In 1973 a 26-year-old Israeli stood on British TV and bent a spoon with his mind. The devices of millions of people started working spontaneously — or stopped. The next day the whole of England was talking about Uri Geller. And fifty years later he is still the most discussed mentalist in the world.
From Israeli soldier to world phenomenon
Born in Tel Aviv in 1946, Geller did his military service as a paratrooper for the Israeli army. He discovered early that he could do small wonders at parties: bending spoons, stopping clocks. What started as a party trick became his career.
His breakthrough came in 1973 on David Dimbleby's BBC programme. What he showed seemed real; it was everywhere in the press. He flew to America, did The Tonight Show — but Johnny Carson had been a magician himself, and Geller's tricks didn't work under those conditions. Yet it only made him more famous.
- ✦Born: 20 December 1946, Tel Aviv
- ✦Famous for: bending cutlery, mind reading, clock magic
- ✦Hosted the TV show 'De Nieuwe Uri Geller' featuring Sudesh Roman
Magician or paranormal?
The magic community was divided. Many, including James Randi, demonstrated how Geller's effects could be reproduced with classical mentalism techniques. Geller maintained his powers were real — and used the controversy as fuel for decades of world fame.
He participated in research at Stanford Research Institute, where scientists to some extent recorded effects they couldn't explain. It remained undecided — and that very indecision made him unbeatable in the media.
The New Uri Geller and Sudesh Roman
In 2009 Geller launched on SBS6 the programme 'De Nieuwe Uri Geller' — a talent show for mentalists in the Netherlands and Belgium. Among the finalists was Sudesh Roman, who fought his way to semi-final and final. It was the springboard for a whole generation of Dutch-speaking mentalists.
Geller is now in his seventies and lives in Israel. He still gives interviews, makes occasional appearances and remains a phenomenon that polarises audiences: for some a paranormal icon, for others the cleverest mentalist who ever lived.
Uri Geller showed that one person with a spoon and a TV camera can make a whole world believe in the impossible. Whether it was real or not — the effect was everywhere.