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Fast Facts about Bill:
- Born in NYC in 1956; lived in NY, Florida and Arizona |
Bill Knell grew up on Long Island in the 1960s, just outside of the New York City Metropolitan Area. While hanging around the local Firehouse, he heard Volunteer Firemen, Nassau County Police and EMTs talk about seeing unidentified objects in the sky and experiencing other strange phenomenon. As the son of an Air Force Officer, Bill was fascinated to hear his father talk about the Foo Fighters (unexplained objects seen by Allied Pilots during WWII) and how General Macarthur ordered of a study of them. That study became a 10,000 word report that still remains classified to this day. His father's friends often told stories of encounters with UFOs whenever they discussed that report or the Foo Fighters. Many were experienced military and commercial pilots. While most UFO Witnesses are untrained observers misreporting ordinary objects in the sky, the people that Bill heard talk about encounters with UFOs were not. That left a big impression on him.
Fascinated by all the talk about UFOs, Bill purchased the book Flying Saucers Serious Business at the age of nine. The author was Frank Edwards. Edwards was a veteran Reporter, Commentator and Radio Personality. He examined UFO cases as a Reporter would using a three source rule for verification. Edwards admitted that he was surprised at how many incidents he was able to verify as unexplained.
Bill and his family attended a barbeque at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in the early 1960's. Chuck Yeager was there and he invited to say a few words. With UFOs in the news at that time, Yeager opted to tell everyone a fascinating story. He recounted how that during the flight of an experimental aircraft, he was shocked when a large disc appeared alongside his plane. His shock turned to serious concern as the object moved in front of him. Flying in an aircraft with limited maneuverability, Yeager feared he might crash into the thing. Instead, it vanished. Later he was debriefed and told that the object was an experimental aircraft. He replied, "It can't be. My buddies and I fly them (experiment aircraft) and we know what you got."
During the famous 1960s New York City blackout, UFOs were seen by Police, Fireman, civilians and celebrities. These were reported by the local news media after the blackout ended and the stories surfaced. Actors Warren Beatty and Stuart Whitman both saw strange disc-shaped glowing objects from hotel rooms near the Empire State Building. Muhammad Ali and John Lennon also reported seeing UFOs in the skies over New York City at later dates. At almost the same time, Astronauts from the Mercury and Gemini Space Programs reported seeing objects in space that could not easily be identified or explained. All this left a big impression on Bill. He began to read more on the subject and attend seminars by prominent Paranormal Authors and Researchers.
In 1971 Bill and his family moved to the West Coast of Florida. Bill expanded his interest in the unexplained to include Ghosts and Psychic Phenomenon. As people became aware of his interest in the Paranormal and UFOs, they began to share their stories of unexplained events and UFO encounters with him. This inspired Bill to establish a UFO Club at his High School for extra credit. It was supposed to be an after school project based on a subject of personal interest much like the chess, math or science clubs at many schools. If he managed to sign up at least five students for the meetings, it would earn him extra credit for his sociology class. For Bill it was more about finding like-minded people who shared his interest in UFOs and the unexplained.
Concerned about giving the UFO Club his best shot, Bill wrote to a local newspaper and some radio stations asking if they would announce the meeting. He also posted flyers all around the school and had the event added to the morning announcements the day before the first meeting. Even after all that work, he expected a couple of students besides himself to show up and maybe a teacher or two. Instead, over 150 people tried to crowd into a classroom meant for fifty, while many more were turned away.
Among the people who made it in to that first meeting was the School Principal. He was a tough, ex-marine who told the group about seeing a strange object in the skies over Vietnam during 1967. When he tried to report the incident, he was told by his commanding officer to forget it. A local radio station News Announcer and a Newspaper Reporter also came out to that first club meeting. As a result, Bill received quite a bit of unexpected publicity. He became a popular radio guest and was offered a number of speaking engagements. Few people bothered to notice that he was just 15 years old at the time.
By seventeen, Bill was actively investigating paranormal incidents and UFO encounters in his spare time. As people became aware of his investigations through radio guest spots and his occasional speaking engagements, they wanted more. Bill was invited to appear on a local morning television show twice a month. That show was eventually syndicated throughout Florida and became very popular. All the publicity brought Bill to the attention of CBS. They were planning a television documentary or series of special reports about UFOs. They gave Bill the opportunity to meet Walter Cronkite. The legendary news anchor told Bill about a UFO sighting he had while witnessing the test of a new missile. It left Bill almost speechless.
After High School, two years of military service in the Marine After High School, two years of military service in the Marine Corps, two years of college and continued part time investigation into paranormal events, Bill turned his attention to the full-time investigation of UFOs and the Paranormal funded by speaking engagements at libraries, universities and private events. Bill Knell has personally investigated thousands of paranormal incidents in the USA and Canada. He’s presented over 1500 informative lectures and is a popular Speaker at colleges and universities where he's broken attendance records once set by The Beatles, Jay Leno, Howie Mandel and Magician David Copperfield. If you are interested in booking him for a speaking engagement, just email Bill Knell with your name, phone, any particulars you care to provide and the best time to call you.
In addition to having hosted several top-rated cable TV shows about the paranormal, Bill Knell has produced a number of popular video presentations about the paranormal that are now available on DVD. A major consultant to the acclaimed documentary, UFOs: The Hidden Truth, Bill has also acted as a Adviser and Publicity Consultant to the several major films including Independence Day, Men in Black, Men in Black II, Fire In The Sky, The Fifth Element, The X Files Series and Movie and War of the Worlds. If you're interested in Bill as an Adviser or Publicity Consultant for your film or television project with a Paranornal Theme, please email him.
You've read about Bill in OMNI, The New Yorker, Fate, UFO Universe, UFO Magazine, Fortean Times, The NY Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Philadelphia Inquirer and thousands of magazines and publications throughout the world. You've seen him on CNN Headline News, NBC Nightly News, Hard Copy, A Current Affair, Inside Edition and hundreds of local, national and international television programs the world over. A popular radio guest, you've heard Bill on every major radio station in every major market in the USA and Canada on number one radio shows in all formats. Listed many times as a great guest that generates calls and positive feedback on dozens of show prep websites and bulletin boards by top Radio Personalities, Bill is a professional who is never at a loss for words. If you are interested in booking him for a guest spot, just email Bill Knell with your name, phone and the best time to call.
Bill Knell is married to Catherine Knell (since 1984) and they have seven children.
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