Happy Birthday To ‘The Amazing Kreskin’

The Amazing Kreskin was born (George Joseph Kresge) 87 years ago today in Montclair, New Jersey.

Kreskin is yet another of the very famous people, places and things from The Garden State.

The below statement was coined by my identical twin brother Don P. Hurley and fits Kreskin very well:

Remember, there are only four things which have been truly documented to be ‘Amazing’

‘Grace’
Spider Man
The 1969 Mets
And, the one and only Amazing Kreskin!

It’s a very cool quote and it also happens to be true.

Kreskin is known as an American mentalist who originally became famous on television in the 1970s.

He become a mentalist by Lee Falk's comic strip Mandrake the Magician, staring a crime-fighting stage magician.

Kreskin has always portrayed himself as an "entertainer.” He does not claim to have the powers of the paranormal or supernatural.

We’ve written here in the past that back in the 20th Century you didn’t really “make it” until you played Atlantic City’s Steel Pier.

Here’s a flashback to the summer of 1973, With “The Amazing Kreskin” on the world-famous Steel Pier
in Atlantic City.

Kreskin put his weeks of salary on the line and challenged owner George Hamid to hide his paycheck anywhere on the half mile pier and that he would find it within one hour, or, work for free.

After 55 minutes, Kreskin called for a Phillips head screwdriver and disassembled the bottom plate of an eight foot hanging soda sign … revealing his paycheck that had been hidden there.

Now, that’s Amazing!

Don P. Hurley photo.

Kreskin has performed this same feat thousands of more times over more than 50 years and has only missed on a handful of occasions.

According to Kreskin, he has failed only 12 times to find his check. He donates his salary to charity when he fails to locate his paycheck.

I have personally been in the theater on at least three occasions when Kreskin has performed this “trick.” He successfully found his check each time.

Kreskin teaches classes for law enforcement groups, which "focuses on psychological methods such as jogging lost memories through relaxation techniques or detecting lies through body language and voice inflections,” said Kreskin.

Kreskin has also directly assisted various law enforcement and has successfully helped to restart various cold cases.

Kreskin is also a regular and most welcome guest on our program.

Kreskin is a resident of Caldwell, New Jersey.

Over the years, Kreskin has learned about my “love” of making on-air predictions.

Kreskin is very generous and has authorized me to be known by the nickname “Pocket Kreskin.” I only use it on special occasions.

About this, Kreskin wrote me a note saying to “use it well.”

Happy 87th Birthday to a great friend … The Amazing Kreskin.