James Randi

Randall James Hamilton Zwinge was born on August 7, 1928, in Toronto, Canada, to George Randall and Marie Alice (Paradis) Zwinge. He showed an early talent for mathematics, and he began to study conjuring as a teen, after seeing a performance by the magician Harry Blackstone Sr. Taking "James Randi" as his stage name, Randi established his own career as a stage magician and escape artist. As his fame grew, he was nicknamed "The Amazing Randi" and he began to appear regularly on television and radio, from children's programs to The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Randi was a founding member of CSICOP, the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. He began speaking out against various faith healers, seers, mediums and mystics, exposing them as con artists and frauds. In 1996 Randi established the nonprofit James Randi Education Foundation to support scientific research into paranormal claims. The foundation offers $1 million to anyone who can prove supernatural or paranormal ability beyond doubt. He was made a Fellow of the MacArthur Foundation in 1986.