Bill Handel | |
|---|---|
 Bill Handel, June 2009 | |
| Born | William Wolf Handel (1951-08-25)August 25, 1951 (age 73) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | California State University, Northridge (B.A.) Whittier College (J.D.) |
| Occupation(s) | Attorney, radio host, commentator |
| Spouse | (Divorced) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | handelonthelaw |
William Wolf Handel (born August 25, 1951) is a Brazilian-born American radio host and attorney.
Handel currently hosts two radio programs onKFI inLos Angeles, California. First is KFI's local morningdrive time show, in which he comments on current events. The program is one of the top rated morning programs in the Los Angelesradio market, with more than 1 million listeners.[1] Additionally, he hosts a legal advice show on weekends calledHandel on the Law, which launched in 1985 and issyndicated byPremiere Radio Networks, co-owned with KFI byiHeartMedia, Inc. Handel on The Law is heard on more than 150 stations in the U.S.[2] He is also the director and founder of the Center for Surrogate Parenting.
His legal show is currently his longest running radio program to date. Both of Handel's shows played across the U.S. on theAmerica's Talk channel 158 onXM Satellite Radio. In 2008, Handel's shows were discontinued by XM Radio when it merged withSirius Satellite Radio.
Handel was born in Brazil. His father Leo was from Yugoslavia, and his mother Nechama was aPolish Jew who grew up in Brazil. Handel's paternal grandparents were killed in theHolocaust.[3] The Handel family emigrated to the U.S. when Bill was five.[3]
He spent the remainder of his formative years growing up in theSan Fernando Valley. He attendedCalifornia State University, Northridge where he obtained his bachelor's degree in political science in 1976.[3] He then started a construction company and attended theWhittier College School of Law at night, graduating with hisJ.D. in 1979.[3] Around his graduation from law school, Handel became addicted to cocaine. In 1983, Handel underwent rehabilitation atSt. John's Hospital in Santa Monica.[3]
Later in the 1980s, Handel provided counsel for legal cases around surrogate parenting and founded the Center for Surrogate Parenting & Egg Donation.[3][4]
In 1994, he hosted a weekly syndicated television show,Judge For Yourself, which was canceled due to low ratings and the lack of time in Handel's schedule.Judge For Yourself was unique in that it solicited comments from a900 number, whose results would be broadcast on the next day's show.[5]
He underwentbariatric surgery atCentinela Freeman Hospital to lose weight. Handel's experiences with this surgical procedure have been documented in a series of segments on his morning radio show.[4]
Handel joined 640 KFI Los Angeles in 1989 doing a weekend legal show called "Handel On The Law." On July 16, 1993, Handel began broadcasting a talk and information wake up show, replacing the prior morning team. Prior to January 2014,The Bill Handel Show aired from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m., and was heavily news based. The first hour was primarily discussion of Handel's personal life, letters to the show, and banter with other staffers. The light banter in the 5 a.m. hour was cut when, in January 2014, the show moved to 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. time slot.
On April 15, 1994, Handel hosted a Holocaust themed show live fromAuschwitz, where his grandparents were killed. He planned on having two white nationalist guests including John Metzger, but the two guests were deported from Germany before they could appear on the show.[6]
The show now begins with theHandel on the News, a summary of the morning's top stories delivered with Handel's commentary, with appropriate music cues starting each story and playing "under" his delivery. In the second, third and fourth hour, Handel has guests to discuss topics in the news. He often covers a single news story or item of interest for a half-hour, summarizing various other perspectives and offering his own opinion.Handel on the News: Late Edition airs at 8:30 am, is a condensed version of the 6 am hour, and includes stories not covered in the earlier version.[7]
On his weekend show,Handel on the Law, he gives terse "marginal legal advice" designed to point callers in the right direction. He often makes fun of callers for getting themselves into their legal predicament, stating bluntly, "you have absolutely no case." Still, the show is informative in that it deals with many common legal problems, such aslandlord-tenant issues,child custody, and divorce in an easy-to-understand way.[7] The show is heard Saturday mornings on KFI, butaffiliate stations may air it at any time during the weekend.
From September 8, 2009 to February 12, 2010, Handel aired an additional show from noon to 2 p.m. on KFI after Dr.Laura Schlessinger moved from KFI to another Los Angeles talk station, 980KFWB. Handel's afternoon show was syndicated to a handful of affiliates, thoughPremiere Radio Networks did not aggressively market the show. (It aired at the same time as the much more prominentThe Sean Hannity Show.) Handel quit the show after five months.[citation needed]
OnSeptember 11, 2001, Handel was on air live when the terrorist attacks on theWorld Trade Center took place. Most of the Clear Channel FM music stations in Los Angeles switched over to a live feed of Handel's show as news reports and further attacks unfolded. At that time,Rush Limbaugh's show normally would followThe Bill Handel Show on KFI. Not only wasLimbaugh on a plane heading to a golf tournament that day, but telecommunications systems were also devastated in New York, where his show was based at that time. Handel continued to broadcast for another three hours, taking the place ofThe Rush Limbaugh Show on most stations in the country (as well as the taped broadcast for Armed Forces Radio overseas).[8] This led Handel to guest host on two more occasions onThe Rush Limbaugh Show.[citation needed]
On September 23, 2005, Handel was named "Major Market Personality of the Year" at the 2005NAB Marconi Radio Awards for his KFI show. During his acceptance speech, Handel said, “I haven't been this affected since my circumcision. Seriously, I'm proud and honored to be singled out for this incredible award.”[9] On March 15, 2008 he was honored with "Local News/Talk/Sports Personality of the Year" by industry trade publicationRadio & Records for the third time, his second being in 2007, and the first in 2005.[10]
Handel received the Distinguished Alumni Award from CSUN (Cal State University at Northridge) on April 26, 2008.[citation needed]
The alumni association of hisalma mater, Whittier Law School, awarded him the "Humanitarian of the Year Award" on April 25, 2009. Handel says he has no idea why he was given this award. On June 19, 2008, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce's Walk of Fame Committee announced that Handel would be one of 25 people the following year to receive a Star on the "Hollywood Walk of Fame." His star was unveiled on June 12, 2009, and is located at 6640 Hollywood Boulevard.[citation needed]
Handel was inducted into the "National Radio Hall of Fame" on November 2, 2017, in a ceremony at theMuseum of Broadcast Communications inChicago.[citation needed]
In 1996,Asian-American leaders called for Handel's resignation after making comments aboutKristi Yamaguchi andMichelle Kwan. Handel was quoted as saying; "And when I look at a box of Wheaties, all right? I don't want to see eyes that are like all slanted and Oriental and almond shaped. I want American eyes looking at me."[11] Handel apologized, claiming that he was mocking bigotry. In March 2004, Handel made jokes about Muslims not bathing, hating Jews, and practicingbestiality. KFI was forced to apologize.[12]
On January 12, 2006, Handel joked that Muslim pilgrims toMecca should hire traffic reporters to reduce the possibility of deadlyincidents during the Hajj. TheCouncil on American-Islamic Relations demanded an apology. Handel offered to apologize on the condition that CAIR would denounce terrorism, agree that Israel is a sovereign country, and claim it does not have ties with terrorists. CAIR did not take him up on his offer. Handel refused to apologize to CAIR, but did apologize to the actual victims of the Hajj stampede.[13][14]
Shortly after the Hajj incident, Michelle Kube began to close each show with an all-encompassing apology covering nearly every group mentioned during the course of the show. It is intended to be funny and draw attention to the numerous groups and individuals Handel makes reference to who might be offended. The apology closes with the statement "and any and all...groups that might possibly have been offended during the broadcast of this show."[15]
On December 15, 2006, KFI suspended Handel for one week after an on-air shouting match withJamie White on FMsister station 98.7KYSR. White allegedly told one of Handel's daughters to "get out" of his studio. Handel later apologized, claiming he lost his temper and had overreacted without having all the facts. Jamie White later said publicly as a guest on 97.1 KLSX (nowKNX-FM) that she understood Handel's reaction as a parent and that she and Handel had seen each other months later at a radio event and "were fine."[16]
On May 13, 2009, Handel commented on a show about health care that the U.S. government should "euthanize old people," "sellGlendale to get rid of theArmenians" and "get rid of the Irish and the Italians too." These comments were followed up the next day when a listener sent a letter requesting an apology for the remarks he made. After reading his letter aloud, his board operator, Lara Hermanson, joked that "what the Turks started, Bill will finish" referencing theArmenian genocide. KFI AM 640 Program Director Robin Bertolucci apologized and maintained that Handel was "clearly engaging in parody and hyperbole to point out the absurdity of genocide as a solution to rising health care costs. No one was actually advocating hatred against Armenians. The comments were obviously said in jest, in the same breath with advocating euthanasia for the elderly and genocide for the Jews. The comments made were solely mocking the idea of genocide and weren't intended to be about Armenians any more than they were about euthanasia for the elderly."[17] On June 11, 2009, a formal apology was issued by Handel and Hermanson for their comments.[18]
Handel has a brother, Mark Handel, a real estate developer.[19] Handel's brother was in 2022 accused of producing hardcore pornography, featuring slapping, choking and verbal abuse, under the name 'Khan Tusion'.[20][21]
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