The Amazing Kreskin

In the past few days a number of public figures have been asked of their favorite or most memorable horror movies. These are my lifetime choices:

1. See No Evil… This movie starring Mia Farrow made in England in 1971, is the only movie I have ever seen that I find I cannot watch a second time. I have a copy of it. On two different occasions, one while on tour, sitting in front of a television set with my road manager and another occasion, sitting at home with a cousin, I attempted to watch the movie. The fear and fright became so paralyzing that I couldn’t continue more than a dozen minutes into the film. It is a masterpiece of terror.
2. Psycho… I was blessed with being able to see Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece before any of us had any knowledge of what the movie was about.
3. Diabolique… This french film has riveting moments including a paralyzing climax.
4. The Lodger… Laird Cregar play Jack The Ripper and this black and white movie remain one of my ten favorite movie.
5. The Picture of Dorian Gray…This is one of Angela Lansbury’s earliest movies and no version of the this Oscar Wilde story has ever achieved the level of this masterpiece rendition.

There are scenes in non-horror movies that have strong elements of Horrors – one of my favorites is:

To Kill A Mockingbird, starring Gregory Peck. When the two children run through the forest, it becomes a chilling scenario especially since the movie is in black and white.

While it is not a movie, my favorite literary horror story remains the great masterpiece, Bram Stoker’s DRACULA.

In one of the most bizarre experiences in Kreskin’s career, a breakthrough in a murder case took place this weekend, October 12th in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The background is that on May 24, 2002, a young college gentleman by the name of Scott Javin disappeared soon after he had called his parents from a location not far from their home, letting them know he was coming home soon. All traces of him and his car disappeared and no clue of any kind has been uncovered in the past five years. In a desperate cry for help, a group brought Kreskin in on May 14 with the hope of raising interest in a case that had gone cold. Obviously police could not sustain all these years an investigation when no significant clues arose.

In television and radio interviews as well as in a part of Kreskin’s concert, he alluded to the case and that somebody out there, hearing or seeing him, may have re-awakened within themselves, some memories that were significant. Within a day or so, after the performance, a gentleman came forward who contacted one of Kreskin’s representatives in Indiana and then the police. With a conviction he had heard in the past somewhere, remarks that he felt were now credible as to where the car was. It was almost as if Kreskin’s presence and appearance had re-awakened this memory. The police had taken this information but were not eager to move with it, since he no further evidence to back up the statements. The place that he described in a river reservoir area was never really thoroughly searched; in spite of his personal, absolute conviction. Now almost a half a year later, an elderly fisherman with some friends saw an item dropped in the water, including a motor off of some boat or what have you. He dove under water to locate that and came upon three cars. He became suspicious of one of them because he found a shirt when he reached into the car. When the police had their experts remove the car from the water, there was the body of Scott Javin, murdered.

Live 10THI Television News in Terre Haute reminded the viewer that Kreskin had created national interest in the story. Needless to say, Scott’s parents have frequently expressed a bitterness that the police did not listen.

With the passing Joey Bishop, I feel that I have lost the final pivotal figure early in my career that helped shape my success.

While Mike Douglas set the stage for early afternoon audiences to be aware of Yours Truly; Merv Griffin on early evening shows; and Steve Allen gave me my first appearance in late night television from which Carson designed his “Karnac” character; uniquely enough, Joey Bishop – who began the role of establishing me in late night television.

Yours Truly reached the point that on one unexpected night, Joey turned to me and said “Kreskin, I’m having you on as soon as we can arrange it for an entire week.” Scores upon scores of shows were done by Yours Truly with him and oddly enough, his announcer those two years was someone whom I came to know first through Joey’s show: Regis Philbin. He was on Joey’s show that I predicted one week ahead of time, when I felt would be the major story in the Los Angeles Times. It drove Joey crazy because day after day he kept calling me into his office and asking me did I think I was going to become close to successful. Milton Berle drove him up a tree asking him did I share how my prediction would pan out and it was correct. The story was accurate that I predicted.

When Joey left the airways, I became aware of an unexpected situation. One of Johnny Carson’s representatives, his secretary, who was a fan of mine called me on the phone and said “you are going to receive a call from Johnny.” I said, “I am excited about this.” “Actually it will be one of his representatives, but I want you to know that Johnny saw practically every Joey Bishop’s show you ever did,” even though their shows were on back to back. Carson made it a point to see kinescopes of my appearances; within a week, I began my voyage of 88 appearances with Johnny Carson.

Needless to say, I owe a very fond, thankful memory of Joey Bishop for what he saw in me and like Carson, with all the appearances, he never particularly asked me what I was going to do, just “Come on Kreskin and run with it.”

James Duthie…host of NHL on TSN…also write a column in which he has asked the Amazing Kreskin to give commentary on the Ottowa Senators, a Canadian hockey team to be released shortly.

Kreskin’s commentary:
“The controversy as to whether the Ottawa Senators should keep Dany Heatley or replace him with Jason Spezza has a couple of factors which intrigue me immensely. I have been attempting a long distance remote to tune in on both their thoughts. It is remarkable because I find that both of them have exactly the same major thoughts in mind; something I don’t even find in my public theatre appearances. All I get from Heatley and Spezza is a passionate thought about money, money, money, money!

But we can all young and old use this as a lesson whatever your job or qualifications in the modern world of 2007 be prepared to be replaced by someone who can draw in more money.

The fans should be warned.” The Amazing Kreskin