Monday 15 October 2012

Uri Geller

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Uri Geller

Uri Geller in 2009
Born(1946-12-20) 20 December 1946 (age 65)
Tel Aviv, British Mandate of Palestine
ResidenceBerkshire, England & Cyprus - (Tel Aviv - Israel)
Occupationperformer, self-proclaimed psychic
Spouse(s)Hanna Geller
Uri Geller (Hebrew: אורי גלר‎; born 20 December 1946) is a self-proclaimed psychic known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other supposed psychic effects. Throughout the years, Geller has been accused of using simple conjuring tricks to simulate the effects of psychokinesis and telepathy. Geller's career as an entertainer has spanned almost four decades, with television shows and appearances in many countries. Geller used to call his abilities "psychic" but now prefers to refer to himself as a "mystifier" and entertainer.[1] Geller's first name is pronounced oori, not yoori.[2]

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[edit] Early life

Born in Tel Aviv, British Mandate of Palestine, to Jewish parents from Hungary and Austria,[3] Geller is the son of Itzhaak Geller (Gellér Izsák), a retired army sergeant major, and Manzy Freud (Freud Manci). It is claimed that Geller is a distant relative of Sigmund Freud on his mother's side.[4]
At the age of 11, Geller's family moved to Nicosia, Cyprus, where he attended a high school, The Terra Santa College and learned English. At the age of 18[5] he served in the Israeli Army's Paratroopers Brigade,[6] and was wounded in action during the 1967 Six-Day War.[7][8] He worked as a photographic model in 1968 and 1969; during that time, he began to perform for small audiences as a nightclub entertainer,[9] becoming well known in Israel.[10]
Geller first started to perform in theatres, public halls, auditoriums, military bases and universities in Israel.[11] By the 1970s, Geller had become known in the United States and Europe. He also received attention from the scientific community, whose members were interested in examining his reported psychic abilities. At the peak of his career in the 1970s, he worked full-time, performing for television audiences worldwide.

[edit] Career

Geller gained notice for demonstrating on television what he claimed to be psychokinesis, dowsing, and telepathy.[12] His performance included bending spoons, describing hidden drawings, and making watches stop or run faster. Geller said he performs these feats through will power and the strength of his mind.[13] Magicians have said that his performances can be duplicated using stage magic tricks.[14]
In 1975 Geller published his first autobiography, My Story, and acknowledged that, in his early career, his manager talked him into adding a magic trick to make his performances last longer.[15] This trick involved Geller appearing to guess audience members' license plate numbers, when in fact his manager had given them to him ahead of time. One of Geller's most prominent critics is the skeptic James Randi, who has accused Geller repeatedly of trying to pass off magic tricks as paranormal displays. Randi often duplicated Geller's performances using stage magic techniques.
Geller bending a spoon in a mall in Switzerland, 2005
Geller starred in the 2001 horror film Sanitarium, directed by Johannes Roberts and James Eaves. In May 2002, he appeared as a contestant on the first series of the British reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, where he finished in eighth place. In 2005, Geller starred in Uri's Haunted Cities: Venice, a XI Pictures/Lion TV production for Sky One, which led to a behind the scenes release in early 2008 called Cursed; both productions were directed by Jason Figgis. In early 2007, Geller hosted a reality show in Israel called The Successor (היורש), where the contestants supposedly displayed supernatural powers; Israeli magicians criticized the program saying that it was all magic tricks.[16] In July 2007 NBC signed Geller and Criss Angel for Phenomenon, to search for the next great mentalist; contestant Mike Super won the position.[17] In January 2008, Geller began hosting the TV show The Next Uri Geller, broadcast by Pro7 in Germany.[18]
In February 2008, Geller began a show on Dutch television called De Nieuwe Uri Geller, which shares a similar format to its German counterpart. The goal of the programme is to find the best mentalist in the Netherlands. In March 2008, he started the same show in Hungary (A kiválasztott in Hungarian). During the show, Geller speaks in both Hungarian and English. Geller also performs his standard routines of allegedly making stopped watches start, spoons jump from televisions, and tables move. Geller co-produced the TV show Book of Knowledge, released in April 2008.[19] In October 2009, a similar show, called The Successor of Uri Geller.[20] began on Greek television.

[edit] Personal life

Geller lives in Sonning-on-Thames, Berkshire in the United Kingdom. He is trilingual, speaking English, Hebrew, and Hungarian.[21] In an appearance on Esther Rantzen's 1996 television talk show Esther, Geller claimed to have suffered from anorexia nervosa for several years.[22][23] He has written 16 fiction and non fiction books.
Geller owns a 1976 Cadillac adorned with thousands of pieces of bent tableware given to him by celebrities or otherwise having significance to him. This includes spoons from such people as John Lennon and the Spice Girls, as well as those with which Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy supposedly ate. His friend Michael Jackson was best man when Geller renewed his wedding vows in 2001.[24] Geller also negotiated the famous TV interview between Jackson with the journalist Martin Bashir: Living with Michael Jackson.[25]
Geller is president of International Friends of Magen David Adom, a group that lobbied the International Committee of the Red Cross to recognise Magen David Adom ("Red Star of David") as a humanitarian relief organisation.[citation needed] In 1997 he tried to help the Second Division football club Exeter City win a crucial end of season game by placing "energy-infused" crystals behind the goals at Exeter's ground (Exeter lost the game 5–1); he was appointed co-chairman of the club in 2002. The club was relegated to the Football Conference in May 2003, where it remained for five years. He has since severed formal ties with the club.
Following the death of Michael Jackson, the British television station ITV announced plans to screen an interview with Geller regarding his relationship with Jackson, entitled My Friend Michael Jackson: Uri's Story.[26]

[edit] Paranormal claims

Geller has claimed his feats are the result of paranormal powers[12] given to him by extraterrestrials,[27] but critics such as James Randi argue and have demonstrated that Geller's tricks can be replicated with stage magic and are simply "parlour tricks".[14]
In the early 1970s, an article in The Jerusalem Post reported that a court had ordered Geller to refund a customer's ticket price and pay court costs after finding that he had committed fraud by claiming that his feats were telepathic.[10] In addition, a 1974 article also hints at Geller's abilities being trickery.[28] The article alleged that his manager Shipi Shtrang (whom he called his brother at the time)[clarification needed] and Shipi's sister Hannah Shtrang secretly helped in Geller's performances.[28] Eventually, Geller married Hannah and they had children.[29]
In 1975, two scientists (Russell Targ and Harold Puthoff from the Stanford Research Institute) said they were convinced that Geller's demonstrations were genuine.[30] Since that time, however, notable scientists, various magicians, and skeptics have suggested possible ways in which Geller could have tricked the scientists using misdirection techniques.[14][31] These critics, who include Richard Feynman, James Randi and Martin Gardner, have accused him of using his demonstrations fraudulently outside of the entertainment business.[32][33] Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, who was an amateur magician, wrote in Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (1985) that Geller was unable to bend a key for him and his son.[34] Some of his claims have been described by watchmakers as restarting stopped mechanical clocks by moving them around.[35]
Geller is well known for making predictions regarding sporting events. Skeptic James Randi and British tabloid newspaper The Sun have demonstrated the teams and players he chooses to win most often lose.[36] John Atkinson explored "predictions" Geller made over 30 years and concluded "Uri more often than not scuppered [i.e., destroyed] the chances of sportsmen and teams he was trying to help."[36] This was pointed out by one of Randi's readers, who called it "The Curse of Uri Geller."[37]
During the Euro 96 football game between Scotland and England at Wembley, Geller, who was hovering overhead in a helicopter, claimed that he managed to move the ball from the penalty spot when Scotland's Gary McAllister was about to take a penalty kick,[38] something that, if true, would be against the rules of Association football, as the ball would then have been "Out of Play". The player ended up missing the chance to equalise for Scotland.
In another notable instance, in 1992, Geller was asked to investigate the kidnapping of Hungarian model Helga Farkas; after he predicted she would be found alive and in good health, she was found to have been murdered by her kidnappers.[39][40] Geller was a friend of Bruce Bursford and helped him "train his mind" during some cycling speed record-breaking bids in the 1990s.[41]
In 2007, skeptics observed that Geller appeared to have dropped his claims that he does not perform magic tricks. Randi highlighted a quotation from the November 2007 issue of the magazine Magische Welt (Magic World) in which Geller said: "I'll no longer say that I have supernatural powers. I am an entertainer. I want to do a good show. My entire character has changed."[42]
In a later interview, Geller told Telepolis, "I said to this German magazine, so what I did say, that I changed my character, to the best of my recollection, and I no longer say that I do supernatural things. It doesn't mean that I don't have powers. It means that I don't say 'it's supernatural', I say 'I'm a mystifier!' That's what I said. And the sceptics turned it around and said, 'Uri Geller said he's a magician!' I never said that."[43] In that interview, Geller further explained that when he is asked how he does his stunts, he tells children to "Forget the paranormal. Forget spoon bending! Instead of that, focus on school! Become a positive thinker! Believe in yourself and create a target! Go to university! Never smoke! And never touch drugs! And think of success!"[43]
In February 2008, Geller stated in the TV show The Next Uri Geller (a German version of The Successor) that he did not have any supernatural powers, before winking to the camera.[44]

[edit] Parallels to stage magic

Geller admits, "Sure, there are magicians who can duplicate [my performances] through trickery."[45] He has claimed that even though his spoon bending can be repeated using trickery, he uses psychic powers to achieve his results.[45] Skeptic James Randi has stated that if Geller is truly using his mind to perform these feats, "He is doing it the hard way."[46]
Stage magicians note several methods of creating the illusion of a spoon spontaneously bending. Most common is the practice of misdirection, an underlying principle of many stage magic tricks.[47] There are many ways in which a bent spoon can be presented to an audience as to give the appearance it was manipulated using supernatural powers. One way is through brief moments of distraction in which a magician can physically bend a spoon unseen by the audience,[46] before gradually revealing the bend to create the illusion that the spoon is bending before the viewers' eyes.[46] Another way is to pre-bend the spoon, perhaps by heating it, reducing the amount of force that needed to be applied to bend it manually.[46]
During telepathic drawing demonstrations, Geller claimed the ability to read the minds of subjects as they draw a picture. Although in these demonstrations he cannot see the picture being drawn, he is sometimes present in the room, and on these occasions can see the subjects as they draw. Critics argue this may allow Geller to infer common shapes from pencil movement and sound, with the power of suggestion doing the rest.[47]
Watchmakers have noted that "many supposedly broken watches had merely been stopped by gummy oil, and simply holding them in the hand would warm the oil enough to soften it and allow watches to resume ticking."[35]
In 1978, Yasha Katz, who had been Geller's manager in Britain, said that all performances by Geller were simply stage tricks, and he explained how they were really done.[48]
In November 2008, Geller accepted an award during a convention of magicians, the Services to Promotion of Magic Award from the Berglas Foundation. In his acceptance speech, Geller said that if he hadn't had psychic powers then he "must be the greatest" to have been able to fool journalists, scientists and Berglas himself.[49]

[edit] Scientific testing

Geller's performances of drawing duplication and cutlery bending usually take place under informal conditions such as television interviews. During his early career he allowed some scientists to investigate his claims. A study by Stanford Research Institute (now known as SRI International) conducted by researchers Harold E. Puthoff and Russell Targ concluded[50] that he had performed successfully enough to warrant further serious study, and the "Geller-effect" was coined to refer to the particular type of abilities they felt had been demonstrated.[51]
In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural, Randi wrote: "Hal Puthoff and Russell Targ, who studied Mr. Geller at the Stanford Research Institute were aware, in one instance at least, that they were being shown a magician's trick by Geller."[52] Moreover, Randi explained, "Their protocols for this 'serious' investigation of the powers claimed by Geller were described by Dr. Ray Hyman, who investigated the project on behalf of the Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency, as 'sloppy and inadequate.'"[52] Puthoff and Targ complained in a book about Hyman's procedures. They had suggested that Hyman and co. visit SRI and conduct their own experiments on Geller. This they did, and Hyman and his two colleagues spent ‘a couple of hours’ performing their own experiments on Geller. Hyman would not have observed any testing by Puthoff and Targ. Hyman's experiments were observed and video taped by Puthoff and Targ, who said that they were conducted in an ‘informal manner’ and ‘largely uncontrolled’.[53]
Critics of this testing include psychologists Dr. David Marks and Dr. Richard Kammann, who published a description of how Geller could have cheated in an informal test of his so-called psychic powers in 1977.[54] Their 1978 article in Nature and 1980 book The Psychology of the Psychic (2nd ed. 2000) described how a normal explanation was possible for Geller's alleged powers of telepathy. Marks and Kammann found evidence that while at SRI Geller was allowed to peek through a hole in the laboratory wall separating Geller from the drawings he was being invited to reproduce. The drawings he was asked to reproduce were placed on a wall opposite the peep hole which the investigators Targ and Puthoff had stuffed with cotton gauze. In addition to this error, the investigators had also allowed Geller access to a two-way intercom enabling Geller to listen to the investigators' conversation during the time when they were choosing and/or displaying the target drawings. These basic errors indicate the high importance of ensuring that psychologists, magicians or other people with an in-depth knowledge of perception, who are trained in methods for blocking sensory cues, be present during the testing of psychics.
In 1974, William E. Cox organized a committee within the Society of American Magicians to 'investigate false claims of ESP'. Geller was tested by Cox, who was impressed by some positive test results which his scrutiny could find no fraud. For example, William E. Cox held a robust key with one finger on a table and watched as it bent with Geller in view, and noticed no trickery.[55][56] Geller was to be tested by other two magicians from the Society.

[edit] The Tonight Show

Geller was unable to bend any tableware during a 1973 appearance on The Tonight Show in which the spoons he was to bend had been pre-selected by Johnny Carson. When pressed by Carson, he claimed that he didn't feel "strong" that night. Earlier in his career, Carson had been an amateur stage magician, and he consulted James Randi for advice on how to thwart potential trickery.[27] In 1993 Randi explained in "Secrets of the Psychics" for the NOVA television series: "I was asked to prevent any trickery. I told them to provide their own props and not to let Geller or his people anywhere near them." A clip of this incident was televised on the NBC show Phenomenon. This two-minute clip has been widely circulated on the Internet since James Randi acquired permission to use it from NBC, and Carson paid for the videotape transfer.[57] In his television special Secrets of the Psychics, Geller is shown failing at psychic "hand dowsing" (i.e. locating sealed vessels containing water without touching them), not metal bending.[clarification needed]

[edit] Controversial performances

Wikinews has related news: Criss Angel challenges Uri Geller and Jim Callahan over paranormal claims
As part of a mass demonstration, Geller’s photograph appeared on the cover of the magazine ESP with the caption “On Sept. 1, 1976 at 11pm E.D.T. THIS COVER CAN BEND YOUR KEYS." According to editor Howard Smukler, over 300 positive responses were received, many including bent objects and detailed descriptions of the surrounding circumstances including the bending of the key to the city of Providence, Rhode Island.[58]
Noel Edmonds was a television prankster who often used hidden cameras to record celebrities in Candid Camera-like situations for his television programme Noel's House Party. In 1996, Edmonds planned a stunt in which shelves would fall from the walls of a room while Geller was in it. The cameras recorded footage of Geller from angles he was not expecting, and they showed Geller grasping a spoon firmly with both hands as he stood up to display a bend in it.[59]
In late 2006 and early 2007, Geller starred in The Successor, an Israeli television show to find his "successor." During one segment, a compass was made to move, purportedly as a result of Geller's paranormal abilities. However, critics say slow motion footage of the episode showed Geller attaching a magnet to his thumb immediately prior to the compass's movement.[60][61] Geller denied that this was sleight of hand, and said he welcomed the "mystical aura" that the publicity gave him.[62]
Geller performed the same compass trick in 2000 on ABC TV's The View, which was later duplicated by Randi on the same show the following week.[63]

[edit] Litigation

Geller has litigated or threatened legal action against some of his critics with mixed success.[64] These included libel allegations against Randi and illusionist Gérard Majax.
In 1971, a mechanical engineering student called Uri Goldstein attended one of Geller's shows, and subsequently sued the show's promoters for breach of contract. He complained that Geller had promised a demonstration of several psychic powers but had delivered only sleight-of-hand and stage tricks. The case came before the civil court in Beersheba.[65] Geller was not present as the summons had been sent to the office of the promoter Miki Peled, who had ignored it as being trivial. Goldstein was awarded 27.5 lira (around $5) for breach of contract. Later, Goldstein admitted that he went to the show specifically with the intent of suing to get his money back, and he had already found a lawyer to represent him prior to attending the performance.[66][unreliable source?]
In 1992, Geller filed a $15 million suit against Randi and CSICOP for statements made in a International Herald Tribune interview in April 9, 1991,[64][67] but he was unsuccessful because the statute of limitations had expired.[64] In 1994 Geller asked to dismiss without prejudice, and he was ordered to pay $50,000 for the publisher's attorney fees. After not paying in time, Geller was sanctioned with an additional $20,000. Due to the sanction, the suit was dismissed with prejudice, which, according to Randi's attorneys, means that Geller can't pursue the same suit in any other jurisdiction.[64][68] In 1995 Geller and Randi announced that this settled "the last remaining suits" between him and the CSICOP.[69] As part of the settlement, Geller agreed not to pursue the payment of the 1990 Japanese ruling, in exchange for Prometheus Books inserting an errata on all future editions of Physics and Psychics, correcting erroneous statements made about Geller.[69] According to Truzzi, Randi had spent all the money from his McArthur award, and his current attorney was working pro bono.[64]
In a 1989 interview with a Japanese newspaper, Randi was quoted as saying that Geller had driven a scientist to "shoot himself in the head" after finding out that Geller had fooled him. Randi afterwards claimed it was a metaphor lost in translation.[67] However, in a previous interview with a Canadian newspaper, Randi said essentially the same thing: "One scientist, a metallurgist, wrote a paper backing Geller's claims that he could bend metal. The scientist shot himself after I showed him how the key bending trick was done."[70] In 1990, Geller sued Randi in a Japanese court over the statements Randi had made in the Japanese newspaper. Randi claims that he could not afford to defend himself, therefore he lost the case by default. The court declared Randi's statement an "insult" as opposed to libel, and awarded a judgement against Randi for ¥500,000 (at the time about US$4400) (according to Randi, only "one-third of one-percent of what he'd demanded"[71]). Randi feels that, since the charge of "insult" is only recognized in Chinese and Japanese law, he was not required to pay.[69][71][72] Later in 1995 Geller agreed not to pursue payment of the Japanese fine.[64] Randi maintains that he has "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued" him.[72]
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In 1991, Geller sued Timex Corporation and the advertising firm Fallon McElligott for millions in Geller v. Fallon McElligott[73] over an ad showing a person bending forks and other items, but failing to stop a Timex watch. Geller was sanctioned $149,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit.[74]
In 1998, the Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC) in the United Kingdom rejected a complaint made by Geller, saying that it "wasn't unfair to have magicians showing how they duplicate those "psychic feats'" on the UK Equinox episode "Secrets of the Super Psychics" (this film, made by Open Media, was known on first transmission as Secrets of the Psychics but should not be confused with the earlier NOVA film of the same name).[75] The full text of the BSC adjudication is available online here.[76]
He also considered a suit against IKEA over a furniture line featuring bent legs that was called the "Uri" line.[77]

[edit] Copyright claims

Wikinews has related news: Judge dismisses copyright lawsuit against Uri Geller
In November 2000, Geller sued video game company Nintendo for £60 million (the equivalent of US $100 million) over the Pokémon character "Yungerer," localized in English as "Kadabra", which he claimed was an unauthorised appropriation of his identity.[78][79] The Pokémon in question has psychic abilities and carries a bent spoon. Geller also claimed that the star on Kadabra's forehead and the lightning patterns on its abdomen are symbolisms popular with the Waffen SS of Nazi Germany.[79] The katakana for the character's name, ユンゲラー, is visually similar to the transliteration of Geller's own name into Japanese (ユリゲラー). He is quoted as saying: "Nintendo turned me into an evil, occult Pokémon character. Nintendo stole my identity by using my name and my signature image." The lawsuit was thrown out of court.
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
In 2007, Geller issued a DMCA notice to YouTube to remove a video uploaded by Brian Sapient of the "Rational Response Squad" which was excerpted from an episode of the Nova television program titled "Secrets of the Psychics". The video included footage of Geller failing to perform. In response, Sapient contacted the Electronic Frontier Foundation, issued a DMCA counter-notice, and sued Geller for misuse of the DMCA. Geller's company, Explorologist, filed a counter-suit. Both cases were settled out of court; a monetary settlement was paid (but it is not clear by and to whom) and the eight seconds of footage owned by Explorologist were licensed under a noncommercial Creative Commons license.[80]

[edit] Lamb Island, Scotland

On 11 February 2009, Geller purchased the uninhabited 100 yard-by-50 yard Lamb Island off the eastern coast of Scotland, previously known for its witch trials, and beaches that Robert Louis Stevenson is said to have described in his novel Treasure Island. Geller claims that buried on the island is Egyptian treasure, brought there by Scota, the half-sister of Tutankhamen 3,500 years ago and that he will find the treasure through dowsing. Geller also claimed to have strengthened the mystical powers of the island by burying there a crystal orb once belonging to Albert Einstein.[81][82]

[edit] Bibliography

Books by Geller, sold as fiction
Books by Geller, sold as nonfiction
Books about Geller
Comics

[edit] References

  1. ^ "TP: "Forget the paranormal!"". Heise.de. http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/27/27217/1.html. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  2. ^ "Uri Geller Biography (Paranormalist)". http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/urigeller.html.
  3. ^ YVONNE SWANN (12 February 2010). "Me and my school photo: Uri Geller remembers bombs, curfews and shootings in Cyprus". Mail Online. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1250577/Me-school-photo-Uri-Geller-remembers-bombs-curfews-shootings-Cyprus.html.
  4. ^ Jonathan Margolis, Uri Geller Magician or Mystic, Orion Publishing Group, 1998, ISBN 0-7528-1006-5, p.13
  5. ^ James Randi, The Truth About Uri Geller, New York: Prometheus Books (1982) page 9
  6. ^ Margolis, Jonathan (1999-12-29). "Nintendo faces £60m writ from Uri Geller". Guardian Unlimited (London: Guardian News and Media Limited). http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3945740,00.html. Retrieved 2006-12-09. "... the 53-year-old former Israeli paratrooper has always guarded unlicensed use of his name."
  7. ^ Friedman, Matti (2006-12-28). "Bend it like Geller". The Age (Melbourne: AP). http://www.theage.com.au/news/tv--radio/bend-it-like-geller/2006/12/25/1166895234851.html. Retrieved 2011-02-15. "He served in the Israeli paratroops, was wounded in 1967’s Six-Day War..." (also in MSNBC [1] and possibly other sites)
  8. ^ Uri Geller and Guy Lyon Playfair, Uri Geller, The Geller Effect, pp. 6, 27, 79, 133, "(p. 6) He served as a paratrooper during his military service in the Israeli Army and fought in the Six Day was of 1967, during which he was wounded in action. (p. 27) I am not particularly found of guns as weapons, having been wounded by one (...) (p. 79) In 1979 I finally married Hanna, whom I had known for more than ten years since we first met while I was convalescing from the wounds I received during the Six Day War of 1967. (p. 133) He showed me the large scar where he had been operated on after being wounded in the Six Day War. It was close to his left elbow joint, and the stitch marks were easily visible. 'I'm not strong in this arm at all,' he added. 'I can't even lift a heavy suitcase with it'"
  9. ^ The Magician And the Think Tank, Time (magazine) Mar. 12, 1973
  10. ^ a b "Telepathist Geller Termed a Fraud," Jerusalem Post 5 October 1970
  11. ^ Margolis, Jonathan (1998). Uri Geller. Magician or Mystic?: Orinon Media.ISBN 0-7528-1006-5. pages 92,103,107, 112,118,
  12. ^ a b Geller, Uri (November 8, 2000). "Geller: I can bend metal". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4087777,00.html. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  13. ^ "Cyberspace Psychic". Totally Jewish. 2000-07-25. http://www.uri-geller.com/totallyjewish1.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  14. ^ a b c "The skeptic's Dictionary: Uri Geller". Skepdic.com. http://skepdic.com/geller.html. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  15. ^ "13". Uri-geller.com. http://www.uri-geller.com/books/my-story/ms13.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  16. ^ "Uri Geller accused of TV trickery". BBC. 21 January 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6285005.stm. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  17. ^ "NBC Offers Reality Show For Wanna-Be Mentalists With Uri Geller, Criss Angel". Tampa Tribune. July 17, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-20. http://web.archive.org/web/20071020050232/http://www.tbo.com/entertainment/tv/MGBYA18H74F.html. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  18. ^ "The Next Uri Geller". Pro7. http://www.prosieben.de/show_comedy/next_uri_geller/. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
  19. ^ Hopewell, John (2008-03-31). "Knowledge powers Mip TV slate". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117983237.html?categoryid=19&cs=1&nid=2562.
  20. ^ "UriGeller". Antenna.gr. http://www.antenna.gr/urigeller/. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  21. ^ "TV2V". Webcast.tv2.hu. http://webcast.tv2.hu/dynamic/f.html?video_id=374195. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  22. ^ "Anorexic men are suffering in silence". Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland). 1999-09-01. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60353334.html.
  23. ^ Geller, Uri (2008-04-20). "Uri Geller: Bingeing is an addictive drug". London: The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/21/nprescott321.xml.
  24. ^ "Jackson fans await Geller wedding". BBC. 2001-03-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1206918.stm. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  25. ^ "Jackson interview seen by 14m". BBC. 4 February 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2719763.stm. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  26. ^ "ITV announce ‘My Friend Michael Jackson: Uri’s Story’ @ Unreality Primetime". Primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk. 2009-07-17. http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/itv-announce-my-friend-michael-jackson-uris-story/. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  27. ^ a b Frum, David (2000). How We Got Here: The '70s. New York, New York: Basic Books. p. 132. ISBN 0-465-04195-7.
  28. ^ a b "Uri Geller Twirls the Entire World on His Little Finger; Only His Closest Acquaintances Know His Methods," Haolam Hazeh, 1974-02-20
  29. ^ Randi, James (2004-04-30). "Boring, Boring, Boring". James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/jr/043004bad.html#4. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  30. ^ "Information transmission under conditions of sensory shielding". Nature.com. 1974-10-18. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v251/n5476/abs/251602a0.html. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  31. ^ "Richard Feynman on Uri Geller". Indian-skeptic.org. 1997-10-23. http://www.indian-skeptic.org/html/fey2.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  32. ^ Geller v. Randi, US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, 1994.
  33. ^ Gardner, Martin (1989) [1981]. Science: Good, Bad & Bogus. ISBN 0-87975-573-3.
  34. ^ Richard Feynman. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (1985), page 339
  35. ^ a b Boyce Rensberger, "Magicians Term Israeli 'Psychic' a Fraud," The New York Times. 13 December 1975, page 59
  36. ^ a b Lorraine, Veronica (2007-04-01). "The Curse of Uri Geller". The Sun (London). http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006120265,00.html. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
  37. ^ "The Curse of Uri Geller". James Randi Educational Foundation. 2003-07-27. http://www.randi.org/jr/062703.html. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
  38. ^ "Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | UK News :: Scots pyramid island a bargain for psychic Uri". Express.co.uk. 2009-02-12. http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/84410/Scots-pyramid-island-a-bargain-for-psychic-Uri. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  39. ^ "Commentary, 7 September 2001 — Reluctant Wizard, Sylvia Browne — At Last, and Geller in Hungary". Randi.org. http://www.randi.org/jr/090701.html. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  40. ^ "psi-missing". Skepdic.com. http://skepdic.com/psimiss.html. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  41. ^ Record-breaking cyclist killed
  42. ^ Randi, James (2008-01-18). "Geller Reversal". James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/149-swift-january-18-2008.html#i1.
  43. ^ a b "Forget the paranormal!". Telepolis. 2008-02-05. http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/27/27217/1.html.
  44. ^ "The next Uri Geller - Unglaubliche Phänomene Live". 2008-02-05. ProSieben.
  45. ^ a b "Uri Geller - A Sceptical Perspective". WordSmith. October 1996. http://simon-jones.org.uk/uri-geller-sceptical-interview/. Retrieved 2006-10-12.
  46. ^ a b c d Interview with James Randi in NOVA episode, "Secrets of the Psychics".
  47. ^ a b Ben Harris,The Second Coming Psychics: All the Best from Skeptic 1986–1990, page 8
  48. ^ James Randi (6 April 1978), "Geller a fake says ex-manager", New Scientist 78 (1097): p. 11, http://books.google.com/books?id=ko7Yy08C1PUC&pg=PA11&dq=geller+a+fake+says+ex-manager&hl=en&sa=X&ei=LuHsTrzWFILAhAeLubyhCA&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=geller%20a%20fake%20says%20ex-manager&f=false Letter reply in issue 1105, vol 78, 1 June 1978, page 614.
  49. ^ Service To Magic Award [2], accessed 3rd December 2008. "Lets say I wasn’t real, lets say for the last years I’ve fooled the journalists, the scientists, my family, my friends... You... If I managed to fool them, I must be the greatest...I cannot bend spoons like some of the magicians, you, can, it blows my mind when I see that, I have no idea. I had the idea and cheekiness to call it psychic, in fact all I wanted was to be rich and famous."
  50. ^ Targ R & Puthoff H, "Information transmission under conditions of sensory shielding," Nature, 251, 18 October 1974, pp.602–607.
  51. ^ "The Geller Papers". UriGeller.com. 2007. http://www.uri-geller.com/books/geller-papers/gpap.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  52. ^ a b Randi, James (1995). "An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural". St. Martin's Press. http://www.randi.org/encyclopedia/Geller,%20Uri.html. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  53. ^ “Mind Reach – Scientists look at psychic abilities” by Russell Targ and Harold E.Puthoff, p.173 (2005 edition)
  54. ^ David Marks & Richard Kammann. "The Non-Psychic Powers of Uri Geller." Skeptical Inquirer, Summer 1977, Vol. 1 No. 2, p.9–17.
  55. ^ A preliminary scrutiny of Uri Geller, William E. Cox
  56. ^ COX, William. E., "A scrutiny of Uri Geller", in J. D. Morris, W. G. Roll, & R. L. Morris, Research in Parapsychology 1974: Abstracts and Papers from the 17th Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association, 1974, Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, pp. 63–66, http://www.zem.demon.co.uk/cox.htm
  57. ^ "Swift - March 30, 2007". 2007-03-30. http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-03/032307hope.html. Retrieved 2007-12-22. James Randi discusses obtaining the clip of Uri Geller on The Tonight Show.
  58. ^ "Geller Experiment Successful - ESP Magazine". Zem.demon.co.uk. http://www.zem.demon.co.uk/espsucc.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  59. ^ "James Randi exposes Uri Geller". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdTqpscvaw4&feature=related. Retrieved 2010-07-27. Excerpt from "James Randi's Solved Mysteries Workshop", a talk given by Randi during the 1998 Skeptics Society Convention.
  60. ^ Uri Geller Exposed on Rffi Reshef with Compass TrickYoutube
  61. ^ "James Randi's Swift - February 09, 2007". Randi.org. http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-02/020209morebrowne.html#i7. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  62. ^ "Entertainment | Uri Geller accused of TV trickery". BBC News. 2007-01-21. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6285005.stm. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  63. ^ Randi, James (2000-01-26). "The Moving Compass Trick". James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/jr/01-26-2000.html. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  64. ^ a b c d e f Marcello Truzzi (May 1996), Psi Researcher, the Parapsychological Association newsletter (21), archived from the original on 2th June 2008, http://web.archive.org/web/20080602021158/http://66.221.71.68/psir.htm mirror
  65. ^ James Randi's The Truth About Uri Gelle, Prometheus Books, 1982, pp. viii (right before the author's notes), 198, 215. Randi quotes "Legerdemain ruled breach of contract", Jerusalem Post, 5th Jan 1971. Quoted in An Apology from James Randi Urigeller.com.
  66. ^ Jonathan Margolis, Uri Geller Magician or Mystic, Orion Publishing Group, 1998, ISBN 0-7528-1006-5, p.113
  67. ^ a b Cuckoos and Cocoa Puffs by Carol Krol Skeptical Eye -- Vol. 8, No. 3, 1995, a newsletter published by the National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS)
  68. ^ Geller, Uri. "Uri Geller Libel Suit Dismissed". Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Archived from the original on 2008-04-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20080211180550/csicop.org/articles/uri_dis.html. Retrieved 2006-12-08. "Self proclaimed "psychic" Uri Geller had to dismiss a multi-million dollar libel suit and has to pay over $20,000 in sanctions in an action he brought against skeptical book publisher Prometheus Books of Amherst, New York."
  69. ^ a b c "PSI Researcher". Uri-geller.com. http://www.uri-geller.com/psir.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  70. ^ Patricia Orwen, The Amazing Randi August 23, 1986, Toronto Star. page M.1
  71. ^ a b "Randi's Geller Hotline for 1994: Recent Legal Developments". Randi.org. 1994-12-11. http://www.randi.org/hotline/1994/0048.html. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  72. ^ a b Randi, James (2007-02-09). "More Geller Woo-Woo". SWIFT Newsletter. James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-02/020209morebrowne.html#i6. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
  73. ^ (No. 90-Civ-2839, 22 July 1991)
  74. ^ "Recent Legal Developments". James Randi Educational Foundation. 1994-12-11. http://www.randi.org/hotline/1994/0048.html. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  75. ^ Blackmore, Susan (November–December, 1998). "UK broadcast commission rejects Geller's 'Secrets of the Psychics' complaint". Skeptical Inquirer. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_n6_v22/ai_21275515. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
  76. ^ "BSC". Openmedia.co.uk. http://www.openmedia.co.uk/urigeller.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  77. ^ Margolis, Jonathan (1999-12-29). "Nintendo faces £60m writ from Uri Geller". London: Guardian Unlimited. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3945740,00.html. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
  78. ^ "Uri Geller sues Pokemon". http://news.zdnet.co.uk/emergingtech/0,1000000183,2076058,00.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
  79. ^ a b "Geller sues Nintendo over Pokémon". BBC News. 2000-11-02. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1003454.stm. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
  80. ^ Sapient v. Geller, Electronic Frontier Foundation
  81. ^ Wall Street Journal, August 23, 2010, 1. The article quoted Geller as saying that "I'm certain there are ancient Egyptian artifacts there. It's only a matter of time until we find them."
  82. ^ "Spoon-bender buys Scottish island". BBC News. 2009-02-11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7883836.stm.
  83. ^ http://www.uri-geller.com/daredev.htm
  84. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0312414/

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