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David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
For over four decades The Amazing Kreskin has not only dramatized the unusual powers of the human mind, but has done so with the right combination of wit and showmanship. His very name has become an integral part of pop culture, invoked in comedy clubs, comic strips, print stories and TV show from sitcoms to news magazines. Kreskin, who has performed for the likes of royalty and presidential families, has also made well over 500 television appearances. in addition, as host of his own highly rated series and specials. Ever-earning his status as "the world's foremost mentalist ," Kreskin offers $50,000 to anyone who can prove he employs paid assistants during any of this performances.
On stage and television Kreskin seeks to reveal the thoughts of audience members, plant suggestions in fully awake subjects and dazzle with feats of extraordinary mental projections. As one of the highlights of his stage shows, he regularly asks to have his check hidden anywhere on the premises; if he fails to find it, he forfeits his fee. Since some of the more elaborate attempts to conceal his check have included cooking it into the stuffing of a turkey, sewing it into a tablecloth and suspending it in a chandelier, his success rate is truly remarkable. In well over 6,000 performances, he has failed to find his check only nine times.
Kreskins name and face have gained household recognition from over 500 appearances on national television including 118 "Mike Douglas Shows," 98 "Merv Griffins" and a record 88 "Tonight Shows" (Legend has it that Johnny Carson, who saw Kreskin trip and fall during his first appearance on "The Steve Allen Show," modeled his own clumsy Carnac the Magnificent after the mentalist. In addition to recent guest spots on "Late Show With David Letterman," "Nashville Now," "Live With Regis & Kathie Lee," "Larry King Live" and "CNN Morning News," Kreskin astonished viewers of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" by finding host robin Leach hidden somewhere in New York City.
During the 1970's the mentalist dazzled millions of international viewers each week for five years with his television series "The Amazing World of Kreskin." In the late 1980's he starred in "Kresking's Quest," a series of internationally syndicated specials.
Kreskin's unparalleled contributions to the study of parapsychology have made him the subject of articles in numerous scientific journals and magazines, along with earning him an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Seton Hall University, where he majored in psychology. Among thousands of volumes in his professional library on the subject of parapsychology (reportedly the largest private collection on the world) are five books by Kreskin himself: The Amazing World of Kreskin (Random House), Kreskin's Mind Power Book (McGraw -Hill), Fun Way to Mind Expansion (Doubleday), Secrets of The Amazing Kreskin (Prometheus) and Kreskin's Secrets, a privately published mail order some of which have sold nearly 500,000 copies.
Kreskin credits the childhood influences of "Mandrake the Magician" comic books, radio/television pioneer Arthur Godfrey and magnetic Televangelist Bishop Sheen for the direction of his career. Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Kreskin was fully fascinated with magic by age five, after which he began to perform for the neighborhood children. To this day Kreskin often warms up his audiences with a deft display of sleight-of-hand as preparation for the tough reading to come. He enjoys defying the eye and admits, "The ESP factor needs a solid mental foundation to be successful. Once the audience members become mystified, they are more susceptible to suggestion."
Music has also served as an effective medium for the mentalist, who made his professional debut as a pianist at Carnegie Hall with Skitch Henderson and the New York Pops, subsquently soloing as a guest artist with symphonies throughout the U.S. and Canada. During one performance with the Hamilton Philharmonic in Ontario, thirty people slumped over in their chairs onstage as Love Me Tender on the piano as he summoned the spirit of the late Elvis Presley. Through Kreskin's extraordinary powers of suggestion, by-standers suddenly began to drop to their knees!
Kreskin has also used his unique gifts to make a positive social contribution. His highly delveloped skills have led to the discovery of curcial evidence in several major criminal investigations. He has also devoted a great deal of time in and out of the nation's courtrooms questioning the validity of testimony given by hypnotized witnesses and the reliability of hypnosis in general. Kreskin even appeared on the television series Missing Reward to offer $100,000 to any "hypnotic trance" under scientific conditions. To date, no one has collected this challenge.