Even 50 years later, a Harrah restoration still has cachet. They had car spotters all around the country, and in many parts of the world. Going, going, gone! The oral history of the most monumental classic car Bill then went on to discuss the history of muscle cars up to their demise in the 1970s. Facebook gives people the power to. At the Harbert get together I made arrangements with Bill to sit down with me for an interview sometime in 2019. The notes of this interview were never given to the defense, as required by U.S. criminal law. Most Americans Struggle With Car Maintenance And Can't Afford Unexpected $1,000 Repair Bill. 6 Telly Awards for Television Production, Writing, and/or Narration, Imperial Palace Award for Historical Automotive Television, 1996, 3 International Radio Festival of New York Awards 1988, 1989, 1990, It may need editing to conform to Wikipedia's, Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_Stephens&oldid=1089575057, This page was last edited on 24 May 2022, at 15:44. Born in South Pasadena, California, in 1911, Bill Harrah had to drop out of UCLA during the Depression, worked briefly in his family's small-time entertainment businesses, then took over his Dad's pool hall and bingo parlor in the 1930s. Phil Satre: In his organization in Reno, there were no car enthusiasts. Volvo sent dealers promotional plastic models, Lockhart said. In 1989, Stephens was named writer, producer, narrator of the award-winning automotive TV series Wild About Wheels, produced at Global Television Network in Acton, MA and aired on The Discovery Channel. Dar Davis funded the Lake Bluff Concours and chaired the event for many years. Every week hed give me one.. He was also the only music disc jockey on the airstaff to move to the new format, co-hosting WRKO's Morning Magazine program with Norm Nathan for two years. Always focusing on customer service, renowned as a benevolent employer, and described as an impeccable host, Harrah raised industry standards, attracted and befriended headline entertainers, like Frank Sinatra, Bill Cosby, Sammy Davis, Jr., the Smothers Brothers, and a young Jay Leno, while expanding his operations to Las Vegas. GERRY WITH BILL STEVENS OF MECUM AUCTIONS AND NBCSN. Used car and truck sales. In February 1973, Stephens was instrumental in one of the most ambitious promotional stunts in Connecticut radio history when he locked himself inside the WCCC AM&FM on-air studios in Hartford and played the Top 40 song "Bitter Bad" by Melanie for 35 consecutive hours to protest the station's reluctance to offer him a full-time job. Bill Harrah would buy a collection, and he had to buy the whole collection, and there would be duplication among vehicles, so he would turn around and sell them, and so did his estate before they made a deal with Holiday Inn. By the way, Bill bought his cars at both auction houses like Russo and Steele, Mecum, RM, Sothebys, tc. In 2011, he researched, wrote, produced, and narrated the National Hot Rod Association's 60 Greatest Moments video to commemorate the NHRA's 60th anniversary. We were putting on those boat races up at Tahoe, and we sponsored Ferrari races at Stead, and shoot, it was all just spending money and not generating any revenue. The 10 Biggest Car Collectors In The World | TheRichest After a number of guesses, Bill opined that he thought that the first post-war muscle car was the 1948 Oldsmobile Rocket 88. His collection grew erratically at first. Moreover, Allen said in the interview that he didn't recall talking to Bob Persons, a friend of Stevens, regarding the repair bill for Stevens' house. He has a Studebaker push-me-pull-you car. This is generally the case for these vintage vehicles, as they have all been sitting in an open field for an unknown amount of time. You never knew whether it was coming or going. But it grew big enough that, by 1962, Harrah moved the fleet into a jumble of former ice storage buildings in nearby Sparks, Nevada. Email Cindy Hval at dchval@juno.com or call Voices editor Kimberly Lusk at (509) 459-5457. Sales: Why racetracks are giving hybrids and EVs the cold shoulder, Rearview cameras have been around longer than you think, At $720,000, this Ferrari 550 Barchetta Pininfarina is looking for its top, For roadster lovers, Mazdas Miata is (still) the answer, National Council of Corvette Clubs lifts competition ban on E-Ray, How fast is the Corvette E-Ray? In 1986, Stephens created a unique speaking skills program, Vocal Point, and has conducted comprehensive training seminars for such companies as General Motors, Sears, Citibank, ADP Payroll Systems, Unifirst Corporation, Cablevision of Boston, Cablevision of New York, Prime Computer, Bull Information Systems, Yankee Software Systems, Cognos Direct, American Frozen Foods, Bell South, AT&T (formerly Cellular One and Cingular), Newpro Replacement Windows, and Epsilon. In 1984, he was chosen from over 300 applicants to become the morning VJ on the Boston-based music television station WVJV-TV (V-66) which was owned by former Boston-area Disc jockeys Arnie "Woo Woo" Ginsburg and John Garabedian. The other guys thought it was a waste of the companys assets. It all started in 2000, when he was living in Napa, California, and met Ed Barwick. Hed go to the Indianapolis 500, and hed take an entourage and everybody who got to go on that (trip) felt very specialI know Meade and Lloyd didbecause that was a very big event. "I have determined that it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the indictment and not proceed with a new trial," said Holder. He has been writing this column since 1999. Thats how my father got to know Bill. Peter Helck [the famous auto artist] had a booth in the flea market, selling his wares. Of course, he had the resources to do this. Car collector looks to share passion through museum - Yahoo Bill Stephens William Weyman Stephens Jr., known professionally as Bill Stephens (born October 16, 1949) is an American network television host and commentator specializing in automotive and motorsports presentations. They (Studebaker) were known for their styling, he said. The Volvo is unique in his collection because the majority of his models are the smaller 1/43 scale and made of sturdy die-cast metal. Will (born April 9, 1990) and Sean (born September 21, 1995) and divorced in May 2010. For those not in the know, this is the pony car that has 707 horses under the hood. He did nally decide to whittle down his collection. Philanthropy Aside Bill Gates Will Never Give Up These Cars From His The Collector: Bill Lockhart's miniature car collection driven by However, very few collections can brag about their quantity as much as this glorious location can with over 1000 vehicles from virtually every year in American automotive history. Power & Associates, Auto Trader.com, MSNBC.com, and eBay Motors. This event attracts the best of the best muscle cars, stock or modied. Vintage Relish/Celery Dish Old Nuremberg Bavaria Germany. He currently can be seen as an expert commentator on the Mecum Collector Car Auctions (NBCSN) and selected episodes of "What's My Car Worth" (Velocity Channel). Vehicle Inventory | Bill Stevens Auto Sales, Inc. [citation needed] He currently can be seen as an expert commentator on the Mecum Collector Car Auctions (Motor Trend TV) and is the former co-host of "What's My Car Worth" seen on the Velocity Channel. Bill Stevens Auto, Inc. | Better Business Bureau Profile Bill Lockhart has never driven a 1953 Kaiser Manhattan, but thanks to the magic of miniatures he can see one every time he enters his home office. David Gooding(CEO of Gooding & Company Auctions): He was a gambler. Bill Steven's Auto, Inc. is a full service auto body shop also offering sales of used automobiles. Stephens has been married twice. In February 1994, he was hired by Diamond P Sports as associate producer of "NHRA Today" for The Nashville Network, necessitating a relocation to Nashville, TN from his home in Osterville, MA on Cape Cod. He grew up in the Chicago area and got his electrical engineering degree from Michigan State. Many of you will know Bill Stephens from his commentary on the Velocity Networks Mecum Auction Shows plus the show Whats My Car Worth? It was clear from listening to Bill that he is very passionate about cars. And he didnt have a (firm) handshake griphe just kind of left his hand out there I came [to Harrah Corporation] in 1975 and he died in 1978. Bill Stevens Auto Sales, Inc. - 4227 4th St NW Albuquerque, NM 87107. Bill Stephens believes that there are a few currently affordable cars that have potential to experience a good return on your investment over the years. We had some great ideas on how to display the cars at different angles and in different lighting, and some of the wheels would be turning They were also going to put an old steam train out there and some airplanes. This Grammy-winning English-born singing sensation has amassed quite a collection of at least 68 cars (last counted) including a number of Porsche's, Ferrari's, Rolls Royce's, Lamborghini's, Mercedes, Bugatti's,Maserati, Chevy, Aston Martin, among others. Harrahs many other businesses included auto saleshe was a Ferrari dealer, and he became the Ferrari distributor for the Western United States. In 2011, he MC'ed the "Tribute to Phil Hill" at the Petersen Automotive Museum at which the great American world champion was remembered by such iconic racing personalities as Dan Gurney, Carroll Shelby, Parnelli Jones, Jim Hall, Sam Posey, Denise McCluggage, and automotive enthusiast/TV host Jay Leno. Part II, on the sales, will be published next week. Prizes and awards are given. He owned a Jeep dealership, as well as other auto franchises. or Best Offer. In 2011, he researched, wrote, produced, and narrated the National Hot Rod Association's 60 Greatest Moments video to commemorate the NHRA's 60th anniversary. Among some of his entertainers, there were some enthusiastsJay Leno, Bill Cosby, and others, so its interesting, but among the management team here, I think their view was why arent we building more casinos in more places?. It has a 426 Wedge Motor), 2011 Challenger Super Stock (not streetable) with V-10 from Viper (Chrysler built 50 of them and Bills is 50. Bill's collection exudes an element of diversity as well, with the likes of opulent luxury cruisers as well as quick-paced supercars exemplifying his extravagant taste. This vast collection is a massive stockpile of some of Americas most excellent classic cars within the confines of a truly gigantic piece of land. I enjoyed listening to Bill Stephens experience and thoughts about muscle cars. When he reached the driving age of 16 in 1967, it was the apex of the American muscle car era. [1], Bill Allen had three children, who received $30 million each[citation needed]from the sale of VECO: Kerrigan, Mark Allen, and Shannon West. He couldnt compete with the larger automobile manufacturers, so his foray into that world was short-lived. Stephens has written, produced, and narrated numerous automotive and motorsports home videos in national distribution. We want to hear about what you collect and why. It should be no surprise that his rst car was a performance pony car, a 1971 Ford Mach 1 fastback. The new owners of Rachel Alexandra a filly that won the Kentucky Oaks, with Borel aboard, intended to enter her in the Preakness as well, with Borel again committed to riding her. This car was prepared by Roush.). 4227 4th St NW Albuquerque, NM 87107. Lockhart took a tour of the facility in Bath, England, and said it was amazing to see the handmade metal models being produced. They had different car spotters in different parts of the country. He explained that if he does have a bias toward the MOPAR performance cars its because ChryCo had seemingly so many more choices for buyers, such asRoadrunners, Chargers, Barracudas, Demons, the Duster 340, etc. The Toyota Collection's Off-Road Day Is A Land Cruiser Lover's Dream. Mark Smith(owner, Smith Automotive Investments):He was a true gentleman, just the nicest man, and a true car guy. [citation needed]. Stephens frequently accompanied his father on various truck trips as a child which helped to fuel his interest in automobiles. Stephens was the last full-time air personality hired by WRKO in Boston before RKO General switched the format from Adult Contemporary to News/Talk in 1981. William James Allen (April 6, 1937 - June 29, 2022) was an American businessman who was the CEO of the Alaska oilfield services company VECO Corporation. Stephens is the host of the nationally syndicated Time Capsule radio feature, and has been heard on such nationally broadcast radio programs as Westwood One's Focus on Racing Radio and ESPN's RPM Radio. Stephens, the youngest of three children and the only boy, was born in Brookline, Massachusetts to William and Claire Stephens and raised in Somerville, Massachusetts, several miles west of Boston. We want to hear about what you collect and why. There were consortiums, including the state of Nevada, who tried to buy the collection , Tom Perkins (venture capitalist): I put a group together and I negotiated a purchase with Holiday Inns management in Memphis: $10 million cash, another $10 million cash from a bank loan secured by the collection, and a note from the seller for the balancea total of $30 million dollars. I asked Bill if he had a bias for MOPAR cars, because from rst glance at the performance cars in his collection, there are a lot of Chrysler Corporation products. Jul. Next, complete checkout for full access to Motorious. Spending time between Chicago, Illinois, Florida, Arizona, and Michigan, his car collection has been greatly reduced but he still has many gems in his garages. Back to wagons, the collector has several woodie models. Its rare because most folks gave them to their kids or threw them away.. Bill Stevens Auto Sales, Inc. - 4227 4th St NW Albuquerque, NM 87107. In 1996, he wrote, produced, and narrated the award-winning documentary series "Wheels", aired on PBS affiliates around the country. B for Berlin or HH for . As he looked at the beautiful craftsmanship and design represented in the die-cast metal cars, Lockhart referred to his collection as aspirational, because owning the real thing is out of the average persons price range. In 1972, at the age of 23, he enrolled in the Columbia School of Broadcasting, a correspondence course, and after completing the program, began his radio career at WRYT in Boston as a staff announcer and control board operator. Over the next 28 years, he served as an on-air personality at such stations as WDRC AM and FM and WCCC-FM in Hartford, CT, WRKO, WVBF-FM, WEEI-FM, WBOS-FM, and WMJX-FM in Boston, KIQQ-FM, KGIL-AM&FM, and KWST-FM in Los Angeles, California, and KMJJ-FM in Las Vegas, NV. [3] The charges involved bribing Alaska lawmakers to vote in favor of an oil tax law favored by the VECO that was the subject of vigorous debate during the regular and two special sessions of the Alaska Legislature in 2006. Stephens, the youngest of three children and the only boy, was born in Brookline, Massachusetts to William and Claire Stephens and raised in Somerville, Massachusetts, several miles west of Boston. Informazioni su danni e incidenti per le auto importate, Informazioni sulla protezione dei dati per i proprietari di veicoli. In a sense, however, they all flow from a series of sales that took place in the mid-1980s. Warren Brown (auto editor,Washington Post,deceased): People here still laugh about how punk kids in their high-powered street machines would pull up at a stoplight alongside Harrahs Jerrari (a custom-built Jeep Grand Wagoneer with a Ferrari GTC/4 V-12 powertrain). These cars are currently for sale except for one Firebird with a houndstooth interior. On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, spilling eleven million gallons of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound. Email Cindy Hval at dchval@juno.com or call Voices editor Kimberly Lusk at (509) 459-5457. I rst met Bill a few years back, at the local Lake Bluff Concours car show. Stephens has been married twice. Gooding:There were semi-trailer trucks bringing cars that theyd picked up around the country, every few daysboth cars that were pulled out of barns and new purchases. He even owns one of CocoChanel's Mercedes 600. In 2013 he asked Dana Mecum to handle the sale of 44 of his cars at the big Indy Mecum affair. His first marriage was to Joyce Anne Carberry in Boston, MA in February 1973, soon divorcing in the fall of 1974. Stephens' first appearance on television was on local cable news television in 1982 when he served as the nightly weatherman on Cape Cod Cablevision's Cape 11 Alive News in South Yarmouth. Over the next 28 years, he served as an on-air personality at such stations as WDRC AM and FM and WCCC-FM in Hartford, CT, WRKO, WVBF-FM, WEEI-FM, WBOS-FM, and WMJX-FM in Boston, KIQQ-FM, KGIL-AM&FM, and KWST-FM in Los Angeles, California, and KMJJ-FM in Las Vegas, NV. Bill Stevens Auto Sales Used Car Dealers, New Car Dealers Be the first to review! He died of a neural hemorrhage. [citation needed] Stephens is the host of the nationally syndicated Time Capsule radio feature, and has been heard on such nationally broadcast radio programs as Westwood One's Focus on Racing Radio and ESPN's RPM Radio. If you want to learn more about this article, please contact Dar at dn143@sboglobal.net. Everybody knew it was going to lose money, but the question was, What does Bill want? Bill wanted the museum, so the board authorized that project. Classic Car Graveyard Is 1000 Vehicles Deep - Motorious It was one of the fastest cars on the road at the time. Mark then entered the horse in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes. He Is one of the founding owners of the annual Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals that are held in Stephens Center in Chicago the weekend before Thanksgiving. He is a television producer and writer for various automotive television programs and a communications consultant providing media training for motorsports personalities and vocal and listening skills training for business people at all levels of the corporate world. While those cars intrigue, the collector has another intense interest. And he had thousands of model cars. Just because you can go fast doesnt mean you should. He is an avid car collector and has owned numerous collector-grade vehicles including a 1965 Shelby American Continuation Series 427SC Cobra, a 1965 ERA 427 Cobra Replica, a 1993 GMC Typhoon, 1998 Jaguar XK8 convertible, 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9, 1994 Mitsubishi 3000GT and 12 Chevrolet Corvettes in model years ranging from 1960 to 1980. John Mozart (Collector)Holiday Inn just wanted to get rid of the cars. If you are into awesome cars, you have come to the right place. Initially (my Dad) was the car spotter in the L.A. area, so hed write in and say, I know about this car, and they would say tell us more. Hed take photos and write up reports, and they liked his reports, so they eventually hired him to come work in Reno. He let it be known that he considered the collection to be a vital part of Nevada, responsible for attracting thousands of tourists, and he would frown upon it being sold (his frown might possibly include cancelling the companies gambling licenses, my friends in Memphis feared). This week sees his 73rd birthday. Steven Tyler has a car collection that will leave you cryin' Lower overhead means profit and joy, Your email address will not be published. Clyde Wade (Harrahs Automobile Collection general manager):We had [ads in] every major newspaper clipped every day and sent to Bill Harrah. Family Owned Business serving Lisbon since 1965 operated by 3 generations Bill Stevens Auto Sales | Lisbon Falls ME Satre:Meade Dixon went with him to the Mayo Clinic along with Verna. In 2003, he co-wrote a similar book with 3-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Shirley Muldowney titled "Shirley Muldowney's Tales from the Track". In 2011, he MC'ed the "Tribute to Phil Hill" at the Petersen Automotive Museum at which the great American world champion was remembered by such iconic racing personalities as Dan Gurney, Carroll Shelby, Parnelli Jones, Jim Hall, Sam Posey, Denise McCluggage, and automotive enthusiast/TV host Jay Leno. This directly contradicted Allen's testimony at trial, where he claimed Stevens had asked him to give Persons a note Stevens had sent asking for a bill for the repair work. What initiated the Muscle Car phenomenon? My uncle, Lenard Davis had restored these 2 cars. [1] VECO had a major impact on the economy of Alaska and employed over 5,000 people worldwide. He was handing out trophies and doing commentary as the cars came up on the ramp. He is also a jazz percussionist and briefly enrolled in private instructions at the Berklee School of Music in Boston in 1969. In 2003, he co-wrote a similar book with 3-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Shirley Muldowney titled "Shirley Muldowney's Tales from the Track". His shortest marriage (four months) was to singer-songwriter, Bobbie Gentry, whose haunting ballad, Fancy, describes a star-crossed relationship between an older man and a poor Southern prostitute. At Sheep Dip, in the mid 80s, Tad Dunbar sang (to the tune of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen): Bill Stephens: TV anouncer (1949-) People / Bill Stephens. In the past year Harbor Country resident and mutual car friend John Nordquist arranged for me to meet up with Bill for a breakfast get together in Harbert, and a little later I arranged for the three of us (along with mutual friend Peter Loveland) to meet up in South Haven to visit the terric Red McFadden car collection. Kaiser also founded Kaiser Permanente to provide health care for his workers. 1 views this week . His speedy Tahoe Miss won five races and was the American Power Boat Association (APBA) Gold Cup winner in 1966, on the way to a National Championship. In CARFAX, riuniamo gli eventi della vita di milioni di auto usate di 20 Paesi europei, degli Stati Uniti e del Canada. sale. Henry J. Kaiser was in the steel and aluminum business, but for about 10 years he made cars, Lockhart said. His 1967 Corvette convertible with the 435 horsepower big V-8 under the hood. Although his personal life, for a time, was erratic, the steady success of Harrahs glitzy hotels and casinos helped finance an immense automobile collection which reached nearly 1500 vehicles, including some of the rarest and most valuable cars of all time.