Glenn Beck (born 1964) is a popular conservative American talk-radio host. His show is available on over 160 radio stations, in every American state, as well as in Vancouver, British Columbia and Puerto Rico. He is regularly heard by six million listeners.

Beck made his radio debut at the age of 13 in Seattle, Washington, near where he was raised (Sumner, Washington). Beck had won an hour of radio time in a contest, but Beck quickly drew the favour of his new colleagues and was granted a part-time job as a disc jockey. He hosted Christian radio on Saturday, rock on Sunday and country on weeknights, but lost the job when he failed to complete a shift due to a migraine.

His childhood would not be all hopes and dreams, however. In the same year he "debuted" on radio, his mother, an alcoholic, drowned herself in a bay near Tacoma. More family tragedy followed shortly after, as one of his brother-in-laws committed suicide in Wyoming, and another had a fatal heart attack.

Beck experienced success in radio during his 20s and flew through the ranks of local radio. Despite this new financial security, however, he became an alcoholic and a drug user, even describing himself as "a despicable human being." The addictions culminated in a period of intense unhappiness and the disintegration of his first marriage, which had produced two children.

With the help of family and Alcoholics Anonymous, Beck eventually sorted things out. He sobered up, converted to Mormonism and remarried (his second wife is Tania). Beck cites his 15-year-old daughter, Mary (named after Beck's mother), as one of the reasons he was able to pull together. Mary was born with cerebral palsy which had led doctors to predict she would never walk or feed herself. She has since been able to do both.

Beck has since enjoyed a quick rise from local radio to the national spotlight. The Glenn Beck Program began in 2000, airing on WFLA-AM in Tampa, Florida, and quickly gained popularity in its afternoon slot. In January 2002, syndicator Premiere Radio Networks launched the show on 47 stations. The show was then moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is currently available on over 160 stations internationally.

Through his show, Beck addresses many topical issues, mostly from a conservative viewpoint (he describes himself as a Mormon with libertarian leanings and a strong sense of family values). His opinions on specific issues include being: pro-life, for the war in Iraq, against political correctness, highly critical of Hollywood, against overtly homosexually-themed television programming (including Will and Grace), against euthanasia, against anti-smoking regulation, and staunchly conservative, but not Republican. Beck is also notable for being very tall, standing at six feet, four inches.

Beck ran a series of rallies called Glenn Beck's Rally for America during 2003 in support of the troops fighting in Iraq. He ran a rally at Marshall University over the Memorial Day weekend, which was attended by 25,000 people. Other rally venues included San Antonio, Cleveland, Atlanta, Valley Forge, and Tampa.

Beck is often compared to talk-radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Michael Savage (justly or otherwise), and his show includes large quantites of humor and sarcasm.

He is the author of The Real America: Messages from the Heart and Heartland (ISBN 0743486331).

He admires Oprah Winfrey, but disagrees with her on several areas, including her view that marriage is an "outdated" insititution.

External links

• GlennBeck.com
• Article profiling Glenn
• About.com biography of Glenn
• Philadelphia Inquirer feature article