NEW YORK — George Joseph Kresge Jr., who was known to generations of TV watchers as the mesmerizing entertainer and mentalist the Amazing Kreskin, has died at age 89.
Kreskin’s friend and former road manager, Ryan Galway, told news outlets that he died Tuesday at his home in Caldwell, N.J., where he spent much of his life. Galway did not provide additional details.
Inspired by the crime-fighting comic book character Mandrake the Magician, Kreskin launched his television career in the 1960s and remained popular for decades, making guest appearances on the talk shows of Merv Griffin, Johnny Carson, Jimmy Fallon and others.
Fans would welcome, if not entirely figure out, his favorite mind tricks — whether correctly guessing a playing card chosen at random or, most famously, divining where his paycheck had been planted among the audience. He also hosted his own show in the 1970s, gave live performances and wrote books including “Secrets of the Amazing Kreskin” and “Mental Power Is Real.”
Although he was a talk show regular, one host wasn’t amused by a Kreskin stunt. In 2002, Kreskin claimed that a UFO would appear over Las Vegas on the night of June 2, and added that he would donate $50,000 to charity if he was wrong. Hundreds of people gathered in the desert, in vain. Kreskin acknowledged to radio personality Art Bell that his prediction was a hoax, a way of proving that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks the year before had made people susceptible to manipulation. Bell called the ruse “lame, lame, lame” and banned him from his show.