A look at the claims, predictions and behavior of a media "psychic".
|
|
A look at the claims, predictions and behavior of a media "psychic".
|
Articles |
Articles PagesAdded Jul 18 2008Added Jul 11 2008Added Jul 10 2008Added Jul 09 2008Added Jul 07 2008Added Jul 02 2008Added Jun 25 2008Added Jun 08 2008Added May 31 2008Added May 26 2008Added May 25 2008Added May 13 2008Added Apr 28 2008Added Apr 21 2008Added Apr 09 2008Added Apr 04 2008Added Apr 02 2008Added Mar 31 2008Added Mar 20 2008Added Mar 19 2008Added Mar 03 2008Added Feb 27 2008Added Jan 31 2008Added Jan 30 2008Added Jan 16 2008Added Jan 07 2008Added Dec 30 2007Added Dec 15 2007Added Dec 13 2007Added Nov 28 2007Added Nov 20 2007Added Nov 08 2007Added Nov 04 2007Added Oct 27 2007Added Oct 19 2007Added Oct 10 2007Added Oct 07 2007Added Oct 05 2007Added Sep 23 2007Added Sep 21 2007Added Sep 10 2007Added Sep 03 2007Added Sep 01 2007Added Aug 22 2007Added Aug 19 2007Added Aug 17 2007Added Aug 15 2007Added Aug 14 2007Added Aug 08 2007Added Jul 12 2007Added Jul 08 2007Added Jun 29 2007Added Jun 11 2007Added May 30 2007Added May 29 2007Added May 26 2007
Added May 09 2007Added May 02 2007Added May 01 2007Added Apr 29 2007Added Apr 21 2007Added Apr 14 2007Added Apr 11 2007Added Apr 02 2007Added Mar 30 2007Added Mar 25 2007Added Mar 14 2007Added Mar 01 2007Added Feb 28 2007Added Feb 27 2007Added Feb 25 2007Added Feb 08 2007Added Feb 06 2007Added Feb 04 2007Added Jan 12 2007Added Jan 10 2007Added Jan 03 2007Added Dec 31 2006Added Dec 29 2006Added Dec 19 2006
Added Dec 14 2006Added Dec 07 2006Added Dec 05 2006Added Dec 03 2006Added Nov 29 2006Added Nov 27 2006
|
Does Sylvia Browne Smoke?She says she does not. Others say differently. And - does it matter? 
Photo of Sylvia Browne at her desk, circa 1988 (note ashtray). BackgroundA couple of months ago, I heard Sylvia Browne state on the Montel Williams show that she did not smoke, and that she simply has a "naturally husky voice." This surprised me, as I had always assumed she smoked, since her voice sounds like that of a life-long heavy smoker. Does it matter? I personally do not care whether she smokes or not, but if she does, why would she claim that she doesn't? Why lie about something she has no need to lie about? I put it in the back of my mind to keep an eye out for evidence about this one way or the other. This article looks at some of what I have found on the subject. The ClaimI have not been able to find a transcript of the Montel episode where I heard her make the claim, but have found her saying the same thing in two other places: Newspaper Article, Buffalo News
"We don't smoke," not "I have never smoked." And yet the implication is strong that nobody in her family, including Browne herself, has ever smoked. "Secrets & Mysteries of the World"In Browne's 2005 book Secrets & Mysteries of the World, in the chapter titled "Demons" (pages 72-73, hardbound edition), she implies that she never smoked even more strongly (emphasis mine):
She says "I don't smoke," rather than "I've never smoked." But she also says that her voice is "naturally" the way it is, and she seemed to think she had no cause to worry about her throat. Again, it seems clear to me that she is trying in both of these instances to give the impression that she has never smoked. The EvidenceHere is the evidence I have found on the subject, in chronological order of the years discussed. 1959-1972 - The Dufresne Interview
Ree and Gary Dufresne My first chance to look into this was during my February 10 2007 interview of Gary Dufresne. Dufresne was married to Browne from 1959 through 1972, so I figured he would at least know whether she had smoked back then. During the course of that interview, I asked the following:
So, it would seem that Browne had a two-pack a day habit during her thirteen-year marriage to Dufresne. What about after that? 1988 - West Magazine
Cover of July 31 1988 edition of West magazine The cover story of the July 31 1988 edition of West magazine (an insert into the San Jose Mercury News) was a multi-page story profiling local celebrity Sylvia Brown (she had not yet added the "e" to her last name). 
Excerpt from article. At one point in the article (page 9), Browne is telling the reporter a story of how she helped her son Paul find two missing dogs. We read the following (emphasis mine):
The article also contained a photograph of Brown at her desk in her office. On the back corner of the desk, by Brown's right elbow, is a large ashtray (see image at top of this article). So, Brown(e) was smoking back in 1988. What about after that? 1980s - 1990sA correspondent to this site who wishes to remain nameless, is someone who attended many trance sessions and Novus Spiritus functions in the 1980s and early 1990s, and when asked about the subject, said the following:
The correspondent did not know whether or not Browne had been successful at the attempt to quit. In her 1990 book My Guide, My Self written with Antoinette May (later republished as Adventures of a Psychic), the following is found on page 211 (emphasis mine):
So, did she stop smoking around 1990? 2005-2006 - Ex-Novus Spiritus MembersAnother former Novus Spiritus member told me that he/she helped at several Browne speaking engagements in 2005-2006, and had this to say on the subject:
Still another ex-Novus member, who worked some of Browne's lectures in 2006 said the following:
So, whether or not she stopped smoking in the early 1990s, she is reportedly back to smoking heavily as recently as 2005 and 2006. AnalysisSo, does she smoke? I think the first-hand evidence is pretty clear that she did for decades, at least from the 1950s through the 1990s. And the second-hand accounts I've read and heard seem to indicate that she still smoked heavily as late as 2006. Secrets & Mysteries of the World, the book in which she stated "I don't smoke," was published in 2005. It's difficult to say when it was written. Conceivably it was written during some brief period of time when Browne was not smoking, in which case the statement "I don't smoke" wouldn't be an out-and-out lie. But even if that is the case, she is at least being disingenuous, strongly implying that she had never smoked. ConclusionSo apparently, Browne smokes, smokes heavily, and has done so for decades of her life. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has heard her speak. But - does it matter? Who cares? In the grand scheme of things, compared with all of the other things I believe Browne does - pretending to be psychic, callously manipulating people in vulnerable positions for her own profit, etc. - lying about whether she smokes or not is not that important. So why have I written an article about it? Because it is part of a pattern of what appears to be almost habitual deception on her part. Over the years, I think Browne has come to believe that she can say and write anything she wants, without fear of anyone pointing out the inconsistencies, the exaggerations, the contradictions and the lies, both large and small. Those days are over. My thanks to the current and former members of Browne's church who contributed to this article. Related LinksClicking on any of these links will load a separate browser window for viewing the linked page. StopSylviaBrowne.com is not responsible for the content of any of these linked pages.
|
top of page