Alex Tanous
Died 1990 at age 63
Greetings from Portland. Sweater weather is here. Every day this month I’m telling a story that bridges the gap between this world, and the next. I’m resurrecting the memory of Portlanders who’ve crossed over to the other side by posting one video each day, relating the tale of one, interesting “permanent Portlander.”
Alex Tanous was a psychic. Born in Van Buren, he could turn the lights off without touching a switch, stop clocks with his mind and once helped police track down a child killer by drawing them a picture of the killer’s face he could see in his head, according to a biography on the website for the Alex Tanous Foundation for Scientific Research.
He taught classes at the University of Southern Maine and, in 1980, while on a radio show in New York, he may have predicted the death of John Lennon.
He said, “The prediction I will make, is that a very famous rock star will have an untimely death and … there is something strange about this death, but it will affect the consciousness of many people because of his fame.” Without mentioning a name, he added that the star may be foreign-born but living in the United States.
Three months later, John Lennon, was gunned down outside the Dakota Apartments, which were visible through the windows of the studio where Tanous was sitting when he made the prediction.
If only John had been listening to the radio that day.
Today’s story is brought to you, in part, by www.alextanous.org.
Disclaimer: I’m not a historian. I owe everything I know to the dedicated research of those who have come before me. These character sketches are assembled from multiple (often antique) sources and sprinkled with my own conjecture. I’m happy to be set straight or to learn more.