'Psychic' Yuri Geller, from Fraudster to Master Magician

Yurigeller, Who Claimed to Be a Psychic, Reconciles with the Established Magic Community
Living in Israel, He Offers Advice to Young Magicians

Yuri Geller (76), a magician who once claimed to be a 'psychic' and enjoyed worldwide fame, has reconciled with the established magic community after an astonishing 50 years.

According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 8th (local time), Yuri Geller, who claimed to have psychic powers and amassed enormous wealth, suffered from panic attacks, anorexia, bulimia, and shopping addiction before moving to the UK in the mid-1980s. In 2015, Geller wrapped up his life in the UK and built a museum housing his collections in the Old Jaffa area of Tel Aviv, the capital of his homeland Israel.

Yuri Geller inspecting the traces of a centuries-old soap factory discovered at a museum construction site.
[Photo by EPA·Yonhap News]

He spends his later years chatting with tourists examining a 16-meter-tall bent spoon sculpture placed in front of the museum and performing impromptu shows. No longer as obsessed with claims of supernatural abilities as in the past, he prefers to call himself a 'mystifier' and does not hesitate to offer advice to young magicians, NYT reported.

Ben Harris, an Australian magician who once wrote a separate book criticizing Geller, published a book titled Bend It Like Geller last May and praised Geller as "an excellent and highly original magic entertainer."

Yuri Geller attending the global broadcasting content market event held in Cannes, France in 2008
[Photo by EPA·Yonhap News]

This is the result of a reevaluation of his abilities, which captivated people with new performances different from traditional magicians, as the late 20th century saw a surge of fraudsters exploiting the guise of psychics to swindle innocent people.

Of course, not everyone has changed their view of Geller. James Randi, the 'psychic hunter' who was once sued by Geller for hundreds of millions of won in defamation, reportedly said before his death three years ago that he wanted his cremated ashes to be scattered in Geller's eyes after he died.

Randi had claimed that Geller was involved in so-called 'spiritual healing' and that people could die as a result, insisting that Geller must be stopped at any cost.

Yuri Geller, who first bent a spoon at the age of five, performed in theaters across Israel as an adult before going to the United States in 1971 and gaining fame after appearing on the popular BBC talk show in 1973.

Wearing casual clothes on stage and sometimes failing to bend spoons, blaming the atmosphere, actually made Geller appear more like a genuine psychic. He caused a huge sensation worldwide, with protagonists inspired by him appearing in various movies and games.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.