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Array ( [0] => {{Short description|Canadian-American magician and skeptic (1928–2020)}} [1] => {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}} [2] => {{Infobox person [3] => | name = James Randi [4] => | image = Preferred official head-shot from James Randi Educational Foundation.jpg [5] => | caption = Randi {{circa}} early-to-mid 1990s [6] => | birth_name = Randall James Hamilton Zwinge [7] => | birth_date = {{birth date|1928|08|07}} [8] => | birth_place = [[Toronto]], Ontario, Canada [9] => | death_date = {{death date and age|2020|10|20|1928|8|7}} [10] => | death_place = [[Plantation, Florida]], U.S. [11] => | death_cause = [12] => | resting_place = [13] => | occupation = {{hlist|[[Stage magician]]|[[Scientific skepticism|scientific skeptic]]|author}} [14] => | years active = 1946−2016 [15] => | networth = [16] => | spouse = {{marriage|José Alvarez|2013}} [17] => | parents = [18] => | website = {{URL|https://web.randi.org/}} [19] => | citizenship = {{flatlist| [20] => * Canada [21] => * United States }} [22] => | television = [23] => | signature = JamesRandiSignature.png [24] => | signature_size = 100px [25] => | education = [26] => | alma_mater = [27] => | module = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Audio James Randi.wav|title={{center|Randi's voice}}|type=speech|description={{center|Recorded October 2016 at [[CSICon]]}}}} [28] => }} [29] => '''James Randi''' (born '''Randall James Hamilton Zwinge'''; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American [[stage magician]], author and [[scientific skeptic]] who extensively challenged [[paranormal]] and [[pseudoscientific]] claims.[[#Rodrigues|Rodrigues 2010]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=OsGuZjYzXdAC&pg=PA271 p. 271] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831220138/https://books.google.com/books?id=OsGuZjYzXdAC&pg=PA271 |date=August 31, 2023 }} He was the co-founder of the [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] (CSI), and founder of the [[James Randi Educational Foundation]] (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name '''The Amazing Randi''' and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, [[occult]], and [[supernatural]] claims.{{cite journal|last=Randi|first=James|date=February 9, 2007|title=More Geller Woo-Woo|journal=Swift|type=Newsletter|access-date=December 26, 2016|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-02/020209morebrowne.html#i7|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090710012001/http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-02/020209morebrowne.html#i7|archive-date=July 10, 2009}} Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87. [30] => [31] => Although often referred to as a "[[debunker]]", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator".{{cite web|url=http://affect.media.mit.edu/milliondollarchallenge|title=One-Million-Dollar Challenge|work=MIT Media Lab: Affective Computing Group|publisher=[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]|access-date=October 9, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727062223/http://affect.media.mit.edu/milliondollarchallenge|archive-date=July 27, 2011}} He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'', famously exposing fraudulent [[faith healer]] [[Peter Popoff]], and was occasionally featured on the television program ''[[Penn & Teller: Bullshit!]]'' [32] => [33] => Before Randi's retirement, JREF sponsored the [[One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge]], which offered a prize of one million [[United States dollar|US dollars]] to eligible applicants who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties.{{cite web|title=JREF Status|url=http://web.randi.org/home/jref-status|publisher=JREF|access-date=November 12, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830152145/http://web.randi.org/home/jref-status|archive-date=August 30, 2017}} [34] => [35] => ==Early life== [36] => Randi was born on August 7, 1928, in [[Toronto]], Canada.{{harvnb|Moritz|1987|p=455}} He was the son of Marie Alice (''née'' Paradis; 1906–1987) and George Randall Zwinge (1903–1967), an executive at Bell Telephone Company. He was of French, Danish and Austrian descent.{{Cite web|url = https://medium.com/humanist-voices/an-interview-with-james-randi-part-one-b74c1bd61967|title = An Interview with James Randi (Part One)|date = April 2018|access-date = April 7, 2022|archive-date = April 7, 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220407182901/https://medium.com/humanist-voices/an-interview-with-james-randi-part-one-b74c1bd61967|url-status = live}} He had a younger brother and sister.{{cite web|url=http://archive.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/192-swift-may#i3|title=How Wrong Can You Get?|last=Randi|first=James|date=May 9, 2008|work=Swift|publisher=JREF|type=Blog|access-date=June 10, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921213014/http://archive.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/192-swift-may#i3|archive-date=September 21, 2016}} He took up [[magic (illusion)|magic]] after seeing [[Harry Blackstone Sr.]]{{YouTube|id=wJMTyK0VfdY|title=James Randi at the Magic Castle: In Conversation with Max Maven|link=no}} and reading conjuring books while spending 13 months in a [[Orthopedic cast|body cast]] following a bicycle accident. He confounded doctors, who expected he would never walk again.{{cite news|title=The Amazing Randi|first=Patricia|last=Orwen|url=http://zammoth-jamesrandi.blogspot.com/|newspaper=[[Toronto Star]]|publisher=[[Torstar]] Corporation|date=August 23, 1986|access-date=October 9, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106183159/http://zammoth-jamesrandi.blogspot.com/|archive-date=November 6, 2013}} He often skipped classes, and at 17, dropped out of high school to perform as a conjurer in a carnival roadshow.{{cite news|title=The 'quack' hunter|first=Jeanne|last=Malmgren|others=''Times'' researcher Barbara Oliver contributed to this report.|url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1998/04/14/the-quack-hunter/|newspaper=[[Tampa Bay Times]]|date=April 14, 1998|access-date=June 5, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301011756/http://www.sptimes.com/Floridian/41498/The__quack__hunter.html|archive-date=March 1, 2011}} He practiced as a [[Mentalism|mentalist]] in local nightclubs and at Toronto's [[Canadian National Exhibition]] and wrote for [[Montreal]]'s tabloid press.{{harvnb|Colombo|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=OXP_OpQna4gC&pg=PA182 182]}} As a teenager, he stumbled upon a church where the pastor claimed to read minds. When Randi interrupted the performance and showed the parishioners how the trick worked, the pastor's wife called the police and Randi spent four hours in a jail cell. This inspired his career as a scientific skeptic.{{cite web|last=Limbong|first=Andrew|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/10/22/926717787/amazing-escape-artist-magician-and-skeptic-james-randi-dead-at-92|title='Amazing' Escape Artist, Magician, And Skeptic James Randi Dead At 92|work=[[NPR]]|date=October 22, 2020|access-date=October 23, 2020|archive-date=October 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023115839/https://www.npr.org/2020/10/22/926717787/amazing-escape-artist-magician-and-skeptic-james-randi-dead-at-92|url-status=live}} [37] => [38] => In his 20s, Randi posed as an [[astrologer]], and to establish that they merely were doing simple tricks, he briefly wrote an astrological column in the Canadian tabloid ''[[Globe (tabloid)|Midnight]]'' under the name "Zo-ran" by simply shuffling up items from newspaper astrology columns and pasting them randomly into a column.{{harvnb|Randi|1982c|pp=230–231}}. Randi reprints two newspaper columns from the ''[[Toronto Telegram|Toronto Evening Telegram]]'' of August 28, 1950, and August 14, 1950, by Wessely Hicks about Randall Zwinge's psychic predictions. The earlier column states, "Mr. Zwinge said he first became aware that he possessed Extra Sensory Perception when he was nine years old."{{harvnb|Randi|1982a|pp=61–62}} In his 30s, Randi worked in the UK, Europe, [[Philippines|Philippine]] nightclubs, and Japan.{{cite journal|last=Randi|first=James|date=May 19, 2006|title=Filipino Justice|journal=Swift|type=Newsletter|access-date=June 15, 2009|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-05/051906sylvia.html#i13|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091007175115/http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-05/051906sylvia.html#i13|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 7, 2009}} He witnessed many tricks that were presented as being supernatural. One of his earliest reported experiences was that of seeing an [[Evangelism|evangelist]] using a version of the "[[billet reading|one-ahead]]"{{cite magazine|title=Fighting Against Flimflam|first=Leon|last=Jaroff|author-link=Leon Jaroff|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,149448,00.html|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=June 24, 2001|access-date=June 5, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930142033/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,149448,00.html?iid=chix-sphere|archive-date=September 30, 2007}} technique to convince churchgoers of his [[divinity|divine]] powers.{{cite news| first=Philip B. Jr. |last=Taft|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/05/nyregion/a-charlatan-in-pursuit-of-truth.html|title=A Charlatan in Pursuit of Truth|work=The New York Times|date=July 5, 1981|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930035857/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/05/nyregion/a-charlatan-in-pursuit-of-truth.html|archive-date=September 30, 2017}} [39] => [40] => ==Career== [41] => [42] => ===Magician=== [43] => [[File:James Randi Submerged Coffin.webm|thumb|Randi being submerged, 1956]] [44] => [[File:RandiFork.jpg|thumb|upright|A fork bent by Randi]] [45] => Although defining himself as a conjuror, Randi began a career as a professional stage magician{{cite web|url=http://www.ted.com/talks/james_randi.html|title=James Randi: Homeopathy, quackery and fraud|date=February 2007|work=[[TED (conference)|TED]]|publisher=[[Sapling Foundation]]|location=New York|access-date=April 24, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719111508/http://www.ted.com/talks/james_randi.html|archive-date=July 19, 2011}} Randi explained in a February 2007 presentation that he believed the word "magician" implies one who has magical abilities, whereas a conjurer is one who uses skills to merely play the part of one. and [[escapologist]] in 1946. He initially presented himself under his real name, Randall Zwinge, which he later dropped in favor of "The Amazing Randi". Early in his career, he performed numerous escape acts from jail cells and safes around the world. On February 7, 1956, he appeared live on [[NBC]]'s ''[[Today (U.S. TV program)|Today]]'' show, where he remained for 104 minutes in a sealed metal coffin that had been submerged in a hotel swimming pool, breaking what was said to be [[Harry Houdini]]'s record of 93 minutes, though Randi called attention to the fact that he was much younger than Houdini had been when he established the original record in 1926.{{cite news |title=Television & radio column |first=Gordon |last=Sinclair |author-link=Gordon Sinclair |newspaper=[[Toronto Star|Toronto Daily Star]]|date=February 7, 1956}}{{cite news |title=Handcuffs no problem Toronto-born magician laughs at locksmiths |first=George |last=Bryant |newspaper=Toronto Daily Star |date=June 21, 1956}} [46] => [47] => Randi was a frequent guest on the [[Long John Nebel]] program on New York City radio station [[WOR (AM)|WOR]], and did character voices for commercials.{{rp|31:00}} After Nebel moved to [[WFAN (AM)|WNBC]] in 1964,{{Cite web |title=Long John Nebel Papers: An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University |url=https://library.syracuse.edu/digital/guides/n/nebel_lj.htm |access-date=November 5, 2023 |website=Syracuse University Libraries}}{{Cite news |date=August 5, 1964 |title=FILM ON VIETNAM READY FOR A.B.C.; Show Sept. 10 Will Be First Of Four Documentaries |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/08/05/archives/film-on-vietnam-ready-for-abc-show-sept-10-will-be-first-of-four.html |access-date=November 5, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}} Randi was given Nebel's time slot on WOR, where he hosted ''The Amazing Randi Show'' until January 1966, and often had guests who defended paranormal claims, among them Randi's then-friend [[James W. Moseley]].{{Cite book |last=Moseley |first=James W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KYKKiU9cvZEC&dq=james+randi+WOR+radio+partyline&pg=PA189 |title=Shockingly Close to the Truth!: Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist |date=November 2, 2010 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=978-1-61592-541-4 |language=en |author-link=James W. Moseley}} Randi stated that he was fired from WOR over complaints from the archbishop of New York that Randi had said on-air that "Jesus Christ was a religious nut," a claim that Randi disputed.{{rp|34:00}} [48] => [49] => Randi also hosted numerous television specials and went on several world tours. As "The Amazing Randi" he appeared regularly on the New York-based children's television series ''[[Wonderama]]'' from 1959 to 1967.{{cite web |url=http://www.tvparty.com/lostwonder1.html |title=Wonderama! |last1=Butler |first1=Kevin S. |last2=Ingram |first2=Billy |work=TVparty! |publisher=William Ingram |location=Greensboro, NC |access-date=April 5, 2007 |quote=Sonny Fox hosted another 'Wonderama Thanksgiving Day Party' on Thursday afternoon, November 23, 1961 with guests ventriloquist and cartoon voice-over performer Paul Winchell, magician/escape artist and magic historian The Amazing James Randi and folk singer Pat Woodell. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061230223655/http://www.tvparty.com/lostwonder1.html |archive-date=December 30, 2006}} In 1970, he auditioned for a revival of the 1950s children's show ''[[The Magic Clown]]'', which showed briefly in Detroit and in Kenya, but was never picked up.{{cite web |url=http://www.tvparty.com/lostny2bonamo.html |title=Bonamo, The Magic Clown |last=Butler |first=Kevin S. |work=TVparty! |publisher=William Ingram |location=Greensboro, NC |access-date=May 13, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510233350/http://www.tvparty.com/lostny2bonamo.html |archive-date=May 10, 2008}} In the February 2, 1974, issue of the British conjuring magazine ''[[Goodliffe's Abracadabra|Abracadabra]]'', Randi, in defining the community of magicians, stated: "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]], 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."{{cite journal |last=Barber |first=Peter W. |date=December 2003 |title=Points to Ponder: Another Matter of Ethics |journal=[[The Linking Ring]] |volume=83 |issue=12 |page=97 |issn=0024-4023}} [50] => [51] => During [[Alice Cooper]]'s 1973–1974 [[Billion Dollar Babies tour]], Randi performed on stage both as a mad dentist and as Cooper's executioner.{{cite AV media |people=[[Joe Gannon]] (Director) |year=1974 |title=[[Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper]] |type=Motion picture |publisher=General Media International, Inc. |oclc=62534800}}(2005 DVD release) He also built several of the stage props, including the [[guillotine (magic trick)|guillotine]].{{cite web|url=http://www.sickthingsuk.co.uk/people/p-randi.php|title=The Amazing Randi|website=SickthingsUK|publisher=Simon Halley|location=Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England|access-date=May 18, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071108052435/http://www.sickthingsuk.co.uk/people/p-randi.php|archive-date=November 8, 2007}} In a 1976 performance for the Canadian TV special ''World of Wizards'', Randi escaped from a [[straitjacket]] while suspended upside-down over [[Niagara Falls]].{{cite journal |last=Randi |first=James |date=May 3, 2002 |title=Dangerous Stunts |journal=Swift |type=Newsletter |access-date=May 18, 2007 |url=http://www.randi.org/jr/050302.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070609005249/http://www.randi.org/jr/050302.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 9, 2007}} [52] => [53] => Randi has been accused of actually using "psychic powers" to perform acts such as [[spoon bending]]. According to [[James Alcock]], at a meeting where Randi was duplicating the performances of [[Uri Geller]], a professor from the [[University at Buffalo, The State University of New York|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."{{harvnb|Alcock|2001|p=42}} A similar event involved Senator [[Claiborne Pell]], a confirmed believer in psychic phenomena. When Randi personally demonstrated to Pell that he could reveal—by simple trickery—a concealed drawing that had been secretly made by the senator, Pell refused to believe that it was a trick, saying: "I think Randi may be a psychic and doesn't realize it." Randi consistently denied having any paranormal powers or abilities.{{harvnb|Gardner|2000|p=178}} [54] => [55] => Randi was a member of the [[Society of American Magicians]] (SAM), the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), and [[The Magic Circle (organisation)|The Magic Circle]] in the UK, holding the rank of "Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star."{{cite web|url=http://themagiccircle.co.uk/news/711-the-magic-circle-president-promotes-a-knight-a-dragon-and-student-doctor-of-magic?highlight=WyJyYW5kaSJd|title=TMC Promotions|date=January 11, 2013|access-date=July 22, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723074917/http://themagiccircle.co.uk/news/711-the-magic-circle-president-promotes-a-knight-a-dragon-and-student-doctor-of-magic?highlight=WyJyYW5kaSJd|archive-date=July 23, 2015}} [56] => [57] => ===Author=== [58] => Randi wrote ten books, among them ''[[Conjuring (book)|Conjuring]]'' (1992), a biographical history of prominent 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's cover indicates it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book features the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book, ''Houdini, His Life and Art''.{{cite news|last=Bartlett|first=Kay|title=Truthful trickster|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RU4aAAAAIBAJ&pg=3862,1502395|access-date=July 13, 2012|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|The Milwaukee Journal]]|date=July 13, 1981}} This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with [[Bert Sugar]]. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini.{{harvnb|Burt|2001|p=192}} [59] => [60] => Randi's book, ''The Magic World of the Amazing Randi'' (1989), was intended as a children's introduction to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he wrote several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and [[Nostradamus]], as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. In 2011, he was working on ''A Magician in the Laboratory'', which recounted his application of skepticism to science.{{cite web|url=http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/1194-teleportation-magic-established-by-science-at-last.html|title=Teleportation Magic Established By Science, At Last!|last=Randi|first=James|work=Swift|publisher=JREF|type=Blog|access-date=January 19, 2011|archive-date=January 22, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122040951/http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/1194-teleportation-magic-established-by-science-at-last.html|url-status=live}} He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the [[Trap Door Spiders]], which served as the basis of his friend [[Isaac Asimov]]'s fictional group of mystery solvers, the [[Black Widowers]].{{harvnb|Asimov|1994|p=120}} [61] => [62] => Other books by Randi include ''[[Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions|Flim-Flam!]]'' (1982), ''[[The Faith Healers]]'' (1987), ''James Randi, Psychic Investigator'' (1991), ''Test Your ESP Potential'' (1982), and ''[[An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural]]'' (1995). [63] => [64] => Randi was a regular contributor to ''[[Skeptic (U.S. magazine)|Skeptic]]'' magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig ..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He was a frequent contributor to ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'' magazine, published by the [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]], of which he was also a [[fellow]].{{cite web|url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2017/03/still-amazing-a-conversation-with-james-randi/|title=Still 'Amazing': A Conversation with James Randi|last=Frazier|first=Kendrick|date=March–April 2017|website=Skeptical Inquirer|volume=41|issue=2|access-date=July 15, 2020|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801234416/https://skepticalinquirer.org/2017/03/still-amazing-a-conversation-with-james-randi/|url-status=live}} [65] => [66] => ===Skeptic=== [67] => [[File:James_Randi_demonstrating_'psychic_surgery'_on_ITV_series_"James_Randi,_Psychic_Investigator".jpg|thumb|right|Randi using sleight of hand to duplicate "[[psychic surgery]]" on his [[Open Media]] series for [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] in 1991]] [68] => Randi gained the international spotlight in 1972 when he publicly challenged the claims of [[Uri Geller]]. He 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 presented his claims in the book ''[[The Truth About Uri Geller]]'' (1982).{{cite news|first=Boyce|last=Rensberger|title=Magicians Term Israeli 'Psychic' a Fraud|work=The New York Times|page=29|date=December 13, 1975|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/12/13/archives/magicians-term-israeli-psychic-a-fraud.html|access-date=July 19, 2020|archive-date=July 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719143137/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/12/13/archives/magicians-term-israeli-psychic-a-fraud.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=God's Chariot! Science Looks at the New Occult|first=Michael|last=Kernan|author-link=Michael Kernan|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 11, 1978}} [69] => [70] => Believing that it was important to get columnists and TV personalities to challenge Geller and others like him, Randi and [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|CSICOP]] reached out in an attempt to educate them. Randi said that CSICOP had a "very substantial influence on the printed media ... in those days."{{rp|20:05}} During this effort, Randi made contact with [[Johnny Carson]] and discovered that he was "very much on our side. He wasn't only a comedian ... he was a great thinker."{{rp|21:15}} According to Randi, when he was on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson|The Tonight Show]]'', Carson broke his usual protocol of not talking with guests before their entrance on stage, but instead would ask what Randi wanted to be emphasized in the interview. "He wanted to be aware of how he could help me."{{rp|21:30}} [71] => [72] => In 1973, Geller appeared on ''The Tonight Show'', and this appearance is recounted in the ''[[Nova (American TV program)|Nova]]'' documentary "[[Secrets of the Psychics]]".{{efn|A two-minute clip of this documentary with the Geller segment has been widely circulated on the Internet since Randi acquired permission to use it from NBC, and Carson paid for the expensive and complex transfer from the original, physically degraded, two-inch videotape recording.{{cite web|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-03/032307hope.html#i9|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090711011032/http%3A//www%2Erandi%2Eorg/jr/2007%2D03/032307hope%2Ehtml#i9| archive-date=July 11, 2009|title=Geller on the Ropes|date=March 30, 2007|access-date=December 22, 2007}}}}{{efn|James Randi discussed obtaining the clip of Uri Geller on ''The Tonight Show''.}} [73] => [74] => In the documentary, Randi says that Carson "had been a magician himself and was skeptical" of Geller's claimed [[paranormal]] powers, so before the date of taping, Randi was asked "to help prevent any trickery". Per Randi's advice, the show prepared its own props without informing Geller, and did not let Geller or his staff "anywhere near them". When Geller joined Carson on stage, he appeared surprised that he was not going to be interviewed, but instead was expected to display his abilities using the provided articles. Geller said "This scares me" and "I'm surprised because before this program your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you were going to ask me." Geller was unable to display any paranormal abilities, saying "I don't feel strong" and expressing his displeasure at feeling like he was being "pressed" to perform by Carson.{{cite episode|last=Charlson|first=Carl|title=[[Secrets of the Psychics]]|date=1993|series=[[Nova (American TV program)|Nova]]|network=PBS|time=8'25"|ref={{harvid|"Secrets of the Psychics"}}}}{{cite web|title=Unforgettable Uri Geller Appearance on Carson Tonight Show – 08/01/1973|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD7OgAdCObs|website=YouTube|publisher=Official Johnny Carson YouTube channel|access-date=March 22, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210322185421/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD7OgAdCObs|archive-date=March 22, 2021|date=March 19, 2021|url-status=live}}{{cite book|title=How We Got Here: The '70s|last= Frum|first= David|author-link=David Frum|year=2000|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York|isbn= 978-0465041954|page= 132|url=https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/132}} According to Adam Higginbotham's November 7, 2014, article in ''[[The New York Times]]'': [75] => {{blockquote|text=The result was a legendary immolation, in which Geller offered up flustered excuses to his host as his abilities failed him again and again. "I sat there for 22 minutes, humiliated," Geller told me, when I spoke to him in September. "I went back to my hotel, devastated. I was about to pack up the next day and go back to Tel Aviv. I thought, That's it—I'm destroyed."}} [76] => [77] => However, this appearance on ''The Tonight Show'', which Carson and Randi had orchestrated to debunk Geller's claimed abilities, backfired. According to Higginbotham: [78] => {{blockquote|text=To Geller's astonishment, he was immediately booked on ''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]''. He was on his way to becoming a paranormal superstar. "That Johnny Carson show made Uri Geller," Geller said. To an enthusiastically trusting public, his failure only made his gifts seem more real: if he were performing magic tricks, they would surely work every time.}} [79] => [80] => According to Higginbotham, this result caused Randi to realize that much more must be done to stop Geller and those like him. So in 1976, Randi approached [[Ray Hyman]], a psychologist who had observed the tests of Geller's ability at Stanford and thought them slipshod, and suggested they create an organization dedicated to combating pseudoscience. Later that same year, together with [[Martin Gardner]], a ''Scientific American'' columnist whose writing had helped hone Hyman's and Randi's skepticism, they formed the [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal]] (CSICOP). [81] => [82] => Using donations and sales of their magazine, ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'', they and secular humanist philosopher [[Paul Kurtz]] took seats on the executive board, with [[Isaac Asimov]] and [[Carl Sagan]] joining as founding members. Randi travelled the world on behalf of CSICOP, becoming its public face, and according to Hyman, the face of the skeptical movement. [83] => [84] => András G. Pintér, producer and co-host of the [[European Skeptics Podcast]], called Randi the grandfather of European skepticism by virtue of Randi "playing a role in kickstarting several European organizations."{{cite web|url=http://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/episode_016_james_randi.html|title=Episode #016, feat. James "The Amaz!ng" Randi – The European Skeptics Podcast|date=March 30, 2016|access-date=September 3, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807021751/http://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/episode_016_james_randi.html|archive-date=August 7, 2017}} [85] => [86] => Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million in 1991 and lost.{{cite news|first=Charles|last=Petit|title=Bay Magicians Back Uri Geller's Critic|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|page=A27|date=May 23, 1991}} Geller's suit against CSICOP was thrown out in 1995, and he was ordered to pay $120,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit.{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Levy|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/BN/lib00142,0EAF986A6473E6E1.html|title=Group Gets $40,000 From 'psychic' Geller Starts Paying Debunkers $120,000|work=[[The Buffalo News]]|date=March 13, 1995|access-date=December 29, 2007}} The legal costs Randi incurred used almost all of a $272,000 [[MacArthur Foundation]] grant awarded to Randi in 1986 for his work. Randi also dismissed Geller's claims that he was capable of the kind of [[Nensha|psychic photography]] associated with the case of [[Ted Serios]]. It is a matter, Randi argued, of trick photography using a simple hand-held optical device.{{harvnb|Carroll|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=6FPqDFx40vYC&pg=PA313 313]}}. During the period of Geller's legal dispute, CSICOP's leadership, wanting to avoid becoming a target of Geller's litigation, demanded that Randi refrain from commenting on Geller. Randi refused and resigned, though he maintained a respectful relationship with the group, which in 2006 changed its name to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). In 2010, Randi was one of 16 new CSI fellows elected by its board.{{cite web|url=http://www.csicop.org/about/csi_fellows_and_staff/|title=CSI Fellows and Staff|website=[[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]]|publisher=[[Center for Inquiry]]|location=Amherst, NY|access-date=July 23, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130714111426/http://www.csicop.org/about/csi_fellows_and_staff/|archive-date=July 14, 2013}} [87] => [88] => Randi went on to write many articles criticizing beliefs and claims regarding the paranormal.{{cite web|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/bio.html|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090710002246/http://www.randi.org/jr/bio.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 10, 2009|title=About James Randi|publisher=JREF|access-date=December 29, 2007}} He also demonstrated flaws in studies suggesting the existence of paranormal phenomena; in his [[Project Alpha (hoax)|Project Alpha]] hoax, Randi successfully planted two fake psychics in a privately funded psychic research experiment.{{cite news|title=Magicians Score a Hit On Scientific Researchers|first=Philip J.|last=Hilts|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=First Section; A1|date=March 1, 1983}} [89] => [90] => Randi 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 claimed psychic [[James Hydrick]], who said that he could move objects with his mind and appeared to demonstrate this claim on live television by turning a page in a telephone book without touching it.{{cite web|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-09/092206bad.html#i11|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090709213130/http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-09/092206bad.html#i11|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 9, 2009|title=A Look at the Past|last=Randi|first=James|date=September 22, 2006|work=Swift|publisher=JREF|type=Newsletter|access-date=September 20, 2013}} Randi, having determined that Hydrick was surreptitiously blowing on the book, arranged [[Foam peanut|foam packaging peanuts]] on the table in front of the telephone book for the demonstration. This prevented Hydrick from demonstrating his abilities, which would have been exposed when the blowing moved the packaging.{{citation|title=James Randi exposes James Hydrick|via=YouTube}} Randi writes that, eventually, Hydrick "confessed everything". [91] => [92] => [[File:Randi 1983.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Randi speaking at the first [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|CSICOP]] Conference, in Buffalo, New York, 1983]] [93] => [94] => Randi was awarded a [[John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation|MacArthur Foundation]] [[MacArthur Fellows Program|Fellowship]] in 1986. The fellowship's five-year $272,000 grant helped support Randi's investigations of faith healers, including [[W. V. Grant]], [[Ernest Angley]], and [[Peter Popoff]], whom Randi first exposed on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' in February 1986. Hearing about his investigation of Popoff, Carson invited Randi onto his show without seeing the evidence he was going to reveal. Carson appeared stunned after Randi showed a brief video segment from one of Popoff's broadcasts showing him calling out a woman in the audience, revealed personal information about her that he claimed came from God, and then performed a laying-on-of-hands healing to drive the devil from her body. Randi then replayed the video, but with some of the sound dubbed in that he and his investigating team captured during the event using a radio scanner and recorder. Their scanner had detected the radio frequency Popoff's wife Elizabeth was using backstage to broadcast directions and information to a miniature radio receiver hidden in Popoff's left ear. That information had been gathered by Popoff's assistants, who had handed out "prayer cards" to the audience before the show, instructing them to write down all the information Popoff would need to pray for them.{{harvnb|Randi|1987|pp=139–181}}{{cite news|title=Skeptics' Revelations: Faith Healer Receives 'Heavenly' Messages Via Electronic Receiver, Debunkers Charge|first=John|last=Dart|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-05-11-me-5518-story.html|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=May 11, 1986|access-date=June 5, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015155733/http://articles.latimes.com/1986-05-11/local/me-5518_1_faith-healer|archive-date=October 15, 2012}}{{citation|title=James Randi Debunks Peter Popoff Faith Healer|via=YouTube}} [95] => [96] => The news coverage generated by Randi's exposé on ''The Tonight Show'' led to many TV stations dropping Popoff's show, eventually forcing him into bankruptcy in September 1987.{{cite news|title=Evangelist Popoff Off Air, Files Bankruptcy Petitions|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-26-me-2461-story.htm|first=John|last=Dart|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=September 26, 1987|access-date=June 5, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305090833/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-09-26/local/me-2461_1_peter-popoff|archive-date=March 5, 2016}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bIxgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT316|title=The Workshop and the World: What Ten Thinkers Can Teach Us About Science and Authority|last=Crease|first=Robert P.|date=2019|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-0393292442|quote=The magician James Randi once exposed a popular televangelist by playing recordings of secret transmissions between an audience plant and the televangelist. The televangelist declared bankruptcy the next year.|author-link=Robert P. Crease|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=August 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831220139/https://books.google.com/books?id=bIxgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT316|url-status=live}} However, the televangelist returned soon after with faith-healing infomercials that reportedly attracted more than $23 million in 2005 from viewers sending in money for promised healing and prosperity. The Canadian Centre for Inquiry's ''Think Again! TV'' documented one of Popoff's more recent performances before a large audience who gathered in [[Toronto]] on May 26, 2011, hoping to be saved from illness and poverty.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZo0DLKriDY| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/oZo0DLKriDY| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|title=Secret Footage of 'Faith Healer' Peter Popoff in Toronto May 2011|via=YouTube|date=June 7, 2011|work=Think Again! TV|publisher=Centre for Inquiry Canada}}{{cbignore}} [97] => [98] => In February 1988, Randi tested the gullibility of the media by perpetrating a hoax of his own. By teaming up with Australia's ''[[60 Minutes (Australian TV program)|60 Minutes]]'' program and by releasing a fake press package, he built up publicity for a "[[Mediumship|spirit channeler]]" named Carlos, who was actually artist José Alvarez, Randi's partner. While performing as Carlos, Alvarez was prompted by Randi using sophisticated radio equipment. According to the ''60 Minutes'' program on the Carlos hoax, "it was claimed that Alvarez would not have had the audience he did at the Opera House (and the resulting potential sales therefrom) had the media coverage been more aggressive (and factual)", though an analysis by ''[[Australian Skeptics|The Skeptic]]''{{'}}s Tim Mendham concluded that, while the media coverage of Alvarez's appearances was not credulous, the hoax "at least showed that they could benefit by being a touch more sceptical".{{cite journal |last=Mendham |first=Tim |year=1988 |title=The Carlos Hoax |journal=The Skeptic |volume=8 |issue=1 |access-date=April 19, 2013 |issn=0726-9897 |oclc=53994493 |url=http://www.skeptics.com.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/theskeptic/2ndcoming/skepticism.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419063417/http://www.skeptics.com.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/theskeptic/2ndcoming/skepticism.pdf |archive-date=April 19, 2013}} The hoax was exposed on ''60 Minutes Australia''; "Carlos" and Randi explained how they had pulled it off.{{cite web |url=http://www.skepdic.com/carlos.html |title='Carlos' hoax |work=The Skeptic's Dictionary |publisher=[[Robert Todd Carroll]] |access-date=June 15, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090605100136/http://skepdic.com/carlos.html|archive-date=June 5, 2009}}{{cite interview|last=Randi|first=James|interviewer=Paul Willis|title=James Randi and the Great Carlos |work=The Correx Archives |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|date=May 7, 1998|url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/correx/archives/randi4.htm|access-date=June 15, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715171756/http://www.abc.net.au/science/correx/archives/randi4.htm|archive-date=July 15, 2009}} [99] => [100] => In his book ''The Faith Healers'', Randi wrote that his anger and relentlessness arose from compassion for the victims of fraud. Randi was also critical of [[João de Deus (medium)|João de Deus]], a.k.a. "John of God", a self-proclaimed [[Psychic surgery|psychic surgeon]] who had received international attention.{{cite journal|last=Randi|first=James|date=February 18, 2005|title=The ABC-TV Infomercial for John of God|journal=Swift|type=Newsletter|access-date=November 18, 2006|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/021805a.html |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090710000748/http://www.randi.org/jr/021805a.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 10, 2009}} Randi observed, referring to psychic surgery, "To any experienced conjurer, the methods by which these seeming miracles are produced are very obvious."{{cite web|author=Randi|year=1995|url=http://www.randi.org/encyclopedia/psychic%20surgery.html|title=psychic surgery|access-date=November 26, 2006|archive-date=October 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024040559/http://www.randi.org/encyclopedia/psychic%20surgery.html|url-status=live}} [101] => [102] => [[Image:PipSmith DickSmith Klass Sheaffer JohnMerrell Randi.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Randi (far right) at 1983 CSICOP Conference in Buffalo, New York, with (from left) Pip Smith, [[Philip J. Klass]] (standing), [[Dick Smith (entrepreneur)|Dick Smith]], [[Robert Sheaffer]], and John Merrell]] [103] => In 1982, Randi verified the abilities of [[Arthur Lintgen]], a Philadelphia doctor, who was able to identify the classical music recorded on a [[Gramophone record|vinyl LP]] solely by examining the grooves on the record. However, Lintgen did not claim to have any paranormal ability, merely knowledge of the way that the groove forms patterns on particular recordings.{{cite journal|last=Randi|first=James|date=November 1, 2002|title=Reading Records|journal=Swift|type=Newsletter|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/110102.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20100620232826/http://www.randi.org/jr/110102.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 20, 2010|access-date=July 11, 2010}} [104] => [105] => In 1988, [[John Maddox]], editor of the prominent science journal ''Nature'', asked Randi to join the supervision and observation of the [[homeopathy]] experiments conducted by [[Jacques Benveniste]]'s team. Once Randi's stricter protocol for the experiment was in place, the positive results could not be reproduced.{{Cite journal|last1=Maddox|first1=John|last2=Randi|first2=James|last3=Stewart|first3=Walter W.|date=July 28, 1988|title='High-dilution' experiments a delusion|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/334287a0|journal=Nature|volume=334|issue=6180|pages=287–290|doi=10.1038/334287a0|pmid=2455869|bibcode=1988Natur.334..287M|s2cid=9579433|issn=1476-4687|access-date=January 22, 2020|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801082332/https://www.nature.com/articles/334287a0|url-status=live}} [106] => [107] => [[Image:JREF TAM9 Beard Photo.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|The James Randi Beard Photo, taken at the JREF [[The Amazing Meeting|Amaz!ng Meeting]] 9 ("TAM 9 From Outer Space"), July 16, 2011]] [108] => Randi stated that [[Daniel Dunglas Home]], who could allegedly play an accordion that was locked in a cage without touching it, was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the incidents were never made public. He also stated that the actual instrument in use was a [[Harmonica|one-octave mouth organ]] concealed under Home's large mustache and that other one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death.{{cite web|author=Randi|year=1995|url=http://www.randi.org/encyclopedia/Home,%20Daniel%20Dunglas.html|title=Home, Daniel Dunglas|access-date=August 18, 2008|archive-date=May 31, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531151913/http://www.randi.org/encyclopedia/Home,%20Daniel%20Dunglas.html|url-status=live}} According to Randi, author [[William Lindsay Gresham]] told Randi "around 1960" that he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the [[Society for Psychical Research]] (SPR). Eric J. 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."{{harvnb|Lamont|2005|p=302}} The fraudulent medium [[Henry Slade]] also played an accordion while held with one hand under a table.{{cite magazine|first=William|last=Robinson|author-link=Chung Ling Soo|year=1898|title=Slate Writing and Kindred Phenomena|publisher=Munn & Company|magazine=[[Scientific American]]|location=New York City|pages=105–106}} Slade and Home played the same pieces. They had at one time lived near each other in the U.S. The magician [[Chung Ling Soo]] exposed how Slade had performed the trick.{{cite book|first=William|last=Robinson|author-link=Chung Ling Soo|year=1898|url=https://archive.org/stream/spiritslatewriti00sooc#page/105/mode/2up|title=Spirit Slate Writing and Kindred Phenomena|publisher=Munn & Company|pages=105–106|quote=Dr. Henry Slade was, of course, identified and recognized as the principal slate-writing medium, but at various times he presented other phenomena, one of which was the playing of an accordion while held in one hand under the table. The accordion was taken by him from the table with his right hand, at the end containing the strap, the keys or notes at the other end being away from him. He thus held the accordion beneath the table, and his left hand was laid on top of the table, where it was always in plain view. Nevertheless, the accordion was heard to give forth melodious tunes, and at the conclusion was brought up on top of the table as held originally; the whole dodge consisting in turning the accordion end for end as it went under the table. The strap end being now downward, and held between the legs, the medium's hand grasped the keyboard end, and worked the bellows and keys, holding the accordion firmly with the legs and working the hand, not with an arm movement, but mostly by a simple wrist movement. Of course, at the conclusion, the hand grasped the accordion at the strap end, and brought it up in this condition. Sometimes an accordion is tied with strings and sealed so the bellows cannot be worked. This is for the dark séance. Even in this condition the accordion is played by inserting a tube in the air-hole or valve and by the medium's using his lungs as bellows.}} [109] => [110] => Randi distinguished between [[pseudoscience]] and "crackpot science". He regarded most of [[parapsychology]] as pseudoscience because of the way in which it is approached and conducted, but nonetheless saw it as a legitimate subject that "should be pursued", and from which real scientific discoveries may develop.{{harvnb|Randi|1997|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=_mo4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA170 170]}}. Randi regarded crackpot science as "equally wrong" as pseudoscience, but with no scientific pretensions.{{cite journal|editor-last=Ripin|editor-first=Barrett H.|date=June 1995|title=Trio Takes Aim Against Spread of Pseudo-Science|journal=APS News|volume=4|issue=6|issn=1058-8132|access-date=October 9, 2013|url=http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/199506/pseudo-science.cfm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228153120/http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/199506/pseudo-science.cfm|archive-date=December 28, 2013}} [111] => [112] => Despite multiple debunkings, Randi did not like to be called a "debunker", preferring to call himself a "skeptic" or an "investigator":{{cite web|last=West|first=Mick|author-link=Mick West|title=In Defense of Debunkers|url=https://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/in_defense_of_debunkers|website=CSI|access-date=March 12, 2019|date=June 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618205936/https://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/in_defense_of_debunkers|archive-date=June 18, 2018|url-status=dead}} [113] => {{blockquote|text=(...) if you go into a situation calling yourself a debunker then it is as if you have prejudged the topic. It's not neutral or scientific, and it can turn people against you.}} [114] => [115] => Skeptics and magicians [[Penn & Teller]] credit Randi and his career as a skeptic for their own careers. During an interview at [[The Amazing Meeting|TAM! 2012]], Penn stated that ''[[Flim-Flam!]]'' was an early influence on him, and said "If not for Randi there would not be Penn & Teller as we are today."{{cite web|title="38 Years of Magic and B.S.: A Conversation with Penn & Teller" – TAM 2012|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99_upx8URLI|website=YouTube|publisher=James Randi Foundation|access-date=August 25, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906194746/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99_upx8URLI|archive-date=September 6, 2013}}{{rp|1:40}} He went on to say "Outside of my family ... no one is more important in my life. Randi is everything to me."{{rp|5:34}} [116] => [117] => At the [[NECSS]] skeptic conference in 2017, Randi was asked by [[George Hrab]] what a "'skeptic coming of age ceremony' would look like" and Randi talked about what it was like as a child to learn about the speed of light and how that felt like he was looking into the past. Randi stated "More kids need to be stunned".{{cite journal|last=Dobler|first=Russ|title=NECSS 2017: Skepticism Making Connections in Midtown Manhattan|journal=Skeptical Inquirer|date=2017|volume=41|issue=6|pages=8–9}} [118] => [119] => At [[The Amaz!ng Meeting]] in 2011 (TAM 9) the [[Independent Investigations Group]] (IIG) organized a tribute to Randi. The group gathered together with other attendees, put on fake white beards, and posed for a large group photo with Randi. At the [[CSICon]] in 2017, in absence of Randi, the IIG organized another group photo with leftover beards from the 2011 photo. After Randi was sent the photo, he replied, "I'm always very touched by any such expression. This is certainly no exception. You have my sincere gratitude. I suspect, however that a couple of those beards were fake. But I'm in a forgiving mood at the moment. I'm frankly very touched. I'll see you at the next CSICon. Thank you all."{{cite web|last1=Gerbic|first1=Susan|author-link=Susan Gerbic|title=CSICon Photo Tribute to James Randi|url=https://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/csicon_photo_tribute_to_james_randi|website=www.csicop.org|date=December 5, 2017|access-date=March 6, 2019|archive-date=December 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205195251/https://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/csicon_photo_tribute_to_james_randi|url-status=live}} [120] => [121] => In a 2019 ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'' magazine article, [[Harriet Hall]], a friend of Randi, compares him to the fictional [[Albus Dumbledore]]. Hall describes their long white beards, flamboyant clothing, associated with a bird (Dumbledore with a phoenix and Randi with Pegasus). They both are caring and have "immense brainpower" and both "can perform impressive feats of magic". She states that Randi is one of "major inspirations for the skeptical work I do ... He's way better than Dumbledore!".{{cite journal|last1=Hall|first1=Harriet|author-link=Harriet Hall|title=Better Than Dumbledore|journal=Skeptical Inquirer|date=2019|volume=43|issue=1|pages=54–55|publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquirer|url=https://www.skepdoc.info/better-than-dumbledore/|via=ScepDoc|access-date=April 15, 2021|archive-date=April 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415100654/https://www.skepdoc.info/better-than-dumbledore/|url-status=live}} [122] => [123] => ===''Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live'' television show=== [124] => ''Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live'' was a two-hour television special aired live on June 7, 1989, wherein Randi examined several people claiming psychic powers. Hosted by actor [[Bill Bixby]], the program offered $100,000 (Randi's $10,000 prize plus $90,000 put up by the show's [[Broadcast syndication|syndicator]], [[Lexington Broadcast Services Company|LBS Communications, Inc.]]{{cite podcast |url=http://clear-light.msspro.com/files/Randi_2003-Jul-31.wav |title=Randi_2003-Jul-31.wav |website=JREF Internet Broadcast Archive|host=Randi, James |format=[[WAV]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030907063148/http://clear-light.msspro.com/files/Randi_2003-Jul-31.wav |archive-date=September 7, 2003 |date=July 31, 2003 |time=0:33:19 |access-date=November 28, 2006}}) to anyone who could demonstrate genuine psychic powers. [125] => * An [[astrologer]], Joseph Meriwether, claimed that he was able to ascertain a person's [[astrological sign]] after talking with them for a few minutes. He was presented with twelve people, one at a time, each with a different astrological sign. They could not tell Meriwether their astrological sign or birth date, nor could they wear anything that would indicate it. After Meriwether talked to them, he had them go and sit in front of the astrological sign that he thought was theirs. By agreement, Meriwether needed to get ten of the 12 correct, to win. He got none correct.{{Cite book |last=Bauer |first=Craig P. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1156319304 |title=Discrete encounters |year=2020 |isbn=978-0429400506 |location=[Place of publication not identified] |pages=322 |oclc=1156319304}} [126] => * The next psychic, Barbara Martin, claimed to be able to read [[aura (paranormal)|auras]] around people, claiming that auras were visible at least five inches above each person. She selected ten people from a group of volunteers who she said had clearly visible auras. On stage were erected ten screens, numbered ''1'' through ''10'', just tall enough to hide the volunteer while not hiding their aura. Unseen by Martin, some of the volunteers positioned themselves behind different screens, then she was invited to predict which screens hid volunteers by seeing their aura above. She stated that she saw an aura over all ten screens, but people were behind only four of the screens.{{cite book |last1=Bauer |first1=Craig |title=Discrete Encounters |date=2020 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0429682896 |page=332 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WUjpDwAAQBAJ&dq=Barbara+Martin+aura+James+Randi&pg=PA322 |access-date=March 21, 2023 |archive-date=April 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429183326/https://books.google.com/books?id=WUjpDwAAQBAJ&dq=Barbara+Martin+aura+James+Randi&pg=PA322 |url-status=live }} [127] => * A [[Dowsing|dowser]], Forrest Bayes, claimed that he could detect water in a bottle inside a sealed cardboard box. He was shown twenty boxes and asked to indicate which boxes contained a water bottle. He selected eight of the boxes, which he said contained water, but it turned out that only five of the twenty contained water. Of the eight selected boxes, only one was revealed to contain water and one contained sand. It was not revealed whether any of the remaining six boxes contained water. [128] => * A [[Psychometry (paranormal)|psychometric psychic]], Sharon McLaren-Straz, claimed to be able to receive personal information about the owner of an object by handling the object itself. In order to avoid ambiguous statements, the psychic agreed to be presented with both a watch and a key from each of twelve different people. She was to match keys and watches to their owners. According to the prior agreement, she had to match at least nine out of the twelve sets, but she succeeded in only two. [129] => * Professional crystal healer Valerie Swan attempted to use [[Extrasensory perception|ESP]] to identify 250 [[Zener cards]], guessing which of the five symbols was on each one. Random guessing should have resulted in about fifty correct guesses, so it was agreed in advance that Swan had to be right on at least eighty-two cards in order to demonstrate an ability greater than chance. However, she was able to get only fifty predictions correct, which is no better than random guessing.[[#Polidoro|Polidoro 2003]], pp. 19–24 [130] => [131] => ===James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF)=== [132] => {{main|James Randi Educational Foundation}} [133] => In 1996, Randi established the James Randi Educational Foundation. Randi and his colleagues publish in JREF's blog, ''Swift''. Topics have included the interesting mathematics of the [[one-seventh area triangle]], a classic geometric puzzle. In his weekly commentary, Randi often gave examples of what he considered the nonsense that he dealt with every day.{{cite journal |last=Randi |first=James |date=July 2005 |title=Fakers and Innocents |journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |volume=29 |issue=4 |issn=0194-6730 |access-date=October 29, 2006 |url=http://www.csicop.org/si/2005-07/randi.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061027131225/http://www.csicop.org/si/2005-07/randi.html |archive-date=October 27, 2006}} [134] => [135] => Beginning in 2003, the JREF annually hosted [[The Amaz!ng Meeting]], a gathering of scientists, [[skeptic]]s, and [[atheist]]s. The last meeting was in 2015, coinciding with Randi's retirement from the JREF.{{Cite web |url=https://skeptoid.com/blog/2016/03/19/are-you-frustrated-that-tam-the-jref-are-no-more-and-the-skeptical-community-has-disintegrated/ |title=Are you frustrated that TAM & the JREF are no more, and the skeptical community has disintegrated? |author=Brian Dunning |work=Skeptoid blog |date=March 19, 2016 |access-date=October 25, 2016 |author-link=Brian Dunning (author) |archive-date=April 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200430032209/https://skeptoid.com/blog/2016/03/19/are-you-frustrated-that-tam-the-jref-are-no-more-and-the-skeptical-community-has-disintegrated/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/from_tam_to_csicon_an_interview_with_ray_hall_and_katie_dyer |title=From TAM to CSICon: An Interview with Ray Hall and Katie Dyer |author=Susan Gerbic |work=CSI website |publisher=CSI |date=September 22, 2016 |access-date=October 25, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025120620/http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/from_tam_to_csicon_an_interview_with_ray_hall_and_katie_dyer |archive-date=October 25, 2016 |author-link=Susan Gerbic}}{{cite web|author1=Chip Denman, [[Rick Adams (Internet pioneer)|Rick Adams]]|title=JREF Status|url=http://web.randi.org/home/jref-status|access-date=September 25, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830152145/http://web.randi.org/home/jref-status|archive-date=August 30, 2017}} [136] => [137] => ===2010s=== [138] => [[File:James Randi with Skull Cane 2014.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Randi with skull cane, 2014]] [139] => Randi began a series of conferences known as "The Amazing Meeting" (TAM) which quickly became the largest gathering of [[Skepticism|skeptics]] in the world, drawing audiences from Asia, Europe, South America, and the UK. It also attracted a large percentage of younger attendees.{{Cite web|url=http://www.amazingmeeting.com/TAM2012/about/|title=The Amaz!ng Meeting 2012: About|access-date=September 29, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305073423/http://www.amazingmeeting.com/TAM2012/about/|archive-date=March 5, 2013}}{{Cite journal|last=Frazier|first=Kendrick|author-link=Kendrick Frazier|date=March 2015|title=Organized Skepticism: Four Decades ... and Today|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/organized_skepticism_four_decades_..._and_today|journal=Skeptical Inquirer|volume=39|issue=2|access-date=October 25, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003140636/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/organized_skepticism_four_decades_..._and_today |archive-date=October 3, 2016}} Randi was regularly featured on many [[podcast]]s, including The Skeptics Society's official podcast ''[[Skepticality]]''{{cite podcast |url=http://www.skepticality.com/the-james-randi-educational-foundation/ |title=#10 The James Randi Educational Foundation |website=[[Skepticality]]|publisher=[[The Skeptics Society]]|location=Altadena, CA|date=June 28, 2005|author1=Robynn "Swoopy" McCarthy|author2=Derek Colanduno|access-date=November 27, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708082512/http://www.skepticality.com/the-james-randi-educational-foundation/|archive-date=July 8, 2011}}{{cite podcast|url=http://www.skepticality.com/xmas-2007/|title=#67a Xmas 2007|website=Skepticality|publisher=The Skeptics Society|location=Altadena, CA|date=December 22, 2007|author1=Robynn "Swoopy" McCarthy|author2=Derek Colanduno|access-date=November 27, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708084226/http://www.skepticality.com/xmas-2007/|archive-date=July 8, 2011}} and the [[Center for Inquiry]]'s official podcast ''[[Point of Inquiry]]''.{{cite web|url=http://www.pointofinquiry.org/|title=Point of Inquiry|access-date=June 30, 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060702003307/http://www.pointofinquiry.org/|archive-date=July 2, 2006}} From September 2006 onwards, he occasionally contributed to ''[[The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe]]'' podcast with a column called "Randi Speaks".{{cite web|url=http://theskepticsguide.org/|title=The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe|access-date=October 29, 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061107095620/http://www.theskepticsguide.org/|archive-date=November 7, 2006}} In addition, ''The Amazing Show'' was a podcast in which Randi shared various anecdotes in an interview format.{{cite web|url=http://itricks.com/randishow/|title=The Amazing Show starring James Randi|publisher=itricks.com|access-date=January 22, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201190118/http://itricks.com/randishow/|archive-date=February 1, 2014}} [140] => [141] => In 2014, Part2Filmworks released ''[[An Honest Liar]]'', a feature film documentary, written by Tyler Measom and Greg O'Toole, and directed and produced by Measom and Justin Weinstein.{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/movies/film/an-honest-liar|title=An Honest Liar|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906043033/https://www.yahoo.com/movies/film/an-honest-liar|archive-date=September 6, 2014|work=[[Yahoo! Movies]]|access-date=September 5, 2014}} The film, which was funded through [[Kickstarter]],{{cite web|url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/220588101/an-honest-liar-the-amazing-randi-story|title=An Honest Liar: The Amazing Randi Story|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726065651/https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/220588101/an-honest-liar-the-amazing-randi-story|archive-date=July 26, 2014|work=[[Kickstarter]]|access-date=September 5, 2014}} focuses on Randi's life, his investigations, and his relationship with longtime partner José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga), to whom he was married in 2013. The film was screened at the [[Tribeca Film Festival]],{{cite web|last=Barsanti|first=Chris|date=April 25, 2014|url=https://www.popmatters.com/181139-tribeca-film-festival-2014-an-honest-liar-in-order-of-disappearance-2495666434.html|title=Tribeca Film Festival 2014: 'An Honest Liar' + 'In Order of Disappearance'|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428140850/http://www.popmatters.com/review/181139-tribeca-film-festival-2014-an-honest-liar-in-order-of-disappearance/|archive-date=April 28, 2014|work=PopMatters|access-date=June 5, 2022}} at Toronto's Hot Docs film festival,{{cite web|last=Teplitsky|first=Ariel|date=May 1, 2014|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2014/05/01/worth_a_look_an_honest_liar.html|title=Worth a look: An Honest Liar|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929233145/https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2014/05/01/worth_a_look_an_honest_liar.html|archive-date=September 29, 2017|work=[[Toronto Star]]}} and at the June 2014 [[AFI Docs Festival]] in [[Silver Spring, Maryland]], and Washington, D.C., where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature. It also received positive reviews from critics.{{cite web|last=Rooney|first=David|date=June 30, 2014|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/an-honest-liar-provincetown-review-715950/|title='An Honest Liar': Provincetown Review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906092258/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/an-honest-liar-provincetown-review-715950|archive-date=September 6, 2014|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|access-date=June 5, 2022}}{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/an_honest_liar|title=An Honest Liar (2014)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906043834/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/an_honest_liar/|archive-date=September 6, 2014|url-status=live|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=September 5, 2014}} The film was featured on the PBS ''[[Independent Lens]]'' series, shown in the U.S. and Canada, on March 28, 2016.{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2016/03/28/torontos-james-the-amazing-randi-profiled-in-an-honest-liar.html|title=Toronto's James (The Amazing) Randi profiled in ''An Honest Liar''|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929233146/https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2016/03/28/torontos-james-the-amazing-randi-profiled-in-an-honest-liar.html|archive-date=September 29, 2017|url-status=live|work=[[Toronto Star]]|first=Bill|last=Brioux|date=March 28, 2016|access-date=March 29, 2016}} [142] => [143] => In December 2014, Randi flew to Australia to take part in "An Evening with James Randi" tour, organized by Think Inc. This tour included a screening of ''[[An Honest Liar]]'' followed by a "fireside chat" with Randi on stage. Cities visited were Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. MC in Adelaide was [[Paul Willis (science communicator)|Dr. Paul Willis]] with [[Richard Saunders (skeptic)|Richard Saunders]] interviewing Randi. MC in Perth was Jake Farr-Wharton with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC for Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney was Richard Saunders with [[Lawrence Leung]] interviewing Randi.{{cite web|title=An Evening With James Randi, Think Inc.|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th1VjbjWpAU| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Th1VjbjWpAU| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|publisher=Think Inc.|access-date=November 12, 2020}}{{cbignore}} [144] => [145] => In 2017, Randi appeared in animated form on the website Holy Koolaid, in which he discussed the challenge of finding the balance between connecting sincerely with his audience and at the same time tricking/fooling them with an artful ruse, and indicated that this is a balance with which many magicians struggle.{{Cite news|url=https://www.holykoolaid.com/the-magician-james-randi-on-the-importance-of-skepticism/|title=Magician James Randi on the Importance of Skepticism|date=September 2, 2017|work=Holy Koolaid|access-date=September 2, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902092404/http://www.holykoolaid.com/magic-and-skepticism-james-randi/|archive-date=September 2, 2017}} [146] => [147] => ==One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge== [148] => {{Main|One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge}} [149] => The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) offered a prize of US$1,000,000 to anyone able to demonstrate a supernatural ability under [[Science|scientific]] testing criteria agreed to by both sides. Based on the paranormal challenges of [[John Nevil Maskelyne]] and [[Houdini]], the foundation began in 1996, when Randi put up $1,000 of his own money payable to anyone who could provide objective proof of the paranormal.{{cite magazine |title=Skeptic Revamps $1M Psychic Prize |first=Kevin |last=Poulsen |author-link=Kevin Poulsen |url=https://www.wired.com/2007/01/skeptic-revamps-1m-psychic-prize/|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |location=San Francisco |date=January 12, 2007 |access-date=June 5, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080831010919/http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/01/72482 |archive-date=August 31, 2008}} The prize money grew to $1,000,000, and had formal published rules. No one progressed past the preliminary test, which was set up with parameters agreed to by both Randi and the applicant. He refused to accept any challengers who might suffer serious injury or death as a result of the testing.{{cite web |title=Rules and Guidelines |url=http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/component/content/article/37-static/254-jref-challenge-faq.html |publisher=JREF |access-date=November 28, 2012 |archive-date=November 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121123232854/http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/component/content/article/37-static/254-jref-challenge-faq.html |url-status=live }} [150] => [151] => On April 1, 2007, it was ruled that only persons with an established, nationally recognized media profile and the backing of a reputable academic were allowed to apply for the challenge, in order to avoid wasting JREF resources on frivolous claimants. [152] => [153] => On ''[[Larry King Live]]'', March 6, 2001, [[Larry King]] asked claimed medium [[Sylvia Browne]] if she would take the challenge and she agreed.{{cite interview |last1=Edward |first1=John |author-link1=John Edward |last2=Jaroff |first2=Leon |author-link2=Leon Jaroff |last3=Browne |first3=Sylvia |author-link3=Sylvia Browne |last4=Van Praagh |first4=James |author-link4=James Van Praagh |last5=Boteach |first5=Shmuley |author-link5=Shmuley Boteach |last6=Kurtz |first6=Paul |author-link6=Paul Kurtz |last7=Van Zandt |first7=Clint |last8=Graff |first8=Dale |interviewer=[[Larry King]] |title=Are Psychics for Real? |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0103/06/lkl.00.html |work=[[Larry King Live]] |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=March 6, 2001 |access-date=October 9, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131223174627/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0103/06/lkl.00.html |archive-date=December 23, 2013}} Randi appeared with Browne on ''Larry King Live'' six months later, and she again appeared to accept his challenge.{{cite interview |last1=Randi |first1=James |last2=Browne |first2=Sylvia |interviewer=Larry King |title=Are Psychics Real? |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/03/lkl.00.html |work=Larry King Live |publisher=CNN |date=September 3, 2001 |access-date=August 18, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061027032612/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/03/lkl.00.html |archive-date=October 27, 2006}} However, according to Randi, she ultimately refused to be tested, and the Randi Foundation kept a clock on its website recording the number of weeks since Browne allegedly accepted the challenge without following through, until Browne's death in November 2013.{{cite web |url=http://www.randi.org/sylvia/ |title=The Sylvia Browne Clock |publisher=JREF |access-date=October 9, 2013 |archive-date=April 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430151706/http://www.randi.org/sylvia/ |url-status=live }} [154] => [155] => During a subsequent appearance on ''Larry King Live'' on June 5, 2001, Randi challenged [[Rosemary Altea]], another claimed medium, to undergo testing for the million dollars, but Altea refused to address the question.{{cite interview |last1=Altea |first1=Rosemary |author-link1=Rosemary Altea |last2=Randi |first2=James |interviewer=Larry King |title=Spiritual Medium Versus Paranormal Skeptic |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0106/05/lkl.00.html |work=Larry King Live |publisher=CNN |date=June 5, 2001 |access-date=October 9, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406032110/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0106/05/lkl.00.html |archive-date=April 6, 2013}} Instead Altea replied only, "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." On January 26, 2007, Altea and Randi again appeared on the show, and Altea again refused to answer whether or not she would take the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.{{cite interview |last1=Altea |first1=Rosemary |last2=Randi |first2=James |interviewer=Larry King |title=The Controversy Swirling Around Psychic Sylvia Brown and Her Inaccurate Read on a Now Famous Kidnapping Victim |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/26/lkl.01.html |work=[[Larry King Live]] |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=January 26, 2007 |access-date=February 2, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203080509/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/26/lkl.01.html |archive-date=February 3, 2007}} [156] => [157] => In October 2007, claimed psychic [[John Edward]] appeared on ''Headline Prime'', hosted by [[Glenn Beck]]. When asked if he would take "the Amazing Randi's" challenge, Edward responded, "It's funny. I was on ''Larry King Live'' once, and they asked me the same question. And I made a joke [then], and I'll say the same thing here: why would I allow myself to be tested by somebody who's got an adjective as a first name?"{{cite web|last=Beck |first=Glenn |author-link=Glenn Beck |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0610/27/gb.01.html|title=John Edward Shares Insights into His Career|publisher=CNN|date=October 27, 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407092520/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0610/27/gb.01.html|archive-date=April 7, 2014}} Beck simply allowed Edward to continue, ignoring the challenge. [158] => [159] => Randi asked British businessman Jim McCormick, the inventor of the bogus [[ADE 651]] bomb detector, to take the challenge in October 2008.{{cite web |url=http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/231-a-direct-specific-challenge-from-james-randi-and-the-jref.html |title=A Direct, Specific, Challenge From James Randi and the JREF |last1=Randi |first1=James |year=2008 |work=Swift |publisher=JREF |type=Blog |access-date=October 9, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123010157/http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/231-a-direct-specific-challenge-from-james-randi-and-the-jref.html |archive-date=January 23, 2010}} Randi called the ADE 651 "a useless quack device which cannot perform any other function than separating naive persons from their money. It's a fake, a scam, a swindle, and a blatant fraud. Prove me wrong and take the million dollars."{{cite news |title=Iraqis spent $80m on ADE651 bomb detectors described as useless |first1=Simon |last1=de Bruxelles |first2=Oliver |last2=August |author-link2=Oliver August |url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/technology/article1859809.ece |newspaper=[[The Times]] |location=London |date=November 28, 2009 |access-date=January 22, 2010 |archive-date=January 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111135857/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/technology/article1859809.ece |url-status=live }} There was no response from McCormick.{{cite news |title=Iraq Swears by Bomb Detector U.S. Sees as Useless |first=Rod |last=Nordland |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/world/middleeast/04sensors.html |work=The New York Times |date=November 3, 2009 |access-date=October 9, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015141410/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/world/middleeast/04sensors.html |archive-date=October 15, 2011}} According to Iraqi investigators, the ADE 651, which was corruptly sold to the Baghdad bomb squad, was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians who died as a result of terrorist bombs which were not detected at checkpoints. On April 23, 2013, McCormick was convicted of three counts of fraud at the [[Old Bailey]] in London;{{cite news |title=James McCormick guilty of selling fake bomb detectors |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22266051 |work=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=April 23, 2013 |access-date=October 9, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008121603/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22266051 |archive-date=October 8, 2013}} he was subsequently sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his part in the ADE 651 scandal, which Randi was the first to expose.{{Cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/ezpzbe/iraqs-most-popular-bomb-detection-device-is-useless-video|title=Motherboard|last=Pasternack|first=Alex|date=March 21, 2013|access-date=June 5, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929232406/https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/ezpzbe/iraqs-most-popular-bomb-detection-device-is-useless-video|archive-date=September 29, 2017}}{{cite news |title=Fake bomb detector conman jailed for 10 years |first=Robert |last=Booth |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/may/02/fake-bomb-detector-conman-jailed |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |date=May 2, 2013 |access-date=October 9, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004070111/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/may/02/fake-bomb-detector-conman-jailed |archive-date=October 4, 2013}} [160] => [161] => A public log of past participants in the Million Dollar Challenge exists.{{cite web |url=http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=43 |title=Challenge Applications |publisher=International Skeptics Forum |access-date=June 10, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160619060604/http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=43 |archive-date=June 19, 2016}} In 2015, after Randi's retirement, his foundation said the Million Dollar Challenge would no longer consider applicants unless they meet a set of minimum protocols, to reduce the amount of frivolous claims.{{cite web|url=http://web.randi.org/the-million-dollar-challenge.html|title=The Million Dollar Challenge|website=JREF|access-date=September 3, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904164131/http://web.randi.org/the-million-dollar-challenge.html|archive-date=September 4, 2017}}{{cite web |last1=Board of Directors of The James Randi Educational Foundation |title=JREF Status |url=http://web.randi.org/home/jref-status |access-date=October 15, 2016 |website=James Randi Educational Foundation |archive-date=August 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830152145/http://web.randi.org/home/jref-status |url-status=live }}{{Needs update|date=August 2023}} [162] => [163] => ==Legal disputes== [164] => Randi was involved in a variety of legal disputes, but said that he had "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued me." However, he said, he had paid out large sums to defend himself in these suits. [165] => [166] => ===Uri Geller=== [167] => Randi met magician [[Uri Geller]] in the early 1970s, and found Geller to be "Very charming. Likable, beautiful, affectionate, genuine, forward-going, handsome—everything!" But Randi viewed Geller as a con-man, and began a long effort to expose him as a fraud. According to Randi, Geller tried to sue him several times, accusing him of libel. Geller never won, save for a ruling in a Japanese court that ordered Randi to pay Geller one-third of one per cent of what Geller had requested. This ruling was cancelled, and the matter dropped, when Geller decided to concentrate on another legal matter.{{cite web |url=http://www.uri-geller.com/psir.htm |title=An End to the ''Uri Geller vs. Randi & CSICOP'' Litigations? |last=Truzzi |first=Marcello |author-link=Marcello Truzzi |publisher=UriGeller.com |access-date=October 9, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121208201045/http://www.uri-geller.com/psir.htm |archive-date=December 8, 2012}} [168] => [169] => {{wikisource|Geller v. Randi}} [170] => In May 1991, Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million on a charge of slander, after Randi told the ''[[The New York Times International Edition|International Herald Tribune]]'' that Geller had "tricked even reputable scientists" with stunts that "are the kind that used to be on the back of cereal boxes", referring to the old spoon-bending trick. The court dismissed the case and Geller had to settle at a cost to him of $120,000, after Randi produced a cereal box which bore instructions on how to do the spoon-bending trick. Geller's lawyer Don Katz was disbarred mid-way into this action and Geller ended up suing him. After failing to pay by the deadline imposed by the court, Geller was sanctioned an additional $20,000.{{Cite book|title=Uri Geller: Magician or Mystic?|last=Margolis|first=Jonathan|publisher=Orion Books|year=1999|isbn=978-1566490252|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/urigellermagicia0000marg}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/08/29/a-case-of-mind-over-matter/a9dd790d-6e7c-4cff-b232-19f17b7df272/|title=A Case of Mind Over Matter|last=Thompson|first=Tracy|date=August 29, 1991|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=September 29, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005051241/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/08/29/a-case-of-mind-over-matter/a9dd790d-6e7c-4cff-b232-19f17b7df272/|archive-date=October 5, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=http://urigellerdoit.blogspot.ca/|title=How does Uri Geller do it?|last=Cacho|first=Flavio|date=August 1, 2008|website=Blogger|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929232152/http://urigellerdoit.blogspot.ca/|archive-date=September 29, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.csicop.org/articles/uri_dis.html|title=Uri Geller Libel Suit Dismissed |date=August 1994 |website=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry |publisher=Center for Inquiry|location=Amherst, NY|archive-url=https://archive.today/20061205032721/http://www.csicop.org/articles/uri_dis.html|archive-date=December 5, 2006 |access-date=June 3, 2007 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.skepticfiles.org/skeptic/randi032.htm|title=Lawsuit Against CSICOP Dismissed|website=The Skeptic Tank|publisher=Fredric L. Rice |location=San Clementa, CA |access-date=June 3, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007104245/http://www.skepticfiles.org/skeptic/randi032.htm|archive-date=October 7, 2007}} [171] => Geller sued both Randi and [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|CSICOP]] in the 1980s.{{cite book|last=Kurtz|first=Paul|title=Exuberant Skepticism|date=2010|publisher=Prometheus Books|isbn=978-1615929702|page=193|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HFsEut6lA94C&dq=Geller+sued+both+Randi+and+CSICOP&pg=PA193|access-date=March 21, 2023|archive-date=April 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429183327/https://books.google.com/books?id=HFsEut6lA94C&dq=Geller+sued+both+Randi+and+CSICOP&pg=PA193|url-status=live}} 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, along with the legal costs. Geller was ordered to pay substantial damages, but only to CSICOP. [173] => [174] => ===Other cases=== [175] => In 1993, a jury in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore found Randi liable for defaming Eldon Byrd for calling him a child molester in a magazine story and a "shopping market molester" in a 1988 speech. However, the jury found that Byrd was not entitled to any monetary damages after hearing testimony that he had sexually molested and later married his sister-in-law. The jury also cleared the other defendant in the case, CSICOP.{{cite news|last=West|first=Norris P.|date=June 5, 1993|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1993-06-05-1993156046-story.html|title=Magician defamed scientist, jury rules|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109031944/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1993-06-05/news/1993156046_1_byrd-magician-molester|archive-date=November 9, 2014|url-status=live|newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|access-date=June 5, 2022}}{{cite news|title=Randi Found Guilty of Defamation|url=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|newspaper=[[The Miami Herald]]|date=June 9, 1993|access-date=April 20, 2009}} [176] => [177] => Late in 1996, Randi launched a libel suit against a Toronto-area psychic named Earl Gordon Curley.{{cite web|url=http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/curley2.htm|title=James Randi: Action initiated ...|last=Randi|first=James|date=December 4, 1996|work=James Randi Educational Foundation Info List|access-date=October 29, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925234219/http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/curley2.htm |archive-date=September 25, 2006}} Curley had made multiple objectionable comments about Randi on [[Usenet]]. Despite suggesting to Randi on Usenet that Randi should sue—Curley's comments implying 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 of "alcohol toxicity".{{cite web|url=http://www.mindspring.com/~anson/randi-hotline/1998/0025.html|title=Curley Confirmation + Sony Corp. and ESP, More on Theremin|last=Randi|first=James|date=July 8, 1998|work=James Randi Educational Foundation Info List|access-date=October 29, 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070328131049/http://www.mindspring.com/~anson/randi-hotline/1998/0025.html|archive-date=March 28, 2007}}{{failed verification|date=September 2015}} [178] => [179] => [[Allison DuBois]], on whose life the television series ''[[Medium (TV 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.{{cite journal|last=Randi|first=James|date=December 17, 2004|title=Another Medium Well Done|journal=Swift|type=Newsletter|access-date=October 29, 2006|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/121704no.html#5|archive-url=https://archive.today/20061230183340/http://www.randi.org/jr/121704no.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 30, 2006}} Randi removed the photo and subsequently used a [[caricature]] of DuBois when mentioning her on his site, beginning with his December 23, 2005, commentary.{{cite journal|last1=Randi|first1=James|last2=Hatchman|first2=Paul|date=December 23, 2005|title=Medium Well Done|journal=Swift|type=Newsletter|access-date=September 20, 2013|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/200512/122305hallelujah.html#i2|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120229002015/http://randi.org/jr/200512/122305hallelujah.html#i2|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 29, 2012}} [180] => [181] => [[Sniffex]], producer of a dowsing bomb detection device, sued Randi and the JREF in 2007, and lost.{{cite web|url=http://www.randi.org/joom/content/view/204/1/#i1|archive-url=https://archive.today/20080822214803/http://www.randi.org/joom/content/view/204/1/%23i1|archive-date=August 22, 2008|url-status=dead|title=An Encouraging Development|last=Randi|first=James|date=July 25, 2008|work=Swift|publisher=JREF|type=Blog|access-date=October 29, 2008}} 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. [182] => [183] => ==Views== [184] => === Political views === [185] => Randi was a registered [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]. In April 2009, he released a statement endorsing the [[Drug liberalization|legalization of most illegal drugs]].{{cite web|url=http://archive.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/533-following-up.html|title=Following Up ...|author=James Randi|website=Randi.org|date=April 28, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118062932/http://archive.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/533-following-up.html|archive-date=January 18, 2017}} [186] => [187] => Randi had been reported as a believer in [[Social Darwinism|Social Darwinist]] theories,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hEItqk4-vrQC&pg=PT240|first=Will |last=Storr |author-link=Will Storr |title=The Heretics: Adventures with the Enemies of Science|publisher=Pan Macmillan|year=2013 |isbn=978-1447204527}} although he would denounce the ideologies and movements that formed around the theories in 2013.{{cite web|url=http://doubtfulnews.com/2013/03/james-randi-responds-to-storrs-social-darwinism-quote|title=James Randi responds to Storr's 'Social Darwinism' quote|date=March 1, 2013|access-date=September 3, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903211337/http://doubtfulnews.com/2013/03/james-randi-responds-to-storrs-social-darwinism-quote/|archive-date=September 3, 2017}} [188] => [189] => ===Views on religion=== [190] => Randi's parents were members of the [[Anglican Church of Canada|Anglican Church]] but rarely attended services.{{cite web | url=http://meettheskeptics.libsyn.com/webpage/2010 | title=MTS: Meet James Randi | work=Meet the Skeptics! | date=September 13, 2010 | access-date=January 22, 2014 | author=Brown, Christopher | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908065521/http://meettheskeptics.libsyn.com/webpage/2010 | archive-date=September 8, 2014 | df=mdy-all}} He attended [[Sunday school]] at St. Cuthbert's Church in [[Toronto]] a few times as a child, but he independently decided to stop going after receiving no answer to his request for proof of the teachings of the Church.{{rp|24:40}}{{efn| Regarding his separation from religious training, Randi said that his statements in Sunday school such as "That sounded very unlikely," regarding contradictory and dubious biblical claims, were met with unsatisfactory answers, such as "It's in the Bible. It's in the holy book of God." He was given a note for his parents stating "Your boy Randi ... is not welcome at St. Cuthberts as he asks too many questions and he interrupts the teachers."{{rp|24:40}}}}{{Citation|last=Holy Koolaid|title=The Magician James Randi on the Importance of Skepticism|date=August 31, 2017|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZkfNc6TEAQ|access-date=September 2, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705214436/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZkfNc6TEAQ|archive-date=July 5, 2018}} [191] => [192] => In his essay "Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous [[Brights movement|Bright]]", Randi, who identified himself as an [[atheist]],{{cite journal |last=Randi |first=James |date=August 5, 2005 |title=Our Stance on Atheism |journal=Swift |type=Newsletter |access-date=January 27, 2011 |url=http://www.randi.org/jr/080505potential.html#14 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090710051137/http://www.randi.org/jr/080505potential.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 10, 2009}} opined that many accounts in religious texts, including the [[Virgin birth of Jesus|virgin birth]], the miracles of Jesus Christ, and the [[parting of the Red Sea]] by [[Moses]], are not believable. Randi refers to the [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|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]]'s family "managed to populate the Earth without committing incest". He wrote that, compared to the Bible, "''[[The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz|The Wizard of Oz]]'' is more believable. And much more fun."{{cite journal |last=Randi |first=James |date=July 25, 2003 |title=Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright |journal=Swift |type=Newsletter |access-date=October 9, 2013 |url=http://www.randi.org/jr/072503.html |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091007191524/http://www.randi.org/jr/072503.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 7, 2009}} [193] => [194] => Clarifying his view of atheism, Randi wrote "I've said it before: there are two sorts of atheists. One sort claims that there is no deity, the other claims that there is no evidence that proves the existence of a deity; I belong to the latter group, because if I were to claim that no god exists, I would have to produce evidence to establish that claim, and I cannot. Religious persons have by far the easier position; they say they believe in a deity because that's their preference, and they've read it in a book. That's their right." [195] => [196] => In ''An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural'' (1995), he examines various spiritual practices skeptically. Of the meditation techniques of [[Prem Rawat|Guru Maharaj Ji]], he writes "Only the very naive were convinced that they had been let in on some sort of celestial secret."[[#Randi 1995|Randi 1995]], [http://www.randi.org/encyclopedia/Maharaj%20Ji.html "Maharaj Ji"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024040458/http://www.randi.org/encyclopedia/Maharaj%20Ji.html |date=October 24, 2012 }} In 2003, he was one of the signers of the [[Humanism and Its Aspirations|Humanist Manifesto]].{{cite web|url=http://www.americanhumanist.org/Humanism/Humanist_Manifesto_III/Notable_Signers |title=Notable Signers |work=Humanism and Its Aspirations |publisher=[[American Humanist Association]] |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=September 28, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005105825/http://www.americanhumanist.org/Humanism/Humanist_Manifesto_III/Notable_Signers |archive-date=October 5, 2012}} [197] => [198] => Regarding his 2006 coronary artery bypass surgery, Randi was asked if he was tempted by religious ideas about an afterlife or if he went through it any differently than if he had been religious. Randi replied "I allowed [[Daniel Dennett]] to speak for me" referring to Dennett's essay 'Thank Goodness', which Dennett wrote after a serious surgery. Summing up the essay, Randi continued:{{cite web |last=French |first=Chris|author-link=Chris French|title=James Randi in 2011, on mortality, Project Alpha, Peter Popoff and so much more… |url=https://www.skeptic.org.uk/2011/01/james-randi-in-2011-on-mortality-project-alpha-peter-popoff-and-so-much-more/ |website=The Skeptic |date=January 5, 2011 |access-date=January 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104032132/https://www.skeptic.org.uk/2011/01/james-randi-in-2011-on-mortality-project-alpha-peter-popoff-and-so-much-more/ |archive-date=January 4, 2024}} [199] => {{blockquote|text=(...) when he was recovering in the hospital he had people coming in and saying “Oh, thank God, you’re doing this, that and the other”, and he wrote this little essay, he said “No, never mind ‘thank god’ but I’ll accept thank goodness. Thank the goodness of the anaesthesiologist. Thank the goodness of the nurses who empty my bedpan. Thank the goodness of the intern who sweeps the floor regularly so that I don’t have to breathe too much dust. Thank the designers and makers of Dacron.” [200] => All of these things, he said, “Yes, thank their goodness but don’t thank a mythical being.” [201] => And, essentially that’s a contraction of it, rather severely, but that’s the way I feel, yes.}} [202] => [203] => In a discussion with [[Kendrick Frazier]] at [[CSICon]] 2016, Randi stated "I think that a belief in a deity is ... an unprovable claim ... and a rather ridiculous claim. It is an easy way out to explain things to which we have no answer."{{cite web|title=A Conversation with James Randi|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZQNuw2jjzg&t=1s| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/DZQNuw2jjzg| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|website=YouTube |publisher=Center For Inquiry|access-date=August 25, 2017}}{{cbignore}}{{rp|7:05}} He then summarized his current concern with religious belief as follows: "A belief in a god is one of the most damaging things that infests humanity at this particular moment in history. It may improve, and I see signs that it may be improving, and I'll leave it at that."{{rp|7:40}} [204] => [205] => ==Personal life== [206] => When Randi hosted his own radio show in the 1960s, he lived in a small house in [[Rumson, New Jersey]], that featured a sign on the premises that read: "Randi—Charlatan". [207] => [208] => In the 1970s and 80s, Randi supported seven [[foster child]]ren.{{cite news |title=Ghostbusting Magician 'Amazing Randi' Is Honored for Unveiling Phony Psychics |url=https://people.com/archive/ghostbusting-magician-amazing-randi-is-honored-for-unveiling-phony-psychics-vol-26-no-6/ |work=People |language=en |access-date=March 13, 2023 |archive-date=August 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831220140/https://people.com/archive/ghostbusting-magician-amazing-randi-is-honored-for-unveiling-phony-psychics-vol-26-no-6/ |url-status=live }} [209] => [210] => In 1987, Randi became a [[naturalized citizen]] of the United States.{{cite journal|last=Randi|first=James|date=September 17, 2001|title=Commentary: Vapid Vultures, Conrad Comments, Grodin Goof, Sleuth Sylvia, Nostradamus Notes, Etc.|journal=Swift|type=Newsletter|access-date=October 29, 2006|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/091701.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20010923194359/http://www.randi.org/jr/091701.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 23, 2001}} Randi said that one reason he became an American citizen was an incident while he was on tour with Alice Cooper, during which the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] searched the band's lockers during a performance, completely ransacking the room, but finding nothing illegal.{{cite journal|last=Randi|first=James|date=July 15, 2005|title=On the Soap Box|journal=Swift|type=Newsletter|access-date=May 18, 2007|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/071505on.html#1|archive-url=https://archive.today/20050717025944/http://www.randi.org/jr/071505on.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 17, 2005}} [211] => [212] => In February 2006, Randi underwent [[coronary artery bypass surgery]].{{cite journal|last1=Randi|first1=James|last2=Wagg|first2=Jeff|date=February 10, 2006|title=Randi Update|journal=Swift|type=Newsletter|access-date=May 18, 2007|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-02/021006busted.html#i1|archive-url=https://archive.today/20060215193209/http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-02/021006busted.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 15, 2006}} The weekly commentary updates to his Web site were made by guests while he was hospitalized.{{cite journal|last=Bidlack|first=Hal|author-link=Hal Bidlack|date=February 17, 2006|title=Randi Update, The Big Tent, In Closing ...|journal=Swift|type=Newsletter|access-date=October 29, 2006 |url=http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-02/021706hal.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20061231093108/http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-02/021706hal.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 31, 2006}} Randi recovered after his surgery and was able to help organize and attend The Amaz!ng Meeting in 2007 in [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas, Nevada]], his annual convention of scientists, magicians, skeptics, atheists, and freethinkers.{{cite journal|last=Randi|first=James|date=February 2, 2007|title=In Conclusion ...|journal=Swift|type=Newsletter |access-date=October 29, 2007|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-02/020207geller.html#i11|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090709212526/http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-02/020207geller.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 9, 2009}} [213] => [214] => Randi was diagnosed with [[colorectal cancer]] in June 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/832-randi-on-and-off-chemotherapy.html|title=Randi On (and Off) Chemotherapy|date=January 12, 2010|last=Thorp|first=Brandon K.|work=Swift|publisher=JREF|type=Blog|access-date=July 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708220109/http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/832-randi-on-and-off-chemotherapy.html|archive-date=July 8, 2014|url-status=dead}} He had a series of small [[Neoplasm|tumors]] removed from his [[Human gastrointestinal tract|intestines]] during [[laparoscopic surgery]]. He announced the diagnosis a week later at The Amaz!ng Meeting 7, as well as the fact that he was scheduled to begin [[chemotherapy]] in the following weeks.{{cite news|title=The Demystifying Adventures of the Amazing Randi|last=Mooney|first=Michael J.|url=https://www.sfweekly.com/news/the-demystifying-adventures-of-the-amazing-randi/|newspaper=[[SF Weekly]]|location=San Francisco, CA|publisher=[[Village Voice Media]]|date=August 26, 2009|access-date=June 5, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916192732/https://www.sfweekly.com/news/the-demystifying-adventures-of-the-amazing-randi/|archive-date=September 16, 2021}} Lengthy article which reported: "He has intestinal cancer and may not have long to live." 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." [215] => [216] => Randi underwent his final chemotherapy session in December 2009, later saying that his chemotherapy experience was not so unpleasant as he had imagined it might be. In a video posted in April 2010, Randi stated that he had been given a clean bill of health.{{YouTube|id=_WyzM_TsIXc|title=James Randi Speaks Homeopathy Week 2010|link=no}} [217] => [218] => In a 2010 blog entry, Randi [[Coming out|came out]] as [[Homosexuality|gay]], a move he said was inspired by seeing the 2008 biographical drama film ''[[Milk (2008 American film)|Milk]]''.{{cite web|url=http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/914-how-to-say-it.html|title=How to Say It?|last=Randi|first=James|date=March 21, 2010|work=Swift|publisher=JREF|type=Blog|access-date=October 9, 2013|archive-date=July 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730192159/http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/914-how-to-say-it.html|url-status=live}}{{cite podcast |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWDYITbLyTg|title=James Randi – A Skeptic Comes Out at 81|website=For Good Reason|publisher=JREF|host=[[D. J. Grothe|Grothe, D. J.]]|date=March 21, 2010|access-date=June 10, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628121337/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWDYITbLyTg|archive-date=June 28, 2014}} [219] => [220] => Randi married [[Venezuelans|Venezuelan]] artist José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga) on July 2, 2013, in Washington, D.C. In 1986, Randi met Alvarez in a Fort Lauderdale public library, having recently moved to Florida. Alvarez, who was then known as Peña, had left his native land in fear of his life after being threatened for being homosexual. The alias Peña used, Jose Alvarez, was already an actual person in the United States. The identity confusion caused the real Alvarez some legal and financial difficulties. Peña was arrested for identity theft and faced deportation. They resided in [[Plantation, Florida]].{{cite web |url=https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2013/07/12/randi-got-married/ |title=Randi got married|last=Coyne|first=Jerry A.|author-link=Jerry Coyne |date=July 12, 2013|work=Why Evolution is True|type=Blog|access-date=October 9, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017022931/http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2013/07/12/randi-got-married|archive-date=October 17, 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://www.skepticalabyss.com/?tag=tam-randi-amazing-meeti-g|title=Live Blogging Tam Day Two (Friday)|date=July 12, 2013|work=The Skeptical Abyss|type=Blog|access-date=October 9, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103143722/http://www.skepticalabyss.com/?tag=tam-randi-amazing-meeti-g|archive-date=November 3, 2013}}{{Cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bw9A1pR0EQa8bVJ4NHZUX19tdzQ/edit?pli=1&usp=embed_facebook|title=Testimonial letters to Judge Hurley|website=Google Docs|access-date=September 19, 2022|archive-date=September 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920170647/https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bw9A1pR0EQa8bVJ4NHZUX19tdzQ/edit?pli=1&usp=embed_facebook|url-status=live}}[[Sturgess, Kylie]] (March/April 2015). "Behind the Magic: An Interview with James Randi". ''Skeptical Inquirer'' Volume 39 Number 2, pp. 38–42. [221] => [222] => In the 1993 documentary ''[[Secrets of the Psychics]]'', Randi stated, "I've never involved myself in narcotics of any kind; I don't smoke; I don't drink, because that can easily just fuzz the edges of my rationality, fuzz the edges of my reasoning powers, and I want to be as aware as I possibly can. That means giving up a lot of fantasies that might be comforting in some ways, but I'm willing to give that up in order to live in an actually real world, as close as I can get to it".{{sfn|"Secrets of the Psychics"|loc=10′45″}} [223] => [224] => In a video released in October 2017, Randi revealed that he had recently suffered a minor stroke, and that he was under medical advice not to travel during his recovery, so would be unable to attend [[CSICon]] 2017 in Las Vegas later that month.{{cite web|last=Randi|first=James|title=Video message to CSICon attendees|url=https://www.facebook.com/CSIConference/videos/1484609861615742|website=Facebook|publisher=CSICon – Skeptical Inquirer Conference|access-date=October 17, 2017|archive-date=July 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707215436/https://www.facebook.com/CSIConference/videos/1484609861615742/|url-status=live}} [225] => [226] => Randi died at his home on October 20, 2020, at the age of 92.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/james-randi-magician-and-stage-artist-devoted-to-debunking-the-paranormal-dies-at-92/2020/10/21/b6e1da3e-13ee-11eb-bc10-40b25382f1be_story.html|title=James Randi, magician and stage artist devoted to debunking the paranormal, dies at 92|date=October 21, 2020|last=Valentine|first=Paul W.|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=October 22, 2020|archive-date=October 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022051659/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/james-randi-magician-and-stage-artist-devoted-to-debunking-the-paranormal-dies-at-92/2020/10/21/b6e1da3e-13ee-11eb-bc10-40b25382f1be_story.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/21/obituaries/james-randi-dead.amp.html|title=James Randi, Magician Who Debunked Paranormal Claims, Dies at 92|url-status=live|date=October 21, 2020|last=Fox|first=Margalit|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=October 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022104413/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/21/obituaries/james-randi-dead.html|archive-date=October 22, 2020}} The James Randi Educational Foundation attributed his death to "age-related causes".{{cite web|url=https://web.randi.org/home/james-randi-has-died|title=James Randi has died|date=October 21, 2020|publisher=[[James Randi Educational Foundation|JREF]]|work=randi.org|access-date=October 21, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201021215442/https://web.randi.org/home/james-randi-has-died|archive-date=October 21, 2020|url-status=live|quote=We are very sad to say that James Randi passed away yesterday, due to age-related causes. He had an Amazing life. We will miss him. Please respect Deyvi Peña's privacy during this difficult time.}} The [[Center for Inquiry]] said that Randi "was the public face of skeptical inquiry, bringing a sense of fun and mischievousness to a serious mission." [[Kendrick Frazier]] said, as part of the statement, "Despite his ferocity in challenging all forms of nonsense, in person he was a kind and gentle man."{{cite magazine |author= |title=Remembering Randi 1928-2020 |url= |magazine=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |location=Amherst, New York |publisher=[[Center for Inquiry]] |date=January–February 2021 |access-date=}} [227] => [228] => ==Awards and honors== [229] => {| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse: collapse;" [230] => ! Year |!! Award or honor [231] => |- [232] => | 1977 || Visiting Magician of the Year, Academy of Magical Arts & Sciences at [[the Magic Castle]] in Hollywood.{{cite web|title=About James Randi|url=http://web.randi.org/about-james-randi.html|website=James Randi Educational Foundation|access-date=August 24, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128172118/http://web.randi.org/about-james-randi.html|archive-date=November 28, 2016}} [233] => |- [234] => | 1978 || Garden State Magicians' award. [235] => |- [236] => | 1981 || Asteroid [[3163 Randi]] was named after James Randi,{{Cite web|url=https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=3163|title=(3163) Randi|website=IAU Minor Planet Center|access-date=January 22, 2020|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304102811/http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=3163|url-status=live}} who had always been an active [[Amateur astronomy|amateur observer]]. His friend [[Carl Sagan]] encouraged his interest.
Certificate of appreciation at the MIT Club of Boston.
Designated Grand Master of Magic by Hocus Pocus Magazine. [237] => |- [238] => | 1983 || Blackstone Cup, International Platform Association as Outstanding Speaker (won again in 1987). [239] => |- [240] => | 1984 || Honorary membership, Bay Surgical Society of Los Angeles. [241] => |- [242] => | 1986 || A $273,000 [[MacArthur Foundation Fellowship]] was awarded to James Randi for his investigations of the claims of Uri Geller and TV "[[faith healers]]"{{cite web|url=https://www.macfound.org/fellows/284/|title=James Randi|website=MacArthur Foundation|publisher=[[John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation]]|location=Chicago, IL|access-date=August 19, 2012|archive-date=January 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115150543/https://www.macfound.org/fellows/284/|url-status=live}}
Honorary membership, Israeli Society for Promoting the Art of Magic. [243] => |- [244] => | 1987 || Special fellowship, Academy of Magical Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles.
Certificate of Appreciation, Ring 254 of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.
Award of Merit, Assembly 22 of the Society of American Magicians. [245] => |- [246] => | 1988 || National Consumer Service Award, [[National Council Against Health Fraud]].
International Ambassador of Magic, Society of American Magicians. [247] => |- [248] => | 1989 || Joseph A. Burton Forum Award, [[American Physical Society]].{{cite web |url=http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/awards/burton.cfm |title=Joseph A. Burton Forum Award |publisher=American Physical Society |location=College Park, MD |access-date=June 15, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202232131/http://www.aps.org./programs/honors/awards/burton.cfm |archive-date=December 2, 2008}}
Gold Medal, University of Ghent. [249] => |- [250] => | 1990 || Humanist Distinguished Service Award, [[American Humanist Association]].
Thomas Paine Award, Baton Rouge Proponents of Rational Inquiry & Scientific Methods. [251] => |- [252] => | 1992 || Commemorative Medal with Golden Wreath, Hungarian Society for the Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge. [253] => |- [254] => | 1996 || Distinguished Skeptic Award, [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] (CSICOP).{{cite journal|title=CSICOP Award Winners|journal=Skeptical Inquirer|date=1996|volume=20|issue=5|page=7}} [255] => |- [256] => | 1997 || Lifetime Achievement Award, [[International Brotherhood of Magicians]].
"One of the 100 Best People in the World, people who make our lives richer or larger or happier," Esquire magazine.
Award, Science & Engineering Society of the National Security Agency. [257] => |- [258] => | 1999 || "In Defense of Reason" Special Lifetime Achievement Award, Comitato Italiano per il Controllo dell Affermazioni sui Paranormale. [259] => |- [260] => | 2000 || Distinguished Lecturer Award, [[Nova Southeastern University]]. [261] => |- [262] => | 2002 || Presidential Citation, [[International Brotherhood of Magicians]]. [263] => |- [264] => | 2003 || First [[Richard Dawkins Award]].{{cite web |last=Wagg |first=Jeff |date=July 10, 2007 |title=About James Randi Full Bio |url=http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/component/content/article/58.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202165723/http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/component/content/article/58.html |archive-date=February 2, 2009 |access-date=October 9, 2013 |work=JREF}} [265] => |- [266] => | 2007 || [[Philip J. Klass#The Philip J. Klass Award|Philip J. Klass Award]].{{cite journal |last=Randi |first=James |date=March 23, 2007 |title=In Closing |journal=Swift |type=Newsletter |access-date=May 18, 2007 |url=http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-03/032307tx.html#i11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070326234436/http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-03/032307tx.html#i11 |archive-date=March 26, 2007 |url-status=dead}} [267] => |- [268] => | 2008 || Lifetime Achievement Award, [[Independent Investigations Group]] (IIG). Previous recipients Carl Sagan and Harry Houdini.{{cite web |url=http://www.iigwest.com/iigawards/2008/index.html |title=The 2008 IIG Awards |date=August 21, 2010 |website=The Independent Investigations Group |publisher=[[Independent Investigations Group]] |location=Hollywood, CA |access-date=July 1, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713005259/http://www.iigwest.com/iigawards/2008/index.html |archive-date=July 13, 2011}} [269] => |- [270] => | 2009 || In Praise of Reason Award, [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]]. [271] => |- [272] => | 2010 || Elected a [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] Fellow.{{cite press release |last=Bupp |first=Nathan |title=Sixteen Notable Figures in Science and Skepticism Elected CSI Fellows |url=http://www.csicop.org/news/press_releases/show/sixteen_notable_figures_in_science_and_skepticism_elected_csi_fellows |date=January 12, 2010 |publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry |location=Amherst, NY |access-date=February 12, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202163416/http://www.csicop.org/news/press_releases/show/sixteen_notable_figures_in_science_and_skepticism_elected_csi_fellows |archive-date=February 2, 2010}} [273] => |- [274] => | 2012 || Lifetime Achievement Fellowship, [[Academy of Magical Arts]].{{cite web |url=http://themandalamag.com/2012/04/02/the-academy-of-magical-arts-awards-results/ |title=The Academy of Magical Arts Awards Results |last=McMaster |first=Shawn |date=April 2, 2012 |website=The Mandala |publisher=Shawn McMaster |access-date=April 6, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408135746/http://themandalamag.com/2012/04/02/the-academy-of-magical-arts-awards-results/ |archive-date=April 8, 2012}}
Lifetime Achievement Award, [[American Humanist Association]].{{cite press release |last=Magee |first=Brian |title=Atheists 'Marching' to New Orleans for 71st Annual American Humanist Association Conference |url=http://members.neworleanscvb.com/CustPage.aspx?pagename=special-event-invitations&ID=44 |date=May 23, 2012 |publisher=American Humanist Association |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=October 9, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009071203/http://members.neworleanscvb.com/CustPage.aspx?pagename=special-event-invitations&ID=44 |archive-date=October 9, 2013}}
Lifetime Achievement Award, [[Australian Skeptics]] Inc.{{cite journal |title=Skeptics' Awards 2012 ... And the winner is |journal=The Skeptic |date=December 2012 |volume=32 |issue=4 |page=14 |url=https://www.skeptics.com.au/wp-content/uploads/magazine/The%20Skeptic%20Volume%2032%20(2012)%20No%204.pdf |access-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-date=March 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200314043943/https://www.skeptics.com.au/wp-content/uploads/magazine/The%20Skeptic%20Volume%2032%20(2012)%20No%204.pdf |url-status=live }} [275] => |- [276] => | 2016 || [[Heinz Oberhummer Award for Science Communication]], 2016{{cite web|url=https://www.tuwien.ac.at/aktuelles/news_detail/article/124447/|title=Heinz Oberhummer Award geht an James Randi|publisher=[[Technische Universität Wien]]|date=November 3, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203122734/https://www.tuwien.ac.at/aktuelles/news_detail/article/124447/|archive-date=December 3, 2016}}
Lifetime Achievement Award, [[Humanist Canada|Humanist Association of Canada]].{{cite web|last1=Randi|first1=James|title=May 31, 2016|url=https://www.facebook.com/jamesrandi/posts/10154191706231462:0?sw_fnr_id=2435300048&fnr_t=0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/24271671461/10154191706231462 |archive-date=February 26, 2022 |url-access=limited|website=Facebook: James Randi|publisher=Facebook|access-date=August 24, 2017}}{{cbignore}} [277] => |- [278] => | ||James Randi was one of very few members of the UK Magic Circle to be granted their highest order: Member of the Inner Magic Circle With Gold Star (MIMC).{{cite web |url=http://themagiccircle.co.uk/member-lookup |title=Members |website=The Magic Circle |access-date=July 25, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725141104/http://themagiccircle.co.uk/member-lookup |archive-date=July 25, 2015}} [279] => |} [280] => [281] => ==World records== [282] => The following are [[Guinness World Records]]: [283] => * Randi was in a sealed casket underwater for one hour and 44 minutes, breaking the previous record of one hour and 33 minutes set by Harry Houdini on August 5, 1926. [284] => * Randi was encased in a block of ice for 55 minutes. [285] => [286] => [[File:Audio James Randi Long Version.ogg|thumb|Long version of Audio recorded at [[CSICon]] October 2016]] [287] => [288] => ==Bibliography== [289] => * {{cite book |last1=Randi |first1=James |last2=Sugar |first2=Bert Randolph |author-link2=Bert Sugar |title=Houdini, His Life and Art |year=1976 |publisher=[[Grosset & Dunlap]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0448125527 |oclc=3017457 |ref=Randi & Sugar}} [290] => * {{cite book |last=Randi |first=James |others=Introduction by [[Isaac Asimov]] |title=Flim-Flam!: Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions |year=1982 |publisher=[[Prometheus Books]] |location=Buffalo, NY |isbn=978-0879751982 |oclc=9066769 |lccn=82060953 |author-mask=2 |ref={{harvid|Randi|1982a}} |title-link=Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions }} [291] => * {{cite book |last=Randi |first=James |title=Test Your ESP Potential: A Complete Kit With Instructions, Scorecards, and Apparatus |year=1982 |publisher=[[Dover Publications]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0486242699 |oclc=7924713 |author-mask=2 |ref={{harvid|Randi|1982b}}}} [292] => * {{cite book |last=Randi |first=James |title=The Truth About Uri Geller |orig-year=Originally published 1975 as ''The Magic of Uri Geller''; New York: [[Ballantine Books]] |year=1982 |publisher=Prometheus Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0879751999 |oclc=9164994 |author-mask=2 |ref={{harvid|Randi|1982c}} |title-link=The Truth About Uri Geller }} [293] => * {{cite book |last=Randi |first=James |others=Foreword by [[Carl Sagan]] |title=The Faith Healers |year=1987 |publisher=Prometheus Books |location=Buffalo, NY |isbn=978-0879753696 |oclc=16353426 |author-mask=2 |title-link=The Faith Healers }} [294] => * {{cite book |last=Randi |first=James |title=The Magic World of the Amazing Randi |year=1989 |publisher=Adams Media Corporation |location=Holbrook, MA |isbn=978-1558509825 |oclc=21303371 |author-mask=2 |ref=Randi 1989}} [295] => * {{cite book |last=Randi |first=James |title=The Mask of Nostradamus: The Prophecies of the World's Most Famous Seer |year=1990 |publisher=[[Charles Scribner's Sons]] |isbn=978-0684190563 |oclc=824193656 |author-mask=2 |ref=Randi 1990|title-link=The Mask of Nostradamus: The Prophecies of the World's Most Famous Seer }} [296] => * {{cite book |last=Randi |first=James |title=James Randi: Psychic Investigator |year=1991 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Boxtree Ltd]] |location=London |isbn=978-1852831448 |oclc=26359284 |author-mask=2 |ref=Randi 1991}} Companion book to the [[Open Media]]/[[ITV Granada|Granada Television]] series. [297] => * {{cite book |last=Randi |first=James |title=Conjuring: 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! |edition=1st |year=1992 |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0312097714 |oclc=640909937 |author-mask=2 |ref=Randi 1992|title-link=Conjuring (book) }} [298] => * {{cite book |last=Randi |first=James |others=Introduction by [[Arthur C. Clarke]] |title=An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural |edition=1st |year=1995 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0312151195 |oclc=35978760 |author-mask=2 |ref=Randi 1995|title-link=An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural }} ([http://web.randi.org/encyclopedia-of-claims.html Online version]) [299] => [300] => ==Television and film appearances== [301] => [[File:Publicity_material_for_the_tv_series_"James_Randi,_Psychic_Investigator".jpg|thumb|right|Publicity material for [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] series ''"James Randi: Psychic Investigator"'' produced by [[Open Media]] in 1991]] [302] => [[File:James Randi and guests appearing on ITV series "James Randi, Psychic Investigator".jpg|thumb|right|With guests on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] series ''"James Randi: Psychic Investigator"'' produced by [[Open Media]] in 1991]] [303] => [304] => ===As an actor=== [305] => * ''[[Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper]]'' (1974) as the Dentist/Executioner [306] => * ''[[Ragtime (film)|Ragtime]]'' (1981) (stunt coordinator: Houdini) [307] => * ''[[Penn & Teller]]'s Invisible Thread'' (1987) (TV) [308] => * ''[[Penn & Teller Get Killed]]'' (1989) as the 3rd Rope Holder [309] => * ''Beyond Desire'' (1994) as the Coroner [310] => [311] => ===Appearing as himself=== [312] => * ''[[Wonderama]]'' (1959–1967) (TV) as The Amazing Randi [313] => * ''[[I've Got a Secret]]'' (1965) (TV) as The Amazing Randi [314] => * ''[[Sesame Street]] Test Show 1'' (1969) (TV) as The Amazing Randi [315] => * ''[[Happy Days]]'' – "The Magic Show" (1978) as the Amazing Randi{{cite episode |title=The Magic Show |url=http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/happy-days-1978/episode-13-season-6/magic/100197 |access-date=October 9, 2013 |series=[[Happy Days]] |network=[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] |date=December 5, 1978 |season=6 |number=13 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004213631/http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/happy-days-1978/episode-13-season-6/magic/100197 |archive-date=October 4, 2013}} [316] => * ''[[Zembla (TV series)|Zembla]]'', 'De trucs van Char' (''The tricks [[Char Margolis|Char]] uses''). (March 2008){{cite web|url=http://zembla.vara.nl/Voorpagina.1975.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=5316&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1974&cHash=0e36f258ac |title=''De trucs van Char, het medium – 23 maart 2008'' |access-date=January 1, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080324163226/http://zembla.vara.nl/Voorpagina.1975.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=5316&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1974&cHash=0e36f258ac |archive-date=March 24, 2008}} [317] => * ''ZDF German TV'' (2007) [318] => * ''Wild Wild Web'' (1999) [319] => * ''[[West 57th (TV series)|West 57th]]'' (1980s) [320] => * ''Welt der Wunder – Kraft der Gedanken'' (January 2008) [321] => * ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]'' (many appearances) [322] => * ''[[The Don Lane Show]]'' (Australia) [323] => * ''[[That's My Line]]'' (1981) (Appeared with [[James Hydrick]]) [324] => * ''[[The View (talk show)|The View]]'' ([[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]) multiple appearances 1997 onwards [325] => * ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' (32 appearances between 1973 and 1993 plus repeats) [326] => * ''[[The Secret Cabaret]]'' (produced by [[Open Media]] for [[Channel 4]] in the UK) [327] => * ''[[The Power of Belief]]'' (October 6, 1998) ([[ABC News]] Special) (TV) [328] => * ''People are Talking'' (1980s) [329] => * ''The Patterson Show'' (1970s) [330] => * ''Superpowers?'' (an [[Equinox (TV programme)|Equinox]] documentary made by [[Open Media]] for [[Channel 4]] in 1990)[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/475347/Superpowers- TCM] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419195639/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/475347/Superpowers-/ |date=April 19, 2015}} and [http://www.ovguide.com/tv_episode/equinox-season-1990-episode-14-superpowers-4384747 Online Video Guide] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415113848/http://www.ovguide.com/tv_episode/equinox-season-1990-episode-14-superpowers-4384747 |date=April 15, 2015}}. Retrieved April 15, 2015 [331] => * ''[[After Dark (TV series)|After Dark]]'' (September 3, 1988, and September 9, 1989)[[List of After Dark editions|List of ''After Dark'' editions]] [332] => * ''Weird Thoughts'', [[Open Media]] discussion hosted by [[Tony Wilson]] for [[BBC TV]], with [[Mary Beard (classicist)|Mary Beard]] and others, 1994{{cite web|url=http://www.eofftv.com/w/wei/weird_thoughts_main.htm |title=Weird Thoughts [1994] |website=EOFFTV |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050219163932/http://eofftv.com/w/wei/weird_thoughts_main.htm |archive-date=February 19, 2005 |url-status=dead |access-date=April 15, 2015}} [333] => * ''The Art of Magic'' (1998) (TV) [334] => * ''The Ultimate Psychic Challenge'' ([[Discovery Channel]]/Channel 4) (2003) [335] => * ''Spotlight on James Randi'' (2002) (TV) [336] => * ''[[Secrets of the Super Psychics]]'' (Channel 4/[[TLC (TV network)|The Learning Channel]]), produced by [[Open Media]], 1997/8 [337] => * ''Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels'' (A&E Special) (March 30, 1997) [338] => * ''RAI TV'' Italy (1991) [339] => * ''[[Politically Incorrect]]'' with [[Bill Maher]] [340] => * ''[[Penn & Teller: Bullshit!]]'' several appearances [341] => ** "End of the World" (2003) TV Episode [342] => ** "ESP" (2003) TV Episode [343] => ** "Signs from Heaven" (2005) TV Episode [344] => * ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'' 2 episodes [345] => * ''[[Lawrence Leung's Unbelievable]]'' (Australia) TV Episode [346] => * ''[[Nova (American TV series)|Nova]]'': "[[Secrets of the Psychics]]" (1993) [347] => * ''Mitä ihmettä?'' (Finland) (2003) TV Series [348] => * ''[[Midday (Australian TV program)|Midday]]'' (Australia) (1990s) [349] => * ''Magic or Miracle?'' (1983) TV special [350] => * ''Magic'' (2004) (mini) TV Series [351] => * ''[[Larry King Live]]'' ([[CNN]]) (June 5, 2001, September 3, 2001, January 26, 2007, several more) [352] => * ''James Randi: Psychic Investigator'' (1991) ([[Open Media]] series for the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] network) [353] => * ''James Randi Budapesten'' – Hungarian documentary [354] => * ''[[Inside Edition]]'' – (1991, 2006, and 2007) TV [355] => * ''[[Horizon (BBC TV series)|Horizon]]'' – [http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2002/homeopathy.shtml "Homeopathy: The Test"] (2002) BBC/UK TV Episode [356] => * ''Dead Men Talking'' ([[The Biography Channel]]) (2007) [357] => * ''Fornemmelse for snyd'' (2003) TV Series (also archive footage) Denmark [358] => * ''[[Extraordinary People (2003 TV series)|Extraordinary People]]'' – "The Million Dollar Mind Reader" (September 2008).{{cite episode |title=The Million Dollar Mind Reader |url=http://www.channel5.com/shows/extraordinary-people/episodes/extraordinary-people-the-million-dollar-mind-reader |access-date=June 15, 2009 |series=[[Extraordinary People (2003 TV series)|Extraordinary People]] |network=[[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]] |date=November 23, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104022835/http://www.channel5.com/shows/extraordinary-people/episodes/extraordinary-people-the-million-dollar-mind-reader |archive-date=January 4, 2012}} [359] => * ''Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live'' (June 7, 1989; hosted by [[Bill Bixby]]) [360] => * ''[[CBS This Morning]]'' (1990s) [361] => * ''[[Anderson Cooper 360°]]'', [[CNN]] (January 19, 2007, and January 30, 2007){{cite interview |last=Randi |first=James |interviewer=[[Anderson Cooper]] |title=Psychic Powers Debunked in Shawn Hornbeck Case? |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/19/acd.01.html |work=[[Anderson Cooper 360°]] |publisher=CNN |date=January 19, 2007 |access-date=June 30, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514203713/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/19/acd.01.html |archive-date=May 14, 2012}}{{cite interview |last1=Rossi |first1=Linda |last2=Randi |first2=James |interviewer=Anderson Cooper |title=Psychic Reality Check |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/30/acd.01.html |work=Anderson Cooper 360° |publisher=CNN |date=January 30, 2007 |access-date=June 30, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514185756/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/30/acd.01.html |archive-date=May 14, 2012}} [362] => * ''A Question of Miracles'' ([[HBO]]) (1999) [363] => * ''[[20/20 (U.S. TV series)|20/20]]'' ([[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]) (May 11, 2007){{cite news |title=Selling Salvation? |first1=Jim |last1=Avila |author-link1=Jim Avila |first2=Glenn |last2=Ruppel |first3=Donna |last3=Hunter |url=https://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=3164858&page=1 |work=[[20/20 (U.S. TV series)|20/20]] |publisher=ABC |date=May 11, 2007 |access-date=August 24, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228163336/https://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=3164858&page=1 |archive-date=December 28, 2013}} [364] => * "[[Captain Disillusion]]" Randi + Pantry Ghost...debunk? (June 18, 2009) [365] => * ''[[An Honest Liar]]'' (2014, aired as ''Exposed: Magicians, Psychics and Frauds'' on [[BBC Storyville]]) [366] => [367] => == Appearances in other media == [368] => * Randi was featured as the cover story for the November 1981 issue of [[Dynamite (magazine)|''Dynamite'' magazine]]. [369] => * In 2007, Randi delivered a [[TED (conference)|TED]] talk in which he discussed psychic fraud, homeopathy, and his foundation's Million Dollar Challenge. [370] => * Randi is featured in [[Tommy Finke]]'s song "Poet der Affen/Poet of the Apes," released on the album of the same name in 2010.{{YouTube|id=WbbM1eVDCUE|title=Poet der Affen / Poet of the Apes|link=no}} [371] => * In 2022, Randi made a cameo appearance in the posthumously-released online magic special [[Piff the Magic Dragon]]: Reptile Dysfunction.{{YouTube|id=DBBYBiAKQ3U|title=Piff the Magic Dragon: Reptile Dysfunction - Full Special|link=no}} [372] => [373] => ==See also== [374] => * [[List of topics characterized as pseudoscience]] [375] => * [[Pigasus Award]] [376] => [377] => ==Notes== [378] => {{notelist}} [379] => [380] => ==References== [381] => {{reflist|refs= [382] => [388] => [389] => {{cite news|last=Higginbotham|first=Adam|author-link=Adam Higginbotham |title=The Unbelievable Skepticism of the Amazing Randi|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/magazine/the-unbelievable-skepticism-of-the-amazing-randi.html?action=click&contentCollection=Magazine®ion=Footer&module=MoreInSection&pgtype=article|work=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |date=November 7, 2014|access-date=November 8, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108162548/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/magazine/the-unbelievable-skepticism-of-the-amazing-randi.html?action=click&contentCollection=Magazine®ion=Footer&module=MoreInSection&pgtype=article|archive-date=November 8, 2014}} [390] => [391] => }} [392] => [393] => ==Further reading== [394] => {{Refbegin}} [395] => * {{cite book |last=Alcock |first=James |author-link=James Alcock |editor-last=Kurtz |editor-first=Paul |editor-link=Paul Kurtz |year=2001 |title=Skeptical Odysseys: Personal Accounts by the World's Leading Paranormal Inquirers |chapter=Science vs. Pseudoscience, Nonscience, and Nonsense |publisher=Prometheus Books |location=Amherst, NY |isbn=978-1573928847 |oclc=45821233}} [396] => * {{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |author-link=Isaac Asimov |title=I. Asimov: A Memoir |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/iasimovmemoir00asim_0 |chapter-url-access=registration |edition=1st |year=1994 |publisher=Doubleday |location=New York |isbn=978-0553569971 |oclc=32012202 |lccn=93008644 |chapter=Trap Door Spiders}} [397] => * {{cite book |last=Burt |first=Daniel S.| author-link=Daniel Burt (author) |title=The Biography Book: A Reader's Guide to Nonfiction, Fictional, and Film Biographies of More Than 500 of the Most Fascinating Individuals of All Time |year=2001 |publisher=Oryx Press |location=Westport, CT |isbn=978-1573562560 |oclc=44502070}} [398] => * {{cite book |last=Carroll |first=Robert Todd |author-link=Robert Todd Carroll |title=The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions |title-link =Skeptic's Dictionary|year=2003 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=Hoboken, NJ |isbn=978-0471272427 |oclc=52086432}} [399] => * {{cite book |editor-last=Colombo |editor-first=John Robert |editor-link=John Robert Colombo |title=The Midnight Hour: Canadian Accounts of Eerie Experiences |year=2004 |publisher=Dundurn Press |isbn=978-1550024968 |oclc=53847365 |url=https://archive.org/details/midnighthourcana0000unse }} [400] => * {{cite book |last=Gardner |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Gardner |title=Did Adam and Eve have Navels: Discourses on Reflexology, Numerology, Urine Therapy, and Other Dubious Subjects |year=2000 |publisher=W.W. Norton & Co.|location=New York |isbn=978-0393049633 |oclc=44076017 |url=https://archive.org/details/didadamevehavena00gard }} [401] => * {{cite book |last=Lamont |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Lamont (historian) |title=The First Psychic: The Peculiar Mystery of a Notorious Victorian Wizard |year=2005 |publisher=Little, Brown|location=London |isbn=978-0316728348 |oclc=62176762 |page=302}} [402] => * {{cite book |editor-last=Moritz |editor-first=Charles |title=Current Biography Yearbook |volume=48 |year=1987 |publisher=H.W. Wilson Company|location=New York |oclc=17332312}} [403] => * {{cite book |last1=Moseley |first1=James W. |author-link1=James W. Moseley |last2=Pflock |first2=Karl T. |author-link2=Karl T. Pflock |title=Shockingly Close to the Truth! Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist |year=2002 |publisher=Prometheus Books |location=New York |isbn=978-1573929912 |oclc=48942361 |ref=Moseley & Pflock}} [404] => * {{cite book |last=Polidoro |first=Massimo |author-link=Massimo Polidoro |title=Secrets of the Psychics: Investigating Paranormal Claims |year=2003 |publisher=Prometheus Books |location=Amherst, NY |isbn=978-1591020868 |oclc=52312569 |ref=Polidoro |url=https://archive.org/details/secretsofpsychic0000poli }} [405] => * {{cite book |last=Randi |first=James |editor1-first=Yervant |editor1-last=Terzian |editor2-first=Elizabeth |editor2-last=Bilson |title=Carl Sagan's Universe |year=1997 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge; New York |isbn=978-0521572866 |oclc=36130681 |lccn=96040511 |chapter=Science and Pseudoscience |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780521576031 }} [406] => * {{cite book |last=Rodrigues |first=Luís F. |title=Open Questions: Diverse Thinkers Discuss God, Religion, and Faith |year=2010 |publisher=Praeger |location=Santa Barbara, CA |isbn=978-0313386442 |oclc=548555665 |lccn=2010011195 |ref=Rodrigues}} [407] => {{Refend}} [408] => [409] => ==External links== [410] => {{sister project links|d=Q294918|s=Geller_v._Randi|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|wikt=no}} [411] => * {{official website}} [412] => * [https://wakelet.com/@JamesRandi Wakelet Randi collection] [413] => [414] => ===Listings=== [415] => * [http://skepdic.com/randi.html James Randi] in ''[[The Skeptic's Dictionary]]'' [416] => * {{IMDb name|709791|James Randi}} [417] => [418] => ===Media=== [419] => * [https://web.archive.org/web/20131229041841/http://www.linkingpage.com/magicnewsfeed/2009/5/12/mnw-110-james-randi.html James Randi interview] (May 2009) from the podcast of MagicNewswire.com in which Randi discusses his career in magic, his feud with Uri Geller and more. [420] => * [http://bsalert.com/news/2145/BSAlert_Show_5_-_James_Randi_on_Paranormalism_and_Phenomenon.html James Randi interview] (November 2007) from the BSAlert.com radio show where Randi discusses NBC's ''[[Phenomenon (TV series)|Phenomenon]]'' TV show, the current status of Uri Geller and his thoughts about whether society is becoming more or less superstitious. [421] => * {{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2002/homeopathyrandi.shtml|title=Homeopathy: The Test – webchat with James Randi|publisher=BBC Science|date=November 26, 2002}} [422] => * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061557/http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/paranorm.htm "20 Major Aspects of Liars, Cheats, and Frauds" by James Randi] [423] => [424] => {{James Randi|state=expanded}} [425] => {{Academy of Magical Arts Special Fellowship}} [426] => {{Authority control}} [427] => [428] => {{DEFAULTSORT:Randi, James}} [429] => [[Category:1928 births]] [430] => [[Category:2020 deaths]] [431] => [[Category:20th-century American writers]] [432] => [[Category:20th-century atheists]] [433] => [[Category:20th-century Canadian writers]] [434] => [[Category:20th-century Canadian male writers]] [435] => [[Category:21st-century atheists]] [436] => [[Category:American atheists]] [437] => [[Category:American humanists]] [438] => [[Category:American magicians]] [439] => [[Category:American skeptics]] [440] => [[Category:American atheism activists]] [441] => [[Category:Articles containing video clips]] [442] => [[Category:Canadian atheists]] [443] => [[Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States]] [444] => [[Category:Canadian humanists]] [445] => [[Category:Canadian magicians]] [446] => [[Category:Canadian skeptics]] [447] => [[Category:Critics of alternative medicine]] [448] => [[Category:Critics of parapsychology]] [449] => [[Category:Escapologists]] [450] => [[Category:Florida Democrats]] [451] => [[Category:Canadian gay writers]] [452] => [[Category:Historians of magic]] [453] => [[Category:LGBT magicians]] [454] => [[Category:MacArthur Fellows]] [455] => [[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]] [456] => [[Category:Paranormal investigators]] [457] => [[Category:People from Plantation, Florida]] [458] => [[Category:People from Rumson, New Jersey]] [459] => [[Category:Writers from Toronto]] [460] => [[Category:Academy of Magical Arts Special Fellowship winners]] [461] => [[Category:American gay writers]] [462] => [[Category:20th-century Canadian LGBT people]] [] => )

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James Randi

James Randi, born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge, was a Canadian-American stage magician and skeptical investigator of paranormal claims. He gained fame as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later became known for his work as a debunker of various paranormal phenomena.

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He gained fame as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later became known for his work as a debunker of various paranormal phenomena. Randi was a vocal critic of psychics, faith healers, and other individuals who claimed to have supernatural powers. He offered a cash prize, known as the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, to anyone who could demonstrate genuine paranormal abilities under scientific conditions. Throughout his career, Randi sought to promote critical thinking and scientific skepticism, often exposing fraudulent practices and challenging unfounded beliefs. He founded the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) in 1996 to promote scientific inquiry and educate the public about paranormal claims. Randi passed away in 2020, leaving behind a legacy as a prominent figure in the skeptic community and a champion of scientific inquiry.

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