Uri Geller (born December 20, 1946) is an Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and person who claims to have psychic abilities. He is famous for performing tricks on television, such as bending spoons and creating other illusions. Geller uses magic tricks to make it look like he can move objects with his mind or read people's thoughts. His career as an entertainer has lasted over 40 years, and he has appeared on television shows and in many countries. Some magicians believe his claims about having psychic powers are actually magic tricks.
Early life
Geller was born on December 20, 1946, in Tel Aviv, which was then part of the British-controlled area of Palestine (now Israel). His mother had Austrian-Jewish roots, and his father had Hungarian-Jewish roots. His parents were Itzhaak Geller, a retired army sergeant major, and Margaret "Manzy" Freud. Geller says he is a distant relative of Sigmund Freud on his mother’s side.
At age 10, Geller’s parents divorced, and his mother moved to Nicosia, Cyprus, where she married a Hungarian Jewish pianist who owned a bed and breakfast. His stepfather died a year later. After living with a foster family on a kibbutz called Hatzerim, Geller joined his mother in Cyprus. There, he attended school at Terra Santa College and learned English. When Geller arrived in Cyprus, the island was ruled by Britain and became independent in 1960. He saw violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots during the Cyprus Emergency and remembered hiding on a beach in Kyrenia with his dog to escape the chaos. He returned to Israel at age 16, worked in construction, and joined the Israel Defense Forces at 18, volunteering for the Paratroopers Brigade. In 1967, he fought in the Six-Day War on the Jordanian front and was wounded. He says the injury caused lifelong weakness in his left elbow. He also says an important experience in his life was killing a Jordanian soldier near Jerusalem during combat.
In 1968 and 1969, Geller worked as a photographic model and began performing for small audiences as a nightclub entertainer, becoming famous in Israel. He later performed in theaters, public halls, auditoriums, military bases, and universities across Israel. His first public controversy happened in 1970. After meeting Sophia Loren in Rome, a public relations agent shared a fake photo of Geller with her. Her complaints about the image made headlines in Israel. Thinking his career was over, Geller asked his manager to cancel a show in Haifa. However, tickets to the performance were already sold out. Geller later said, “That’s when I realized controversy, for me, is a diamond on a silver platter.”
In 1971, the parapsychologist Andrija Puharich met Geller and helped him travel to the United States. After living in Germany for a year, Geller moved to the United States in 1973.
Television and film career
Uri Geller became famous for showing on television what he claimed were abilities like moving objects with the mind, finding hidden objects with a rod, and reading minds. He performed acts such as bending spoons, describing hidden drawings, and making watches stop or speed up. Geller said he did these things using only his mind's power. His ability to bend metal on TV became known as the "Geller effect," which made him a well-known person. However, magician and researcher James Randi discovered that Geller's methods were actually tricks used in magic shows.
In 1973, Geller appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. This event was later described in Randi's book The Truth About Uri Geller and in a Nova documentary called Secrets of the Psychics. Randi, who was a magician, was asked to help prevent trickery during the show. The show's staff prepared their own props without telling Geller and kept him and his team away from them. When Geller arrived, he was surprised that he was not being interviewed but instead asked to use the prepared items to demonstrate his abilities. Geller said he felt nervous and claimed he had told the staff what items to bring. He also mentioned he was surprised because the producer had asked him many questions earlier. Geller could not perform any paranormal acts and said he felt weak. He expressed frustration about being pressured to perform by Johnny Carson.
According to Adam Higginbotham, Geller struggled repeatedly during the show, giving unclear explanations to the host. Geller later said he felt embarrassed and devastated after the event, considering it a failure. However, the appearance backfired, as Geller was quickly invited to appear on The Merv Griffin Show, helping him become a famous figure in paranormal claims. Geller later said that the show made him a star, and many people believed his abilities were real because they thought magic tricks would always work.
By the mid-1980s, Geller was described as a wealthy person who claimed to help mining companies find minerals for a fee of £1 million. In 1986, a report said Geller was paid $250,000 and given shares in a company, but no diamonds were found at the site he identified.
British television host Noel Edmonds once planned a trick where shelves would fall while Geller was in a room. Hidden cameras showed Geller holding a spoon tightly with both hands as he stood to show it was bent.
Geller appeared in the horror movie Sanitarium (2001) and on the reality show I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2002, where he was the first to be eliminated. In 2005, he starred in a TV show called Uri's Haunted Cities: Venice and later hosted a reality show in Israel called The Successor, where contestants claimed to have supernatural powers. Israeli magicians said the show used magic tricks instead. Geller welcomed the attention it brought. In 2007, he joined a TV show called Phenomenon with Criss Angel to find a mentalist, and in 2008, he hosted a German show called The Next Uri Geller.
In 2008, Geller appeared on a Dutch and Hungarian version of the same show, where he performed his usual acts, such as making stopped watches start, spoons jump from televisions, and tables move. He also co-produced a TV show called Book of Knowledge in 2008. A similar show, The Successor of Uri Geller, aired in Greece in 2009.
In 2013, a BBC documentary called The Secret Life of Uri Geller – Psychic Spy? claimed Geller worked as a "psychic spy" for the CIA, was recruited by Mossad, and served as a secret agent in Mexico. Geller said he erased floppy disks used by KGB agents by chanting the word "erase" repeatedly.
Paranormal claims
Geller has said that his unusual abilities come from powers given to him by aliens. A group called CSICOP, which studies unusual claims, was one of the first to criticize Geller. People who doubt Geller, like James Randi, have shown that his tricks can be done using magic techniques.
In 1971, Andrija Puharich met Geller and said he was a real psychic. Under hypnosis, Geller claimed he was sent to Earth by aliens from a spaceship 53,000 light years away. Later, Geller said he was not sure if his powers had any connection to aliens. Puharich also said Geller made a dog appear to move through walls. A science writer named Martin Gardner said that since no experts on fraud were present, the claim should not be taken seriously.
In a book about Geller, Puharich wrote that he and Geller communicated with advanced computers from space. According to Puharich, the computers warned humans about possible disasters if they did not change their behavior. A psychologist named Christopher Evans, who reviewed the book, said the book was not serious and would disappoint Geller’s fans. James Randi said the book had silly ideas but also helped and harmed Geller’s reputation.
In 1992, Geller was asked to find a missing woman named Helga Farkas. He said she would be found safely, but she was never found and is believed to have been killed. Geller was friends with Bruce Bursford and helped him prepare for cycling races in the 1990s.
In 1997, Geller placed "energy-infused" crystals near the goals of a football club called Exeter City to help them win a game. Exeter lost the game 5–1. Geller became a co-chairman of the club in 2002, but the club was moved to a lower league in 2003 and stayed there for five years. He later stopped working with the club. He also worked with Reading F.C. and said he helped them avoid being moved to a lower league by asking fans to look at him and say, "Win, Reading, win." The club’s manager said Geller’s claim was not true, as the team’s success came from their own hard work. In 2008, Geller told an interviewer that he no longer claims to have supernatural powers but calls himself a "mystifier." He said he encourages children to focus on school, believe in themselves, and avoid drugs.
In 2019, Geller wrote a letter to the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, saying he would use his mind to stop her from leading the UK out of the European Union. The UK left the EU in 2020 under a new leader.
Scientists and magicians have suggested that Geller used tricks to make it look like he had supernatural powers. For example, he might have bent a spoon behind the audience’s back and then showed it slowly. He could also have bent the spoon before a performance to make it easier to bend again. Critics say Geller used these tricks outside of shows. James Randi wrote a book explaining how Geller’s abilities, like bending spoons, can be done by any magician using sleight of hand.
In the 1970s, a court in Israel ordered Geller to return money to a customer after finding he had lied about using telepathy. A later article said Geller’s manager and his sister helped him during performances. In his first book, Geller admitted his manager convinced him to add a trick where he guessed car registration numbers given to him beforehand. A former manager said all of Geller’s performances were simple magic tricks.
Geller’s spoon-bending tricks were discussed in a book called The Geller Papers, edited by Charles Panati. The book caused controversy because magicians showed that his tricks could be done using magic. Martin Gardner said Panati was tricked by Geller and the book was embarrassing.
During telepathic drawing demonstrations, Geller claimed he could read people’s minds as they drew pictures. Critics say he might guess shapes by watching how people move their pencils or use suggestions to influence their drawing.
Geller admits that magicians can copy his tricks using magic. However, he says he uses psychic powers to do his feats. A physicist named Richard Feynman said Geller could not bend a key for him and his son. James Randi said if Geller truly uses his mind, he is doing it the hard way.
In 2008, Geller accepted an award from a group of magicians, saying that if he did not have psychic powers, he must be the greatest magician to fool scientists and others. In 2012, he gave a speech to magicians in the United States.
Geller’s performances, such as copying drawings and bending spoons, often happen in informal settings like television interviews.
Litigation
Geller has taken legal action or threatened to do so against some of his critics, with mixed outcomes. This included claims of false statements against James Randi and illusionist Gérard Majax.
In 1971, a mechanical engineering student named Uri Goldstein attended one of Geller’s shows and later sued the show’s promoters for breaking an agreement. Goldstein claimed Geller had promised to demonstrate psychic powers but only performed sleight-of-hand tricks. The case was heard in a civil court in Beersheba. Geller was not present because the court papers were sent to the promoter, Miki Peled, who ignored them. Goldstein was awarded about $5 for breaking the contract. Later, Goldstein admitted he attended the show specifically to file a lawsuit and had already hired a lawyer before the performance.
In a 1989 interview with a Japanese newspaper, James Randi was quoted as saying that Geller had caused a scientist to “shoot himself in the head” after discovering Geller had tricked him. Randi later said this was a metaphor that did not translate well. The same story was reported in a Canadian newspaper, which stated that a scientist had written a paper supporting Geller’s claims about bending metal and later committed suicide after learning how the trick was done. In 1990, Geller sued Randi in a Japanese court over the statements in the Japanese newspaper. Randi said he could not afford to defend himself and lost the case by default. The court ruled the statement was an “insult” rather than libel and ordered a small payment to Geller. Since the charge of “insult” is only recognized in Japanese and Chinese law, Randi did not have to pay. In 1995, Geller agreed not to pursue payment for the fine. Randi said he never paid anything to Geller.
In 1992, Geller filed a $15 million lawsuit against Randi and CSICOP over statements made in an interview in 1991. The case was dismissed because the time limit for filing had passed. In 1994, Geller asked to drop the case, but was ordered to pay $50,000 in legal fees. When he did not pay on time, he was fined an additional $20,000. Because of the fine, the case was dismissed permanently, meaning Geller could not file the same lawsuit elsewhere. In 1995, Geller and Randi said this settled all remaining legal disputes between them and CSICOP. As part of the agreement, Geller agreed not to pursue the 1990 Japanese ruling, in exchange for a correction in future editions of the book Physics and Psychics.
In 1991, Geller sued Timex Corporation and the advertising firm Fallon McElligott for millions over an ad that showed a person bending forks and other items but failing to stop a Timex watch. Geller was ordered to pay $149,000 for filing a lawsuit that was considered without merit.
In 1998, the Broadcasting Standards Commission in the United Kingdom rejected a complaint from Geller, stating that it was not unfair for magicians to show how they copy “psychic feats” on the UK Equinox episode “Secrets of the Super Psychics.”
In 1999, Geller considered suing IKEA over a furniture line called the “Uri” line, which featured bent legs.
In November 2000, Geller sued Nintendo for £60 million over the Pokémon species “Yungerer,” known in English as “Kadabra.” Geller claimed the name and design of Kadabra were unauthorized uses of his identity. Kadabra has psychic abilities and carries a spoon. Geller also said the star on Kadabra’s forehead and lightning patterns on its body were symbols used by the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany. The Japanese spelling of Kadabra’s name, ユンゲラー, looks similar to the Japanese spelling of Geller’s name, ユリゲラー. Geller said, “Nintendo turned me into an evil, occult Pokémon character. Nintendo stole my identity by using my name and my signature image.” A Pokémon director said Kadabra would not appear on trading cards until an agreement was reached. In November 2020, Geller apologized and allowed cards featuring Kadabra to be printed.
In 2007, Geller sent a DMCA notice to YouTube to remove a video by Brian Sapient of the “Rational Response Squad,” which showed Geller failing to perform. Sapient contacted the Electronic Frontier Foundation, submitted a counter-notice, and sued Geller for misuse of the DMCA. Geller’s company, Explorologist, filed a counter-suit. Both cases were settled out of court. A monetary payment was made (but it is unclear who paid whom), and the footage owned by Explorologist was licensed for non-commercial use.
Personal life
After arriving in the United States, Geller lived in Palo Alto, California for one year before moving to New York City. He spent most of his time in the United States in New York. He also lived in rural Japan near Mount Fuji for a year with his family, as advised by John Lennon. In 1983, he moved to the United Kingdom after a family member suggested it would be a better place to raise children. He lived in the village of Sonning, Berkshire, England. In 2015, he returned to Israel and settled in Tel Aviv. Geller currently lives in Jaffa. He speaks three languages fluently: Hebrew, Hungarian, and English. In 1996, during an appearance on Esther Rantzen’s television show, Geller said he had suffered from anorexia nervosa and bulimia for several years. He has written 16 books, both fiction and non-fiction.
Geller married Hanna Geller in 1979. Michael Jackson was the best man when Geller renewed his wedding vows in 2001. Geller also helped arrange a TV interview between Jackson and journalist Martin Bashir, titled Living with Michael Jackson. Later, Jackson reportedly kept a list of people he considered enemies, which included Geller, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, attorney Gloria Allred, music executive Tommy Mottola, DA Tom Sneddon, and Janet Arvizo, the mother of one of Jackson’s accusers. After Jackson’s death, ITV aired an interview with Geller about his relationship with Jackson, titled My Friend Michael Jackson: Uri’s Story, in July 2009.
On February 11, 2009, Geller bought Lamb Island, a 100-meter-by-50-meter uninhabited island off Scotland’s eastern coast. The island was once known for witch trials and is said to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel Treasure Island. Geller claims that Egyptian treasure, brought there 3,500 years ago by Scota, a mythological figure from Irish stories, is buried on the island. He plans to find the treasure using dowsing. Geller also said he placed a crystal orb once owned by Albert Einstein on the island to increase its mystical powers. In 2022, Geller tried to declare Lamb Island as the Republic of Lamb, a micronation.
In 2014, a 12-foot-tall statue of a gorilla made from about 40,000 metal spoons was placed in Geller’s garden in Berkshire by the Duke of Kent. The statue was created by sculptor Alfie Bradley and funded by the British Ironworks Centre of Oswestry. Many of the spoons were donated by schoolchildren worldwide. Geller said the statue was meant to amaze sick children, not raise money for charity.
Geller is president of International Friends of Magen David Adom, a group that worked to get the Red Star of David recognized as a humanitarian relief organization by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In 2021, Geller opened the Uri Geller Museum in Old Jaffa, Tel Aviv, at 7 Mazal Arieh Street. The museum displays Geller’s personal art collection and an archaeological exhibit of an ancient soap factory found during renovations. At the museum’s entrance is an 11-ton bent steel spoon sculpture, certified by Guinness World Records as the largest steel spoon in the world.
Geller and his wife have two children, Daniel and Natalie. As of 2015, Daniel worked as a criminal prosecutor in London, while Natalie lived in Los Angeles and worked for a film company and as a part-time actress.