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James Randi

 
Gale Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology:

James Randi

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(1928-)

Pseudonym of stage magician James Randall Zwinge who has developed what amounts to a second vocation as a co-founder and leading spokesperson of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) and debunker of both psychics and their paranormal claims and religious claims of supernatural occurrences. Born August 7, 1928, in Toronto, Canada, he was exceptionally talented as a child, although he did not have the advantage of a college education. He was passionately interested in conjuring magic, and in adult life he achieved worldwide fame for his skill in legerdemain. He performed before royalty in Europe and Asia and appeared on national television programs and at college campuses under the stage name of "The Amazing Randi." In the lineage of many stage magicians over the last two centuries, Randi has assumed a watchdog role over people who would perform conjuring tricks while trying to pass them off as either supernatural or paranormal events. He has also been somewhat incensed at "experts" who have been fooled by hoaxing through their naive trust of the hoaxer, their own will to believe ideas which the paranormal event seems to confirm, or a simple lack of attention in seeing a trick being worked on them. Randi's own skepticism concerning the paranormal has a strong foundation in the significant element of fraud which permeated Spiritualism in past generations and is still present in the world of fortunetellers and psychics. In this work, Randi performs an unquestioned public service.

According to journalist Richard Pyatt in USA Today (August 29, 1986), Randi's interest in investigating psychic phenomena started at the age of fifteen. Randi is quoted as stating: "When I was 15 years of age, I had already started out on my career as an amateur magician. When I attended a spiritual-ist church in Toronto, I saw they were using the same gimmicks that I had been reading about in the catalog and had been learning to do myself. Ministers were apparently speaking with the dead. I saw people in that congregation who really believed that the minister was able to read the contents of sealed envelopes and bring them messages from beyond the grave. I resented that highly, and I tried to expose that. I was arrested for my troubles. So at 15, I ended up in a police station, sitting there for four hours waiting for my father to come and get me out. I guess that was the worst four hours the psychic world ever spent, though they didn't know it until recently." Like the late Harry Houdini (1874-1926), also a brilliant stage magician, he has made his concern for psychic tricks a public issue. He has made himself available to the media to attack specific psychics and has given public demonstrations imitating their feats and explaining the means by which some of the tricks were accomplished. He has also issued challenges to psychics to perform paranormal feats under his own exacting conditions and to his satisfaction for a prize of ten thousand dollars. One of his major targets has been Uri Geller, and he has published a book claiming that Geller's metal-bending feats are not paranormal: The Magic of Uri Geller (1975).

Among his most successful exposes were of several Christian healers, the primary one being Peter Popoff in San Francisco in 1986. In his healing crusades, Popoff actually called sufferers by name and described their ailments, claiming to receive such information directly from God. Actually he had developed a rather elaborate and involved system which Randi began to uncover when he noticed that Popoff had a "hearing aid" inside his ear. That ear piece suggested that someone might be broadcasting information to Popoff; the problem was how to obtain definite evidence that the identification of sufferers was fraudulent. Randi enlisted the aid of trusted individuals from the Bay Area Skeptics group and the Society of American Magicians. Some members of the group took up strategic places in the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, where the crusade was held. Robert Steiner and Alexander Jason (an electronics expert) established themselves behind the balcony of the auditorium with hidden tape recorders and electronic listening equipment.

Just before the healing service started, Jason succeeded in tuning into and recording a backstage broadcast from Elizabeth Popoff to her husband, the minister. The message began: "Hello Petey. I love you. I'm talking to you. Can you hear me? If you can't, you're in trouble." Here was firm evidence that the claimed messages from God were in fact information relayed to Popoff by his wife, and received through Popoff's hearing aid. The broadcast continued: "I'm looking up the names right now." This appeared to be a reference to the "prayer cards" which those attending the healing service were asked to fill out, giving names, description of ailments, and other information.

The tape recordings of a claimed healing from a service of the Popoff Crusade a few weeks later in Anaheim, California, on March 16, 1986, provided evidence of a backstage prompting broadcast by Elizabeth Popoff to her husband. She gave the name "Virgil Jorgenson. Virgil…. Way back in the back some where. Arthritis in knees. He's got a cane … He's got arthritis. He's praying for his sister in Sweden, too."

In the auditorium, the Rev. Popoff called out: "Virgil. Is it Jorgenson? Who is Virgil?" A man, apparently in his sixties and limping with a cane, came forward, and Popoff continued: "Are you ready for God to overhaul those knees?" Jorgenson then appeared to walk more easily, and Popoff continued: "Oh, glory to God. I'll tell you, God's going to touch that sister of yours all the way over in Sweden." Popoff then broke Jorgenson's cane, while the sufferer, apparently cured of his arthritis, walked about the auditorium, praising God and the minister Popoff.

This healing was so impressive that Peter Popoff used the film clip for three consecutive weeks on his television show. Unfortunately for the Popoff Crusade, "Virgil Jorgenson" was Don Henvick, program coordinator for Bay Area Skeptics and president of Assembly #70 of the Society of American Magicians, and he does not suffer from arthritis. His disguise as "Virgil Jorgenson" was only one of several appearances that challenged the claimed divine source of Peter Popoff's information and healing. Under the name "Tom Hendrys," Henvick was "healed" of nonexistent alcoholism at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium. In a Detroit healing crusade, Popoff "healed" Henvick of uterine cancer when this master of disguise appeared dressed in woman's garb under the name "Bernice Manicoff," seated in a wheelchair.

The decisive exposure of the electronic source of Popoff's claimed divine messages from God was made by Randi nationwide on a Johnny Carson "Tonight" show on April 22, 1986, when scenes of a claimed healing were shown with a soundtrack of the secret information broadcast identifying the sufferer.

This brilliantly organized and presented exposure of Popoff showed Randi at his best, identifying the techniques of an intricate hoax set within the trusting environment of a church service. At the same time it provided a platform for him at his worst, making broad generalizations branding all faith healers by associating them with the guilt of the few. His attempts to push his conclusions far beyond what the data would suggest has tended to sever Randi from the larger audience who would be open to his actual uncovering of hoaxing.

Randi went beyond the uncovering of hoaxes to perpetuating one himself in what was termed Project Alpha. He sent two magicians to the McDonnell Laboratory for Psychical Research at Washington University in St. Louis. Their ability to fool the researchers into believing that they were genuine psychics became a matter of great embarrassment to the parapsychological community and the university and the laboratory was closed a short time afterward. This project was based upon the idea that most people in parapsychology are ill-equipped to do psychical research and need the help of a trained magician.

Randi served as a founding member of the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) and a member of the editorial board of their journal The Skeptical Inquirer: The Zetetic. When he is not traveling the world performing and exposing the paranormal as fraud and conjuring, Randi lives in New Jersey in a house full of unusual and remarkable illusions, with doors that open unexpectedly on the side opposite the door knob and clocks that run backward.

On July 14, 1986, Randi was the recipient of a $272,000 award by the MacArthur Foundation of Chicago through his efforts in "alerting the unsuspecting public to hoaxers who, for example, claim to perform miracle cures of cancer, and also to support his exposure of shoddy, pseudo-science through his investigations and public lectures." The MacArthur Fellow Awards are tax-free, no-strings grants to individuals to permit them to continue their work without economic hindrance.

In 1992, the Skeptical Inquirer noted that Randi is no longer associated with CSICOP due to two libel suits; he resigned in order to protect the committee from further suits because of legal issues. But in 1999 Randi was still in the public eye when he addressed the U.S. Congress on medical and scientific quackery.

Sources:

Berger, Arthur S., and Joyce Berger. The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Psychical Research. New York: Paragon House, 1991.

Randi, James. The Faith Healers. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1987.

——. Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns and Other Delusions. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1980.

——. The Magic of Uri Geller. New York: Ballantine Books, 1975. Reprinted as The Truth About Uri Geller. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1982.

——. "Project Alpha Experiment." In Kenneth Frazier, ed. Science Confronts the Paranormal. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1986.

Steiner, Robert A. "Exposing the Faith-Healers." The Skeptical Inquirer 11, 1 (fall 1986).

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James Randi

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James Randi
Born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge
August 7, 1928 (1928-08-07) (age 83)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Nationality Canadian American
Occupation Illusionist, writer, skeptic
Religion None (atheist)[1]
Website
www.randi.org

James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928)[2] is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic[3][4] best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician named The Amazing Randi, but after retiring at age 60, he began investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively calls "woo-woo."[5]

Although often referred to as a "debunker," Randi rejects that title owing to its perceived bias, instead describing himself as an "investigator."[6] He has written about the paranormal, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!. The JREF sponsors The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge offering a prize of US$1,000,000 to eligible applicants[7] who can demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties.[8]

Contents

Early life

Randi was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and has a younger brother and sister.[9] He took up magic after seeing Harry Blackstone, Sr[10], reading magic books while spending 13 months in a body cast following a bicycle accident. He confounded doctors who expected he would never walk again.[11] Although a brilliant student, Randi often skipped school, and he dropped out of high school at 17 to perform as a conjurer in a carnival roadshow.[12] In his twenties, Randi posed as a psychic to establish that they were actually doing simple tricks and briefly wrote an astrological column in the Canadian tabloid Midnight under the name "Zo-ran," by simply shuffling up items from newspaper astrology columns and pasting them randomly into a column.[13][14] In his thirties, Randi worked in Philippine night clubs and all across Japan.[15] He witnessed many tricks that were presented as being supernatural. One of his earliest reported experiences is that of seeing an evangelist using a version of the "one-ahead"[16] routine to convince churchgoers of his divine powers.[17]

Career

Magician

Fork bent by Randi

Randi worked as a professional stage magician, or "conjurer" as he prefers to be called,[18] and escapologist beginning in 1946, initially under his birth name, Randall Zwinge, and then as The Amazing Randi. Early in his career, Randi was part of numerous stunts involving his escape from jail cells and safes. On February 7, 1956, he appeared live on The Today Show, remaining in a sealed metal coffin submerged in a hotel swimming pool for 104 minutes, breaking what was said to be Houdini's record of 93 minutes.[19][20]

Randi was the host of The Amazing Randi Show on New York radio station WOR in the mid 1960s.[21] This radio show, which filled Long John Nebel's old slot with similar content after Nebel went to WNBC in 1962, had frequent pro-paranormal guests, including Randi's then-friend James Moseley. Randi, in turn, spoke at Moseley's 1967 Fourth Congress of Scientific Ufologists in New York City,[22] stating, "Let's not fool ourselves. There are some garden variety liars involved in all this. But in among all the trash and nonsense perpetrated in the name of Ufology, I think there is a small grain of truth."[23]

Randi also hosted numerous television specials and went on several world tours. Then Randi appeared as "The Amazing Randi" on a television show titled Wonderama from 1967 to 1972,[24] and as host of a failed revival of the 1950s children's show The Magic Clown in 1970.[25] In the February 2, 1974, issue of Abracadabra (a British conjuring magazine), Randi defined the magic community, saying, "I know of no calling which depends so much upon mutual trust and faith as does ours." In the December 2003 issue of The Linking Ring, the monthly publication of The International Brotherhood of Magicians, Points to Ponder: Another Matter of Ethics, p. 97, it is stated, "Perhaps Randi's ethics are what make him Amazing" and "The Amazing Randi not only talks the talk, he walks the walk."

During Alice Cooper's 1973–1974 tour, Randi performed as the dentist and executioner on stage,[26] and designed and built several of the stage props, including the guillotine.[27][28] Shortly after that, in February 1975, Randi escaped from a straitjacket while suspended upside-down over Niagara Falls in the winter on the Canadian TV program World of Wizards.[29]

Randi was once accused of actually using "psychic powers" to perform acts such as spoon bending. James Alcock relates this incident, which occurred at a meeting where Randi was duplicating the performances of Uri Geller: A professor from the University at Buffalo shouted out that Randi was a fraud. Randi said, "Yes, indeed, I'm a trickster, I'm a cheat, I'm a charlatan, that's what I do for a living. Everything I've done here was by trickery." The professor shouted back: "That's not what I mean. You're a fraud because you're pretending to do these things through trickery, but you're actually using psychic powers and misleading us by not admitting it."[30] The famous author and believer in spiritualism Arthur Conan Doyle had years earlier made a similar accusation against the magician Harry Houdini.[31] A similar event involved Senator Claiborne Pell. Pell believed in psychic phenomena. When Randi demonstrated viewing a hidden drawing by using trickery, Pell refused to believe that it was a trick, saying, "I think Randi may be a psychic and doesn't realize it." Randi has consistently denied having any paranormal powers or abilities.[32]

Author

Randi is author of Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians. The book is subtitled: Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC!. The book selects the most influential magicians and explains their history in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on the 1976 book Houdini, His Life and Art, co-authored with Bert Randolph Sugar, which focused on Houdini and his cohorts. Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he has written several educational works about the paranormal and pseudoscientific. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science,[33] though in January 2011, he expressed doubts as to whether it would be finished.[34] He is a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers the Black Widowers.[35]

Skeptic

James Randi's The Truth About Uri Geller (1982)

Randi entered the international spotlight in 1972 when he publicly challenged the claims of Uri Geller. Randi accused Geller of being nothing more than a charlatan and a fraud who used standard magic tricks to accomplish his allegedly paranormal feats, and he supported his claims in the book The Truth About Uri Geller.[17][36] Geller sued Randi for $15 million in 1991 and lost.[37] Geller's suit against the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) was thrown out in 1995, and he was ordered to pay $120,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit.[38]

Randi was a founding fellow and prominent member of CSICOP.[39] During the period when Geller was filing numerous civil suits against him, CSICOP's leadership, wanting to avoid becoming a target of Geller's litigation, requested that Randi refrain from commenting on Geller. Randi refused and resigned. However, he still maintains a respectful relationship with the group and frequently writes articles for its magazine.

Randi has gone on to write several books criticizing beliefs and claims regarding the paranormal.[40] He has also demonstrated flaws in studies suggesting the existence of paranormal phenomena; in his Project Alpha hoax, Randi revealed that he had been able to orchestrate a three-year-long compromise of a privately funded psychic research experiment.[41] The hoax became a scandal and demonstrated the shortcomings of many paranormal research projects at the university level.

Randi has appeared on numerous TV shows, sometimes to directly debunk the claimed abilities of fellow guests. In a 1981 appearance on That's My Line, Randi appeared opposite psychic James Hydrick, who claimed that he could move things with his mind and demonstrated this ability on live television by apparently turning a page in a telephone book without touching it.[42] Randi, having determined that Hydrick was surreptitiously blowing on the book, arranged packaging peanuts (polystyrene foam shapes) on the table in front of the telephone book for the demonstration, preventing Hydrick from demonstrating his abilities, which would have been exposed when the blowing moved the packaging.[43] Many years later, Hydrick admitted his fraud.[44]

Randi was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Genius award in 1986. The money was used for Randi's comprehensive exposé of faith healers, including Peter Popoff, W.V. Grant and Ernest Angley. When Popoff was exposed, he was forced to declare bankruptcy within the year.[45]

In 1988, Randi tested the gullibility of the media by perpetrating a hoax of his own. By teaming up with Australia's 60 Minutes program and by releasing a fake press package, he built up publicity for a spirit channeler named Carlos who was actually artist Jose Alvarez, a friend of Randi's. Randi would tell him what to say through sophisticated radio equipment. The media and the public were taken in, as no reporter bothered to check Carlos's credentials and history, which were all fabricated. The hoax was exposed on 60 Minutes; Carlos and Randi explained how they pulled it off.[46][47]

In the book The Faith Healers, Randi explains his anger and relentlessness as arising out of compassion for the helpless victims of frauds. Randi has also been critical of João de Deus (John of God), a self-proclaimed psychic surgeon who has received international attention.[48] Randi observed, referring to psychic surgery, "To any experienced conjurer, the methods by which these seeming miracles are produced are very obvious."[49]

In 1982, Randi verified the abilities of Arthur Lintgen, a Philadelphia physician who is able to determine the classical music recorded on a vinyl LP solely by examining the groove on the record. However, Lintgen does not claim to have any paranormal ability, merely knowledge of the way that the groove forms patterns on particular recordings.[50]

James Randi stated that Daniel Dunglas Home, who allegedly could play an accordion that was locked in a cage, without touching it, was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the episodes were never made public, and that the accordion in question was a one-octave mouth organ that Home concealed under his large moustache. James Randi writes that one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death.[51] According to Randi 'around 1960' William Lindsay Gresham told Randi he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the Society for Psychical Research.[52] Eric Dingwall, who catalogued Home's collection on its arrival at the SPR does not record the presence of the mouth organs. According to Peter Lamont, the author of an extensive Home biography, "It is unlikely Dingwall would have missed these or did not make them public."[53]

James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF)

Main article: James Randi Educational Foundation
The offices of the JREF in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In 1996, Randi established the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi and his colleagues update JREF's blog, Swift. Topics have included the mathematics of the one-seventh area triangle. Randi also contributes a regular column, titled "'Twas Brillig," to The Skeptics Society's Skeptic Magazine. In his weekly commentary, Randi often gives examples of what he considers the nonsense that he deals with every day.[54]

He has regularly featured on many podcasts, including The Skeptics Society's official podcast Skepticality[55][56] and the Center for Inquiry's official podcast Point of Inquiry.[57] From September 2006 onwards, he has occasionally contributed to The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast with a column titled "Randi Speaks."[58] In addition, "The Amazing Show" is a podcast in which Randi shares various anecdotes in an interview format.

Views on religion

In his essay "Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright", Randi, who identifies himself as an atheist,[1] has stated that many accounts in religious texts, including the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus Christ, and the parting of the Red Sea by Moses, are not believable. For example, Randi refers to the Virgin Mary as being "impregnated by a ghost of some sort, and as a result produced a son who could walk on water, raise the dead, turn water into wine, and multiply loaves of bread and fishes" and questions how Adam and Eve "could have two sons, one of whom killed the other, and yet managed to populate the earth without committing incest." He writes that, compared to the Bible, "The Wizard of Oz is more believable. And more fun."[59] In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural, he looks at a variety of spiritual practices skeptically. Of the meditation techniques of Guru Maharaj Ji (Prem Rawat) he writes: "Only the very naive were convinced that they had been let in on some sort of celestial secret."[60]

The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge

Main article: The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge

The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) currently offers a prize of one million U.S. dollars to eligible applicants who can demonstrate a supernatural ability under agreed-upon scientific testing criteria. Similar to the paranormal challenges of John Nevil Maskelyne and Houdini, in 1964, Randi put up $1,000 of his own money payable to anyone who could provide objective proof of the paranormal.[61] Since then, the prize money has grown to the current $1,000,000, and has formal published rules. No one has progressed past the preliminary test, which is set up with parameters agreed to by both Randi and the applicant. He refuses to accept any challengers who might suffer serious injury or death as a result of the testing.

On Larry King Live, March 6, 2001, Larry King asked Sylvia Browne if she would take the challenge and she agreed.[62] Then Randi appeared with Browne on Larry King Live on September 3, 2001, and she again accepted the challenge.[63] However, she has refused to be tested and Randi keeps a clock on his website recording the number of weeks that have passed since Browne accepted the challenge without following through.[64] During Larry King Live on June 5, 2001, Randi challenged Rosemary Altea to undergo testing for the million dollars. However, Altea would not even address the question.[65] Instead Altea, in part, replied "I agree with what he says, that there are many, many people who claim to be spiritual mediums, they claim to talk to the dead. There are many people, we all know this. There are cheats and charlatans everywhere."[65] Then on January 26, 2007, Altea and Randi again appeared on Larry King Live. Once again, she refused to answer whether or not she would take the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.[66]

Starting on April 1, 2007, only those with an already existing media profile and the backing of a reputable academic were allowed to apply for the challenge.[67] The resources freed up by not having to test obscure and possibly mentally ill claimants will then be used to more aggressively challenge notorious high-profile alleged psychics and mediums such as Sylvia Browne, Allison DuBois and John Edward with a campaign in the media.[67]

JREF maintains a public log of past participants in the Million Dollar Challenge.[68]

Legal disputes

Randi has been involved in a variety of legal disputes but claims that he has "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued me."[5] However, he says, he has paid out large sums to personally defend himself in these suits.

Eldon Byrd

A Baltimore District Court found Randi liable for defaming Byrd for calling him a "convicted child molester" because, although Byrd had been found guilty of child pornography offences and admitted to molestation, the admission was part of a plea bargain so he was not actually convicted.[69] No damages were awarded to Byrd.[70]

Uri Geller

According to Randi, Geller tried to sue Randi a number of times,[why?] but never won, save for a ruling in a Japanese court that ordered Randi to pay Geller one third of one percent of what Geller had demanded, but this ruling was canceled, and the matter dropped when Geller decided to concentrate on another legal matter.[71][72]

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

In 1991, Randi commented that Uri Geller's public performances were of the same quality as those found on the backs of cereal boxes. Geller sued both Randi and CSICOP. CSICOP argued that the organization was not responsible for Randi's statements. The court agreed that including CSICOP was frivolous and dropped them from the action, leaving Randi to face the action alone. Geller was ordered to pay substantial damages to CSICOP.[73][74] Randi and Geller subsequently settled their dispute out of court, the details of which have been kept confidential. The settlement also included an agreement that Geller would not pursue Randi for the award in the Japanese case or other outstanding cases.

Other

Allison DuBois, on whose life the television series Medium was based, threatened Randi with legal action for using a photo of her from her website in his December 17, 2004, commentary without her permission.[75] Randi removed the photo and now uses a caricature of DuBois when mentioning her on his site, beginning with his December 23, 2005, commentary.[76]

Late in 1996, Randi launched a libel suit against a Toronto-area psychic named Earl Gordon Curley.[77] Curley had made multiple objectionable comments about Randi on Usenet. Despite prodding Randi via Usenet to sue (Curley's comments had implied that if Randi did not sue, then his allegations must be true), Curley seemed entirely surprised when Randi actually retained Toronto's largest law firm and initiated legal proceedings. The suit was eventually dropped in 1998 when Earl Curley died at the age of 51.[78]

Sniffex, producer of a dowsing bomb detection device, sued Randi and the JREF in 2007 and lost.[79] Sniffex sued Randi for his comments regarding a government test in which the Sniffex device failed. The company was later investigated and charged with fraud.[79]

Personal life

In 1987, Randi became a naturalized citizen of the United States.[80] Randi has said that one reason he became an American citizen was an incident while on tour with Alice Cooper where the Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched the band's lockers during a performance. Nothing was found, yet the RCMP destroyed the room.[81]

In February 2006, Randi underwent coronary artery bypass surgery.[82] In early February 2006, he was declared to be in stable condition and "receiving excellent care" with his recovery proceeding well. The weekly commentary updates to his website were made by guests while he was hospitalized.[83] Randi recovered after his surgery and was able to help organize and attend the 2007 Amazing Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada (an annual convention of scientists, magicians, skeptics, atheists and freethinkers).[84]

Randi was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in June 2009.[85] He had a ping pong ball-sized tumor removed from his intestines during laparoscopic surgery. He announced this a week later at the July 2009 The Amazing Meeting as well as the fact that he was scheduled to begin chemotherapy in the following weeks.[86] He also said at the conference: "One day, I'm gonna die. That's all there is to it. Hey, it's too bad, but I've got to make room. I'm using a lot of oxygen and such—I think it's good use of oxygen myself, but of course, I'm a little prejudiced on the matter."[86] Randi also said that after he is gone he does not want his fans to bother with a museum of magic named after him or burying him in a fancy tomb. Instead, he said, "I want to be cremated, and I want my ashes blown in Uri Geller's eyes."[86] Randi underwent his final chemotherapy session on December 31, 2009, as he explained in a January 12, 2010 video in which he related that his chemotherapy experience was not as unpleasant as he had imagined.[85] In a video posted April 12, 2010, Randi stated that he has been given a clean bill of health.[citation needed]

In a March 21, 2010 blog entry, Randi came out as gay, a move he explained was inspired by seeing the 2008 biographical drama film Milk, in which Sean Penn portrayed Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California.[87][88]

The Independent Investigations Group IIG tribute to James Randi TAM9

Awards and honors

World records

The following are Guinness records:

  • Randi was in a sealed casket underwater for an hour and 44 minutes, which broke Harry Houdini's record of one hour and 33 minutes set on August 5, 1926.[11]
  • Randi was encased in a block of ice for 55 minutes.[11]

Bibliography

TV and film

Actor

Himself

Other media

James Randi can be heard speaking an introduction on Tommy Finkes song "Poet der Affen/Poet of the Apes", released on the album of the same name in 2010. The message was recorded by James Randi and sent to Tommy Finke via email.[95]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Randi, James. "Our Stance on Atheism", "Swift", JREF, August 5, 2005, Accessed January 27, 2011.
  2. ^ H.W. Wilson Company (1987). Current Biography Yearbook. Silverplatter International. p. 455. 
  3. ^ "Sullivan", Walter (July 27, 1988). "Water That Has a Memory? Skeptics Win Second Round". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/27/us/water-that-has-a-memory-skeptics-win-second-round.html. 
  4. ^ Cohen, Patricia (February 17, 2001). "Poof! You’re a Skeptic: The Amazing Randi’s Vanishing Humbug". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/17/arts/17RAND.html. Retrieved May 5, 2010. [dead link]
  5. ^ a b Randi, James (February 9, 2007). "More Geller Woo-Woo". SWIFT Newsletter. James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-02/020209morebrowne.html#i6. Retrieved January 29, 2007. 
  6. ^ One-Million-Dollar Challenge from MIT Media Lab: Affective Computing Group
  7. ^ JREF Challenge Application Form, Rule 12, accessed November 23, 2010
  8. ^ "One Million Dollar Challenge – Challenge Info". James Randi Educational Foundation. October 30, 2008. http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html. Retrieved June 15, 2009. 
  9. ^ Randi, James (May 9, 2008). "How Wrong Can You Get?". Swift. James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/192-swift-may-9-2008.html#i3. Retrieved December 17, 2008. 
  10. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJMTyK0VfdY&feature=g-u&context=G2f4081cFUAAAAAAASAA
  11. ^ a b c d Orwen, Patricia (August 23, 1986). "The Amazing Randi". The Toronto Star. 
  12. ^ "Floridian: The 'quack' hunter". Sptimes.com. April 14, 1998. http://www.sptimes.com/Floridian/41498/The__quack__hunter.html. Retrieved June 15, 2009. 
  13. ^ Randi, James (1982). The Truth About Uri Geller. Prometheus Books. pp. 230–231.  Randi reprints two newspaper columns from the Toronto Evening Telegram of August 28, 1950 and August 14, 1950 by Wessely Hicks about Randall Zwinge's psychic predictions. The earlier column states that "Mr. Zwinge said he first became aware that he possessed Extra Sensory Perception when he was nine years old."
  14. ^ Randi, James (1982). Flim-flam!. Prometheus Books. pp. 61–62. 
  15. ^ "Filipino Justice". Randi.org. May 19, 2006. http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-05/051906sylvia.html#i13. Retrieved June 15, 2009. 
  16. ^ Jaroff, Leon (June 24, 2001). "Fighting Against Flimflam". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,149448,00.html?iid=chix-sphere. Retrieved June 18, 2007. 
  17. ^ a b Philip B., Jr., Taft (July 5, 1981). "A Charlatan in Pursuit of Truth". New York Times. 
  18. ^ Randi explained in a February 2007 presentation that he believes the word "magician" implies one who has actual magical abilities, whereas a conjurer is one who uses skills to merely play the part of one. "James Randi's fiery takedown of psychic fraud" TED; Accessed April 24, 2010.
  19. ^ Sinclair, Gordon, "Television & radio column", Toronto Star, February 7, 1956.
  20. ^ Bryant, George, "Handcuffs no problem Toronto-born magician laughs at locksmiths", Toronto Star, June 21, 1956.
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  22. ^ Moseley, James W. (2002). Shockingly Close to the Truth! Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist. Prometheus Books. pp. 189, 204. 
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  24. ^ "Wonderama!". TVparty On!. http://www.tvparty.com/lostwonder1.html. Retrieved April 5, 2007.  "Sonny Fox hosted another 'Wonderama Thanksgiving Day Party' on Thursday afternoon, November 23, 1961, with guests ventriloquist and cartoon voiceover performer Paul Winchell, magician/escape artist and magic historian The Amazing James Randi and folk singer Pat Woodell." [1]
  25. ^ Kevin S. Butler. "Bonamo, The Magic Clown". TVparty On!. http://www.tvparty.com/lostny2bonamo.html. Retrieved May 13, 2008. 
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  37. ^ Petit, Charles (May 23, 1991). "Bay Magicians Back Uri Geller's Critic". San Francisco Chronicle: p. A27. 
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  43. ^ Video of Hydrick's page turning debunking from Google Video
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  45. ^ "A Profitable Prophet". Inside Edition. February 27, 2007. http://www.insideedition.com/ourstories/reports/story.aspx?storyid=639. Retrieved May 7, 2007. 
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  50. ^ Randi, James (November 1, 2002). "Myth vs. Reality, A Different Danish, Reading Records, Tests in the Loo, UFO Fakery, MEG Censorship, An Australian Reading, Exeter Sinking?, Sniper Snooping, Houdini Exhibit, Fox Moon Scam — Again, and Bearden Gets Even Sillier....". Swift: Online newsletter of the JREF. http://www.randi.org/jr/110102.html. Retrieved July 11, 2010. 
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  52. ^ The First Psychic: The Peculiar Mystery of a Notorious Victorian Wizard by Peter Lamont, Little, Brown, 2005 p 302
  53. ^ Lamont 2005 p 302
  54. ^ Randi, James (July 2005). "Fakers and Innocents". Skeptical Inquirer 29 (4). ISSN 0194-6730. Archived from the original on October 27, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061027131225/http://www.csicop.org/si/2005-07/randi.html. Retrieved October 29, 2006. 
  55. ^ Swoopy; Colanduno, Derek (June 30, 2005), "Ep. #10 - Interview: James Randi (JREF)", Skepticality (Skeptic Magazine), http://www.skepticality.com/the-james-randi-educational-foundation/, retrieved November 27, 2011 
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  57. ^ "Point of Inquiry". http://www.pointofinquiry.org/. Retrieved June 30, 2006. 
  58. ^ "The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe". http://theskepticsguide.org/. Retrieved October 29, 2006. 
  59. ^ "Commentary, July 25, 2003 — Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright.". http://www.randi.org/jr/072503.html. 
  60. ^ "James Randi Educational Foundation — An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural". http://www.randi.org/encyclopedia/Maharaj%20Ji.html. Retrieved October 5, 2008. 
  61. ^ Poulsen, Kevin (January 12, 2007). "Skeptic Revamps $1M Psychic Prize". Wired. http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/01/72482. Retrieved April 11, 2008. 
  62. ^ Are Psychics for Real? appeared with John Edward March 6, 2001, on Larry King Live CNN
  63. ^ King, Larry (September 3, 2001). "Are Psychics Real?". Larry King Live (CNN). http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/03/lkl.00.html. Retrieved August 18, 2006. 
  64. ^ The Sylvia Browne Clock from the James Randi Educational Foundation website
  65. ^ a b Spiritual Medium Versus Paranormal Skeptic (Rosemary Altea verses Randi) on Larry King Live June 5, 2001
  66. ^ "Altea and James Randi". Larry King Live. January 26, 2007. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/26/lkl.01.html. Retrieved February 2, 2007. 
  67. ^ a b Poulsen, Kevin (January 12, 2007). "Skeptic Revamps $1M Psychic Prize". Wired. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72482-0.html?tw=wn_index_1. Retrieved January 14, 2007. 
  68. ^ "Challenge Applications". James Randi Educational Foundation. http://forums.randi.org/forumdisplay.php?f=43. Retrieved July 13, 2007. 
  69. ^ "James Randi: Action initiated . . .". skeptictank.org. December 3, 1996. http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/curley2.htm. 
  70. ^ James Randi (June 9, 1993). "Randi found guilty of defamation". The Miami Herald. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB4CD802FEBC248&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved April 20, 2009. 
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  73. ^ "Uri Geller Libel Suit Dismissed". www.csicop.org. Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. August 1994. Archived from the original on April 6, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070406080201/http://www.csicop.org/articles/uri_dis.html. Retrieved June 3, 2007. 
  74. ^ ""Lawsuit Against CSICOP Dismissed" (CSICOP press release)". Skeptic Tank Text Archive File. http://www.skepticfiles.org/skeptic/randi032.htm. Retrieved June 3, 2007. 
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  95. ^ Video by Tommy Finke about the album (German)

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