Alan Berg

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

Alan Berg, who was Jewish, was assassinated in his driveway on the evening of June 18, 1984 by members of a White nationalist group called The Order.

Early life

A native of Chicago, Illinois, Alan Berg attended the University of Colorado at Denver before transferring to the University of Denver. 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 seizure. He was also increasingly dependent on alcohol. Berg's first wife, Judith Lee Berg (nee Halpern), convinced him to quit his Chicago law practice to seek help. They moved to Denver where Berg committed himself at St. Joseph's Hospital. However, after his release, he continued to be plagued by seizures. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1976. After it was removed, he made a full recovery and his seizures ended.

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, 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, Michigan. He ended up taking a job at KOA in Denver, debuting on February 23, 1981. He worked there up to 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.

Death

At about 9:30 p.m. on the evening of June 18, 1984, Alan Berg was shot thirteen times in the driveway of his home next to his Volkswagen Beetle. He was returning home after a dinner date with his ex-wife, Judith. They were attempting to reconcile.

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 Federal Bureau of Investigation's Hostage Rescue Team. The weapon was part of a homemade altar dedicated to Adolf Hitler.

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

Lane, a former Klansman who joined the neo-Nazi/Christian Identity group Aryan Nations, steadfastly denied any involvement in Alan Berg's murder, but also never expressed sorrow over it. In the History Channel documentary, "Nazi America: A Secret History", Lane, who had called into Berg's show and deliberately goaded him into an argument, 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."

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.

Films and plays inspired by Berg's assassination

Berg's murder was the basis for Eric Bogosian's 1987 play, "Talk Radio" and the 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.

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0073686/bio Alan Berg] at the IMDb
* [http://www.wfmu.org/LCD/GreatDJ/berg.html Talk Radio Assassination!] , WFMU website 1996
* [http://www.citybeat.com/2004-07-14/livingoutloud.shtml "Living Out Loud: Death of a Radiohead"] , "Cincinnati CityBeat" July 14, 2004
* [http://www.expertclick.com/ProfilePage/default.cfm?GroupID=1345&SearchCriteria=Holocaust&Serial=19-922 Judith Lee Berg] , a profile of Alan Berg's widow