ABOUT VIN SMITH...

Internationally recognized multimedia artist, Vin "Doc" Smith, is a longtime broadcaster, freelance writer, novelist, poet, pianist, singer, songwriter, composer, orator, ventriloquist, entertainer, journalist, piano technician specializing in concert tunings, and is a talented hypnotist. In addition he is president of his own company, Midnight Bookworm Chocolate Piano Studios, and vice president of Bruce Merrin Public Relations in Las Vegas.


Degrees & Certifications:
Graduate Cuesta College, Columbia School of Broadcasting, New York Institue of Photography, Cronemiller School of Music, American School of Piano Tuning. Awarded provisional Doctor of Divinity Degree, September 9, 2002, and perfected September 9, 2003, Queensland University School of Divinity Studies.


Born in Whittier, California on May 19, 1944, Vin Smith grew up in the midst of orange and avocado groves in Pico, California, later to incorporate as Pico Rivera in 1958. Back in those days, Los Angeles County sported thousands of acres of citrus. Vin loved to climb every orange tree in the grove, when he wasn't playing baseball and rooting for the Hollywood Stars of the of the Pacific Coast League. His earliest demonstration of writing talent came in the third grade, when he wrote a science fiction story about cruising through the universe in the space ship he had built himself out of old lumber and construction paper.

He has always loved horses. Back in the early fifties, Vin would punch cattle, right along with his brother-in-law on the Starr Ranch, which is now the city of Rancho Santa Margarita, and also on Rancho Mission Viejo, which is now the city of Mission Viejo. He always found himself closest to God while herding cattle, or sitting next to a campfire.

Recently Smith said, "One of my fondest memories was following the football fortunes of my alma mater, El Rancho High School during the 1965 and 1966 seasons. In 1966 they actually won the National Championship, as awarded by a high school sports magazine. Coach Ernie Johnson always put together good squads. That '66 team was awesome, quarterbacked by Rick Pope. The '57 squad was quarterbacked by Bill Nelson, who later starred with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns. I have always been amazed by El Rancho High School. The kids were terrific. I felt privileged to be a student there."

Vin's interest in literature began in the third grade in Mrs. Brunhill's class at Rio Vista School in Pico Rivera. Suddenly, the whole world opened up to him. And things out of this world, such as astronomy. While in Mrs. Brunhill's class, he made a space ship out of wood and paper and soared through space, all over the galaxy. This memory would spill over Vin as he reported the news of Neil Armstrong's moon walk in 1969 over KOCY radio in Oklahoma City some sixteen years later.

In the mid-sixties, Vin began his radio career at the small 250 watt station in Frederick, Oklahoma, KTAT. "When I first saw that wonderful town, I almost cried," Vin said a few years ago. "America's heartland at last. I quickly fell in love with the people of Oklahoma, and the wheat and cotton fields that spread as far as the eye could see."

Later, Vin would move to Oklahoma City to star on KOCY as the first midnight radio personality in the station's history. His show was sponsored by Spectro Theaters and the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. "One of my duties was to go to the movies every single night of the year. Of all the films that came through town on a sneak preview, the one that sticks in my memory the best is John Wayne in True Grit. Nobody realized at the time that True Grit would be Wayne's masterpiece." While at KTAT, Vin invented the Countrypolitan Radio Format. It was one of the most successful radio formats ever developed, incorporating music that would one day fuel the crossover movement.

In 1986, Vin won the first of three straight writing awards from the National Writers Club in Aurora, Colorado. Those three books, Arena of the Mind, Goodbye Stress, and The Adventures of Timothy Turtle will soon join Vin's nine published books to make it an even dozen books in print.

Vin would spend the next few years doing a variety of things, always keeping his finger in broadcasting and music. His career would eventually land him in all of the Who's Who publications. Always one to want to help people, Vin acted as an informal counselor for many years before he broke on the world scene as the Internet's premier Theosophic Mystic.

Vin performs many times a year as a pianist and ventriloquist, delighting audiences near and far. He is also an accomplished orator, novelist, singer and songwriter, as well as many other areas of artistic pursuit.

Vin serves as Executive Vice President for Bruce Merrin Public Relations in Las Vegas, Nevada.

ABOUT OCCASIONAL CO-HOST BRUCE MERRIN...

Bruce Merrin's Celebrity Speakers & Entertainment Bureau is celebrating its 36th anniversary. We are among the most elite and prestigious speakers bureaus worldwide. With three decades of consummate experience, we have booked every Past President of the United States going back to Ronald Reagan. We have booked all 7 of the original astronauts, major sports superstars, megastar celebrities, best selling authors, business experts and international newsmakers.
Bruce Merrin, a graduate from the UCLA Film School, has represented dozens of
celebrities via his Bruce Merrin Public Relations company. It has been a top ten grossing firm in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. In l973, Bruce booked his PR client, actor Michael Landon, on the "Tonight Show" starring Johnny Carson. Bruce credits Carson for inspiring the idea to launch a celebrity speakers bureau. After the show at NBC in Burbank, Johnny Carson invited Michael Landon and Bruce to his Malibu home for dinner. When Carson suggested to Bruce that he create Bruce Merrin's Celebrity Speakers Bureau, Landon offered to be Bruce's first client. Carson became his second client. Then, Johnny's world famous executive producer, Freddie deCordova, became client number three!

Bruce immediately coined the phrase "Tired of Hearing The Sound of One Hand Clapping" after he spoke with a meeting planner at IBM. Bruce was told that the IBM meetings and conferences were so boring, that their executives were falling asleep! So Bruce responded to the IBM meeting planner, "Are you tired of hearing the sound of one hand clapping at your sales meetings, management meetings, conferences and corporate parties?" The IBM meeting planner replied in one word: "YES!" Merrin began booking speakers and entertainers for IBM, and 36 years later, we still work with IBM.

Bruce has served as Vice President on the Board of Governors of IASB (International Association of Speakers Bureaus), the worldwide leading speakers bureau organization. We regularly book clients with Fortune 500 companies, custom tailoring the speakers and entertainers for each event. We recently booked Bodine Balasco, famous business motivational speaker, for Fed Ex. Bodine presented his award winning speaking presentation in the afternoon. Then he dazzled the Fed Ex top executives with his close-up magic performance that evening. The Fed Ex event was so successful, that they re-booked Bodine for the next year. We work with each client based upon their budget, the location of the event, the theme and their wish list. We take great pride in our ongoing work with companies like Microsoft.

In addition to the two divisions already discussed, Bruce Merrin Agencies also house an elite celebrity literary agency. We specialize in both books written by well known personalities and books to movies.

SCHEDULE... Friday, March 20, 2009... Vin and co-host Bruce Merrin interview Mark Tomback, author of Spiriting Around: A Modern Guide to Finding Yourself. Originally aimed at teenagers and Gen-Xers, Mark's book is finding a large audience in all age groups, especially those nearing retirement age. Many have found that they have to re-invent themselves just in order to survive; retirement savings either wiped out, or insufficient to fund the hoped for lifestyle after puching the time clock is over. Mark shows all age groups how to assess exactly who they are and what they can do to cope with today's difficult situations.
SCHEDULE... Friday, March 27, 2009. Ken Klarfeld, who along with daughter Jasmyn wrote the story of a rocky relationship between father/daughter/mother, and the happy story of a young lady once again finding stability in her life as an adult, along with a renewed relationship with her parents... Jasmyn appears on Goddess Radio (Friday, March 27, 2009), with Vin and co-host Panney Wei. Goddess Radio one of the three Midnight Bookworm family of radio programs.

ABOUT MIDNIGHT BOOKWORM BOOKS AND ENTERTAINMENT...

Midnight Bookworm Books and Entertainment is the flagship program of the "Midnight Bookworm, Vin Smith" family of radio programs. It is a long running program that features the finest book writers in the English language.

Midnight Bookworm Chocolate Piano Productions is extremely proud to bring this storied radio program to U. S. Web Talk Radio. Vin Smith has interviewed the likes of Ann Landers, Ray Bradbury, Michael Palmer, Robin Cook, Catherine Coulter, Tim LaHaye, Jim Wallis, Diana S. Zimmerman, Dr. Harville Hendrix, hall-of-fame Baltimore Colt running back, Lenny Moore, sportscaster and NFL great Pat Summerall, plus scores of other bestselling authors.

Co-host is the top publicity, platform speakers and literary agent in Las Vegas, Bruce Merrin, founder and president of his agency, now celebrating 36 years as the most elite bureau and agency in the world; in fact, one of the few full service agencies of its type.

Vin Smith, president of Midnight Bookworm Chocolate Piano Productions, is also vice president of Bruce Merrin Public Relations. "Bruce is not only a unique talent," Vin said recently, "but he is one of the finest gentlemen you will ever meet. An absolutely brilliant man. With Bruce on The Midnight Bookworm Books and Entertainment program, I am confident that we bring more to the plate than any other book show ever broadcast."

Website: http://midnightbookworm.uswebtalkradio.com
Email: midnightbookworm @uswebtalkradio.com