James Van Praagh
James Van Praagh was born in Bayside, New York, United States on August 23rd, 1958 and is the TV Producer. At the age of 65, James Van Praagh biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
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James Van Praagh (born August 23, 1958) is an American writer, filmmaker, and television presenter who describes himself as a clairvoyant and spiritual medium.
He has written several books, including the bestseller Talking to Heaven in the New York Times.
Van Praagh appeared as a producer and screenwriter on the CBS primetime semi-autobiographical miniseries Living with the Dead, starring Ted Danson.
On Ghost Whisperer, which starred Jennifer Love Hewitt, he was an uncredited co-creator and producer.
Beyond with James Van Praagh, he hosted a short-lived paranormal talk show called Beyond. Skeptics, such as James Randi, Joe Nickell, Incident Investigations Group, and prominent media personalities, such as Barbara Walters and John Oliver, have tried to debunk the belief that what Van Praagh and other mediums do represents truth.
Van Praagh's studies, not "psychic" powers, are based on deceptive cold reading and hot reading techniques.
Early life
Van Praagh was born in Bayside, New York, and is the youngest of four children. He said he suffered with spiritual experiences starting at an early age, including once when he was 8 years old; when praying to God, a glowing open hand appeared through his ceiling, an experience that he described as peaceful. He was raised Roman Catholic, and at the age of 14, he attended pre-seminary. According to his website, he abandoned formal faith and left the seminary after a spirit whispered to him, "God is much bigger than these four walls; you must leave and find God outside of the world." Jeanne Van Praagh died in 1985, but Van Praagh claims she visits and guides him often.
He graduated from San Francisco State University, where he majored in Broadcasting and Communications with the intention of becoming a screenwriter, then moved to Los Angeles in the hopes of working with the TV show Hill Street Blues. Instead, he landed a Paramount entry-level office job, which he later left after displaying an ardent interest in spiritualism and visiting medium Brian Hurst, who predicted that the spirit world would aid him in "changing the planet's consciousness." Van Praagh began reading and was interested in learning more about the art of mediumship. He writes in his bestselling book Talking to Heaven that Normal ectoplasm is "particularly rich in mediums" and he recalled a séance in which he learned a cheesecloth-like substance emanating from British celebrity medium Leslie Flint, who van Praagh says inspired him by channeling his mother.
Personal life
Van Praagh is married to his partner, whom he met in 1995.
Career
Van Praagh began his career by allegedly providing private readings for clients and family members, and then expanded to larger audiences by the production and distribution of a number of audiotapes and books. He began appearing on the NBC morning talk show The Other Side (broadcast 1994–1995), where he became a resident expert. Van Praagh cites his international fame after appearing on Larry King Live in 1997 to promote his latest book Talking to Heaven. "The book went from 6,000 copies to 600,000 copies in fewer than three months," he said. He has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Larry King Live, A&E's Biography, Unsolved Mysteries, and Coast to Coast. He worked with The Compassionate Friends, a non-profit that supports people who have lost their children or siblings. He is also a regular blogger for The Huffington Post.
Van Praagh's work revolves around the belief that there is no death and that people who have died exist, but in a different way. These spirits, according to Van Praagh, help him guide him; they have told him that Heaven and we have created by our thoughts, words, and deeds while on earth."
Van Praagh has written many books that have been translated into various languages and sold hundreds of copies. Talking to Heaven, his 1999 book, which recounts tales about his acquaintance with the deceased, occupied the top spot on the New York Times Best Seller List for weeks. Ghosts Among Us, a 2008 book that goes into greater detail about ghosts and the spirit world. His 2011 book Growing Up in Heaven: The Eternal Connection Between Parent and Child gives a comprehensive account of what happens to children's souls after they die.
CBS aired Living with the Dead (also known as Talking to Heaven), a four-hour miniseries based on Van Praagh and directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal, with the screenplay by John Pielmeier. Despite the fact that Van Praagh's story was based on a fictional tale about the murder of a teenage boy at the hands of a serial murderer. Ted Danson, his mother Diane Laddd, and his father Jack Palance played Van Praagh, respectively. Danson was lauded by publications such as the Chicago Tribune and People for his portrayal of Van Praagh as a man haunted by his lifelong dreams of the dead, including his mother.
Van Praagh and Tribune Entertainment began Beyond with James Van Praagh, a paranormal talk show that was broadcast in television syndication, but it was only running for half a season in the fall of 2002. Beyond, which was in a similar fashion as Crossing Over, with Van Praagh providing audience members and celebrities with readings as well as field investigations into crimes and missing people.
On October 24, 2004, CBS aired Talking with the Dead (also known as The Dead Will Tell), a horror based on Van Praagh's experiences and directed by Stephen Kay. Emily Parkes, a woman who inherits an antique engagement ring from her fiancé, and begins to have visions of its former owner, Anne Heche. Eva Longoria, Christopher Guest, and Chris Sarandon appeared in the made-for-TV film.
Van Praagh starred Jennifer Love Hewitt on CBS' Ghost Whisperer as a co-executive producer. Despite the fact that Van Praagh's career and experiences inspired the film, Ghost Whisperer was actually inspired by psychic Mary Ann Wynchowski, a woman who Van Praagh met while filming Beyond with James Van Praagh in 2002. Ghost Whisperer appeared on CBS from September 23, 2005 to May 21, 2010.
On January 22, 2013, James Van Praagh filed a federal district court suit in New York against Lynn Gratton, who is also a psychic. James Van Praagh has a trademark on his name and allegation that Lynn abused her trademark by beginning to profit from his name even though Lynn took her (now deceased) husband's surname more than 50 years ago when she married him on August 28, 1970.