Dead Celebrity Alert

Jess Stearn, best-selling author of about 30 books on the occult, including biographies of reincarnation advocate Edgar Cayce, has died. He was 87.

Stearn died Wednesday of congestive heart failure at his home in Malibu.

Stearn’s best-known books include “The Sleeping Prophet: The Life and Work of Edgar Cayce” (1968) and “A Prophet in His Own Country: The Story of the Young Edgar Cayce” (1974)… The book, a bestseller, earned grudging praise from critics for what one termed its “first-rate and difficult job of conveying the character of a very complicated man.” …

Stearn, educated at Syracuse University, was an unlikely believer — beginning his career with 17 years as a reporter for the New York Daily News, followed by a stint as an associate editor at Newsweek. …

No funeral services are planned for the author, who became convinced that he had lived previously and will live again. … Read full obituary

Bigfoot has lost its most credible and powerful advocate.

Grover Krantz, a professor of anthropology at Washington State University and a widely recognized expert on human evolution, died four days ago of pancreatic cancer at his home in Sequim. He was 70.

While few outside the field of anthropology may know of his significant scientific accomplishments in evolutionary theory, many know of his work on Bigfoot or Sasquatch — the hairy, humanoid, extra-large ape-like creature that some contend exists in the shadowy forests of the Pacific Northwest.

“Within the established academic community, Grover was the first one to stick his neck out,” said Loren Coleman, a cryptozoologist (one who studies creatures not yet officially identified) at the University of Southern Maine in Portland. …Read full obituary

The Year 2001’s deaths of people associated with cryptozoology may go down as one of the worst, as far as widespread impact and sadness. Bernard Heuvelmans and Rene Dahinden, of course, quickly come to mind. Several good people died this year.

Let’s pause one more time to note their passing…and wish them well on their next quests…

April 18 - René Dahinden, 70, the Swiss immigrant to British Columbia, became one of the most colorful Sasquatch hunters of all time, (at Richmond, British Columbia). ????? - Bud Ryerson, ??, was instrumental in finding the now frequently discussed and often shown Blue Mountain Bigfoot footprint series of August 1967, (at ?????).

August 8 - Seldon “Pat” Mason, 93, Roger Patterson’s agent, recorded the rockabilly record entitled “Big Foot Wiggle,” and was a famous rock and roll musicians’ booking agent in his own right, (at Seaside, Oregon).

August 24 - Bernard Heuvelmans, 84, a Belgian zoologist who loved jazz, was the acknowledged “Father of Cryptozoology,” (at Le Vesinet, France).

August 25 - John Chambers, 78, an Academy Award-winning makeup artist, will always be remembered in hominological studies as the man who did *not* construct the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot, (at Woodland Hills, California).

October 6 - Joe Henry Turner, 82, a well-known local figure in Bigfoot organizations, was a frequent attendee at Ohio’s annual Bigfoot conferences, (at North Canton, Ohio).

December 1 - Ronald “Ronnie” Bremner, 60, was the cofounder and owner of the Loch Ness Center and Exhibition of Drumnadrochit, (at Edinburgh, Scotland).

Cryptozoology, as a community, also had families suffering great personal losses as well (for example, the young daughter of the DeWerths of Ohio, Georgeanne, 4 months old, on April 17, and Lyle Vann’s wife, Jackie, on September 11).

It was a difficult year of passage into the new millennium.

[Did I miss someone? Please pass along word of other individuals who died in 2001 and in the coming years, who have had an impact on the world of cryptozoology. The Cryptozoologist website (http://www.lorencoleman.com) now carries a new navigation bar up top which will take you directly to “Obituaries” for details on some of the above and others. Peace to all the families and loved ones who have experienced losses in 2001.]

©Loren Coleman 2001

Permission granted to use with copyright notice.