OK, so the other night I see a movie from the early 70s called Man on a Swing. It's the fictionalized account of a true crime book called The Girl on the Volkswagen Floor.
In the film, Joel Grey (fresh off his Oscar® win for Cabaret) plays a self-proclaimed clairvoyant named Franklin Wills who seems to be trying to help the police chief, played by Cliff Robertson, solve a murder.
The movie itself is a fun thriller (driven by the engine of Grey's performance) which does not ultimately reveal whether he's actually psychic or not---although I think it's pretty clear that the movie suggests that he's not, but I'm viewing it through the eyes of a skeptic and that probably skews my vision of it.
The movie also has a (nearly) double-blind test of the psychic that is the same type of test conducted by JREF or any other testing organization. It was fascinating to see that type of test depicted in a fictionalized film that early in the skeptical movement, if one can say that the movement even existed then.
Joel Grey was at the cinema in person and spoke after the movie and mentioned that the real clairvoyant was still alive, but he did not mention his real name.
That sent me on a mission once I got home to figure out who this person was. I thought I found it right away. In the original book the clairvoyant is named Norman Dodd. Mystery solved, I thought. Further reading revealed that Norman Dodd was a pseudonym. A little more digging led me to this newspaper article: http://ift.tt/1ojMDZ6 which reveals that the clairvoyant's real name was Bill Boshears. And what has Mr. Boshears been up to lately? Enjoy: http://ift.tt/1nCCNiE
I'm not expecting this to be much of a thread, but I thought my journey of discovery was interesting and Boshears' journey was equally fascinating. I'd never heard of him before and I think he should be the poster-child for what becomes of a psychic when they are not checked early and often.
Ward
In the film, Joel Grey (fresh off his Oscar® win for Cabaret) plays a self-proclaimed clairvoyant named Franklin Wills who seems to be trying to help the police chief, played by Cliff Robertson, solve a murder.
The movie itself is a fun thriller (driven by the engine of Grey's performance) which does not ultimately reveal whether he's actually psychic or not---although I think it's pretty clear that the movie suggests that he's not, but I'm viewing it through the eyes of a skeptic and that probably skews my vision of it.
The movie also has a (nearly) double-blind test of the psychic that is the same type of test conducted by JREF or any other testing organization. It was fascinating to see that type of test depicted in a fictionalized film that early in the skeptical movement, if one can say that the movement even existed then.
Joel Grey was at the cinema in person and spoke after the movie and mentioned that the real clairvoyant was still alive, but he did not mention his real name.
That sent me on a mission once I got home to figure out who this person was. I thought I found it right away. In the original book the clairvoyant is named Norman Dodd. Mystery solved, I thought. Further reading revealed that Norman Dodd was a pseudonym. A little more digging led me to this newspaper article: http://ift.tt/1ojMDZ6 which reveals that the clairvoyant's real name was Bill Boshears. And what has Mr. Boshears been up to lately? Enjoy: http://ift.tt/1nCCNiE
I'm not expecting this to be much of a thread, but I thought my journey of discovery was interesting and Boshears' journey was equally fascinating. I'd never heard of him before and I think he should be the poster-child for what becomes of a psychic when they are not checked early and often.
Ward
via JREF Forum http://ift.tt/1gbEZhs
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