George Ralph Noory is a Lebanese-American
radio talk showTalk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
host.
As of 2010, he is the weekday host of the late-night radio
talk showA talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
Coast to Coast AMCoast to Coast AM is a North American late-night syndicated radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was created by Art Bell and is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. The program currently...
. He is heard across the United States and
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on many
AMAM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
and
FMFM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
stations as well as on
XM Satellite RadioXM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
. His show is one of the most listened to overnight programs. The program is syndicated by
Premiere RadioPremiere Networks is an American radio network. It is the largest syndication company in the United States based on popularity of programming...
, a division of
Clear Channel CommunicationsClear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
.
Early life, career, and family
Noory was born in
Detroit, MichiganDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, and grew up in
Dearborn HeightsDearborn Heights is a city in Wayne County, in the Detroit metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 57,774 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. Noory served nine years in the United States Naval Reserve as a full Lieutenant. He has said that he became fascinated with
ufologyUfology is a neologism coined to describe the collective efforts of those who study reports and associated evidence of unidentified flying objects . UFOs have been subject to various investigations over the years by governments, independent groups, and scientists...
and the paranormal as a child after having an out-of-body experience. As a teenager, Noory joined NICAP, the UFO organization that was a precursor to today's MUFON. Noory came to St. Louis in 1979 to be news director at
KSDKKSDK, Channel 5, is the NBC-affiliated television station in St. Louis, Missouri. KSDK is owned and operated by Gannett Company, and the station's transmitter is located in Marlborough, Missouri. The station broadcasts a digital signal on UHF channel 35, using its former analog channel assignment...
channel 5 television before making the transition back to radio.
Aged 28, he became the youngest news director in the country while at
KSTPKSTP-TV, channel 5, is the ABC affiliate for the Twin Cities. Its transmitter is located at the Shoreview Telefarm. It is the flagship station of Hubbard Broadcasting, which also owns several other broadcasting properties across the United States....
channel 5 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
While living in Detroit he worked in the news department of
WCARWCAR, 1090 AM, in the Detroit market, is a 24-hour talk radio station based out of Livonia, Michigan. The station airs a variety of talk show programs, including the nationally syndicated Imus in the Morning.- History :...
1130 in Detroit, and later at
Storer BroadcastingStorer Broadcasting, Inc. was an American company which owned several television and radio stations in the northeast United States. It was incorporated in Ohio in 1927, and sold its broadcasting properties in 1983.-1920s—1940s:...
's Detroit CBS affiliate
WJBKWJBK is the Fox–owned and operated television station in Detroit, Michigan broadcasting on digital channel 7...
channel 2.
Noory's family is said to be of Lebanese Christian descent and his father was born in
CairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
,
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, in 1922. According to Noory, he was brought up as a Roman Catholic and his mother was a devout Catholic.
Although he resides in and broadcasts from
Los AngelesLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, he frequently mentions his other broadcast home,
St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
He has been married twice and divorced twice.
Coast to Coast AM
Noory became a guest host for
Coast to Coast AM before replacing
Ian PunnettCase Ian Punnett is an American radio broadcaster.Punnett hosts a morning show, Ian and Margery, with his wife on KTMY in Minneapolis-St...
as the Sunday night host. His first show was on April 28, 2001. On January 1, 2003, Noory took over week-night hosting duties from
Art BellArthur W. "Art" Bell, III is an American broadcaster and author, known primarily as one of the founders and the original host of the paranormal-themed radio program Coast to Coast AM. He also created and formerly hosted its companion show, Dreamland...
, who had again decided to retire. On January 21, 2006, it was announced that Bell would return to the show on Saturdays and Sundays, replacing Punnett on Saturdays, and Noory on the first two Sundays of the month. Bell returned to the air waves January 22, 2006 following his wife's death on January 5, 2006. While Punnett went on to host the
Coast to Coast Live spin-off on Saturday nights, Noory remained the week-night host. With Noory as host and Art Bell doing the weekends, the program remained a popular late night talk radio show.
Noory has repeatedly announced on-air that he is committed to remaining the principal host of
"Coast" until at least 2012. His commitment is substantiated by a long-term contract with
Premiere Radio NetworksPremiere Networks is an American radio network. It is the largest syndication company in the United States based on popularity of programming...
. The network recently extended his contract through 2013.
On March 10, 2007, Noory introduced
Art BellArthur W. "Art" Bell, III is an American broadcaster and author, known primarily as one of the founders and the original host of the paranormal-themed radio program Coast to Coast AM. He also created and formerly hosted its companion show, Dreamland...
for his Lifetime Achievement Award from "Radio & Records," the radio industry trade journal. The next week he replayed his introductory speech and Art Bell's acceptance speech. Noory revealed that although he has worked for the show since 2001, that night was the first time he had met Art Bell in person.
Political views
Noory's views lean slightly towards
LibertarianismLibertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
. He is a supporter of lenient gun rights, is open to the
9/11 truth movement9/11 Truth movement is a collective name for loosely affiliated organizations and individuals who question the accepted account of the September 11, 2001, attacks....
and is a supporter of the death penalty. Noory, who is a former Navy serviceman, holds the United States Military in high regard, and often salutes people who call into his show, thanking them for their service, though he does not fully support the war in Iraq or the war in Afghanistan. Noory once considered running for office, yet is reluctant to state his political affiliation.
Though Noory does not have a known affiliation with any specific political party,, he holds the principles of Texas congressman
Ron PaulRonald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
(Republican) in high regard. He once commented to him on his radio show, "What's fascinating about you, Congressman, and your campaign, is once people have an opportunity to hear you--hear you talk about the issues, hear you in the debates--they like you, and that's important!".
On-air style
While possessing a deep and resonant voice well-suited for radio, Noory is known among his fans and beloved for his frequent
malapropismA malapropism is an act of misusing or the habitual misuse of similar sounding words, especially with humorous results. An example is Yogi Berra's statement: "Texas has a lot of electrical votes," rather than "electoral votes".-Etymology:...
s, non-sequiturs and
mispronunciationsMispronunciation is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "incorrect or inaccurate pronunciation". The matter of what is or is not mispronunciation is a contentious one, and indeed there is some disagreement about the extent to which the term is even meaningful...
, often misplacing the stress on syllables and words while reading news copy. He frequently uses the phrase "indeed, indeed," and often uses the term "incredible" -- sometimes several times during the course of a show, and seemingly unaware of the
ironyIrony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
inherent in using a term that literally means "not credible." Noory has also been known to misread news copy. For instance, following an attack on cognitive scientist
Rupert SheldrakeRupert Sheldrake is an English scientist. He is known for having proposed an unorthodox account of morphogenesis and for his research into parapsychology. His books and papers stem from his theory of morphic resonance, and cover topics such as animal and plant development and behaviour, memory,...
in April 2008, in which Sheldrake was non-critically stabbed in the leg, Noory reported that Sheldrake had been "stabbed
to death in the leg." Fans and critics have compiled long lists of "nooryisms," documenting his unique broadcasting style. In an article about Noory published in the respected news magazine
The Atlantic, Timothy Lavin wrote that "Noory can be an uneven broadcaster, sometimes seems to not pay full attention to his guests, offers strangely obvious commentary, and often lets clearly delusional or pseudoscientific assertions slide by without challenge.
Beliefs
Noory frequently and consistently expresses his conviction that coincidences do not exist and that he does not believe in them.
Books
On September 19, 2006, Noory released his first book with co-author
William J. BirnesWilliam J. "Bill" Birnes is an American writer, editor, book publisher and literary rights agent. He is best known as an active publisher of UFO literature and is a New York Times bestselling author. He holds a law degree and received a B.A. from New York University in 1966. Along with detective Dr...
, titled
Worker in the Light: Unlock Your Five Senses And Liberate Your Limitless Potential. New York: Forge. ISBN 0-7653-1087-2.
He has also released
Journey to the Light with William Birnes. Another book, Talking to the Dead with Rosemary Ellen Guiley, is slated to be released in the fall of 2011. On his show, Noory has also expressed a desire to "write a book about kids who see dead people."
External links