The Amazing Kreskin to visit Carrboro

Think of a color and he can guess it. Think of where you are going for fall break and he will perceive it.

It’s not magic and it’s not a psychic trick; it’s mentalism. The Amazing Kreskin is a real-life mind-reader, and he is coming to Carrboro Saturday to perform his jaw-dropping feats of perception.

Jeri Lynn Schulke, director of ArtsCenter Stage, said Kreskin came last year and awed the crowd with his abilities.

“He was truly amazing. He’s funny and entertaining, a real old-school entertainer, and he knows how to work a large crowd,” Schulke said.

The Amazing Kreskin has had widespread attention since his 1970 television show “The Amazing World of Kreskin.” He has flown more than 3 million miles in the course of his career and, according to Kreskin, has performed 362 times in the last year alone.

“He’s got such a history,” Schulke said. “He’s done everything. He’s done shows in Las Vegas, all over the country and on television. He’s kind of an icon. He’s been on Letterman, he’s been on Jimmy Fallon, he was on the Johnny Carson show back in the day. He’s just been around forever and he’s still doing it.”

Kreskin said he’s been honing his abilities as a mentalist since he was 9 years old. It all started with a game of hot and cold at his grandmother’s house, when he guessed where his brother hid a penny without his brother saying a word.

“I always kid, but I say my grandparents thought I had the evil eye,” Kreskin said.

After that, he said, in fourth and sixth grades, his teacher would have him stand in front of the class and guess students’ thoughts.

“I remember one class in sixth grade I pointed to Gloria Palmer, she was sitting in the back of the classroom, and I had asked everyone to think of a movie they had seen. And I pointed to Gloria and I said, ‘Gloria, did you see this recently now?’ and she said ‘No.’ So I named the movie and it turned out she’d seen it last Christmas, six months ago. And my teacher was fascinated by this.”

By the time he was in high school, Kreskin said he was doing two-hour performances. He knew at an early age that performing was what he wanted to do for a living, and even now, he still enjoys it.

“I have announced when I am going to retire, you can tell exactly when, and that is: I am going to retire 10 days after I pass away,” Kreskin said.

“I enjoy my work. It’s like an adventure.”

The ArtsCenter’s webpage for the event says he offers $1 million to anyone who can prove that he pays secret assistants to help him during the show. But Kreskin’s website says he offers $50,000.

Kreskin is excited for Saturday’s show because there will be a ghost manifestation in the spirit of Halloween.

“There will be a number of people onstage who will probably have one of the most terrifying experiences of their life,” said Kreskin with a laugh.

Local magician Josh Lozoff went to Kreskin’s show in Carrboro last year and said it was a treat to see him perform live.

“He’s the best at what he does and has been for decades and decades,” he said. “My parents remember seeing him when they were younger, even before I was born, so I’m a big fan.”

As a magician, Lozoff admires Kreskin for his ability to wow a crowd.

“Everyone had their mouths open and were wide-eyed and were looking around. There were probably lots of very rational people trying to figure out if what he was doing was real and whether it was an illusion of some sort. And even that process of trying to figure that out is essentially part of the goal,” Lozoff said.

“He’s not necessarily needing everyone to believe that he has genuine powers. Just that possibility, even for the most rational nonbeliever, that possibility of seeing something that couldn’t be happening, that’s really what we are trying to create and what Kreskin is so good at.”

arts@dailytarheel.com