Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions - James Randi [87]
As the former messiah-disciple relationship deteriorated and the role of outright faker was assigned to Katz, he found himself doing outrageous things to make Geller's tricks possible. In San Francisco, before a TV program in which Geller was required to divine the contents of a sealed envelope, Katz was told to simply go into the producer's desk and peek at it. A nervous wreck because of fear that he might get caught, Katz did so, and reported that it was a drawing of a white flag on a flagpole. Sure enough, as Geller labored to "telepathically" determine what the target was, he went through the same histrionics as he always had in the days when Katz had believed Geller really was using psychic powers. Katz had nothing but admiration for Geller's acting ability but was dismayed by having been exploited.
By then, Geller probably thought he had Katz pulled into the picture entirely. He directed him to stand by the door of the theater as people came in and report to him backstage who had what in their purses or pockets as they paid for their tickets. Katz watched Geller take down the license numbers of various cars in the parking lot outside and note details about the people who got out of them—all for later use onstage. He was disturbed, during a visit with Danny Kaye's wife, Sylvia Fine, to see Geller take a valuable family heirloom and break it while no one—except Katz—was watching. After pretending to fracture it "psychically," Geller apologized for the unpredictable psychic forces. In Paris, Katz said he was directed to walk along behind Geller and a reporter from L 'Express and toss a spoon in the air so that it appeared to be a "teleportation" from nowhere. He had seen Geller do the same thing many times before, tossing objects over his own head, from behind his back.
Katz even solved some of the methods Geller used to "read minds." Sometimes, he noted, Geller only pretended to write down something; then, when he saw the target drawing for the first time, he would quickly and surreptitiously draw an approximation of it. It was then gleefully displayed as a success. In fact, said Katz, Geller always made a great show of excitement and satisfaction on these occasions and praised the victim for having great psychic powers in being able to transmit so effectively.
The miracles of Geller's "psychic photography" were also solved by Katz. In Palm Beach he saw him simply sneak the lens cap off a photographer's camera, snap a photo of himself, and replace the cap again. It was only the first of many times Geller did this.
But it was in Italy that Katz came very close to quitting the whole operation. With Geller he visited a jewelry store, where they looked over a number of expensive watches and left without buying anything. As they rounded the corner a block away, Geller exclaimed with great excitement that a "teleportation" had taken place. He showed his wrist with a brand-new watch on it. Katz knew beyond any doubt that Geller had simply stolen it. It was no miracle at all.
Why, then, did he stick with Geller? Simply because he believed—as he still does today in spite of the evidence against Geller—that he was associated with a genuine psychic. For Katz, anything that he cannot explain assumes the status of a real miracle.
Remember the "teleported" planter in New York City and the armrest from the theater? While I was in Tel Aviv with Yasha, and he was retelling the story to me (it was, I must add, a much-embellished version of the original), he casually remarked that the planter was the one sitting beside me in the apartment! I turned to see a large affair of cemented glass blocks with plants perched on it. I remembered that Katz had told me Geller could not have lifted it. It certainly did not look too heavy for me to lift, and I offered to do so. If I could, then a man twenty years my junior certainly could. Katz objected, saying it was not necessary for me to prove anything.