Kreskin Dead: Renowned mentalist was 89
Kreskin (also known as The Amazing Kreskin), the famous mentalist who had his own TV shows in the 1970s, has died. He was 89.
Kreskin’s family announced the news in a message statement posted on social media on Tuesday. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of The Amazing Kreskin, born George Kresge, at the age of 89,” the statement read. “Performing for all of you brought immense joy to his life, and it was something he cherished deeply. The family kindly requests privacy during this difficult time.”
From 1972 to 1975, Kreskin hosted the television series “The Amazing World of Kreskin,” which aired on CTV in Canada and was syndicated in the US. He then entertained studio audiences with “The New Kreskin Show” from 1975 to 1977.
In his 1991 book “Secrets of the Amazing Kreskin,” he explained that he is “not a clairvoyant, occultist, or fortune teller. I am not a mind reader, medium or hypnotist. There is nothing supernatural about anything I do. I am a scientist, a researcher in the field of suggestion and ‘extrasensory’ perceptions. I implement what I discover.”
Kreskin was born George Joseph Kresge in Montclair, NJ, on January 12, 1935. Lee Falk’s comic strip “Mandrake the Magician,” which focuses on a stage magician who fights crime, inspired Kreskin to become a mentalist.
In addition to his eponymous TV shows, Kreskin has been a frequent guest on several talk shows, including “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” “The Merv Griffin Show,” “Late Night With David Letterman,” “The Mike Douglas Show,” “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee” and “The Howard Stern Show.”
He was also the author of “Kreskin’s Fun Way to Mind Expansion” (1984), “Kreskin’s Super Secrets” (1993), “How to Be a Fake Kreskin” (1996), “Conversations With Kreskin” (2012), “In Realtime” (2015) and more.
