Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 15:17, 18 June 2020

Theresa Caputo (born June 10, 1966 or 1967) is an American medium best known for her TLC reality TV series, Long Island Medium.

Early life

Caputo was born and raised in Hicksville, New York, on Long Island, the daughter of Nicholas and Veronica Brigandi. She has a brother, Michael. Their father was a volunteer firefighter and worked for the Nassau County Department of Public Works until 1980, when he was elected county water commissioner.

Career

Caputo has been on the TLC reality TV series, Long Island Medium since 2011. She is also the author of two books and tours under "Theresa Caputo Live! The Experience".

Criticism

Several people have accused her of being a fraud, ranging from television news programs such as Inside Edition to print publications such as Wired Magazine. Caputo was described by D. J. Grothe as a charlatan, and James Randi said her claims were not true.

In April 2012, the James Randi Educational Foundation awarded Caputo its Pigasus Award, a tongue-in-cheek award that seeks to expose parapsychological, paranormal or psychic frauds. The James Randi Education Foundation has been critical of Caputo's work.

A newspaper review of Caputo's performances at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury in late 2017 concluded, "For me, this unbelievable experience was simply that: not to be believed. In my humble opinion, Caputo is a damn good performer, and she’s got undeniably likable sass and charisma. I just don’t think she speaks with the dead. Or she didn’t the night that I saw her. But my father probably could have told you that."

Paranormal investigator Massimo Polidoro calls Caputo a "performer" and reports on an investigation done by Inside Edition and mentalist Mark Edward who attended one of her live shows in 2012. In 2013, illusionist Criss Angel, offered Caputo $1 million to prove her claims.

Skeptical activist Susan Gerbic has explained several techniques used by Caputo and other psychics, including requiring audience members to log into social media accounts at shows and observing physical identifications such as tattoos.

In a survey of various psychic's social media accounts in June 2020, Gerbic found that not only had Caputo not predicted the Covid-19 pandemic but she planned events which had to be cancelled. Gerbic responded to all the psychics she reviewed not seeing the pandemic coming by saying: '"Oh, so, what good are you then?"'

Personal life

On December 3, 2017, Theresa and her husband Larry Caputo jointly announced they were separating after 28 years of marriage. They have two children, who have both appeared on the show: Larry Caputo Jr. and Victoria Caputo. On June 27, 2018, Larry Caputo, who moved to Los Angeles following the separation from Theresa, announced he and Theresa were moving from separation to divorce. In December 2018, Theresa Caputo announced the divorce had been finalized.

Works and publications

• Caputo, Theresa; Grish, Kristina (2013). There's More to Life Than This: Healing Messages, Remarkable Stories, and Insight About the Other Side from the Long Island Medium (1st Atria Books hardcover ed.). Pocket Books. ISBN 978-1-4767-2703-5. OCLC 872588683.
• Caputo, Theresa (2014). You Can't Make This Stuff Up: Life Changing Lessons from Heaven. Pocket Books. ISBN 978-1-4767-6443-6. OCLC 903630815.
• Caputo, Theresa (2017). Good Grief: Heal Your Soul, Honor Your Loved Ones, and Learn to Live Again. Atria Books. ISBN 978-1-5011-3908-6. OCLC 956959045.

See also

• Ann O'Delia Diss Debar ("One of the most extraordinary fake mediums... the world has ever known" -Houdini)
• Char Margolis
• Flim-Flam! (Psychics, ESP, Unicorns and other Delusions)
• Fortune telling fraud
• Houdini's debunking of psychics and mediums
• James Van Praagh
• John Edward
• Mark Edward
• Matt Fraser (psychic)
• Monica the Medium
• Televangelist Peter Popoff exposed by James Randi
• Psychic Blues: Confessions of a Conflicted Medium
• Psychic Friends Network, telephone psychic service
• Rose Mackenberg (Historic investigator of psychic mediums)
• Sylvia Browne
• Thomas John Flanagan
• Tyler Henry

References

1. Stone, Natalie (September 27, 2016). "Long Island Medium's Theresa Caputo Reveals One of the Most Shocking Readings She's Ever Done". People. Retrieved November 14, 2017. Caputo, 50
2. Guglielmi, Jodi (October 2, 2018). "Long Island Medium's Theresa Caputo Sits Down with Ex Husband Larry After Split". People. Theresa, 52...
3. Lovece, Frank (October 2, 2018). "Theresa Caputo meets with estranged husband in 'Long Island Medium' new-season preview". Newsday. Long Island. ...the Hicksville born-and-raised mentalist, 52...
4. McNeil, Liz (March 17, 2017). "Long Island Medium's Theresa Caputo Endured Decades of Anxiety Because She Feared Communicating with the Dead". People. Retrieved November 14, 2017. Caputo, 49
5. Merritt, Jim (December 15, 2014). "'Long Island Medium' Theresa Caputo, at home in Hicksville". Newsday. New York City / Long Island. Retrieved November 14, 2017. Caputo, 47 (subscription required)
6. Caputo gives birth date as June 10, 1967: "50 and feeling fabulous!...#birthdaygirl". Theresa Caputo verified Instagram page. June 10, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
7. Agard, Chancellor (January 1, 2016). "The Long Island Medium Dishes on Seeing Famous Ghosts". People. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
8. Miller, Bruce R. (October 10, 2014). "Medium Theresa Caputo finds plenty of interest in her ability to speak with the dead". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
9. Caputo, Theresa. "Biography". Theresa Caputo verified Facebook page. Retrieved November 14, 2017. I was born and raised on Long Island in Hicksville, NY.
10. ^ "About Me". Theresa Caputo official website. Retrieved February 27, 2019. My parents Nick and Ronnie...and my brother Michael...
11. Hernandez, Emma (April 30, 2018). "Theresa Caputo's Mom and Dad Are Also Sad About Her Split From Her Husband Larry". Life & Style. Retrieved February 27, 2019. Theresa's father Nicholas is 77 years old and is from Hicksville, NY which is where he raised Theresa and her brother Michael with his wife, Veronica.
12. "Nicholas J. Brigandi - Spirit of Giving Award". Kiwanis Club of Hicksville. October 2012. Archived from the original on June 23, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
13. Cook, Michael (December 21, 2015). ""Long Island Medium" Theresa Caputo -- "You Can't Put A Price On What I Am Able To Give People"". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
14. Keeperman, Brittany. "Spirited energy: 'Long Island Medium' Theresa Caputo to appear at the Convo". Daily Chronicle. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
15. "The Long Island Medium – Can She Really Communicate with the Dead?". Inside Edition. August 11, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
16. Stewart, Dodai (October 20, 2012). "Super Sad and Misguided Emails Intended for the Long Island Medium". Jezebel.com. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
17. ^ Randi, James (April 9, 2012). "The 'Medium' is not the messenger". Wired Magazine. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
18. Grothe, DJ. "Priceline.com: Will you prove your spokesperson worthy for a million dollars?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
19. "2012 Pigasus Awards Announcement" (YouTube video). James Randi Educational Foundation. March 30, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
20. Stollznow, Dr. Karen (June 27, 2012). "Long Island Medium: A Tall Story". James Randi Educational Foundation. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
21. Franchi, Jaime (December 7, 2014). "My Not-So-Psychic Experience with Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo". Long Island Press.
22. Polidoro, Massimo (June 2016). "Theresa Caputo: The Fake Long Island Medium". Skeptical Inquirer. 40 (3): 16–17.
23. Angel in Lovece, Frank (October 15, 2013). "Criss Angel on his new show, 'BeLIEve': 'It's healthy' to be skeptical". Newsday. New York City / Long Island. Archived from the original on July 31, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2017. The Long Island Medium is just another charlatan. Any time she wants, we'll put her through a series of tests and I'll offer a million-dollar challenge to her. And you can put that in black and white. (subscription required)
24. Gerbic, Susan. "Ten Tricks of the Psychics I Bet You Didn't Know". Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
25. Gerbic, Susan. "They Oddly Did Not See This Coming". Skeptical Inquirer. Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Retrieved June 18, 2020. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)
26. Petit, Stephanie (December 3, 2017). "Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo Separates from Husband Larry After 28 Years of Marriage". People. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
27. Kovats, Kirstie (May 4, 2015). "Larry Caputo Interview: Long Island Medium". Inked Magazine. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
28. "'Long Island Medium' Couple Moving Forward With Divorce". TMZ.com. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
29. "Please read 💕..When Long Island Medium began..." Theresa Caputo verified Facebook page. December 18, 2018. Archived from the original on February 27, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019. After a year of being separated Larry and I have finalized our divorce.
30. Lovece, Frank (December 18, 2018). "Theresa and Larry Caputo finalize their divorce". Newsday. New York City / Long Island. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2019. Nassau County Supreme Court records show that on Dec. 12, attorneys of the Garden City firm Gassman Biamonte Betts filed a standard Request for Judicial Intervention for plaintiff Theresa R. Caputo in an uncontested divorce from Lawrence P. Caputo. No disposition date is listed in the online record.

External links

• Official website
• Theresa Caputo at IMDb
• Dyball, Rennie (September 7, 2012). "Everything You'd Want to Ask the Long Island Medium ... Answered". People. Retrieved September 10, 2016.

• Living people
• American psychics
• Participants in American reality television series
• People from Hicksville, New York
• American spiritual mediums