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Kingdom of Italy under Odoacer (480)

Year 480 (CDLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Basilius without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1233 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 480 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events[link]

By place[link]

Byzantine Empire[link]

• Emperor Zeno officially dissolves the east/west co-emperorship, ruling as the first sole emperor of Rome in 95 years. The position of emperor is never again divided.

Balkans[link]

• Julius Nepos, former emperor of the Western Roman Empire, dies in exile in Dalmatia. He is murdered by his own soldiers in his villa, near Solona.
• December 9 – Odoacer occupies Dalmatia and prosecutes Nepos's killers. He later establishes his political power with the co-operation of the Roman Senate.

Europe[link]

• King Chilperic I dies and is succeeded by his nephew Gundobad, whose realm covers much of eastern Gaul and has two capitals, at Lyon and Geneva. He rules the Kingdom of Burgundy with his brothers Chilperic II, Gundomar and Godegisel.
• Syagrius, ruler of Domain of Soissons, manages to maintain the Roman authority in northern Gaul. He defends his "kingdom" against the neighbouring Salian Franks.
• The Visigoths under king Euric extend their rule from the Loire River to Gibraltar (approximate date).
• Ireland: The Diocese of Connor is erected.

Asia[link]

• Budhagupta, ruler of the Gupta Empire, establishes diplomatic relations with the Kannauj kingdom and drives the Huns out of the fertile plains of northern India.
• Prince Seinei succeeds his father Yūryaku and becomes the 22nd emperor of Japan.

By topic[link]

Religion[link]

• Constantius of Lyon begins his research for his book Vita sancta Germani ("on the Life of Germanus"). He also writes a hagiography of Germanus of Auxerre (approximate date).

Births[link]

• Benedict of Nursia, monasticist (approximate date)
• Boethius, Roman philosopher and writer
• Gelimer, king of the Vandals and Alans (d. 553)
• Scholastica, Christian nun (approximate date)
• Xiao Zhaowen, emperor of Southern Qi (d. 494)
• Zu Gengzhi, Chinese mathematician (d. 525)

Deaths[link]

• Chilperic I, king of Burgundy
• Erbin of Dumnonia, Brythonic king (approximate date)
• Julius Nepos, Western Roman Emperor
• Tydfil, female saint (approximate date)

References[link]

Rob Zicari and Janet Romano

Robert D. Zicari a.k.a. Rob Black (born August 8, 1974) is an American pornographer and former professional wrestling promoter. Together with his wife Janet Romano (a.k.a. Lizzy Borden) he owns the porn company Extreme Associates. Zicari was prosecuted for distribution of obscenity by the United States Department of Justice in 2004. The case was dismissed but was reinstated upon appeal in 2005. Zicari entered into a plea agreement with the government in 2009 ending the case. (See United States v. Extreme Associates.)

Career[link]

Zicari, son of an adult bookstore owner, started out as a porn director in the mid 1990s. His former porn company Extreme Video was started in 1993/1994 and eventually developed into the present-day Extreme Associates.

Appeared as himself (Robert Black) in the documentary film Sex: The Annabel Chong Story (1999).

His work often involved scenes considered egregious and extreme even by other members of the pornography industry, such as adult performers acting as young girls, or a simulated rape of a disabled person in a wheelchair in Miscreants (1997).

In 1998, he founded the porn company, Extreme Associates, together with fellow porn directors Tom Byron and Van Damage and porn star Tiffany Mynx (who have since left the company). Janet Romano started to work for him in the same year, first as an actress and then as a director.

Beginning in 2000, Zicari and AVN Magazine engaged in a "propaganda war" against one another, and as a result, Black's products were not reviewed or advertised in that trade magazine for several years.

In 2001 Zicari (as Rob Black) unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Los Angeles, receiving 789 votes.[1]

Rob Zicari is nephew to porn entrepreneur Charles Zicari, a.k.a. Chuck Zane and cousin to fellow pornographers Mark and Matt Zane.

Obscenity prosecution[link]

The filming of Lizzy Borden's movie Forced Entry, which included several simulated rapes, was covered in the PBS Frontline documentary American Porn (2002); the makers of the documentary were repulsed and walked off the set. The filming of the movie was also a part of documentary produced for the BBC 2 hosted by Louis Theroux which follows various figures of the porn industry. Louis Theroux also leaves the set in a similar manner to that of the PBS documentary. After Zicari was interviewed in the documentary and challenged Attorney General John Ashcroft. These scenes possibly led to the subsequent undercover operation by federal authorities.

In April 2003, the premises of Extreme Associates were raided by federal agents. Zicari, his wife and his company were indicted for distributing obscene pornographic materials. The case is United States v. Extreme Associates.

Zicari's company is located in Northridge near Los Angeles, but the trial took place in Pittsburgh, from where under-cover agents had ordered the offending materials.

Zicari remained in business during the trial; he continued to market and sell the five tapes that are at the center of the prosecution as The Federal Five, with a portion of the sales price going to his defense fund. Note that buyers of those materials do not break the law, since mere possession of obscenity (unlike production and distribution) is not illegal.

In April 2004, Zicari engaged in a public dispute with fellow pornographer Larry Flynt, who also had to fight various obscenity trials in the past. Zicari asked the adult industry for financial support to aid in his defense; Flynt declined, saying that he only promotes consensual sex and that Zicari's actions harmed the industry as a whole.

Zicari's lawyer H. Louis Sirkin initially argued that laws against the distribution of obscenity were unconstitutional since people have a right to own obscenity, but this argument was rebuffed on appeal.

After 6 years of legal costs, Black and his wife both plead guilty to the reinstated federal obscenity charges in hopes to avoid more extensive loss and penalties if they lost at actual trial.^[1]

Zicari and his wife were both sentenced to one year and one day in prison on July 1, 2009.^[2] In late September the couple began serving their prison sentences, Zicari at La Tuna Federal Correctional Institution in Texas and his wife at Waseca Federal Correctional Institution in Minnesota.^[3] Instead of reporting to the intended minimum-security satellite facility, Zicari mistakenly reported to the prison's primary facility, where officials placed him in solitary confinement for nearly a month because it "was the only space they had available."^[3]

Xtreme Pro Wrestling[link]

In 1999, Zicari and Romano founded the Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) independent professional wrestling promotion. He appeared on shows as the owner as well as a manager under the name of Rob Black. His heel (bad guy) stable was called the "Black Army" and featured wrestlers such as John Kronus, Terry Funk, Abdullah the Butcher, and Juventud Guerrera.

XPW folded in 2003 because of issues related to the obscenity prosecution, and in 2004 Zicari sold the company's footage to Xtreme Entertainment Group.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rob Black at the Internet Movie Database
• Rob Black at the Adult Film Database
• Zicari's statement on the raid and the continued availability of the tapes (Wayback Machine archive)
• Dispute between Zicari and Flynt
• Report on November 2004 hearing
• Dismissal of U.S. v. Extreme Associates
• Ruling of the Court of Appeals, reinstating the case against Zicari
• Links to several blog comments regarding the affair
• Interview of Rob Zicari by avninsider.com: part 1, part 2
• American Porn documentary by Frontline (first aired in 2002, updated in 2004), watchable online.

Peter Popoff (born July 2, 1946) is a televangelist and self-proclaimed prophet and faith healer. He conducts revival meetings and has a national television program. He initially rose to prominence in the 1980s. He went bankrupt in 1987 after skeptics James Randi and Alexander (Alec) Jason ^[1] exposed his method of receiving information about revival attendees from his wife via an in-ear receiver.^[2][3] According to Fred M. Frohock, "the case of Peter Popoff is one of many egregious instances of fake healing".^[4] Popoff has since returned to public ministry.

Early life[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2011)

Peter Popoff was born in Berlin, Germany on July 2, 1946. He emigrated to the United States with his family in 1950. His father George, a Pentecostal minister and pastor, toured the U.S. preaching in some of the nation's largest churches. He began a radio ministry and also pastored several churches in the late 1950s and 1960s.

Peter traveled with his family much of the time, finishing high school by correspondence school. He also helped his father with the preaching and radio ministry.

He married Elizabeth in 1971. Together, they traveled as evangelists for 5 years. When their daughter Amy was born, they bought a house in Upland, California and Peter began a radio ministry.

Exposed as a fraud by James Randi[link]

During his appearances at church conventions in the 1970s, Popoff routinely and accurately stated the home addresses and specific illnesses of his audience members, a feat many believed was due to divine revelation and "God given ability".^[5] In 1986 when members of CSICOP reported that Popoff was using a radio to receive messages, Popoff denied it and said the messages came from God.^[6] At the time of his popularity, skeptic groups across the United States printed and handed out pamphlets explaining how Popoff's feats could be done.^[2] Popoff would tell his audience that the pamphlets were "tools of the devil".^[2]

Popoff's earlier claims were debunked in 1986 when noted skeptic James Randi and his assistant Steve Shaw researched Popoff by attending revival meetings across the country for months. Randi asked investigator and crime scene analyst Alexander Jason ^[1] for technical assistance and he was able to use a high-tech (at the time) computerized scanner during a Popoff appearance in San Francisco. Jason identified and intercepted the radio transmissions^[7] that were being sent by Peter's wife Elizabeth Popoff who was backstage reading information which she and her aides (Reeford Sherrill) had gathered from earlier conversations with members of the audience. Popoff would listen to these promptings with an in-ear receiver and repeat what he heard to the crowd.^[8]

Randi then went on to plant imposters in the audience, including a man dressed as a woman pretending to have uterine cancer, of which "she" was "cured".^[9] Jason produced video segments showing several Popoff "healings" which included the previously secret audio. After these were shown on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Popoff's popularity and viewing audiences declined sharply.^[2] In September 1987, sixteen months after the Carson airing, Popoff declared bankruptcy, with more than 790 creditors having claims against him.^[10]

As Randi explained in The Faith Healers, he originally took his research to the United States Attorney's office, but never heard back from them.^[2] This led Johnny Carson to invite Randi on the show to explain how Popoff operated. Popoff at first denied that he used the tactics Randi claimed, even asserting "NBC hired an actress to impersonate Mrs. Popoff on a 'doctored' videotape."^[2] However, as the media pressed with more questions, "on day three Reverend Popoff admitted the existence of the radio device, claiming, that 'almost everybody' knew about the 'communicator.' And, he added, 'My wife occasionally gives me the name of a person who needs special prayers'."^[2]

Popoff's shows also featured audience members who were brought on stage in wheelchairs and then rose dramatically to walk without support. These were some of Popoff's most incredible "healings", but what believing audience members and television viewers did not know was that wheelchairs were used by Popoff to seat people who were already able to walk.^[11]

Popoff wrote several paperback books in the early 1980s that were published by Faith Messenger Publications. He was also known for collecting donations to be sent to the Soviet Union, which earned him a profit.^[2]

In 1991, the NOVA episode "Secrets of the Psychics" aired footage of Popoff with his wife's radio transmission dubbed in. Since then, that episode was released on video to teach critical thinking.^[12]

Resurgence[link]

In 1998 The Washington Post reported that Popoff was making a recovery, and that "Popoff is seeking to jump-start his ministry by repackaging himself for an African American audience, buying time on the Black Entertainment Television network".^[13] Consequently, Popoff, along with Don Stewart and Robert Tilton, received "criticism from those who say that preachers with a long trail of disillusioned followers have no place on a network that holds itself out as a model of entrepreneurship for the black community."^[13] Popoff's infomercials can be seen late nights and early mornings in the US and Canada on BET, Discovery Networks, The Travel Channel, The Learning Channel (TLC), Global Television, TV One, The Word Network and Vision TV.^[14] This includes television in Australia on Nine, in the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.^[14]

In February 2007, Inside Edition broadcast a feature on Popoff's continued faith healing and Miracle Spring Water. The show claimed that Popoff's new television programs feature him "healing the sick" in a manner identical to his method prior to James Randi's exposé. The investigation, led by Matt Meagher, featured clips from The Tonight Show episode, an interview with Randi, and Inside Edition seeking comment from Popoff.^[15] Meagher confronted Popoff as he got into his car, but his microphone was accidentally damaged as Popoff attempted to shut the door of the car.^[15] Asking Popoff why he took thousands of dollars from a desperate married couple, Popoff refused to answer questions and declined to be interviewed. The interview ended with Randi saying "flim flam is his profession; that's what he does best. He's very good at it, and naturally he's going to go back to it."^[15]

In May 2007, ABC's 20/20 focused on Popoff's comeback and explored the lives of a few people who felt cheated.^[16] Various media outlets have run stories critical of Popoff's comeback.^{[17][18][19][20]} In July 2008, a Nanaimo, British Columbia resident was reimbursed by Popoff after the woman took her concerns over his fundraising public.^[21]

In 2008, the UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom gave serious warnings to broadcasters for transmitting Popoff's material, which the regulator felt promoted his products "in such a way as to target potential susceptible and vulnerable viewers". These programs included offers of free Miracle Manna that allegedly provide health and financial miracles. If viewers asked for the so-called manna, they were subsequently sent letters asking for money.^[22]

In 2009, advertisements appeared in the UK press offering a free cross which contained "blessed water" and "holy sand". The blessed water was supposedly from a source near Chernobyl (the site of a nuclear accident). Animals drinking from this source were purportedly free from any radiation sickness. The cross also bore the inscription 'Jerusalem'. Requests for donations accompanied the cross and follow-up requests for money from Popoff were also sent out. However, when Senator Grassley from Iowa singled out 6 US televangelists for investigation regarding mishandling of finances in the same year, Popoff's ministry was not included. ^[23][24]

Popoff was designated by the James Randi Educational Foundation, (JREF) to be one of the recipients of the 2011 Pigasus Award, which exposes fraud, along with Mehmet Oz from (The Dr. Oz Show) and CVS Pharmacy.^[25] “Debt cancellation is part of God’s plan,” according to Popoff. Popoff teaches that God will respond to prayer and seed-faith by providing financial blessing. Credit.com wrote a blog concerning Popoff's claims.^[26]

Financial details[link]

At Popoff's peak in 1987, according to James Randi, he took in $4.3 million a month.^[27] After his exposure on the Tonight Show he declared bankruptcy in 1987.^[10]

In 2003, Popoff's ministry received over $9.6 million and by 2005 the amount had risen to over $23 million. In that year he and his wife were paid a combined total of nearly $1 million, while two of his children were receiving over $180,000 each.^[28] Popoff purchased a home in Bradbury, California for $4.5 million in 2007.^[29][30] Some reporters are urging those who have donated money to Popoff in hopes of receiving "miracles" to report to the Attorney General in their state.^[5]

Publications[link]

• 3 Steps to Answered Prayer. Faith Messenger Publications (1981) ISBN 0-938544-10-1 (91 pages)
• Calamities, Catastrophes, and Chaos. Faith Messenger Publications (1980) ISBN 0-938544-01-2
• Dreams: God's Language for Life More Abundantly. Publisher: People United For Christ (1989)ASIN: B000NSMW2S (88 pages)
• Forecasts for 1987. (1984) ASIN: B000B8K0MY (33 page booklet)
• God Has Promised You Divine Wealth
• God's Abundant Blessings
• Prosperity Thinking
• Releasing the Power of the Holy Spirit in Your Life
• Guaranteed Answered Prayer
• Demons At Your Doorstep. Faith Messenger Publications (May 1982) ISBN 0-938544-13-6 (50 pages)
• Six Things Satan Uses to Rob You of Gods Abundant Blessings. Faith Messenger Publications (April 1982) ISBN 0-938544-11-X (93 pages)

See also[link]

• Christian evangelist scandals

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Smith, Jonathan C. (2010). Pseudoscience and Extraordinary Claims of the Paranormal: A Critical Thinker's Toolkit. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 289–.
• Nickell, Joe (2007). Adventures in Paranormal Investigation. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 95–102.

External links[link]

Find more about Peter Popoff on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

Official and critical

• Peter Popoff Ministries – Official website (Warning: sound)
• More of Popoff's Secrets by James Randi (James Randi Educational Foundation, 2007)
• Listing on the West Australian ScamNet

Media

• Inside Edition from James Randi Educational Foundation, 2007
• A video presentation by Randi, the second half of which shows Popoff's use of an-ear radio (Windows Media format)
• Video with fm interception

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

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

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

Early life[link]

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

Career[link]

Magician[link]

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

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

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

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

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

Author[link]

Randi is author of Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians. The book is subtitled: Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC!. The book selects the most influential magicians and explains their history in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on the 1976 book Houdini, His Life and Art, co-authored with Bert Randolph Sugar, which focused on Houdini and his cohorts. Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he has written several educational works about the paranormal and pseudoscientific. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science,^[33] though in January 2011, he expressed doubts as to whether it would be finished. James Randi has since confirmed the that the book will be sent to publishers by May 20, 2012.^[34] He is a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers the Black Widowers.^[35]

Skeptic[link]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF)[link]

The offices of the JREF in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

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

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

Views on religion[link]

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

The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge[link]

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

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

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

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

Legal disputes[link]

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

Eldon Byrd[link]

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

Uri Geller[link]

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

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Geller v. Randi

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

Other[link]

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

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

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

Personal life[link]

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

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

Randi was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in June 2009.^[85] He had a ping pong ball-sized tumor removed from his intestines during laparoscopic surgery. He announced this a week later at the July 2009 The Amazing Meeting as well as the fact that he was scheduled to begin chemotherapy in the following weeks.^[86] He also said at the conference: "One day, I'm gonna die. That's all there is to it. Hey, it's too bad, but I've got to make room. I'm using a lot of oxygen and such—I think it's good use of oxygen myself, but of course, I'm a little prejudiced on the matter."^[86] Randi also said that after he is gone he does not want his fans to bother with a museum of magic named after him or burying him in a fancy tomb. Instead, he said, "I want to be cremated, and I want my ashes blown in Uri Geller's eyes."^[86] Randi underwent his final chemotherapy session on December 31, 2009, as he explained in a January 12, 2010 video in which he related that his chemotherapy experience was not as unpleasant as he had imagined.^[85] In a video posted April 12, 2010, Randi stated that he has been given a clean bill of health.[3]

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

The Independent Investigations Group IIG tribute to James Randi TAM9

Awards and honors[link]

• In 1981, asteroid 3163 Randi was named after Randi, who has always been an active amateur observer. His friend Carl Sagan encouraged his interest.^[11]
• MacArthur Foundation Fellowship for his investigations of the claims of Uri Geller and TV "faith healers." 1986^[89]
• American Physical Society Joseph A. Burton Forum Award 1989^[90]
• Richard Dawkins Award 2003
• Philip J. Klass Award 2007^[91]
• Independent Investigations Group (IIG) awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award, August 2007. Previous recipients Carl Sagan and Harry Houdini.^[92]
• Committee for Skeptical Inquiry In Praise of Reason Award, 2009
• Elected a Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Fellow, 2010^[93]
• Academy of Magical Arts Lifetime Achievement Fellowship, April 2012^[94]

World records[link]

The following are Guinness records:

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

Bibliography[link]

• An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural, 1995, St. Martin's Press ISBN 0-312-15119-5 OCLC 32167512 (Online Version)
• Conjuring, 1992 St. Martin's Press ISBN 0-312-09771-9
• Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions, 1982, Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-198-3
• Houdini, His Life and Art. Co-authored. Putnam Pub Group (November 1976) ISBN 0-448-12552-8
• James Randi: Psychic Investigator, 1991, companion book to the UK Granada TV series. ISBN 1-85283-144-8
• Test Your ESP Potential. Dover Publications Inc. (December 31, 1982) ISBN 0-486-24269-2
• The Faith Healers, 1987, Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-369-2. (ISBN 0-87975-535-0 1989 edition) (Foreword by Carl Sagan)
• The Magic of Uri Geller, 1982, ISBN 0-345-24796-5 (later renamed The Truth About Uri Geller ISBN 0-87975-199-1)
• The Magic World of the Amazing Randi. Adams Media Corporation (September 1989) ISBN 1-55850-982-8
• The Mask of Nostradamus: The Prophecies of the World's Most Famous Seer, 1990, Charles Scribner's Sons ISBN 0-684-19056-7 or ISBN 0-87975-830-9.
• Wrong! (Forthcoming^[95])
• A Magician in the Laboratory. (Forthcoming^[95])

TV and film[link]

Actor[link]

• Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974) as the Dentist/Executioner
• Ragtime (1981) (stunt coordinator: Houdini)
• Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread (1987) (TV)
• Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) as the 3rd Rope Holder
• Beyond Desire (1994) as the Coroner

Himself[link]

• Wonderama (1955) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
• I've Got a Secret (1965) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
• Happy Days – "The Magic Show" (1978) as the Amazing Randi
• Zembla, 'De trucs van Char' (The tricks Char uses). (March 2008) "De trucs van Char, het medium – 23 maart 2008: ZEMBLA:". http://zembla.vara.nl/Voorpagina.1975.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=5316&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1974&cHash=0e36f258ac. 
• ZDF German TV (2007)
• Wild Wild Web (1999)
• West 57th (1980s)
• Welt der Wunder – Kraft der Gedanken (January 2008)
• Today on NBC (1980s)
• The Don Lane Show (1980)
• That's My Line (1980) (Appeared with James Hydrick)
• The View ABC TV (1999)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (32 appearances between 1973 and 1993)
• The Secret Cabaret (produced by Open Media for Channel 4 in the UK)
• The Power of Belief (October 6, 1998) (ABC News Special) (TV)
• People are Talking (1980s)
• The Patterson Show (1970s)
• The Art of Magic (1998) (TV)
• The Ultimate Psychic Challenge (Discovery Channel/Channel 4) (2003)
• Spotlight on James Randi (2002) (TV)
• Secrets of the Super Psychics (Channel 4/The Learning Channel), produced by Open Media, 1997/8
• Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels (A&E Special) (March 30, 1997)
• Raitre TV Italy (1991)
• Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
• Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
  • End of the World (2003) TV Episode
  • ESP (2003) TV Episode
  • Signs from Heaven (2005) TV Episode
• Oprah Winfrey
• Lawrence Leung Unbelievable TV Episode
• NOVA: Secrets of the Psychics (1993)
• Mitä ihmettä? (Finland) (2003) TV Series
• Midday Show (Australia) (1990s)
• Magic or Miracle (1983)
• Magic (2004) (mini) TV Series
• Larry King Live of CNN (June 5, 2001, September 3, 2001, and January 26, 2007)
• James Randi: Psychic Investigator (1991) (Open Media series for the ITV network)
• James Randi Budapesten – Hungarian documentary (free download for schools)
• Inside Edition – (1991, 2006, and 2007) TV
• Horizon – Homeopathy: The Test (2002) TV Episode
• Houdini Dead Men Talking (Biography Channel)
• Fornemmelse for snyd (2003) TV Series (also archive footage)
• Extraordinary People – The Million Dollar Mind Reader (September 2008)."home – extraordinary people". five.tv. http://www.five.tv/programmes/extraordinarypeople/. Retrieved June 15, 2009. 
• Exploring Psychic Powers Live (June 7, 1989) (Hosted by Bill Bixby)
• CBS This Morning (1990s)
• Anderson Cooper 360, CNN (January 19, 2007 and January 30, 2007)
• A Question of Miracles (HBO) (1999)
• 20/20 ABC TV (May 11, 2007) Avila, Jim (May 11, 2007). "Selling Salvation?". 20/20. http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=3164858&page=1. Retrieved March 1, 2007. 
• Dilbert (TV series) parodied in "The Infomercial" (1999) TV Episode

Other media[link]

James Randi can be heard speaking an introduction on Tommy Finkes song "Poet der Affen/Poet of the Apes", released on the album of the same name in 2010. The message was recorded by James Randi and sent to Tommy Finke via email.^[96]

See also[link]

• Pigasus Award
• Project Alpha
• Robert Todd Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary

Notes[link]

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (February 2012)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: James Randi

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: James Randi

Works by or about James Randi in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Official

• James Randi Educational Foundation – Official website
• James Randi Educational Foundation official YouTube channel
• Video of short talk by Randi in 2007 at TED