Carson's greatest hit - exposing Uri Geller as a FRAUD!!!!!

[devilgrrl]

:evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin:


One thing Johnny Carson did that in itself made him a legend was when he pranked faux psychic/spoon bender Uri Geller on national TV. :evilgrin:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Carson

In 1973, Carson had a legendary run-in with popular psychic Uri Geller when he invited Geller to appear on his show. Carson, an experienced stage magician, wanted a neutral demonstration of Geller's alleged abilities, so, at the advice of his friend and fellow magician James Randi, he gave Geller several spoons out of his desk drawer and asked him to bend them. Geller proved unable, and his appearance on The Tonight Show has since been regarded as the beginning of Geller's fall from glory.

http://skepdic.com/geller.html

Geller has been performing for many years. The first time I saw him was in the late 60's or early 70's when he appeared on the Johnny Carson show. He was supposed to demonstrate his ability to bend spoons and stop watches with his thoughts, but he failed to even try. He squirmed around and said something about how his power can't be turned on and off, and that he didn't feel right. Others speculate that Randi conspired with Carson to change the spoons Geller would use, as there was suspicion that Geller likes to work (i.e., soften) his spoons before his demonstrations.

[wtmusic]

1. Ah yes

remember it well. Uri "watch my pen crawl across the rug, but don't watch the string" Geller.

[Dookus]

2. Yes

a classic moment in television.

You should post this in the skeptic's forum, too.

On edit: Johnny was an amateur magician and a friend of famed skeptic James Randi.

[Eric J in MN]

3. Thanks for reminding us of this.

It's one thing to be a magician, it's another thing to claim psychic powers, and it's good that Carson stood up against the latter.

[Kelvin Mace]

4. As I recall

he also did this thing where he claimed he could "sense" water and would tell you which film canisters contained water and which didn't waving his hand over the canisters. Actually, he would just bump the table and the empty canisters would move and those with water wouldn't. Carson (a magician humself) and James Randi decided to glue the canisters to the table so they wouldn't move no matter how many times Geller bumped the table.

Geller was a certified fraud and con man. Carson exposed him with a smile.

[signmike]

5. and yet, as "The Great Karnak"

Johnny himself could mentate the envelope contents. That was real.




Wasn't it?

[Bucky]

6. "Condoleezza Rice, George W Bush, and Arnold Schwarzenneggar"

"Name nuthin' but a clod, nuthin' but a fraud, and nuthin' but a bod."

--With apologies to Karnak

[LittleClarkie]

7. Ah with the help of the Amazing Randi, eh?

Randi's been after John Edwards of late. He reminds me of Houdini in the way he will debunk these fake psychics.

Someone, maybe Randi also showed how a psychic, maybe Geller, used to move paper that was under a fish tank. The thing is, the tank wasn't set up flush, so that the fake would puff some air underneath and make it move. To debunk him, all that was done was to make sure the tank was flat on the table surface, and to make sure that the fake was miked up sufficiently to hear him puffing. I do think that was Geller. The putz.

[girl gone mad]

8. I think you mean Jon Edwards?

The guy that claims he can talk to the dead?

I could be wrong, but I think he spells it differently than the senator.

[LittleClarkie]

9. Ooops. Heh. Yeah, that guy

Sorry Senator.

Can you imagine though: attorney, Senator, psychic.

[HamdenRice]

10. Somewhat OT -- but for the life of me ...

I just cannot understand some of David Blaine's sh*t. That guy freaks me out. Especially the card tricks, where the card appears, like across the room, our outside the window of an airplane he is flying in!

[Az]

11. And Leno the putz invited him back on and fawned all over him

Literally the day I gave up having hope for Leno. That he did that to Johnny was unbeleivable.