My
friend, Brad Steiger, has passed away, after what I believe was a long illness. You can read the obituary here:
http://funeralinnovations.com/obituary/257658/Brad-Steiger/
I
first learned of Brad while I was still in high school. As I have mentioned in
the past, I read Strangers in the Skies,
while sitting in study hall, and while that didn’t spark my interest in UFOs,
it certainly set me on a track to study them.
Brad Steiger |
While
in college, one of my friends from Clinton, Iowa, told me about a fellow there,
Warren Smith, who wrote about UFOs and the paranormal. He often paired with
Brad writing books, sometimes under the pen name of Eric Norman. Brad, it seems
had invented the name, but it was often Smith who used it.
In
the 1970s, I was working on a book about the paranormal (which, by the way, was
never published) and I was discussing the tales of people who seemed to have vanished
in very mysterious ways. One of those cases was from 1909, and Brad had written
about it. Given that I had met Smith, I knew the secret for finding Brad. He
had been born as Eugene Olson and had adopted the name Brad Steiger because he
admired the actor, Rod Steiger. Anyway, I knew that Brad taught at Luther
College in Decorah, Iowa, and was listed in the telephone book as Eugene Olsen.
Back in those days, without the Internet, I used Directory Assistance to get
the telephone number and called Brad.
He
was most cordial and told me that he had learned, since his book that contained
the story was published, that the case was a hoax. We had a long chat, and that
began the friendship that lasted for decades.
When
I hosted my radio show in the 1990s (and yes, it was on the radio because
podcasts didn’t exist) on KTSM-AM in El Paso, Texas, Brad was one of my first
guests and often helped me to book others that he knew. If I was in some kind
of a jam for the program, I could count on him to either fill the void, or find
someone to step in.
Brad and Sherry Steiger |
We
often shared information about UFOs, sometimes about ghosts or other aspects of
the paranormal. He helped me on several occasions, providing some insight to a
specific case or avenue for research. Sometimes, he would provide inside
information. On one occasion, as we talked about Al Bielek, who had stayed with
Brad and Sherry several times over the years, they learned that Bielek’s tale
might not be grounded in reality. Both were disappointed to discover that a friend
had been less than candid in his tales of time travel and the Allende Letters
case.
Which
reminds me that back in the early 1970s, while I was still on active duty in
the Army, I read Brad’s book (written with Joan Whritenhour) about the Allende
case. It seems that one of Brad’s friends had written to the Navy, which
provided information about the case. My thought was that if he could do it, so
could I. Brad, you might say, was the inspiration for that bit of investigation…
but I digress.
At
one of the MUFON Symposiums held in Denver, I don’t remember if it was 2010 or
2011, a fellow came up and said that I had written more UFO books than anyone
else. I immediately said that I didn’t think so. I thought it was Brad. Later,
Brad and I had a chuckle about this and I don’t believe we ever resolved who
had written more… not that we cared. We did notice that Nick Redfern was making
a real run at this “record.”
When
I began my last radio show/podcast on the X-Zone Broadcast Network, I thought
that one of the first guests should be Brad. We exchanged emails and while Brad
was delighted with the offer, he had just returned to Iowa and there were many
problems getting settled, getting the house ready, and confidentially, his
health wasn’t the best. He had an open invitation and we had even scheduled
what I thought of as our Halloween “Spooktacular” show, to talk of UFOs and
ghosts and other things that wen bump in the night. Brad had to cancel for
health reasons. I was, of course, disappointed, but then so was Brad.
We
finally worked out the details, and Brad did make an appearance on the show. It
was, of course, one of the easiest interviews because Brad was the perfect
guest. He knew how to answer a question, knew where to go to make the topic
interesting, and in this case, said some very nice things about me. You can
listen to that interview here:
Not
all that long ago, I learned that Brad’s health was declining. He asked that I
not share the information, which I didn’t. I was sad to hear about his health
problems and worried about them. And, of course, sadden to learn that they had
caught up with him.
A young Brad Steiger. |
Brad
was born on February 19, 1936, apparently in a blizzard in Iowa. His career
took him around the country, he appeared on dozens of radio and television
shows, and hosted and produced some himself. He had a near death experience
when he was 11 which changed his life. He was interested in UFOs, angels, the
paranormal, and, of course, near death experiences. He once told me that he
accepted what people told him until he learned that they couldn’t be trusted. He
didn’t look for the bad and didn’t belittle those with whom he disagreed. He
had a belief in people and in their goodness, realizing that some simply were
no good.
I
admired his philosophy in life but the cynic in me didn’t let me accept
everyone so readily. He assisted me when he could, provided help when I asked, and
I never heard him say anything nasty about anyone, though he had cause to do so
on more than one occasion. I suppose you would say that he had a good heart,
enjoyed what he was doing, and had more than a little fun doing it.
Had
I known that the last time I would speak to him would be during that interview,
I probably would have done things a little differently. But you just never
know. I’ll miss him, as I’m sure many others will as well. Take a moment to
think of him during the next few days, and don’t forget to include Sherry, his
wife since 1987, in your thoughts.
Brad
was 82.
I was so sad to hear about Brads passing, he gave me my first job as a writer to tell some of my stories in his books, he was funny and one of the smartest men alive. His kindness was always first class, his work, brought out the thoughts of people,
ReplyDeleteThe " Maybe's " open the minds of those who closed them. I hope that he took with him how many people respected him, admired his work, trusted in his books. I would love to send the family a letter, some flowers. Most importantly, just to say, You helped change the world, it is now and forever will be a better world, And thats what Brad Steiger did. One word at a time.
Tuesday Miles
Author, Paranormal investigator, Radio show host & Producer
Last but not least a forever friend of Brads.
Forever in our hearts & bookshelf's
Brad, aka Gene Olsen, will be missed. He joins his writing colleagues, Warren Billy Smith, Glenn McWane, David McMaster and Ralph Blum in the other dimension.
ReplyDelete