Editor’s note: This is the first installment of a two-part article. The second installment will appear in the May/June 2026 issue of Skeptical Inquirer. Banachek originally wrote this tribute to James “The Amazing” Randi for The International Brotherhood of Magicians. We are thankful that he let us publish it here as well.

It was July 11, 1974, and I was fourteen years old. My two younger siblings and I had been abandoned by our mother in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. At 7:30 p.m. we were sitting by the radio in rapt anticipation. We were listening to Deadline Thursday Night. The show was broadcast on Cape Town’s Springbok Radio, which, although now gone, was South Africa’s first commercial radio station.

I was excited as I waited to hear the man the whole world had been talking about—the man with superhuman powers. Every adult I knew claimed this man could bend metal objects, start broken watches, and break and bend rings—using just the power of his mind. On this night, he was going to teach people how to do this in their own homes.

Adrian Steed, the producer of Deadline, handed this incredible person a key. Within thirty seconds, Steed excitedly exclaimed, “It is bending!” In my mind, I could see the key bending.

Steed then handed this superhuman a handful of broken watches, and soon, some of them started to work again. Next came the big moment—the superhuman told the listeners how they could do what he did. “You must want it to happen,” he said. “Just take the knife or the fork, stroke it gently, and will it to bend.” He said that any metal object would do. I hastily went around my home looking for a metal object that would be easy to bend if I had “the power.” I took a needle from the sewing kit that my mom had left behind.

I concentrated on the needle as this man instructed. I believed it was going to bend. Why would I not want to possess such a special ability? We were poor, and I was raising my siblings alone. It did not hurt that I wanted to convince my younger siblings I had that power. The more I stared and believed, the more I was convinced that I had succeeded and that my needle had bent. It was barely perceptible, but it had bent. At least I believed it had! Skip forward two years.

A Life-Changing Book Is Found

I left South Africa and spent almost two years in Australia. In 1976, I moved to the United States. I picked up a book called The Amateur Magician’s Handbook by Henry Hay and spent many fascinated hours in my room in Philadelphia, trying to cleanly restore a ripped and torn cigarette. I had not yet come to the realization that there was a subset of magic called mentalism. I was also not aware that there were some magicians/mentalists who were willing to con people into believing they possessed psychic powers.

In the spring of 1976, we moved to Aurora, Colorado. In a second-hand bookstore, I picked up a book that was about to rock my world and give me a lifetime career. It was written by the magician and escape artist, James “The Amazing” Randi. The man who had convinced me that I could bend metal was on the cover. His name was Uri Geller, and the book was titled The Magic of Uri Geller. In 1985, the title was changed to The Truth about Uri Geller.

The book’s dedication stunned me, “Dedicated to Uri Geller and Shipi Shtrang, two men who fooled the world—almost.” The truth, as Randi put it, was that Uri Geller was nothing more than a magician. Uri Geller claimed that, under scientific observation, he convinced scientists at Stanford Research Institute that he had real powers. Additionally, he claimed that the study had been commissioned by the United States Defense Intelligence Agency. The latter was true, but in his book, Randi explained that the researchers were already believers and the tests were sloppy, to say the least. He showed in convincing detail how each experiment could have been performed via trickery.

Russell Targ and Harold Puthoff, the scientists in charge, documented their own beliefs and did not put proper protocol in place. Their biases were their downfall. The book described methods of bending keys and nails and included photographic evidence of deception.

I was shocked. I had learned a valuable lesson from Randi. As a kid, everyone I knew believed in Geller, so naturally, I did, too. Randi taught me that, just because people seem authoritative in a subject, did not mean that they were educated in what they believed. Many people simply follow the masses. In that one instance, he had shown me how important it was to think critically. Randi said that Geller tricked even reputable scientists with tricks that were the kind that used to be on the back of cereal boxes when he was a kid. “Apparently, scientists don’t eat cornflakes anymore,” he said. In 1991, Geller filed a fifteen-million-dollar lawsuit against Randi and the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), claiming that sentence was slander. The court finally dismissed the case, and Geller eventually settled the case at a cost of $120,000.

In 1992, less than a year later, Geller sued Randi again for saying in his book, “He began his career as a stage magician in Israel, where he was once arrested for claiming his feats were achieved by psychic power.” Geller had not been arrested but had been sued. The publisher issued an erratum that changed the phrase, “He was once arrested” to “He was once sued.” In 1993, Randi commented, “I made an unintended factual error in misinterpreting the words ‘brought to court’ and ‘guilty’ as ‘arrested.’ This was done without malice or reckless disregard for the truth.” Geller also lost this case and had to pay Randi’s legal fees.

Both cases were time-consuming, and they cost Randi so much more to defend himself than he was awarded. It has been said that Geller had financial support from others in his lawsuits, so Geller lost nothing personally. It is quite understandable that when, years later, Geller tried to shake hands with Randi, Randi refused. It had become very personal.

MacArthur Fellows Award and Benefactors

Due to the lawsuits, if Randi had not been awarded $270,000 via the Macarthur Fellows Award in 1986 at the age of fifty-seven, he may not have been able to continue his crusade against all things woo-woo. This award allowed him to buy a house in Florida, set up offices, and officially become the number-one skeptic in the world.

He had proven his worth by using his knowledge of the scientific method and his understanding of the techniques of conjuring to debunk paranormal claims. Through his exposés, he alerted the public to the danger of treatment from psychic surgeons, faith healers, and quacks. Randi authored Flim-Flam! The Truth about Unicorns, Parapsychology, and Other Delusions (1980), Testing Yourself for ESP (1981), The Truth about Uri Geller (1982), The Faith Healers (1988), The Mask of Nostradamus (1990), and The Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995). He also coauthored Houdini: His Life and Art (1978).

I digress. At that point, I had only heard Geller on the radio. It was said that you could visually see the items bend. It was not until years later that I realized that, when Geller bent something, it was usually hidden from view unless he was breaking it, which was different. With the knowledge I gained from Randi’s amazing book, I challenged myself to create my own bends, visual bends that were superior to anything else that was being done at that time.

 

High School Years

We moved to Washington, Pennsylvania, and it was there, while I was in high school, that I honed my skills. Students stole the silverware from the cafeteria for me to bend and destroy. I got in trouble for that, and they went to plasticware until I graduated. I also figured out how to short circuit the wires in the school bell so it would go off before the end of the school day, and we would get out early. Each day, I claimed that I was going to do it with my “psychic powers.” I finally got in trouble for that, too.

Due to my lack of parental upbringing, I was socially inept. I was the kid that sat at the back and wore a heavy coat all year long. I was ashamed of my skinny body and afraid that the teacher would call on me at any moment. In high school, I had three jobs and worked as a fry cook, a security guard, and a hospital worker.

Randi’s book opened me up. I had never had a home before, but I found one performing. My home was the stage, whether it was a cafeteria, living room, street corner, classroom, or real stage. Randi gave that to me, along with a career. I found out later that he has done so for many throughout the years. Penn and Teller would not be P&T if it had not been for Randi saying they should do a show together. Criss Angel would not have that name if it had not been for Randi suggesting it to him. I once heard a reporter ask Randi when he would realize that he had made it. His answer strikes home even today. He said, “When people tell me they got their happiness and career because of something I did.” He has done that so many times. I frequently hear how Randi helped people get their start. But again, I digress.

Early Randi

I read everything I could about Randi, and here is what I came to know. I knew he was born in Toronto, Canada. I knew he had almost died many times. I knew that, when he was a kid, he had a bicycle accident and was in a body cast for thirteen months. The doctors thought he would never walk again. During that time, he read books about magic after seeing Harry Blackstone Sr., and that was what started him on his magic quest.

I knew that he quit high school at the age of seventeen to join the circus. I knew that, for a while, Randi had written an astrology column in which he had posed as a psychic. His columns were put together from other astrology columns, and he claimed the information was his own.

I knew that, as a teenager, he had exposed a preacher by duplicating a trick that the minister used to con his congregation. The pastor’s wife called the police, and Randi ended up in jail.

I knew that he had been a famous escape artist. William Lindsay Gresham dedicated his book, Houdini, “To the greatest living escape artist, ‘The Amazing Randi’ (Mr. James Randall Zwinge), this book is dedicated with the sincere admiration of the author.”

I knew that Randi had broken Houdini’s ninety-three-minute record of staying underwater in a glass coffin. Randi stayed under for 104 minutes and graciously pointed out that he was much younger than Houdini when he performed the stunt. Randi later repeated the stunt and stayed under for two hours and two minutes. He was also frozen in a block of ice for forty-four minutes.

I knew that Randi had fought segregation in his early performing days and refused to perform in theaters where Black people were not allowed to attend or perform.

I knew he had been good friends with Joseph Dunninger, who was the most famous mentalist ever. Dunninger also exposed mediums and con men, much like Houdini and Randi. Dunninger offered $31,000 to any medium who could make a pencil that was hung from a pendulum write out a word on a card beneath it.

I knew that Randi traveled with the rock star, Alice Cooper, and created all the illusions in his show. Randi even played the role of a psychotic dentist in Alice’s show.

I knew he exposed Geller because Randi himself had once been accused of having psychic powers. It scared him that psychics took advantage of people who believed those powers were real.

I knew that Randi made a standing offer of $10,000 to anyone who could produce a paranormal phenomenon under Randi’s control. In 1964, the offer had been a thousand dollars, given on a radio broadcast after Randi had been told to put his money where his mouth was. Later, Lexington broadcasting added $90,000, and Randi’s challenge became “The $100,000 Challenge.” Rules and regulations were put in place to make sure that it was fair for the challenger and the challenge itself. The testing was to be scientific and agreed upon by both parties. Later, it became “The One Million Dollar Challenge.”

But again, I digress. I’ve gotten ahead of the story.

I saw that Randi went on every TV program he could to duplicate Geller’s and other psychics’ feats. Randi was the spearhead for the skeptic movement, getting coverage to help aid critical thinking. Many hated him for it, but due to my past experience, I knew he was doing the right thing with his efforts. I knew that Randi was one of the founders of CSICOP (Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal).

Randi and Banachek Meet

I devised a plan. If anyone could ever make this plan come to fruition, it would be Randi. However, I needed him to be on board with it. Maybe it was my naivety or overconfidence because I had just convinced a policeman that I could bend a key by bending his patrol car key, but I decided to write Randi a letter. I did not really expect him to respond, but he did. At the time, I didn’t know that Randi consistently got back to his fans to send autographed pictures or give words of advice or a thank you. Over the years, I learned how anonymously altruistic Randi was.

Apparently, my letter was different than others he received. I brazenly told him that, if he ever needed a kid to fool scientists and make them believe that psychic powers were real only later to reveal that it was all a hoax, I would be happy to do it. I told him about my experiences and what I could do. Randi wrote back and said that, if I came to the New Jersey/New York area, I should visit and could stay at his house. I made it my mission to do just that.

A Wizard’s Domain

The day came when I took a Greyhound bus to New Jersey from Washington, Pennsylvania. Randi met me as promised and took me to his home in Rumson, New Jersey. It was just like you would expect a magician’s home to be: The front door had a secret lock and a secret way to open it. The front door opened from the side opposite from what you would expect. The doorbell resulted in a loud gong, followed by a recording of the voice of The Shadow, a popular radio show at that time. Inside were two huge South American macaws, doves, a cat, mummy cases, a clock that ran backwards, a huge bookcase that was a secret door, Peruvian artifacts, masks, and many other wonders. This was a true wizard’s house.

I told Randi about my hypothesis that scientists had lamented for years that there was no evidence of psychic powers due to lack of funding, but not because of a lack of evidence. It was my contention that it had nothing to do with funding. Rather, it was their biases that got in the way. Instead of using real scientific methods to test psychics, they tended to document what they believed to convince others, much like Targ and Puthoff had done. The psychics were in charge of the testing instead of having the scientists in charge, the way it should have been.

I had also concluded that many of the people doing the testing believed they were too smart to be fooled. Often, smart people are the easiest to be fooled as they need an explanation. If they do not know how something is done and if your explanation sounds plausible, they will accept that.

Military Action

During the 1970s and 1980s, psychic powers were all the rage and, as a result, believable. Much like politics today, the media was spoon-feeding psychic propaganda from behind the Iron Curtain and other places, as if it were real. The result was a nation of believers.

In 1978, the U.S. government got in on the action when it invested twenty million dollars on a project known by many names. In 1991, it was finally titled the “Stargate Project.” The twenty-million-dollar investment the government made was spent in just the first year.

This was not the first time the U.S. military looked seriously into psychic phenomena. In 1952 at Duke University, the U.S. Army ran a study to find out if dogs were psychic. For a while, they concluded they may be. There were very few Amazing Randis around back then.

Randi agreed with me, but he never once asked to see a single trick. He did not show me a single trick, either. That is not quite true. He did show me a version of the prediction trick, Clippo and the Vanishing Leprechaun, but he did not teach me anything. I was disappointed, but I found out years later that he was more interested in my character and how I handled myself. He wanted to tell the media that I was a self-taught kid so they could imagine what I could have done if he had trained me. This, of course, was only if the opportunity to infiltrate a parapsychology lab ever arose. Randi was always one step ahead.

Oh, wait, Randi did teach me something else. I hated the taste of yogurt. I thought it tasted sour. He told me that I had to mix the yogurt as all the tasty stuff was sitting at the bottom. I did as he said, and the yogurt that I previously hated tasted like delicious blueberries. It was magic.

I think back now and realize that Randi probably did not fully understand my ability to create on the fly and outside the box. That was a good thing because, if he had trained me, my demonstrations would have made me look more like a magician than a true psychic. Randi told me to continue to act like I was real and not tell anyone that I was using tricks. I was to keep up the facade. It felt wrong, but I understood the reason. If the opportunity ever came up, they, whoever “they” were, could do a background check on me, and there would be no evidence of me claiming to be anything other than psychic.

I went back to Pennsylvania and ended up living with another family. After a few months, that family kicked me out because they found a letter from Randi in my room and my secret of not being a “real” psychic was revealed. In the letter, Randi had stated that I had to keep this secret from them, too. Who could blame them?

I was back on my own while still in high school and holding down three jobs to survive.

Project Alpha

At one of my jobs as housekeeper at Washington Hospital, a girl I dated by the name of Tammy brought me a newspaper with an Associated Press article. A physics professor, Peter Phillips at Washington University in St. Louis, had been granted a half million dollars to study psychic phenomena. The grant was offered by James S. McDonnell, the chairman of McDonnell Aircraft, best known for its fighter jets and manned spacecraft, including the Mercury and Gemini capsules. Phillips’ chosen area was psychokinesis, the ability to move or distort objects, although at the time, it was known primarily to be the ability to bend objects with your mind. Specifically, he was looking for kids. Well, that was right down my alley and exactly what I had been seeking. I wrote him a letter, again not thinking I would hear back, but I did, and they wanted to fly me in as soon as possible.

About a week later, Randi called to tell me about a man who had been given a grant at Washington University. I stopped him and asked, “Think of the man’s name. Does the letter P mean anything?” He immediately asked me if I knew, and I told him yes and that I had been accepted. He proceeded to tell me about another kid by the name of Michael Edwards who had called him. Mike had also been accepted. He was the one who dubbed our experiment of fooling the scientists Project Alpha.

Project Alpha has been written up extensively, and the facts of it can be found online. I will not go into all the details of breaking into the lab at night, the methods we used to fool the scientists, the BBC reporter who had a complete mental breakdown, the Uri Geller convention fiasco, and more. You can find that easily online or on my podcast, Banachek’s Brain. It was also featured in season 3 of Brian Brushwood’s podcast, The World’s Greatest Con.

Strict Rules

Randi went out of his way to make sure we had strict rules. If we were asked if we were magicians, we said yes. If they asked if we were working with Randi, we said yes. Also, Randi gave them every opportunity to catch us. He sent them eleven caveats on how to test us. He advised them not to allow more than one subject to work at a time as that would make it easier to be misdirected. He told them to mark everything on a micro and macro level and not to let subjects work with more than one object at a time. He also told them not to let the subject control the experiments or to make changes to protocol in the middle of an experiment. The list went on. They were logical suggestions, but logic does not always enter when it comes to these types of emotional beliefs. They showed us the list up front, laughed heartily, and threw the assistive notes in the trash. Randi even offered to come out and look at the experiments or send someone else in. They bluntly refused.

Randi even sent out rumors that we were working with him. At the same time, he started rumors that the scientists were working with us and Randi to try and fool the rest of the community. The scientists revealed both rumors to Mike and me and laughed about them. Meanwhile, after our big reveal, they had a spokesman use this as evidence that they had asked us if we worked with Randi.

The Big Reveal

For 180 hours, over a period of four years, the scientists touted us as the real thing. Finally, we held a meeting for journalists from all around the world at the Time-Life Building in New York, and every major media outlet attended. As I said before, Randi was a genius at generating publicity. He had Mike and me perform our stunts. It was the first time Randi had seen my bending, including the fork tine bend. He said it was the closest thing to real metal bending he had ever seen.

At the end of the performance, the media was expecting him to say he had found the real thing, but instead, he revealed it as a four-year hoax. One parapsychologist even stated that he felt Randi had paid us off, we were lying for Randi, and we really had psychic powers!

We ended up in every psychology textbook in every university in the United States and many other countries around the world. The study of parapsychology was forever changed. When it was said that we had moved parapsychology backwards and hurt it, Randi pointed out that, instead, we had moved it into the current century. When it was said that it was wrong to fool scientists in the name of science, I stated that it was the scientists who were in the wrong because they had taken money and not used proper science to study the supposed phenomena.

Had they listened to Randi who had consistently given them every tool to detect the trickery from behind the scenes, they would have swiftly exposed us. Whenever we succeeded with an experiment, Randi wrote to them with a possible (the real) solution. They never listened. On top of that, parapsychologists such as Trevor Finch even suggested that, if a magician were introduced into that laboratory, it would have been quickly discovered. He was wrong. Magicians could and did easily fool scientists.