TV’s Wally George Files for Bankruptcy

Citing a series of near-fatal health problems, conservative talk show host Wally George has filed for bankruptcy in federal court, saying he is worth only $1,900 and cannot pay his mountain of debts.

Cancer operations, brain surgery and a serious car accident have left the colorful Orange County television personality facing a stack of medical bills that prevent him from energetically pursuing advertisers to back his talk show on KDOC-TV, George said during an interview Tuesday.

The 68-year-old broadcaster filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in Santa Ana court Nov. 30. George--whose diatribes , against liberals have helped sustain a 54-year career--said the situation leaves him feeling humiliated.

“It just makes me feel very embarrassed,” he said. “I’ve heard about the fame and fortune. I got the fame, but where is the fortune? It just isn’t there.”

George blamed poor career management for his failure to convert his television notoriety into financial success. Had he hired an agent to look out for lucrative commercial opportunities, he said he might have enjoyed the success of other talk show hosts with bombastic styles.

“Look at Jerry Springer!” George said. “He’s just copying me. Geraldo! They all copied me. I was the original. And they are millionaires, and I’m filing bankruptcy.”

Despite recent troubles, the cult radio host said he has no plans to retire from broadcasting. Rather, he hopes that a recently published autobiography, “Wally George: The Father of Combat TV,” will sell enough copies to lift him out of his financial crisis.

As he is quick to point out, George has spent his entire career hurdling obstacles. The first, and one of his most formidable, was a stutter that first struck when he was 6 and remains faintly evident today.

When the 14-year-old Walter Lloyd George first told his mother that his dream was to become a disc jockey, she told him he was crazy. But he stuttered his way through interviews with Los Angeles radio program directors and finally landed a daily slot at a Glendale radio station.

In 1982, as the host of KDOC’s “Hot Seat,” George drew an audience from people who loved his political rantings and his on-air antics that would become a staple for combat talk shows a decade later. He yelled. He pounded his fist on his desk. He jabbed an accusatory finger at guests.

But in recent years, George has struggled under the weight of personal and health problems.

Six years ago, he underwent an operation for prostate cancer, then required surgery to remove a blood clot pressing against his brain after he fell down the stairs at his Irvine television studio, he said. In 1996, a car crash in Woodland Hills left him with serious injuries.

Meanwhile, his family troubles grew. The last of his four marriages ended about five years ago, leaving George paying child support for his 10-year-old daughter, Holly. George and his oldest daughter, actress Rebecca DeMornay, remain estranged.

As his health deteriorated, George found himself no longer able to hustle for advertising money, which is his only source of income at KDOC, he said. As creditors moved in, his doctor and attorney advised him to file for bankruptcy, believing that the move might remove some of the stress he has been under.

In addition, George lost a costly legal wrangle over $20,000 that a friend gave him years ago to start up a business venture that ended in failure, he said. The judgment, secured by the partner of the now-dead friend, helped swell George’s liabilities to more than $90,000, he said.

“I’m living in a small [Garden Grove] apartment, I’m driving an 8-year-old Thunderbird, and I’m working as hard as I can to take care of my daughter, who is the most important thing in the world to me,” George said. “I feel that I can breathe a little easier now.”