Tonight

James Randi --- Wizard (JREFInfo@ssr.com)
Tue, 12 May 1998 15:27:50 -0400 (EDT)

Those in the USA will be able to tune in on the Charles Grodin Show
tonight (or early tomorrow morning, depending upon your local
schedule) and see me get sandbagged. Grodin was to have James Van
Praagh on doing a reading, and me commenting on it. I went to a local
satellite-access facility here in Florida, for my participation. We
had agreed in advance that he would mention the million-dollar
challenge and the JREF, that I would be referred to as James Randi
(not The Amazing Randi), and would be billed as the president of the
James Randi Educational Foundation. Instead, he used The Amazing
Randi, never mentioned the challenge nor the Foundation, and had THREE
on in opposition. Come to think of that, it's about the proper
ratio....

The "psychics" had the majority of the show, Grodin mis-recalled
miracles that he thought had been done, and in general the
performances were abysmal -- but Grodin was convinced. Why am I not
surprised?

Grodin had said that the "psychics" would have no access to the
audience and the subjects they would be "reading," but I had with me
my hand-held recorder, and via the earpiece I had, recorded Van Praagh
chatting with the audience during a commercial break, and extracting
information in advance of his "reading." Also, the program director
at the Godin home base in NYC went nuts when Grodin suddenly dumped me
and allowed the psychics to use the rest of my alotted time. He
shouted, "Who told him to wrap [terminate the segment]? What's he
[Grodin] doing?"

Look in and see what happened when the man was desperately trying to
support his personal beliefs, and suddenly realized that control was
slipping away from him. Grodin had to dump me, because I threatened
his need to believe.

Randi

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