Alan Berg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alan Berg (January 1934 – June 18, 1984) was an American attorney and radio talk show host in Denver, Colorado. Berg was known for taking a largely liberal stand on issues and was, at times, abrasive and combative to callers and guests who held opposing views.

Berg, who was Jewish, was shot and killed in the driveway of his home on the evening of June 18, 1984 by members of a white nationalist group called The Order.

[edit] Early life

A native of Chicago, Alan Berg attended the University of Colorado at Denver before transferring to the University of Denver.[1] At age 22, Berg was one of the youngest people to pass the Illinois bar examination, but he began to experience a series of neuromuscular seizures. He was also increasingly dependent on alcohol. [2] Berg's first wife, Judith Lee Berg (nee Halpern), convinced him to quit his Chicago law practice to seek help. They moved to her hometown of Denver where Berg committed himself. However, after his release, he continued to be plagued by seizures. He was ultimately diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1976. After it was removed, Berg made a full recovery and his seizures ended.[3]

[edit] Radio career

Alan Berg later opened a clothing store where he met Laurence Gross, a radio talk show host on KGMC-AM in Denver. Impressed with Berg, Gross made him a guest on several occasions. When Gross took a job in San Diego, California, Berg was hired as replacement at Gross's behest.

From KGMC, which had changed to KWBZ, he moved to KHOW in Denver. After being fired from KHOW, Berg went back to KWBZ before it changed to an all-music format and he was again fired. Berg, now unemployed, was courted by KTOK in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and WXYZ in Detroit. He ended up taking a job at KOA in Denver, debuting on February 23, 1981. He worked there until his death.

Listeners in more than thirty states over KOA's 50,000-watt signal heard Alan Berg's opinions about gun control, homosexuality, religion, antisemitism and other topics. Berg became notorious for upsetting callers who vociferously disagreed with him to the point of being unable to express themselves which Berg would then further berate. While his style was controversial, in the latter stages of his life, Alan Berg did begin to tone down somewhat. This was especially true after he returned to the airwaves after serving a suspension for berating former Colorado Secretary of State Ellen Kaplan on his show.

[edit] Death

At about 9:30 p.m. on June 18, 1984, Alan Berg was shot thirteen times in the driveway of his Adams Street townhouse. He was returning home after a dinner date with his ex-wife, Judith. They were attempting a reconciliation.[4]

The murder weapon, a semi-automatic Ingram MAC-10 which had been illegally converted to an automatic weapon, was later discovered at the home of one of The Order's members by the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team. The weapon was part of a homemade altar dedicated to Adolf Hitler.^{[citation needed]}

Ultimately, four members of The Order were indicted, including Robert Mathews, who conceived the plan to murder Alan Berg. However, only the actual shooter, Bruce Pierce, and the getaway driver, David Lane, were convicted. [5]

Lane, a former Ku Klux Klansman who later joined the Neo-Nazi Christian Identity Movement splinter group Aryan Nation, steadfastly denied any involvement in Alan Berg's murder, but also never expressed regret that Berg was murdered. To this end, Lane, who called into Alan Berg's radio program, admitted that "I think I yanked his chain a little" in the History Channel documentary, Nazi America: A Secret History. Lane later stated: "The only thing I have to say about Alan Berg is: regardless of who did it, he has not mouthed his hate-whitey propaganda from his 50,000-watt Zionist pulpit for quite a few years...and that's a blessing"

David Lane died in prison on May 28, 2007 while serving a 190-year sentence for violating Berg's civil rights and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statutes.

[edit] Films and plays inspired by Berg's assassination

Alan Berg's murder was the basis for Eric Bogosian's 1987 play, Talk Radio and the fictionalized 1988 motion picture adaptation directed by Oliver Stone. Steven Dietz's 1988 play God's Country and the 1988 film Betrayed were also based on the incident.

[edit] External links

• Alan Berg at the IMDb
• Talk Radio Assassination!, WFMU website 1996
• "Living Out Loud: Death of a Radiohead", Cincinnati CityBeat July 14, 2004
• Judith Lee Berg, a profile of Alan Berg's widow