Geller rose to fame after performing a series of televised performances with paranormal demonstrations of psychokinesis, dowsing, and telepathy.[11] His performance included bending spoons, describing hidden drawings, and making watches stop or run faster. Geller said he performs these feats through willpower and the strength of his mind. Critics have demonstrated that his performances can be duplicated using stage magic tricks.
Geller owns a 1976 Cadillac adorned with thousands of pieces of bent tableware given to him by celebrities or otherwise having historical or other significance. It includes spoons from celebrities such as John Lennon and the Spice Girls, and those with which Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy ate. Michael Jackson was best man when Geller renewed his wedding vows in 2001. Geller also negotiated the famous TV interview between Jackson with the journalist Martin Bashir: Living with Michael Jackson. In BBC television interviews, Geller has since admitted that he has not been in contact with Jackson since this time. Geller says that he has split with Jackson because of anti-Semitic statements Jackson had purportedly made.
Geller has affiliations with various groups. He is president of International Friends of Magen David Adom, a group that lobbied the International Committee of the Red Cross to recognise Magen David Adom ("Red Star of David") as a humanitarian relief organisation.[citation needed] After in 1997 trying to help Coca Cola League 2 football club Exeter City win a crucial end of season game by placing energy-infused crystals behind the goals at Exeter's ground (Exeter would eventually lose the game 5–1) he was appointed co-chairman of the club in 2002. The club would be relegated to the Nationwide Conference in May 2003, where they were to remain for five years. He has since severed formal ties with the club.
In recent years, Geller has been a part of several television programs. Geller starred in the 2001 horror film Sanitarium directed by Johannes Roberts and James Eaves. Then in May 2002, he appeared as a contestant on the first series of the British reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! (UK)#Series 1 where he finished 8th place. In 2005 Geller starred in the XI Pictures/Lion TV production for Sky One 'Uri's Haunted Cities: Venice' (which led to a behind the scenes release in early 2008 called 'Cursed') Both productions were directed by Jason Figgis. Then in early 2007 Geller hosted a reality show in Israel called The Successor (?????), where the contestants performed magic tricks and Geller was accused of "trickery." In July 2007 NBC signed Geller and Criss Angel for Phenomenon, which started airing on October 24 to search for the next great mentalist, which contestant Mike Super won. Geller also hosts the TV show The Next Uri Geller, which started on 8 January 2008, and is broadcast by Pro7 in Germany. In February 2008, Geller began a show on Dutch Television called De Nieuwe Uri Geller, which shares a similar format to its German counterpart. The goal of the program is to find the best mentalist in The Netherlands. He started the same show in Hungary from 29 March 2008 (A kivalasztott in Hungarian). During the show Geller speaks both in Hungarian and in English. Geller also performs his standard routines of making stopped watches start, spoons jump from televisions, and tables move. Geller co-produced the TV show "Book of Knowledge," released in April, 2008.
Geller currently lives in Sonning-on-Thames, Berkshire, England. In recent years, he has performed demonstrations such as spoon-bending much less frequently in public.[citation needed] He is a vegan and speaks three languages: English, Hebrew, and Hungarian. In an appearance on Esther Rantzen's 1996 television talk show Esther, Geller claimed to have suffered from anorexia nervosa for several years. In addition, he has written 16 fiction and nonfiction books.
