Customize this page. Bill turned around and said, Youre the artist, I like your work. Join Facebook to connect with Bill Stephens and others you may know. 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. Mr. Harrah came with his wife, Verna, and Bill Cosby, and we all spent time with him. Seeking broader success, Harrah bought his way into the semi-cloistered Reno gambling fraternity. What was the event most responsible for touching off the collector car boom in the late 1980s? He would check off [the cars] he wanted looked into, and we bought a lot of cars that way. Most Americans Struggle With Car Maintenance And Can't Afford Unexpected $1,000 Repair Bill. 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. That was delirious fun, and it brought him a great deal of joy. And having no sense of the values yet, they committed to donating 115 or so cars, provided the local community could come up with the money to build a buildingwhich turned out to be a herculean difficult task. 1 views this week . The Exxon Valdez oil spill was the second-largest in United States history, after the BP Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He also has a selection of Dinky cars made in England from 1934 to 1979. 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. According to family members, at the age of three, Stephens was able to identify every make of automobile on the road before he could even read. 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. If you want to learn more about this article, please contact Dar at dn143@sboglobal.net. John Gianotti (Vice-president of Community Affairs for Harrah Corporation): He was looking at buying theSpruce Gooseand putting it in the lobby. According to the government, Franklin Adell gifted Kevin Adell $6.6 million to pay a court-ordered legal judgment that was entered against the son. [citation needed]. Stephens moved back to Osterville in October of that year, and after taking several radio announcer positions on Cape Cod and in Boston, he founded his own TV production company, Ultimate Garage Productions, Inc. Stephens serves on numerous automotive and motorsports television productions as a host, commentator, automotive expert, and pit reporter and has been seen on CBS, NBC, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, Fox, Fox Sports Net, SPEED, The Discovery Channel, Discovery HD Theater, Velocity, The Outdoor Channel, The Family Channel, and HDNet. There were different levels of restorations. i was just a kid when my parents took me with them to Harrahs both in Reno and Las Vegas and the hotels always had special feel to me. After a number of guesses, Bill opined that he thought that the first post-war muscle car was the 1948 Oldsmobile Rocket 88. 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. [Goodings father, Ken, managed the 25-person-strong Harrahs Automobile Collection research department.]. $10.20 shipping. Clyde Wade (Harrahs Automobile Collection general manager):We had [ads in] every major newspaper clipped every day and sent to Bill Harrah. Email Cindy Hval at dchval@juno.com or call Voices editor Kimberly Lusk at (509) 459-5457. Your account is fully activated, you now have access to all content. The guy who has spent a large amount of his life off his . GERRY WITH BILL STEVENS OF MECUM AUCTIONS AND NBCSN. Weve got your covered, check out our listings for While his collection is primarily for adults to display and not childrens toys, he does have a few models originally designed for play, including three made entirely of rubber. Some of the most fantastic cars on the list of extraordinary automobiles in the collection include the various Chevrolet Impalas, a couple of classic Firebirds consisting of the first and second generation, and a Ford Thunderbird, which has been called by the videographer the Thunderchicken. Unfortunately, it would appear that incredibly famous vehicles have been put through the wringer quite a few times as they are all covered in decades of dust and dirt which has been caked on in the hot summer sun and then locked onto the body by the frigid cold of winter. He was, absolutely, a man head of his time. [excerpted fromEvery Light Was On]. 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? Varoom! To this day, those events stand as the greatest going-out-of-business sale the classic car world has ever seen. [5], On May 11, 2007, the VECO Corporation announced that CEO Bill Allen and Vice President for Community & Government Affairs Rick Smith had resigned from the corporation. or Best Offer. All of his items are miniature versions of real vehicles. Of course, this would have all kinds of ramifications for Clyde [Wade, her husband and manager of the collection] and me. Bill in retirement keeps busy. [In 1980, two years after Bill Harrahs death, the Holiday Inns Corporation bought Harrahs Casinos, Inc. for $300 million.]. The discovery of this interview was cited by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in his decision to move to dismiss Stevens' indictment before sentencingeffectively vacating his conviction. Your email address will not be published. And the only way that they made up a little bit of that money was that long before Holiday Inn bought the company, they were holding auctions. In this interview, Allen stated that the fair market value of the repairs to Stevens' house was around $80,000, far less than the $250,000 he testified to at trial. 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. Going off at 50-1 odds, it was the longest ever odds on a winner of that race. only to return to ColoSpgs last night and get Rear-Ended. Next, complete checkout for full access to Motorious. 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 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. 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. It all started in 2000, when he was living in Napa, California, and met Ed Barwick. Some of the near great cars have seen some softening in prices, but not a significant collapse in pricing. mainly a 1912 locomoble and a 1907 Packard model 30. Used car and truck sales. 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. Power & Associates, Auto Trader.com, MSNBC.com, and eBay Motors. Success! 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. Encomp Dopo l'acquisto, ottieni l'accesso della durata di 30 giorni alle informazioni disponibili online (controlla i prezzi). How much were these cars worth when the Energy Crisis arrived in the early 1970s? Under Allen's guidance, VECO (along with its unionized subsidiary, NORCON) was responsible for large parts of the spill's cleanup, hiring 2,500 workers to clean up the environmental disaster. In 1988 he founded a company that contracted with banks to track credit card loyalty programs. But I dont think any of them after that ever thought of going back to the Indianapolis 500. 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 Steven's Auto, Inc. is a full service auto body shop also offering sales of used automobiles. Very sad ending, and your article here is a fantastic history of both Harrah and his venues and passions. When the Clear Creek grade from Carson City up to the south end of the lake was paved, but the curves left unbanked, he was so happy, because it made the curves more difficult to drive at high speed. For the majority of his life, when he wasnt working for his company Naperville, Illinois, he was dedicating his time to his passion cars. In 2010, he was the MC of the "Tribute to Snake & Mongoose" at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California, highlighting the legendary careers of former drag racing stars Don "The Snake" Prudhomme and Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen. 0:00 / 35:51 Part 2- Steven's Collection, 1940-50-60-1970's , A Massive HOARD of 1000 + Classics Cars & Trucks Heart of Texas Barn Finds and Classics 15.8K subscribers 11K views 1 year ago On. 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. Allen was succeeded as chairman of the board by his daughter, Tammy Kerrigan. He owned racehorses, including a partnership in the stud-horse So Long Birdie, which included his son Mark, Stevens, and seven others, and which was managed by Persons. This article was originally written by Dar Davis of The Herald-Palladium, a newspaper distributed in the Southwest Michigan region. Oh tidings of profit and joy Le domande pi frequenti e le nostre risposte, oltre al contatto con il nostro servizio clienti. Over cold beverages at Mickey Ds in Bridgman recently, I spent an hour or so being amazed and delighted as Bill shared his very interesting life story; a life lled with hard work and following his dream of owning some truly fabulous performance cars from the 1960s and 70s. Stephens has written three books for Sports Publishing, LLC of Champaign, IL. This Pontiac is not alone because it would appear that the brand is one of the most popular demographics in the collection. Lockhart enjoys researching the history of the cars he collects and he especially likes models from less-common manufacturers like Kaiser Motors. His most recent purchase is a classic woodie with a matching Airstream trailer. Sales: Stephens has written three books for Sports Publishing, LLC of Champaign, IL. In 2002, he collaborated with legendary drag racer "Big Daddy" Don Garlits on his memoirs titled "Big Daddy's Tales from the Drag Strip". How much? Helck said, Which one? and Harrah replied, How much? He boughteverything. Dean Batchelor (automotive journalist, author, deceased): At its peak, the museum had 1154 vehicles [some sources say the total was closer to 1800], with a focus on the history of American cars Because of the cost of duplicating it, there wont be another collection to rival it. In 2002, he collaborated with legendary drag racer "Big Daddy" Don Garlits on his memoirs titled "Big Daddy's Tales from the Drag Strip". In CARFAX, riuniamo gli eventi della vita di milioni di auto usate di 20 Paesi europei, degli Stati Uniti e del Canada. Phil Satre: In his organization in Reno, there were no car enthusiasts. [6] He was released from a halfway house in New Mexico on November 22, 2011. 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". Last Thursday night I went to the Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation in Brookline, MA to listen to a lecture by Velocity Networks Bill Stephens. Volvo sent dealers promotional plastic models, Lockhart said. Rally Navigation/Co-Driver Equipment For Sale, Bill Stephens Muscle Car Lecture at Larz Anderson Museum. He is an avid car collector and has owned numerous collector-grade vehicles including a 1965 Shelby American Continuation Series . Ed was the first Volvo dealer in California and at first he didnt have any cars to show customers. If you are into awesome cars, you have come to the right place. We want to hear about what you collect and why. He is also a jazz percussionist and briefly enrolled in private instructions at the Berklee School of Music in Boston in 1969. In every community across Washington, families are facing the challenge of accessing and affording long-term care. He was survived by his wife, Verna, 32, and their two sons, John Adam and Tony Lee]. The guys downtown figure theyre generating the money and were spending it, and they dont like us at all. 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. Dixon:I think the first thing I did as chairman of Harrahs after Bill died was to cancel that project [the new museum]. Over the past few years Bill has whittled his once enormous collection of 160 performance vehicles to just 20, and most reside in the Chicago area. For serious collectors of vintage cars, the calendar is filled with top-flight auctions, many of which could vie for the title of most important. Lockhart took a tour of the facility in Bath, England, and said it was amazing to see the handmade metal models being produced. 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. Great! For the uninitiated, a resto-mod automobile has been upgraded with improved suspension systems, fuel injection, radial tires, disc brakes, etc. During the promotional marathon, demonstrators assembled outside the Asylum St. facility, picketing the management of WCCC to hire Stephens. Henry J. Kaiser was in the steel and aluminum business, but for about 10 years he made cars, Lockhart said. His love of performance cars was forged early on. The Audi Museum is devoted to the history of Audi and its predecessors and is the focal point of the Audi Forum Ingolstadt. [7], Later, it emerged that Allen might have perjured himself at trial. 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. There he was at the collection, and we knew that a new owner would not maintain the collection the way Mr. Harrah had done it, or even keep it, and so we knew the end was coming one way of the other. [8][9], In September 2007 VECO Corporation was sold to Colorado-based CH2M HILL corporation. The Harrahs Automobile Collection reflected the passion, and the fortune, of one man: William Fisk Harrah. Per ogni veicolo che conosciamo, creiamo un report dellauto usata e lo mettiamo a tua disposizione. Monterey. What were the cultural ingredients that fueled the high-performance craze in Detroit? Following the spill and cleanup, Allen purchased the Anchorage Times from editor/publisher Robert Atwood. 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. What cars were most responsible for launching this new market segment? Ever. [Excerpted from Harrahs Automobile Collection, One Mans Tribute to the Great Automobiles of the World, published 1984]. Ed actually played with them as a kid and gave them to me, Lockhart said. And he had thousands of model cars. Customers didnt care for it.. Bill Allen was born in Socorro, New Mexico and at the age of 16 left for the oil fields of Alaska to become a welder to help support his family. His parents permanently separated when he was 13 years old, and following graduation from Somerville High School in 1967, Stephens held several jobs including driving a truck, driving a taxi, making pizza, and working in local auto body shops as a body repairman and painter. Get breaking news delivered to your inbox as it happens. 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. He was handing out trophies and doing commentary as the cars came up on the ramp. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. Harrahs many other businesses included auto saleshe was a Ferrari dealer, and he became the Ferrari distributor for the Western United States. Attraverso un semplice controllo della targa, ti forniamo informazioni che ti aiutano a controllare i dati di vendita, a evitare costi di riparazioni future e a negoziare un prezzo di acquisto equo. and from private owners. 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. sale. Vintage Relish/Celery Dish Old Nuremberg Bavaria Germany. Part II, on the sales, will be published next week. Stephens served as a national event PA announcer for the NHRA Championship Drag Racing Series for 4 years between 1994 and 1997 and is a frequent Master of Ceremonies for various automotive and racing tributes, banquets, and award presentations. Family Owned Business serving Lisbon since 1965 operated by 3 generations Bill Stevens Auto Sales | Lisbon Falls ME 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. He lived a very extreme life. Clyde Wade: I feel that selling the collection was a big tragedy, a tremendous loss. It was a year and a half then, when Holiday Inns finally took over. Stephens frequently accompanied his father on various truck trips as a child which helped to fuel his interest in automobiles. VECO also was a worldwide player in the oil industry, having divisions in many major oil markets, including Sudan, Russia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Syria. His favorite is a 1930s royal blue Pierce Arrow coupe. 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. They had different car spotters in different parts of the country. 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. 4 were here. Hewas the one who loved it. [1] Instead, he was sentenced to 3 years in prison and fined $750,000.00. 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. They talked about doing another backhand donation, which I think went up in smoke the moment they realized how valuable all this stuff was. To celebrate its legacy, the . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. But it grew big enough that, by 1962, Harrah moved the fleet into a jumble of former ice storage buildings in nearby Sparks, Nevada. Bill Stevens Auto 4227 4th St NW Albuquerque, NM 87107 Map & directions https://www.billstevensautonm.com Sales: (505) 308-1580 Today 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM (Closed now) Show business hours Inventory Sales Reviews (0) New Search Search Used Search New By Car By Body Style By Price ZIP Filter Results 16 listings Vehicle price Base (1) Big Horn (1) Public Home > 1/1 Car photo's > CUSTOM CAR BUILDERS > CUSTOM CAR PHOTO COLLECTIONS > The Chip Chipman Photo Collection > Chip's Bill Reasoner photos Public Home 1/1 Car photo's [citation needed]. I rst met Bill a few years back, at the local Lake Bluff Concours car show. You've successfully subscribed to Motorious. I rst met Bill a few years back, at the local Lake Bluff Concours car show. Mark then entered the horse in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes. Im a brand X guy and like all American muscle cars, he replied. For those not in the know, this is the pony car that has 707 horses under the hood. 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. Satre:They appraised the assets, and I dont have the appraisal in front of me, but it was in the neighborhood of $30 to $40 million, as I recall. [Holiday Inn ultimately donated about 175 cars for a non-profit museum, which became the National Automobile Museum in Reno.]. When you compare the value of the vehicles to the value of operating the museum, the museum operated at a pretty significant loss, of almost $1M annually. It took six Reliable Transport Company semi trucks to deliver all the vehicles. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Required fields are marked *. Open until 6:00 PM. I know, not too many. How many car buffs do you know that have owned more than 200 cars, most of them to-die-for performance cars, and presently his two daily drivers are a 2019 Corvette Z06 coupe and a 2018 Dodge Challenger Hellcat?

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