Noory and long time Coast to Coast AM guest Dannion Brinkley share his thoughts on attending the funeral of the show's founding host Art Bell, and memories of his friendship as they both dealt with serious health problems.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the best of Coast to Coast
podcast and become a Coast Insider to hear the rest
of this fascinating conversation and check out recent shows featuring
guests sharing stories about growing up in a haunted house
that was possessed by an evil presence, a nightmarish encounter
with a UFO in the dead of night, and the
financial horror stories from those who won the lottery and
(00:21):
lived to regret it. Head on over to Coast to
Coast a m dot com and sign up for Coast
Insider to hear these programs and many more truly thought
provoking shows from Coast to Coast. Now here's a highlight
from Coast to Coast AM on iHeart Radio. Our next
guest is a favorite of mine and of course was
(00:42):
a favorite of our bills. He's going to tell you
a story when he was in the hospital. What are did?
Let's bring on Daniel Brinkley. Daniel, Well, welcome by friend.
I look forward to seeing you in June and Las
Vegas at our event. But my god, you were at
the funeral today. Whitley was telling me, yeah, and you
know Whitley's you know what you appreciate about Whitley. George
(01:06):
is what a great writer he is. Oh my gosh.
I mean he he gave a speech that was It
was as real and as eloquent and as magnificent as
you would want it to me. I'm always I loved art,
and Art was funny, but I understood Art's personality, you know,
I knew I knew his his pixie ways and how
(01:29):
everybody had to watch somewhere in time and we all
had to go to Michigan to this place where somewhere
in time and we all had to listen to him
quote James Seymour, just the funny things about Art. And
I was standing there today and Whitley was good. But
I have to be funny because about three weeks ago,
(01:52):
when I talked to him, the kind of pain that
he was in wasn't worth it. You could you could
tell that he was really hurting, couldn't you. Oh, come on, George,
And this had to been going on. I mean, we
talked every couple of months, and it's just to talk
through the same things. Like he's trying to get Heather
the little radio show that he started. He was trying
(02:14):
to talk her into going into area fifty one in broadcasting,
and he was jelling her he'd come Baylor out and
this was always Art up to something. And then one
of the best times George was I went to see
him and he had just gotten his I think it's
nineteen trans am. That's the big war horse that. Oh,
(02:41):
come on, he said. He says, then O, let's go
get the mail. And he lives on the street that
the post office is at the Industry, but it's about
four miles maybe five miles to the post office. But
we went to the post office at a hundred and
forty two back around one. Dirtie, you're the guy that
(03:02):
almost died twice. This could have been the third for you.
It would have been okay because it was Art having
that moment of where his victory was that he had
wanted this car all the way through the sixties, you know,
the when it came out. You know from the Daniel
I want you to tell people when you were in
(03:23):
the hospital fighting for your life when Art came to
visit you. Well, this is the real part about Art.
I mean I had they gave me a ten percent
chance of survival. I had brain surgery. Hid between five
and seven subdual hematomas, and it wasn't like I was
gonna make it. So what Art and Ramona did was
(03:45):
they got they cut in an airplane and they flew
to South Carolina and and they Art broadcast for five
days as I was going through those final days of surgery,
getting ready for surgery and going into dree and he broadcast,
and he'd spend the days in the room. And this
is one of the There was two things George that
(04:07):
got Art. One was when he wanted it was a
drought and it hadn't rained, and he turned to everybody
to get him to make it rain, and the focus
on the audience to make it rain. And it rained
the next day, did it didn't stop raining. It scared
the living daylights out of him. Did not only that listen,
he thought, George. He thought it was weather modification and
(04:30):
someone had listened to him. How in the world could
that power have been? And the other time, when he came,
he asked everybody on coast to coast to say a
prayer for me, because it got scary in those days
when they were gonna have to do open our surgery
and brain surgery, and I was in so much pain.
I couldn't stand it. I mean, anything had to be
(04:52):
better than what was going on. And so Art put
that proud and George the room became silvery and I
didn't have a headache, and for about three hours, for
the first time in ten days, I got a chance
to put my life in order instead of dealing with things.
So when I think about where Art is, the things
that the magic and the power of what coast to
(05:13):
coast is, and the kind of production system that you
have behind you and then you carry in that placket,
there is no way that Art wouldn't be proud. And Uh.
When I talked to Darren, she wanted to say thank
you to you and Tommy, thank you for caring about
Art and putting this information and getting people the chance
(05:35):
who didn't know him to knowing. How is she? Is
she going to stay in the in the United States?
Or is she's going to go back to the Philippines? What? What?
What might she do? I think that will be a
hard decision. She has so many really good friends and
arts friends, and she has family, but you know, you
don't ever really know. And the little girl was born here,
(05:56):
she's you know, and the American Yeah, and Alex too. Yeah,
and he has he has a one year old, think
about it, a little over one, he's yeah, he's just
a toddler, a little Alex And so I don't know,
but you know, today you could see the many moods
of a person who is going through lass. I mean
(06:16):
I've watched it, been a hospital volunteer for forty years.
I can watch the patterns. And now she's in grief
and she hasn't gotten the griefs. She's in bereaved. Daniel.
I'm going to ask you this on a news worthy question,
and that is we have not heard the exact cause
of death yet. Have they even talked about that. Well,
(06:38):
it's going to end up being UH complications from COPD,
but it's gonna be it'll be heart failure from UH.
And Art smoked for forty years. He was a four
pack of day er how much it was a four
pack of day, four packs a day, all right, And
(07:01):
he did that for forty years. And then one day
when he married Aaron, that was it. He was going
to have a baby. That was it. He stopped. He
was able to stop cold turkey day stop. That's Art.
He snuck around and smoked, smoked a couple, he stopped
and then he never smoked again. But the when you
(07:21):
put pulmonary cardio pulmonary position and and then you put
every breath is painful. You know how infansma works. And
then is she going to be okay in your opinion? Yeah,
she has a support of her family and they were there.
She had support of her family, and she's she's stable
and well round it, I mean, and she and Art
(07:44):
loved each other. It was funny. I mean I used
to laugh at me, but it was funny how that
blend and the where Art was being the best parent
that he could be and dealing with the pain George
and he was dealing with I know he will stay close.
I mean, it was very easy to feel his presence
when you looked at those people and they're at the graveside,
(08:08):
and and then that they all laughed for a moment
and thought about his practical joking. And most people don't
realize he was like a pool shark. I mean, Art
could shoot pool as well as anybody I have seen.
Really didn't know that I think about this. I mean,
he was a pool hustler, and he hustled everybody who
came in the house. He played like he didn't know
(08:30):
how to play. They put their ten dollars down and
he'd win well as exactly how he did me. I mean,
I was a pretty good pool shooter, but this guy
was a serious pool shooter. So tonight is a celebration, George.
Another one of us gets to go home. And every
answer that we've sought for the since the nineties, since
(08:53):
like ninety four when Coast to Coast started, every answer
that that Art and you and the team has searched out,
Art now knows all those answers. He does. And when
you think denied everybody, and you think about Art, And
I was listening to the guy who had called in.
I think Mike had I could you could hear his heart?
(09:14):
And and how many of so many people of the
night love Coast to Coast and how it's affected all
of us in a way that opens up our minds
to possibilities, you know, and to have that as a moniker,
and have you guys doing this tribute. There is no
greater accolade that Art could ever reach for other than
(09:35):
where he is. And he is not in pain, George,
And I hope he's I hope he's watching and listening
and like sweet the show. He wouldn't miss it once
to think about it. We need him to call in. Well,
that's exactly what I was going to say, I was
because you remember he used to do that. Yes, look
(09:59):
at I wouldn't what did buy him to call in
on the shop? Not? I would not put it by
somebody's phone. This is art, this is art free. We've
got caller I D And if Genus sees a bunch
of zeros come in on a call, grab it, Gina,
because text you don't ever know. I know that Art
(10:21):
is celebrating it because all that stuff. And I don't
think that he's done the tunnel or the across the
metal or the veil. I think he stays present because
after hearing everything that we've talked about and that Coast
has talked about and covered, and we've I've you know,
I've neared death, everybody to death just about Art knew
(10:41):
what to expect because we talked about it a hundred times.
And uh, he knew what to expect. And I know
absolutely that the stages that he would go through that
he has, he has made it to where he understands
he is in control of his spiritual identity. That way,
he's not to leave that. He's not going to leave
(11:02):
Aaron until she's settled and moved into a place where
when the air goes out of the did it his right, Danion? Yeah,
And I'll keep checking on her and I'll keep okay,
my friends, and I'll see you a June ninth at
our event in Vegas. I really look forward to seeing you. May.
I need a hug from you absolutely, and everybody if
(11:23):
you're anywhere near one of these shows, wherever these shows are.
This is entertainment and information at its absolute best. I
mean I enjoy participating in it and watching the ins
and out and the entertainment value that you bring, George,
and the way that uh they set it up. It's
(11:43):
absolutely fabulous. I'm sure it could be a lounge act
in Las Vengas. I'm sure we'll up there. It puts
a little more pressure on you, George, but the kind
of audience that would come in, the kind of quality
of that show, it's uplifting, it's invigorating. Well, we're dedicating
(12:04):
that show, Daniel, to Art by the way, and I
think that's even greater. We're doing that to our friend. Okay,
thank you, Daniel. I love you, guys. I appreciate and
everybody celebrate that artists free, that he's not in that
kind of pain, and he's living in our hearts. And
thanks Georgia, Thank you, Daniel Brinkley. Listen to more Coast
(12:25):
to Coast AM every weeknight at one a m. Eastern
and go to Coast to Coast am dot com for
more
Thanks for listening to the best of Coast to Coast
podcast and become a Coast Insider to hear the rest
of this fascinating conversation and check out recent shows featuring
guests sharing stories about growing up in a haunted house
that was possessed by an evil presence, a nightmarish encounter
with a UFO in the dead of night, and the
financial horror stories from those who won the lottery and
(00:21):
lived to regret it. Head on over to Coast to
Coast a m dot com and sign up for Coast
Insider to hear these programs and many more truly thought
provoking shows from Coast to Coast. Now here's a highlight
from Coast to Coast AM on iHeart Radio. Our next
guest is a favorite of mine and of course was
(00:42):
a favorite of our bills. He's going to tell you
a story when he was in the hospital. What are did?
Let's bring on Daniel Brinkley. Daniel, Well, welcome by friend.
I look forward to seeing you in June and Las
Vegas at our event. But my god, you were at
the funeral today. Whitley was telling me, yeah, and you
know Whitley's you know what you appreciate about Whitley. George
(01:06):
is what a great writer he is. Oh my gosh.
I mean he he gave a speech that was It
was as real and as eloquent and as magnificent as
you would want it to me. I'm always I loved art,
and Art was funny, but I understood Art's personality, you know,
I knew I knew his his pixie ways and how
(01:29):
everybody had to watch somewhere in time and we all
had to go to Michigan to this place where somewhere
in time and we all had to listen to him
quote James Seymour, just the funny things about Art. And
I was standing there today and Whitley was good. But
I have to be funny because about three weeks ago,
(01:52):
when I talked to him, the kind of pain that
he was in wasn't worth it. You could you could
tell that he was really hurting, couldn't you. Oh, come on, George,
And this had to been going on. I mean, we
talked every couple of months, and it's just to talk
through the same things. Like he's trying to get Heather
the little radio show that he started. He was trying
(02:14):
to talk her into going into area fifty one in broadcasting,
and he was jelling her he'd come Baylor out and
this was always Art up to something. And then one
of the best times George was I went to see
him and he had just gotten his I think it's
nineteen trans am. That's the big war horse that. Oh,
(02:41):
come on, he said. He says, then O, let's go
get the mail. And he lives on the street that
the post office is at the Industry, but it's about
four miles maybe five miles to the post office. But
we went to the post office at a hundred and
forty two back around one. Dirtie, you're the guy that
(03:02):
almost died twice. This could have been the third for you.
It would have been okay because it was Art having
that moment of where his victory was that he had
wanted this car all the way through the sixties, you know,
the when it came out. You know from the Daniel
I want you to tell people when you were in
(03:23):
the hospital fighting for your life when Art came to
visit you. Well, this is the real part about Art.
I mean I had they gave me a ten percent
chance of survival. I had brain surgery. Hid between five
and seven subdual hematomas, and it wasn't like I was
gonna make it. So what Art and Ramona did was
(03:45):
they got they cut in an airplane and they flew
to South Carolina and and they Art broadcast for five
days as I was going through those final days of surgery,
getting ready for surgery and going into dree and he broadcast,
and he'd spend the days in the room. And this
is one of the There was two things George that
(04:07):
got Art. One was when he wanted it was a
drought and it hadn't rained, and he turned to everybody
to get him to make it rain, and the focus
on the audience to make it rain. And it rained
the next day, did it didn't stop raining. It scared
the living daylights out of him. Did not only that listen,
he thought, George. He thought it was weather modification and
(04:30):
someone had listened to him. How in the world could
that power have been? And the other time, when he came,
he asked everybody on coast to coast to say a
prayer for me, because it got scary in those days
when they were gonna have to do open our surgery
and brain surgery, and I was in so much pain.
I couldn't stand it. I mean, anything had to be
(04:52):
better than what was going on. And so Art put
that proud and George the room became silvery and I
didn't have a headache, and for about three hours, for
the first time in ten days, I got a chance
to put my life in order instead of dealing with things.
So when I think about where Art is, the things
that the magic and the power of what coast to
(05:13):
coast is, and the kind of production system that you
have behind you and then you carry in that placket,
there is no way that Art wouldn't be proud. And Uh.
When I talked to Darren, she wanted to say thank
you to you and Tommy, thank you for caring about
Art and putting this information and getting people the chance
(05:35):
who didn't know him to knowing. How is she? Is
she going to stay in the in the United States?
Or is she's going to go back to the Philippines? What? What?
What might she do? I think that will be a
hard decision. She has so many really good friends and
arts friends, and she has family, but you know, you
don't ever really know. And the little girl was born here,
(05:56):
she's you know, and the American Yeah, and Alex too. Yeah,
and he has he has a one year old, think
about it, a little over one, he's yeah, he's just
a toddler, a little Alex And so I don't know,
but you know, today you could see the many moods
of a person who is going through lass. I mean
(06:16):
I've watched it, been a hospital volunteer for forty years.
I can watch the patterns. And now she's in grief
and she hasn't gotten the griefs. She's in bereaved. Daniel.
I'm going to ask you this on a news worthy question,
and that is we have not heard the exact cause
of death yet. Have they even talked about that. Well,
(06:38):
it's going to end up being UH complications from COPD,
but it's gonna be it'll be heart failure from UH.
And Art smoked for forty years. He was a four
pack of day er how much it was a four
pack of day, four packs a day, all right, And
(07:01):
he did that for forty years. And then one day
when he married Aaron, that was it. He was going
to have a baby. That was it. He stopped. He
was able to stop cold turkey day stop. That's Art.
He snuck around and smoked, smoked a couple, he stopped
and then he never smoked again. But the when you
(07:21):
put pulmonary cardio pulmonary position and and then you put
every breath is painful. You know how infansma works. And
then is she going to be okay in your opinion? Yeah,
she has a support of her family and they were there.
She had support of her family, and she's she's stable
and well round it, I mean, and she and Art
(07:44):
loved each other. It was funny. I mean I used
to laugh at me, but it was funny how that
blend and the where Art was being the best parent
that he could be and dealing with the pain George
and he was dealing with I know he will stay close.
I mean, it was very easy to feel his presence
when you looked at those people and they're at the graveside,
(08:08):
and and then that they all laughed for a moment
and thought about his practical joking. And most people don't
realize he was like a pool shark. I mean, Art
could shoot pool as well as anybody I have seen.
Really didn't know that I think about this. I mean,
he was a pool hustler, and he hustled everybody who
came in the house. He played like he didn't know
(08:30):
how to play. They put their ten dollars down and
he'd win well as exactly how he did me. I mean,
I was a pretty good pool shooter, but this guy
was a serious pool shooter. So tonight is a celebration, George.
Another one of us gets to go home. And every
answer that we've sought for the since the nineties, since
(08:53):
like ninety four when Coast to Coast started, every answer
that that Art and you and the team has searched out,
Art now knows all those answers. He does. And when
you think denied everybody, and you think about Art, And
I was listening to the guy who had called in.
I think Mike had I could you could hear his heart?
(09:14):
And and how many of so many people of the
night love Coast to Coast and how it's affected all
of us in a way that opens up our minds
to possibilities, you know, and to have that as a moniker,
and have you guys doing this tribute. There is no
greater accolade that Art could ever reach for other than
(09:35):
where he is. And he is not in pain, George,
And I hope he's I hope he's watching and listening
and like sweet the show. He wouldn't miss it once
to think about it. We need him to call in. Well,
that's exactly what I was going to say, I was
because you remember he used to do that. Yes, look
(09:59):
at I wouldn't what did buy him to call in
on the shop? Not? I would not put it by
somebody's phone. This is art, this is art free. We've
got caller I D And if Genus sees a bunch
of zeros come in on a call, grab it, Gina,
because text you don't ever know. I know that Art
(10:21):
is celebrating it because all that stuff. And I don't
think that he's done the tunnel or the across the
metal or the veil. I think he stays present because
after hearing everything that we've talked about and that Coast
has talked about and covered, and we've I've you know,
I've neared death, everybody to death just about Art knew
(10:41):
what to expect because we talked about it a hundred times.
And uh, he knew what to expect. And I know
absolutely that the stages that he would go through that
he has, he has made it to where he understands
he is in control of his spiritual identity. That way,
he's not to leave that. He's not going to leave
(11:02):
Aaron until she's settled and moved into a place where
when the air goes out of the did it his right, Danion? Yeah,
And I'll keep checking on her and I'll keep okay,
my friends, and I'll see you a June ninth at
our event in Vegas. I really look forward to seeing you. May.
I need a hug from you absolutely, and everybody if
(11:23):
you're anywhere near one of these shows, wherever these shows are.
This is entertainment and information at its absolute best. I
mean I enjoy participating in it and watching the ins
and out and the entertainment value that you bring, George,
and the way that uh they set it up. It's
(11:43):
absolutely fabulous. I'm sure it could be a lounge act
in Las Vengas. I'm sure we'll up there. It puts
a little more pressure on you, George, but the kind
of audience that would come in, the kind of quality
of that show, it's uplifting, it's invigorating. Well, we're dedicating
(12:04):
that show, Daniel, to Art by the way, and I
think that's even greater. We're doing that to our friend. Okay,
thank you, Daniel. I love you, guys. I appreciate and
everybody celebrate that artists free, that he's not in that
kind of pain, and he's living in our hearts. And
thanks Georgia, Thank you, Daniel Brinkley. Listen to more Coast
(12:25):
to Coast AM every weeknight at one a m. Eastern
and go to Coast to Coast am dot com for
more
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