Long John Nebel

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Long John Nebel (born John Zimmerman) (June 11, 1911 – April 10, 1978) was an influential New York City talk radio show host.

He adopted his radio name, "Long John Nebel", from the surname of his stepmother, "Knebel", and from his tall, slender build (he stood 6'4" and never weighed more than about 160lbs).

Though somewhat forgotten today, Nebel was at his peak a hugely popular radio host, with millions of regular listeners and what Donald Bain described as "a fanatically loyal following" to his late-night syndicated program, which dealt mainly with anomalous phenomena and other offbeat topics. He paved the way for Art Bell, Chuck Harder, Billy Goodman, Whitley Strieber, Jeff Rense, Clyde Lewis and many others who would host radio shows featuring paranormal topics in later decades. (Colin Bennet called Nebel the "Art Bell" of his era)

Jackie Gleason was a fan of Nebel's show (and also an occasional guest), and wrote in his introduction to Bain's biography of Nebel, "why is [Nebel] so strangely entertaining? ... because the best entertainment is entertainment that opens your mind and tells you the world is bigger than you thought it was." Similarly, Keith writes, "Few people have before or since have brought to all-night radio the kind of ingenuity, originality, and variety that Nebel did. He represents one of post-World War II radio's creative high points and and another example of the special nature of overnight programming ... he would come to be regarded as one of after-hours radio's true pioneers" (Keith, 88) Nebel was, arguably, a formative influence on talk radio: Donald Bain noted that in the early 1970s "fledgeling (radio) announcers at broadcasting schools around the country were played tapes of Nebel shows as part of their course study." Recordings of Nebel's shows have circulated among fans of esoterica for decades.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Nebel dropped out of school after the eighth grade, but was an avid reader throughout his life, and was conversant on many topics.

[edit] Pre Radio

He pursued a number of careers in his youth (including a long period as a freelance photographer and a stint as a sidewalk salesman), before establishing the successful "Long John's Auctions" (an auction and consignment store in New Jersey).

Nebel did not seek a career in radio until he was 43 years old. Over several years, he had become friends with many people at various New York radio stations when he bought commercial time to advertise his auction house.

In the mid-1950's, radio throughout the United States was floundering and trying to redefine itself after the explosive popularity of television. WOR (one of New York's leading stations) faced poor ratings when, in 1954, Nebel proposed that he host an "Interview Show". As Donald Bain writes, "a majority of the shows would be devoted to discussing strange and unexplained topics."

[edit] WOR

WOR's management was not especially impressed by Nebel's idea. However, deciding they had little to lose, WOR gambled and offered him a midnight to 5.30 a.m. time slot, the poorest-rated hours. From WOR's powerful transmitter, Nebel's show was broadcast to more than half of the United States, and into Canada and Mexco as well. To the surprise of WOR's managemnet, however, Nebel's show was a quick success among New York's night-owls and early-risers. Unidentified flying objects were discussed almost daily, alongside topics such as voodoo, witchcraft, parapsychology, hypnotism conspiracy theories and ghosts. Perhaps fittingly for an overnight show, one of Nebel's sponsors was No Doz caffeine pills.

Nebel was perhaps best described as curious skeptic about the reality of paranormal topics; he frequently characterized himself as a "non-believer." Regarding the claims of the many contactees he interviewed, Nebel states "I don't buy any of it;" he also noted that he was intrigued by some UFO reports, but did not have any firm conclusions or explanations. [1] He often asked pointed questions of his guests when he saw logical fallacies or inconsistencies in their stories. Nebel did not suffer fools gladly--unless the fool was exceptionally entertaining. Still, he was rather sympathetic overall, at least in offering guests a forum to state their claims.

Within a few months Nebel was getting not only high ratings, but press attention from throughout the United States for his distinctive and in many ways unprecedented program (WOR's powerful signal assured that Nebel's show was broadcast to over half of the United States). Bain notes that some listeners were put off by his "grating, often vicious manner", but many more adored him because of (or in spite of) his abrasive style. Keith writes, "Though Nebel could be brusque and even imperious in the phone, he was always a sympathetic listener and compasionate host." (Keith, 86)

The program was freewheeling and unpredictable, prone to sidetracks and digressions; very different from the precise, mannered approach of most contemporary radio. There were occasional heated arguments--rather mild when compared to the conflict on, say, the Jerry Springer Show, but such open conflict in any media was quite startling in the 1950s.

Nebel--along with his regular guests and panelists--would interview various personalities and claimants (such as psychic Kuda Bux), and take occasional telephone calls from listeners in the New York area. This was an unusual approach: talk radio per se did not yet exist as it would in later decades, and Nebel was navigating largely uncharted territory. Sometimes, Nebel entered the discussions, other times he described himself as a "moderator" and allowed his guests to have spirited debates, commenting only occasionally to guide the debate, or to announce station breaks.

[edit] Seven second delay

WOR was worried about some of Nebel's guests or callers uttering a swear word on the air. Nebel used one of the first tape delay systems in radio, giving engineers a chance to edit unacceptable language before it was broadcast. Nebel usually invited callers during the last two hours of the program (from about 3.00 to 5.00 a.m.); up to 40,000 people might try to telephone during this period. (Keith, 86)

[edit] UFOs

Flying saucers were in the news regularly in the mid-1950s, and were a frequent topic on Nebel's show. Guests included retired Marine Corps Major Donald Keyhoe, contactees George Adamski and George Van Tassel, and skeptics like Arthur C. Clarke and Lester del Rey. Nebel discussed the so-called Shaver Mystery, the Flatwoods monster, the Nazca Lines, and many other uncommon subjects.

Nebel gave a forum to Otis T. Carr, an Oklahoman who claimed to have discovered the secret of flying saucer propulsion, by studying the works of Nikola Tesla. With some of his regular panelists, Nebel journeyed to Oklahoma City for the unveiling of Carr's saucer. (Carr was later convicted of fraud and jailed after he took several hundred thousand dollars from investors, and never produced his prototype.)

[edit] Guests

As noted above, Jackie Gleason was a frequent guest. On one show, Gleason famously offered $100,000 to anyone who could offer physical proof of aliens visiting Earth (Gleason later upped the amount to $1 million, though it was never claimed). Another memorable show found Gleason undertaking a sharp--occasionally even savage--debate with publisher Gray Barker. Gleason took Gray to task for presenting largely unsubstantiated tales of the Men in Black and contactees as factual.

He also had philosopher Mortimer Adler on frequently.

[edit] Pranks

Nebel was not above a few pranks, all in the name of showmanship and ratings: on one occasion, for example, he colluded with a friend to offer testimony supporting a guest's claims of astral projection. Like Art Bell a generation later, some critics attacked Nebel for allowing crackpots free reign on the program, but Nebel (again like Bell) responded by saying his was not a traditional news or investigative journalism show, and that it was up to listeners to determine the validity of any guest's claims.

In 1962, WNBC offered Nebel more than $100,000 per year (if not a record sum paid to a radio personality, then very near it) to begin broadcasting from their station, and he accepted the offer. He continued there until 1973, when WNBC, facing sliding ratings, decided to switch to an all rock music format. After a protracted battle, Nebel refused to change his show, and resigned in protest. One anonymous WNBC employee insisted that the station's management "deliberately fucked up [Nebel's] career" by spreading unfounded rumors about the format switch and Nebel's reaction to it. (Bain 1974, 225)

Nebel was quickly hired by WMCA, where he continued his exploration of the paranormal. His show was still popular, though his ratings on the less powerful WMCA were not as high as they had been at WNBC.


[edit] Death

Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1971, Nebel sought various treatments, but by the mid-1970's, he was in very poor health. He continued broadcasting, however, usually six nights per week. At some point in the 1970s the Mutual Broadcasting System began to offer Nebel's show to stations nationwide.

In 1972, Nebel married fashion model Candy Jones (one of the favorite pin up girls of the World War 2 era) in 1972; they'd had a whirlwind, month-long courtship, though they had met briefly when Nebel was a photographer decades earlier. (Nebel had a daughter from an earlier, short-lived marriage). Jones would co-host his show for several years.

Due to Jones's mood swings and shifts in personality, Nebel would later come to suspect she had been a victim of a CIA mind control plot; see Candy Jones for more information.

Nebel died in 1978. His Mutual network slot was taken over by Larry King.

[edit] See also

[edit] Books and Sources

  • The Psychic World Around Us, Long John Nebel and Sanford M. Teller, 1969.
  • The Way Out World, Long John Nebel
  • Donald Bain; Long John Nebel: Radio Talk King, Master Salesman, Magnificent Charlatan; Macmillan publishing Co. Inc, 1974
  • Donald Bain; The Control of Candy Jones; Playboy Books, 1975
  • Jerome Clark, The UFO Book; Visible Ink, 1998
  • Michael C. Keith Sounds in the Dark: All Night Radio In American Life, Iowa State University Press, 2001; ISBN 081382981X

[edit] External links

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