 Born in Montclair New Jersey, Kreskin was fully fascinated with magic by the age of five. It was during childhood games, that Kreskin’s remarkable ability to find hidden objects emerged. This fascinating and unusual gift made him stand out among his peers, forcing him to assume the role of omniscient observer. From this point of view, Kreskin was able to harness and refine his gift and began to perform for neighborhood children. At the age of eleven, Kreskin revealed an uncanny determination beyond his years when he received permission to study the entire psychology section of his local public library. Kreskin credits the childhood influence of “Mandrake the Magician” comic books, radio/television pioneer Arthur Godfrey, and magnetic televangelist Bishop Sheen for the direction of his career.
By his teens, he was nationally recognized as “The World’s Youngest Hypnotist” allowing him to collaborate in psychological clinical studies existing in the realm of Parapsychology and the Power of Suggestion. From his early experiments, Kreskin developed a theory into his special talent; “In most cases, the phenomena of thought transference can be explained as a kind of hyperaesthesia –an almost unconscious raising of the threshold of one’s senses to a degree far exceeding one’s everyday feelings.”
With a hectic schedule of over 300 appearances a year worldwide, Kreskin is constantly challenging the impossible with amazing results. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges came on the 50th anniversary celebration of the original broadcast of “The War of the Worlds. Kreskin was challenged to recreate the effects of the legendary Orson Welles 1938 original radio broadcast which created international panic. Kreskin used his finely tuned powers of suggestion to persuade spectators that Martian spacecrafts had returned to their fabled landing site of Grover's Mill, New Jersey. The Associated Press reported: “Kreskin promised the most amazing stunt of his career. To those who witnessed the mass hysteria , he succeeded.”
Music has also served as an effective medium for Kreskin, who made his professional debut as a pianist at Carnegie Hall with Skitch Henderson and the New York Pops, subsequently soloing as a guest artist with Symphonies throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Given his viewpoints on hypnosis, it may seem ironic that Kreskin served as a consultant on feature film Mesmer, starring Alan Rickman as the 18th century Viennese physician hailed by some as a miracle worker. The film, released in late 1994, in fact “showed Mesmer’s impact was not hypnosis, but rather out of his work came two major religion, séances, stage conjuring and the beginning of suggestive, non-verbal healing.” ..
Kreskin is currently writing his thirteenth book, his long awaited and anticipated memoirs. Kreskin is also a voracious reader capable of consuming an average novel in less than 15 minutes with remarkable retention. In fact, in certain casinos, he is banned from the card tables, not, they say, because of his mind reading skills, but because of Kreskin’s ability to memorize four decks of cards at once!
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