The Amazing Criswell
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The Amazing Criswell (born August 18, 1907, died October 4, 1982) was an American psychic who was famous for his wildly inaccurate predictions. Criswell was born Jeron Criswell Konig, although he later changed his last name to King, and often represented it as his middle name: He is frequently credited as Jeron King Criswell.
Criswell found infamy in the movies of Ed Wood, including Plan 9 from Outer Space and Orgy of the Dead. He was portrayed in the biopic Ed Wood by Jeffrey Jones, in which it is suggested that Criswell was simply a showman and never claimed to be a real psychic. However, those who knew him, such as actress and fellow Plan 9 alumna Maila Nurmi (Vampira), have disputed this. According to writer Charles A. Coulombe, whose family rented an apartment from the psychic, Criswell had told Coulombe's father that he "had the gift, but … lost it when I started taking money for it."
Criswell was a flamboyant figure, best remembered for his spitcurled hair, his stentorian speaking style, and his sequined tuxedo. He was the possessor of a coffin, in which he claimed to sleep, and which found its way into a later Ed Wood film, the pornographic Necromania: A Tale of Weird Love from 1971.
Predictions
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Criswell's precitions were nationally syndicated. Additionally, the psychic appeared on the television show Criswell Predicts on KLAC Channel 13 in Los Angeles, as well as being kinescoped for syndication on other television stations. Criswell's announcer, Bob Shields, would eventually be the judge on Divorce Court. Criswell was notorious for wearing his heavy pancake makeup outside the studio.
Criswell authored several books of predictions, including 1968's Criswell Predicts: From Now to the Year 2000. In this book, the author claimed that Denver would be struck by a ray from space that would cause all metal to adopt the qualities of rubber, leading to horrific accidents at amusement parks. He also predicted an outbreak of mass cannibalism and the end of the world, which he set as happening on August 18th, 1999.
Criswell's most famous prediction was made on American television in March 1963, when he predicted that John F. Kennedy would not run for reelection in 1964 because something was going to happen to him in November 1963.
Private Life
Criswell was married to a former speakeasy dancer named Halo Meadows, who once appeared on You Bet Your Life, and who Coulombe describes as "quite mad": "Mrs. Criswell had a huge standard poodle (named 'Buttercup') which she was convinced was the reincarnation of her cousin Thomas. She spent a great deal of time sunbathing … which, given her size, was not too pleasing a sight."
Criswell was longtime friends with actress Mae West, once predicting her impending rise to the position of President of the United States, whereupon she, Criswell, and showman Liberace would ride a rocket to the moon. West used Criswell as her personal psychic, as well as lavishing him with gifts of homecooked food, dropped off via chauffeur. The food was often then eaten by Criswell and Nurmi, who refused any direct contact with West after a many-decade-old unpleasant experience with the film actress. Additionally, West was known to sell Criswell her old luxury cars for $5. For her 1955 album The Fabulous Mae West, she recorded a song about the psychic, titled, appropriately enough, "Criswell Predicts."
Criswell was reputedly homosexual, and was a habitué of The Gold Cup, a defunct Los Angeles coffee shop at the corner of Las Palmas and Hollywood Boulevard that served as an informal meeting place for homosexual encounters.