George Joseph Kresge Jr., The Amazing Kreskin, dies at 89

George Joseph Kresge Jr., known as The Amazing Kreskin, has died. He was 89.

Ryan Galway, Kreskin’s friend and former road superintendent, said he died at his home in Caldwell, New Jersey. The cause of death is unknown.

His death occurred a month before his 90th birthday.

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An announcement on his social media account said Christmas was Kreskin’s favorite time of the year as he loved decorating the house with multiple Christmas trees and outdoor decorations.

George Joseph Kresge Jr. died at his home in Caldwell, New Jersey. (Dario Cantatore/Getty Images)

“The highlight of Christmas for Kreskin was the annual Christmas parties at his house. Kreskin had so much fun playing the piano as everyone sang (Christmas) songs,” his Instagram post reads.

“Kreskin ended the musical performance with Ava Maria, his mother’s favorite song. Kreskin loved performing his show effects, and new effects were performed each year for his guests.”

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The most important thing for The Amazing Kreskin was performing for his fans.

“It has brought so much joy into his life,” the statement continued.

The New Jersey native was born on January 12, 1935 in Montclair. (Peter Kramer/Getty Images)

The New Jersey native was born on January 12, 1935 in Montclair. When he officially changed his name to The Amazing Kreskin, the American mentalist combined his name with famous magicians Harry Kellar and Harry Houdini.

He described his talent in detail in his 1991 book, Secrets of the Amazing Kreskin.

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“I am not a clairvoyant, an occultist or a fortune teller. I am not a mind reader, medium or hypnotist. There is nothing supernatural about anything I do,” he wrote in one of the 20 books he worked on.

Mentalist George Joseph Kresge Jr., known as “The Amazing Kreskin,” has died. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File)

“I am a scientist, a researcher in the field of suggestion and ‘extrasensory’ perceptions. I carry out what I discover.”

Inspired by the criminal comic book character Mandrake the Magician, Kreskin launched his television career in the 1960s and remained popular for decades, making guest appearances on talk shows hosted by everyone from Merv Griffin to Johnny Carson to Jimmy Fallon.

Known as a master of mind games, The Amazing Kreskin showed his fans his favorite mind tricks – whether it was correctly guessing a randomly selected playing card or, most famously, divining where his paycheck was hidden in the audience.

In the 1970s, The Amazing Kreskin hosted his own show where he gave live performances and wrote several books, including “Mental Power is Real.”

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Mentalist The Amazing Kreskin (left) laughs during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on May 25, 2009. (Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

For five years, from 1970 to 1975, he hosted “The Amazing World of Kreskin,” which aired in Canada on CTV and aired in the United States.

“We are exploring the greatest mystery of humanity, the mystery of the human mind,” he said on his show.

Even though he was a regular on talk shows, one host wasn’t happy about a Kreskin stunt.

In 2002, he claimed that a UFO would appear over Las Vegas on the night of June 2, adding that if he was wrong he would donate $50,000 to charity. Hundreds of people gathered in the desert in vain.

Kreskin admitted to radio host Art Bell that his prediction was a hoax, evidence that the September 11 terrorist attacks the year before had left people vulnerable to manipulation. Bell called the trick “lame, lame, lame” and banned it from his show.

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Inspired by the criminal comic book character Mandrake the Magician, The Amazing Kreskin launched his television career in the 1960s and remained popular for decades. (Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

In 2018, he claimed to have proven that hypnosis was a joke.

“I have dedicated my life to proving that hypnosis does not exist,” Kreskin said in an interview at the time. “There is no such thing. The person who responds to suggestions has the brain wave pattern of a fully awake person.”

Other books Kreskin wrote included 2012’s “Conversations with Kreskin.” His novel included a foreword penned by the late Fox News founder Roger Ailes, who guest-starred on The Amazing Kreskin in the 1960s the “Mike Douglas Show”.

Kreskin was not married and had no children.

The Amazing Kreskin was known to say at the end of all his shows, “This is not a farewell, but a continuation.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.