Art Bell III was born in Jacksonville, North Carolina, to Arthur Bell, Jr., a United States Marine Corps captain, and Jane Gumaer Bell, a Marine drill instructor. Arthur Bell, Jr. died in 2000, and Jane Bell died December 23, 2008. Bell has always been interested in radio, and at the age of 13 became a licensed amateur radio operator. Bell now holds an Amateur Extra Class license, which is in the top U.S. Federal Communications Commission license class.

Bell generally chooses not to discuss his political views on Coast to Coast AM, though occasionally he has brought them up. He has expressed support for the right to bear arms and same-sex marriage. He also used to be, in his own words, a "staunch" supporter of the death penalty, though he has changed his mind at least to some extent due to innocent people being sentenced to death.  Bell has at times seemed to support many different 9/11 conspiracy theories, such as the one that claims the World Trade Center was brought down by explosives planted in it in advance. However shortly after the September 11 attacks Bell uploaded an image stating "God Bless George W. Bush and the U.S.A." .  Bell is a member of the U.S. Libertarian Party. Originally, Coast to Coast AM was a conservative political talk show, but in recent years Bell has expressed both conservative and liberal views on the air. On air, Bell has shown support for immigration reform and decriminalizing marijuana. At other times he has expressed dismay at the presence of millions of illegal aliens in the US. He has at times criticized man's role in degrading the natural environment, while at other times he expressed doubt about the scientific basis behind human caused global warming. In fact hundreds of times he agreed with guests or callers who claimed global cooling was occurring or was about to occur. Bell has also stated that he opposes abortion. At the outset of the Iraq War in 2003 he stated he did not think that a war against Iraq was worth the life of "one American service man or woman." Bell supports a free market economy.  Bell supported Barack Obama for President of the United States in the 2008 election.

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