Glenn Beck biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Television and radio talk show host. Born February 10, 1964, in Mount Vernon, Washington. A leading voice among the political right, Glenn Beck has created one of the more controversial and lucrative media brands in the talk show business, outflanked only in ratings and dollars by Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. Beck's folksy, passionate style has landed his syndicated radio program on 400 stations across the country, while his topical FOX-News television program Glenn Beck, which debuted in January 2009, draws a regular crowd of approximately 2.4 million viewers.

Beck was one of three children born to Bill and Mary Beck. In Beck's hometown of Mount Vernon, a largely farm community, Glenn showed an interest in radio at an early age. His curiousity was sparked on his eighth birthday, when his mother gave him a collection of shows that had been produced during the Depression.

Beck loved going into his bedroom and imitating the voices he heard on the radio, recording and playing them back to himself on a small hand-held recorder. At the age of 13, Beck landed his first radio job when one of the local AM stations put on a contest for a guest DJ. The well-rehearsed Beck easily won the gig.

Two years later, Beck heard about, and applied for, a DJ job at a new Seattle FM station. Having been hired without ever meeting with his new bosses face-to-face, management was a bit taken aback by their new employee's youth. Still, they loved his polished audition tape and stuck to their decision. For the next few years, Beck took a bus to Seattle after school each Friday, and worked at the studios throughout the weekend.

Family Tragedy

But while his working life seemed to be taking off, back home his personal life was in turmoil. At 13, Beck's parents divorced, due in part to Mary's battles with depression and alcohol. Despite this fact, Beck's mother gained custody of him. Then, at the age of 41, she died unexpectedly. Beck has long referred to the loss as a suicide, but his mother's death has always been shrouded in a bit of mystery.

What is known is that in May 1979, Mary ventured into the waters of Puget Sound in a small boat with a friend—supposedly to go fishing. On May 15, she was discovered floating in the water. A day later, her friend's body was found as well. The boat they were in was soon discovered, too, beached on a local island along with a small dog, some personal items and an empty bottle of liquor.

Mary Beck's death forced Glenn to move back in with his father in Bellingham, Washington, where he finished high school. Upon graduation, however, instead of following his friends to college, Beck went to work to fulfill his dream of one day landing a big radio job in New York City. Over the next decade, Beck zigzagged across the country, cutting his teeth as a radio personality in cities such as Seattle, Louisville, Washington