James Van Praagh Movies
A self-professed psychic medium, James Van Praagh made a name for himself by publicly declaring his own ability to converse with the dead and then parlaying that into a lucrative show-business career. A native of Bayside, NY, Van Praagh grew up Catholic, served as an altar boy, and attended seminary, but a fixation with death lingered from an early age and he soon found himself increasingly drawn to psychic and metaphysical phenomena. (He later recalled that these fascinations commenced at an early age, when he prayed to God for divine revelation and witnessed a radiant hand extending itself through the ceiling.) After relocating to Los Angeles, CA, Van Praagh began doing "readings" from the "other side" and using messages from dead loved ones to bring peace and reassurance to the living.Van Praagh's foray into Hollywood began when he teamed up with Preston Fischer and John Pielmeier in 2002 to co-produce a CBS network telemovie adapted from his own autobiographical memoir. Entitled Talking to Heaven (like the book on which it was based), it starred Ted Danson as Van Praagh and Danson's off-camera wife, Mary Steenburgen, as a detective whom he helps solve a string of murders. At about the same time, Van Praagh himself stepped before the cameras to host the unexplained phenomena series Beyond with James Van Praagh (2002). Van Praagh found his largest audience, however, when he co-produced the prime-time supernatural drama Ghost Whisperer, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and loosely based on his exploits. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- 2005
Not dissimilar to the earlier "other-worldly" series Medium, Ghost Whisperer starred Jennifer Love Hewitt as Melinda Gordon, the recently married co-owner of a small antiques shop. By accident, Melinda discovered that she was possessed of a rare gift: the ability to communicate with dead people and pass on their words to the living. Evidently, her purpose in life was to take care of the issues and problems left unresolved when her "clients" had shuffled off their mortal coils. While Melinda's friend and business partner Andrea Moreno (Aisha Tyler) was fascinated by this phenomenon, Melinda's new husband, Jim Clancy (David Conrad), was less enthused; after all, he was a paramedic, and did not relish losing his patients just so they could converse with his wife! The weekly, hour-long series was executive-produced by real-life medium James Van Praagh, who based the premise on the exploits of professional "ghost-buster" Mary Ann Winkowski -- who in turn served as the series' technical consultant. After undergoing a lengthy gestation period involving a great deal of refilming and recasting, Ghost Whisperer made its CBS bow on September 23, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2004
The made-for-TV paranormal thriller The Dead Will Tell was based on a "true" story suggested by famed psychic James Van Praagh, who also shows up in a cameo role. When Emily Parker (Anne Heche) is given a very old engagement ring by her fiancé, Billy (Jonathan LaPaglia), she is suddenly haunted by visions of the woman to whom the ring previously belonged. It soon becomes painfully clear that the spectral woman was murdered, and that she is "reaching out" to Emily in hopes of trapping her killer. Adding extra layers of intrigue to the proceedings is the peculiar behavior of Billy's overprotective mother (Kathleen Quinlan). Other key players in the mystery are portrayed by Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives), Christopher Guest, and, as the widower of the dead woman, Chris Sarandon. Filmed in New Orleans, The Dead Will Tell made its CBS network premiere on October 24, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anne Heche, Jonathan LaPaglia, (more)
This two-part CBS TV movie was filmed as Talking to Heaven, the title of the autobiographical book upon which it was based. Ted Danson stars as real-life psychic James Van Praagh, a man who spent much of his life ignoring or denying his clairvoyant gifts until it became impossible for him to suppress them any longer. After experiencing several "visitations" from dead people in his youth, Van Praagh was tagged as a freak and shunned by friends and family members alike. It is only during a particularly difficult period of his adult life that James is willing to acknowledge his special talents, and then only because he has had visions of a forlorn young boy with bound hands. Galvanized into action by such grim images, not to mention the plaintive voices of several additional ghostly youngsters, James agrees to assist the authorities in locating the buried victims of a serial killer who may still be at large. Living With the Dead originally aired on April 28 and 30, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, (more)
- 2002
Famed psychic and "channeler" James Van Praagh, author of Talking to Heaven and the subject of the CBS TV-movie Talking to Heaven, emulated his contemporary (and some would say rival), spiritual medium John Edwards, by launching his own daily, half-hour syndicated discussion show. Regular segments included the efforts by Van Praagh and his colleagues to solve baffling murder cases by "speaking" to the victims, and the periodic efforts by the host to spontaneously "read" the efforts by the deceased to communicate with their loved ones in the audience. And of course, there were guest stars aplenty, ranging from Wesley Snipes to Chastity Bono, who willingly allowed Van Praagh to probe their subconsciences. Beyond With James Van Praagh was distributed by Tribune Entertainment beginning the week of September 16, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Van Praagh
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