Date of Birth
7 August 1928, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Birth Name
Randall James Hamilton Zwinge
Nickname
"The Amazing"
Height
5' 6" (1.68 m)
Mini Biography
James Randi has an international reputation as a magician and escape artist, but today he is best known as the world's most tireless investigator and demystifier of paranormal and pseudoscientific claims.
Randi has pursued "psychic" spoonbenders, exposed the dirty tricks of faith healers, investigated homeopathic water "with a memory," and generally been a thorn in the sides of those who try to pull the wool over the public's eyes in the name of the supernatural.
He has received numerous awards and recognitions, including a Fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 1986.
On October 19, 1993, the PBS-TV "NOVA" program broadcast a one-hour special dealing with Randi's life work, particularly with his investigations of Uri Geller and various occult and healing claims being made by scientists in Russia.
He is the author of numerous books, including The Truth About Uri Geller, The Faith Healers, Flim-Flam!, and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural. His lectures and television appearances have delighted - and vexed - audiences around the world.
In 1996, the James Randi Education Foundation was established to further Randi's work. Randi's long-standing challenge to psychics now stands as a $1,000,000 prize administered by the Foundation. It remains unclaimed.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Randi
Trivia
Has successfully debunked claims by self-professed psychics, faith-healers, and conspiracy theorists.
His original claim to fame was as a stage magician and escape artist.
Once traveled with the Alice Cooper Band.
He re-created Houdini's milk can escape.
Randi once escaped from a straitjacket while suspended over Niagara Falls.
Randi broke Houdini's underwater record when he was sealed in a metal coffin at the bottom of a swimming pool for 104 minutes.
Randi drives a 2002 teal blue Miata named Sophia.
Randi used to have a pet Kinkajou named Sam.
Personal Quotes
"If Uri Geller bends spoons with divine powers, then he's doing it the hard way."
It's a very dangerous thing to believe in nonsense.
The New Age? It's just the old age stuck in a microwave oven for fifteen seconds.
If the audience likes you, they want you to win. It's not a case of: "We'll see whether he can do this. No. We'll see him do this. We want him to be successful. He's up against the odds." They're pulling for the underdog.
I don't expect that the million will ever be won, simply because there is no confirming evidence for any paranormal claims to date.
Heroin also makes people feel better, but I wouldn't recommend using heroin.
Where Are They Now
(April 2004) Currently in charge of the James Randi Educational Foundation which promotes critical thinking. The Foundation also offers one million US dollars to anyone who can show evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event.
7 August 1928, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Birth Name
Randall James Hamilton Zwinge
Nickname
"The Amazing"
Height
5' 6" (1.68 m)
Mini Biography
James Randi has an international reputation as a magician and escape artist, but today he is best known as the world's most tireless investigator and demystifier of paranormal and pseudoscientific claims.
Randi has pursued "psychic" spoonbenders, exposed the dirty tricks of faith healers, investigated homeopathic water "with a memory," and generally been a thorn in the sides of those who try to pull the wool over the public's eyes in the name of the supernatural.
He has received numerous awards and recognitions, including a Fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 1986.
On October 19, 1993, the PBS-TV "NOVA" program broadcast a one-hour special dealing with Randi's life work, particularly with his investigations of Uri Geller and various occult and healing claims being made by scientists in Russia.
He is the author of numerous books, including The Truth About Uri Geller, The Faith Healers, Flim-Flam!, and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural. His lectures and television appearances have delighted - and vexed - audiences around the world.
In 1996, the James Randi Education Foundation was established to further Randi's work. Randi's long-standing challenge to psychics now stands as a $1,000,000 prize administered by the Foundation. It remains unclaimed.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Randi
Trivia
Has successfully debunked claims by self-professed psychics, faith-healers, and conspiracy theorists.
His original claim to fame was as a stage magician and escape artist.
Once traveled with the Alice Cooper Band.
He re-created Houdini's milk can escape.
Randi once escaped from a straitjacket while suspended over Niagara Falls.
Randi broke Houdini's underwater record when he was sealed in a metal coffin at the bottom of a swimming pool for 104 minutes.
Randi drives a 2002 teal blue Miata named Sophia.
Randi used to have a pet Kinkajou named Sam.
Personal Quotes
"If Uri Geller bends spoons with divine powers, then he's doing it the hard way."
It's a very dangerous thing to believe in nonsense.
The New Age? It's just the old age stuck in a microwave oven for fifteen seconds.
If the audience likes you, they want you to win. It's not a case of: "We'll see whether he can do this. No. We'll see him do this. We want him to be successful. He's up against the odds." They're pulling for the underdog.
I don't expect that the million will ever be won, simply because there is no confirming evidence for any paranormal claims to date.
Heroin also makes people feel better, but I wouldn't recommend using heroin.
Where Are They Now
(April 2004) Currently in charge of the James Randi Educational Foundation which promotes critical thinking. The Foundation also offers one million US dollars to anyone who can show evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event.
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