The Amazing Kreskin!

 

"This is not goodbye, but...to be continued."

The Amazing Kreskin was born George Joseph Krege, Jr. in Montclair, New Jersey on January 12, 1935.  He was the oldest of two boys in a blue collar family, who would reside in the Garden State for most of his life.  In 1957, he graduated from nearby Seton Hall University, where he earned his degree in psychology. 

After graduation, Kreskin worked as a clinical psychologist, but had aspirations as an entertainer.  His first professional appearance was on The Steve Allen Show in 1964, where he displayed his powers as a mentalist. 

The Amazing Kreskin was an overnight success.  He became a regular on the TV talk show circuit, racking up hundreds of appearances on The Merv Griffin Show, The Mike Douglas Show, and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  Carson would later base one of his famous characters, Carnac the Magnificent, on the Mentalist from New Jersey.  In his final years, Kreskin began appearing at celebrity conventions in and around New Jersey, where this blogger met him in 2016.

He performed well into his 80s, but finally retired in 2024 after taking a fall in his home.  It led to a number of health complications and eventually necessitated his move to an assisted-living facility in Wayne, New Jersey.  It was there that he died of dementia on December 10th of that year.  He was 89 years old.

The Amazing Kreskin was laid to rest at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery and Mausoleum in East Hanover, New Jersey.

Inscription: Even now, I know what you're thinking.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about the Amazing Kreskin, take a voyage to Amazon.  Its all in books.
  
  
• Kreskin was related to Sebastian S. Kresge, founder of the original department store chain that would one day become K-Mart.
  
  
• From 1972 to 1975, he hosted a series called The Amazing World of Kreskin on Canadian television,
  
  
• Keskin accurately predicted the outcome of the 2012 Presidential election.  Coincidentally, so did I.
  
  
• Kreskin was anti-hypnosis, arguing that there was no such thing.  He often boasted, accurately or otherwise, that it is not admissible in court, based on his findings.
  
  
• In 2022, Kreskin provided the voice of "The Magic Tree" in an animated series called The Adventures of Little Billy.  Take a listen on YouTube.  Kreskin comes in at the 15:53 mark.
  
  
• In September 2025, vlogger Jordan the Lion visited Kreskin's grave and posted this video.