Jess Stearn

Jess Stearn (April 26, 1914 – March 27, 2002), born in Syracuse, New York, was a journalist and author of more than thirty books, nine of which were bestsellers. He was a prize-winning reporter for the New York Daily News for 17 years, and was later an Associate Editor at Newsweek.^[1] He was the son of Rabbi David Stern.

Stearn's early works focused on outsiders and marginalized individuals, including prostitutes, drug addicts, gays, and lesbians. He subsequently developed an interest in psychic phenomena, which he dealt with in a characteristically uncritical fashion as a specialist in sensationalized, speculative nonfiction. Stearn's best-known books include two biographies of the American psychic Edgar Cayce - Edgar Cayce: The Sleeping Prophet: The Life and Work of Edgar Cayce (1965) and A Prophet in His Own Country: The Story of the Young Edgar Cayce (1974). He began to believe in Cayce's theories whilst researching the former, and even spoke at conferences of the Association for Research and Enlightenment, a group founded by Cayce. He remained interested in spirituality and the occult for the remainder of his life - he refused to make any funeral arrangements as he believed he had lived previously and would live again.^[2]

Stearn's book Yoga, Youth and Reincarnation (1965) was a popular seller and was reprinted in 1993. Stearn practiced yoga on a daily basis and lifted weights in order to keep fit well into his 80s.

Personal life

Stearn never married. He had a longtime close friendship with Arlene Francis. That may have had a connection to his earliest publicity in a nationally syndicated newspaper column, which came from Francis' television colleague Dorothy Kilgallen. Either Kilgallen or her editor at the New York Journal American placed the plug for Yoga, Youth and Reincarnation in that paper's September 15, 1965 edition immediately after an item about a Johnnie Ray concert in Las Vegas.^[3] More than ten years later, Francis discussed one of her recurring dreams with Stearn and a co-author for a book he was writing on dreams.^[4] Stearn and Francis shared interests in yoga and weightlifting.^[5]

Death

In March 2002, Jess Stearn died of congestive heart failure at the age of 87 at his home in Malibu, California.^[6][7]

Bibliography

• Sisters of the Night: The Startling Story of Prostitution in New York Today (1954)
• The Wasted Years: Drug & Delinquent Stories (1959)
• The Sixth Man: A Startling Investigation of the Spread of Homosexuality in America (1962)
• The Door to the Future: Can the Future be Foreseen? (1963)
• The Grapevine: A Report on the Secret World of the Lesbian (1964)
• Yoga, Youth and Reincarnation (1965)
• Edgar Cayce: The Sleeping Prophet (1967)
• The Search for the Girl with the Blue Eyes: A Venture Into Reincarnation (1968)
• Adventures into the Psychic (1969)
• The Second Life of Susan Ganther: Startling Story of Reincarnation (1969)
• The Seekers: Drugs and the New Generation (1969)
• A Time for Astrology (1972)
• The Miracle Workers; America's Psychic Consultants (1972)
• Dr Thompson's New Way for You to Cure Your Aching Back (1973)
• The Search for a Soul: Taylor Caldwell's Psychic Lives (1973)
• A Prophet in his Own Country: The Story of the Young Edgar Cayce (1975)
• Romance of Atlantis - with Taylor Caldwell (1975)
• A Matter of Immortality: Dramatic Evidence of Survival (1976)
• The Power of Alpha-Thinking: Miracle of the Mind (1976)
• I, Judas - with Taylor Caldwell (1977)
• The Reporter (1979)
• The Truth About Elvis - with Larry Geller^[8] (1980)
• Soulmates: Perfect Partners Past, Present, and Beyond (1984)
• Intimates Through Time: Edgar Cayce's Mysteries Of Reincarnation (1989)
• Meetings: A Reporter's Notebook: Provocative Interviews that Capture the Spirit of Our Times (1997)
• The Physician Within You: Discovering the Power of Inner Healing - with Gladys McGarey MD^[9] (1997)
• Edgar Cayce on the Millennium (1998)

References

1. ^ Greenleaf Publications (http://www.greenleafpublications.com/ElvisSearchforGod/JessStearn.html)
2. ^ Dick Sutphen: Editorial (http://www.dicksutphen.com/html/editorial79.html)
3. ^ Kilgallen, Dorothy. "Joan Baez in Serious Trouble Over Tax Protest." New York Journal American September 15, 1965, pg. 25
4. ^ Francis, Arlene with Florence Rome. Arlene Francis: A Memoir. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1978. pg. 198
5. ^ Francis, Arlene with Florence Rome. Arlene Francis: A Memoir. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1978. passim
6. ^ The Astrologers' Memorial Web Page (http://www.solsticepoint.com/astrologersmemorial/whowas2.html)
7. ^ Oliver, Myrna. Obituary. Los Angeles Times April 1, 2002, pg. B9
8. ^ Larry Geller Article, ElvisPresleyNews.com (http://www.elvispresleynews.com/LarryGeller.html)
9. ^ The Gladys T McGarey Medical Foundation (http://www.mcgareyfoundation.com/)

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Name	Stearn, Jess
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Date of birth	April 26, 1914
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Date of death	March 27, 2002
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