The Amazing Criswell | |
|---|---|
 Criswell in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957) | |
| Born | Jeron Criswell King August 18, 1907 Princeton, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | October 4, 1982 (aged 75) Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park |
| Other names | Jeron Criswell King Charles Criswell King |
| Occupation(s) | Showman, actor, writer, seer |
| Years active | 1950s–1970s |
| Known for | Making erroneous predictions, predicting the future on TV, radio, books, records and in newspapers and as a narrator and actor in the films of Ed Wood |
| Notable work | Criswell Predicts from Now to the Year 2000! (author) Plan 9 from Outer Space (narrator and actor) |
| Television | Criswell Predicts |
| Spouse | Halo Meadows |
Jeron Criswell King (August 18, 1907 – October 4, 1982), known by his stage-name The Amazing Criswell (/ˈkrɪzwɛl/), was an American psychic known for wildly inaccurate predictions. In person, he went by Charles Criswell King, and was sometimes credited as Jeron King Criswell.
Criswell was flamboyant, with spit curled hair, a stentorian style of speaking, and a sequined tuxedo. He owned a coffin in which he claimed to sleep. He grew up in a troubled family in Indiana with relatives who owned a funeral home, and frequently stated he became comfortable with sleeping in caskets in the storeroom.
He appeared in two films directed by Ed Wood—Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957) and Night of the Ghouls (1959)—and also appeared in Orgy of the Dead (1965), which was written by Wood.