The Amazing Kreskin is no more.
Or at least not in this realm.
The man born in Montclair, N.J., who went on to become the world’s most famous — and possibly most enthusiastic — mentalist with his own Canadian TV shows, died at the age of 89 on Tuesday night as announced on his X account@Kreskin.
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of The Amazing Kreskin, born George Kresge, at the age of 89,” the statement reads. “Performing for all of you brought immense joy to his life, and it was something he deeply cherished. The family kindly asks for privacy during this difficult time.”
The followup post read: “As Kreskin always said at the close of his shows, “This is not goodbye, but…to be continued.”
Many considered Kreskin, who was still performing live shows right up until this spring before his death, an honorary Canadian due to his popular Ottawa-filmed CTV show in the early to mid-‘70s.
“We investigate man’s greatest enigma, the mystery of the human mind,” he said on the CTV show.
He hosted The Amazing World of Kreskin, which aired on CTV in Canada and was syndicated in the U.S., which was later followed up by The New Kreskin Show in the mid-’70s, the latter shot in Toronto.
It was a comic book about crime-fighting Mandrake the Magician that’s said to have encouraged a young Kreskin to start to exploring the power of his mind as early as the third grade.
His first TV show appearance in 1964 was on The Steve Allen Show during which he tripped while walking over to shake Allen’s hands as he became blinded by the stage lights.
Kreskin claimed Johnny Carson was watching the show and weeks later created the turban-waring psychic Carnac The Magnificent, although others think it was from an old Allen bit.
Carson was the one who gave Kreskin “The Amazing” moniker and he appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson 88 times.
He also had his own Milton Bradley board game, Kreskin’s ESP, which came out in 1966.
After hundreds of appearances on talk shows hosted by Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin and Regis and Kathie Lee, later late night talk show hosts like David Letterman and Howard Stern, who grew up with Kreskin, also loved him as a guest, along with Jimmy Fallon.
There was even a 2008 movie The Great Buck Howard starring John Malkovich that was based on the brief Kreskin road manager experiences of writer-director Sean McGinly.
Kreskin also routinely came on TV every New Year’s Day to make predictions about the coming year, but sadly that won’t happen in 2025 unless he pre-taped it.
Torontonian Tim Wallace once caught Kreskin in the ‘80s during a Massey Hall performance which didn’t disappoint.
“We were way up at the back of the upper balcony and Kreskin asked me to pick a number,” remembered Wallace.
“The number I called for was 37 and he turned a card over with his correct prediction. I was really hoping to hear his trademark phrase and he didn’t disappoint us. ‘Isn’t that wild?’ he said.”
Which is very likely what Kreskin is saying right now in the after-life.
A later X posting on @Kreskin Tuesday night was accompanied by a black and white photo of the man himself standing beside his own gravestone with these words inscribed: “Even now I know what you’re thinking!”