Mike Conley's Tales of the Weird: Uri Geller has captivated world for decades

Since the early 1970s, he's captivated the world with his purported ability to bend spoons and keys using the power of his mind. Some say he has true psychic abilities while skeptics contend that he's simply a clever illusionist and entertainer.
Uri Geller was born in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1946 and even at the age of 3 he claimed that he could "do things," which included reading people's minds. In 1969, the 23-year-old Geller demonstrated his weird abilities before an audience at school. After that public performance, the young man was asked to perform his mental feats all over Israel in theatres, public halls, auditoriums, military bases and universities.
By the early 1970s, he had become well known in both the United States and Europe. Geller would sometimes claim his paranormal powers were given to him by aliens from outer space.
His weird feats also got the attention of the scientific community. For example, two scientists, Russell Targ and Harold Puthoff from the Stanford Research Institute, stated in 1975 they were convinced that Geller's abilities were genuine. But since then, other notable scientists, various magicians, and skeptics have suggested possible ways in which Geller could have tricked the scientists using misdirection.
One day in Germany, he snapped the handles off spoons and left knives and forks slowly bending as he walked away. He could apparently bend or snap these metal objects by just stroking them or on occasion merely concentrating on them. Geller could supposedly make a watch stop or run by just passing his hand over it. He could also bend or twist the hands of a watch without even touching it, according to a Web site.
At one point, he safely drove a car while he was blindfolded through the busy, crowded streets of Munich, Germany.
In 1973, Geller was invited to appear on "The Tonight Show." However, that appearance would prove to be a failure for him. Johnny Carson had been an amateur stage magician earlier in his show business career and he knew how to fool an audience. Before the show, Carson consulted famed magician and skeptic James Randi for advice on how to thwart any potential trickery by Geller.
Randi advised Carson and his staff to provide their own props for Geller's appearance and not let Geller or his people anywhere near them before the show's taping. Just as Randi expected, Geller could not bend any metal with his "psychic powers" or do any "hand dowsing," which is the ability to find sealed vessels of water without seeing or touching them.
Despite that event, Geller's fame continued and he made many important and influential friends such as John Lennon and Michael Jackson. In 2001, Jackson was the best man for Geller as he renewed his wedding vows. Later, Geller supposedly put Jackson under hypnosis and asked him if he had ever touched a child inappropriately. Geller said the King of Pop denied immediately doing anything of that sort. Geller revealed publically that story on the morning after Jackson's death, according to a Web site.
Today, the 63-year-old Geller lives in England. He has written 16 fiction and non-fiction books. And although he used to call his abilities "psychic," Geller usually refers to himself as a "mystifier" and entertainer.
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This week, we learned of the death of screen actor Peter Graves. He was 83 years old.
While he was best known for his portrayal of IMF leader Jim Phelps in the show "Mission: Impossible" and his work in "Airplane," I will always remember Graves for another role he ably performed.
In 1976, Graves was the narrator of the excellent documentary "The Mysterious Monsters." This film explored whether or not Bigfoot exists and contains some of the best (and scariest) re-enactments of Sasquatch sightings ever presented in a documentary. Phelps was not just a voice for this movie but acted as the determined on-camera investigator as well.
His persona lent an air of authenticity that put this movie head and shoulders above the others like it that came out in the 1970s.