It is with great sadness that G4G notes the death of James Randi ( August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020).
We are collecting here some recollections from various members of the G4G community. If you have any anecdotes, memories, or tributes that you would like to share, please email us at support@g4gfoundation.org.

James Randi “The Amazing Randi” (August 7, 1928 to October 20, 2020) is no longer with us.
The G4G Community has lost another Icon. Randi, as most of us referred to him, was the beacon of rational and critical thinking. He was a co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He championed investigating parapsychology and pseudo science, and reporting/demonstrating to the mainstream that it was nothing more than “Flim-flam!” He was an accomplished author. Professional magician and escape artist. A MacArthur Fellow. An honest liar (see more on documentary his life and work here).
Fundamentally, he was Martin Gardner’s best friend.
No one is the world is more skillful than Randi in devising way to trap swindlers and self-deluded parapsychologists
(p. 157).
Randi…knows more about science than some scientists I have met…Scientists untrained in the conjuring art of deception are the easiest people in the world to fool. That is why Randi, a magician, is so much more capable of detecting fraud than any scientist, including especially parapsychologists. He knows how, as few scientists do, all the best ways to set traps for catching psychic swindlers. If you want to know how Geller bends spoons, don’t ask a physicist, even if he won a Noble Prize. Ask me or Randi
(p. 158)
Martin Gardner, writing about James Randi, in Undiluted Hocus Pocus
– Jim Gardner

I remember showing him Tenyo tricks at the bar of one of the hotels.
– Mark Setteducati
– Colm Mulcahy
James Randi spoke at General Electric’s Corporate Research and Development Center in Schenectady, NY when I was doing research there as a graduate student. This would have been around 1985. I was just learning the scientist’s approach to knowledge and learning, and Randi’s talk was largely responsible for getting me thinking like a skeptic.
– Robert Fathauer
Other Relevant Links:
JREF – Announcement of James Randi’s Passing
Washington Post – James Randi, dazzling magician and skeptic, dies at 92
The New York Times – James Randi, Magician Who Debunked Paranormal Claims, Dies at 92
Chicago Tribune – In memory of the amazing James Randi, ignore the charlatans and listen to science
The Wrap – James Randi, Magician and Paranormal Debunker, Dies at 92
SY FY Wire – James ‘the Amazing’ Randi, Magician And Noted Paranormal Skeptic, Dies At 92
CNN – James Randi, famed magician and skeptic, dies at 92
The Guardian – James Randi obituary
Skeptic – James Randi in Memoriam, 1928 – 2020
Colm Mulcahy – James Randi (1928 – 2020), with hitherto unpublished interview from 2015
Howard Stern Pays Tribute to The Amazing Randi
On The Media – The Amazing Randi (just don’t call him a magician)
Nature – James Randi (1928–2020) Illusionist who exposed fraud to showcase the perils of credulity