Judy "Zebra" ( aka JZ ) Knight (born Judith Darlene Hampton ; March 16, 1946) is an American spiritual teacher and author known for her purported channelling of a spiritual entity named Ramtha. Critics consider her to be a cult leader .
58-467: Knight has appeared on US TV shows, such as Larry King , MSNBC and The Merv Griffin Show , as well as in media such as Psychology Today . Her teachings have attracted figures from the entertainment and political world such as Linda Evans , Shirley MacLaine , and Salma Hayek . Knight claims to bridge ancient wisdom and the power of consciousness together with the latest discoveries in science . Some of
116-457: A Lemurian warrior who fought the Atlanteans over 35,000 years ago. Knight claims Ramtha speaks of leading an army over 2.5 million strong (more than twice the estimated world population at about 30,000 BC) for 63 years, and conquering three-fourths of the known world (which was allegedly going through cataclysmic geological changes). According to Knight, Ramtha led the army for 10 years until he
174-557: A Thurston County, Washington citizen, of stealing her ideas and using her and Ramtha's teachings in her workshops. A trial began on March 10, 2008, in Thurston County Superior Court and at the end of it Knight was awarded about $ 10,000 after the court's decision against WhiteWind Weaver. Knight also refused to attend court as a witness in a case involving a 15-year-old who claimed rape against two students of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment. The 15-year-old girl had written
232-443: A "farce" and that they are "just a money making business for [JZ Knight]". He also said that students of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment are "involved in a very dangerous, very evil corrupt thing". Attacks and criticism against Ramtha's teachings and Ramtha's School of Enlightenment have also been made by former students of the school. David McCarthy, a Yelm resident and former student of the school between 1989 and 1996, has accused
290-488: A "host" discussing products like omega-3 fatty acid dietary supplement OmegaXL with guests, in an interview style reminiscent of his past television programs. ProPublica reported that in 2019 King had been manipulated into starring in a fake interview with a Russian journalist containing disinformation about Chinese dissident Guo Wengui , which was subsequently spread by Chinese government associated social media accounts. Following his 1987 heart attack, King founded
348-536: A 12,800-square-foot (1,190 m) French chateau-style home in Yelm, Washington , teaches courses and runs Ramtha's School of Enlightenment . Knight has been married three times and is the mother of two children, both from her first marriage. Knight grew up in poverty. After graduating from high school, she dropped out of business school.She later worked in the cable television industry, and due to her work moved to Tacoma , Washington , where, according to her autobiography,
406-529: A fee to RT America by New York-based Ora TV. "It's a deal made between the companies ... They just license our shows. If they took something out, I would never do it. It would be bad if they tried to edit out things. I wouldn't put up with it." King remained active as a writer and television personality thereafter. King guest starred in episodes of Arthur , 30 Rock and Gravity Falls , had cameos in Ghostbusters and Bee Movie , and voiced Doris
464-522: A former bodyguard of Knight's, in an interview with David McCarthy details the inner workings of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment and criticizes various activities (such as trademarking ideas and phrases that had been coined by other authors many years before – for example, the idea of "Blue Body", or mixing quantum physics with new age ideas, which can be found in Vera Stanley Alder 's From the Mundane to
522-622: A late-night radio host and sports commentator following his arrest for grand larceny by a former business partner, Louis Wolfson . Other staff covered the Dolphins ' games into their 24–3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl VI . King also lost his weekly column at the Miami Beach Sun newspaper. The charges were later dropped. King was later rehired by WIOD. For several years during
580-450: A letter to Knight which mentioned that Wayne Allen Geis, her dancing and acting teacher, had engaged in sexual intercourse with her from 1995 to 1997. The illicit activities had also involved Ruth Beverly Martin. They had apparently told the girl that sexual intercourse would help her to relax and improve her acting ability. Knight invited the girl to a retreat at the school in November 1999. In
638-456: A multi-year deal with Hulu to exclusively carry King's new talk-oriented web series, Larry King Now , beginning July 17. On October 23, 2012, King hosted the third-party presidential debate on Ora TV, featuring Jill Stein , Rocky Anderson , Virgil Goode , and Gary Johnson . In May 2013, the Russian government-owned RT America network announced that they struck a deal with Ora TV to host
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#1732858718290696-429: A psychic told her the "Enlightened One" would appear to her in the future. She says that Ramtha first appeared to her in her kitchen in 1977. Knight appeared on The Merv Griffin Show in 1985 and wrote the autobiographical A State of Mind in 1987. Time called her "probably the most celebrated of all current channelers". She is currently the president of JZK, Inc and Ramtha's School of Enlightenment , located near
754-617: A section of the borough alternatively characterized as part of Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn , Brownsville or Ocean Hill . King attended Lafayette High School , a public high school in Brooklyn. When King was nine years old, his father died of a heart attack. This resulted in King, his mother, and brother going on government welfare . King was greatly affected by his father's death, and subsequently lost interest in his schoolwork. Throughout King's adolescence, his family lived at 2136 83rd Street in
812-417: A short interview with King. The interview had been edited without King's permission to make it appear that Holzapfel had appeared on Larry King Now . A default judgment was entered in King's favor, and he was awarded fees and $ 250,000 in damages. King was married eight times to seven women. King married high school sweetheart Freda Miller in 1952, at the age of 19. That union ended the following year at
870-453: A small station, WAHR (now WMBM ), in Miami Beach , hired him to clean up and perform miscellaneous tasks. When one of the station's announcers abruptly quit, King was put on the air. His first broadcast was on May 1, 1957, working as the disc jockey from 9 a.m. to noon. He also did two afternoon newscasts and a sportscast. He was paid $ 50 a week. He acquired the name Larry King when
928-525: A storyline involving professional wrestlers The Miz and Kofi Kingston . King became a very active user on the social-networking site Twitter, where he posted thoughts and commented on a wide variety of subjects. King stated, "I love tweeting, I think it's a different world we've entered. When people were calling in, they were calling into the show and now on Twitter, I'm giving out thoughts, opinions. The whole concept has changed." After 2011, he also made various television infomercials , often appearing as
986-483: A student as they lived in a different country. This led McCarthy to form a group called "Life After Ramtha's School of Enlightenment", which questions the authenticity of Ramtha and encourages people to come out and express their experiences after their realization that the RSE is a cult. The school has also been characterized as a cult by skeptic Michael Shermer in his book Why People Believe Weird Things . Glenn Cunningham,
1044-666: A thank you to his audience for watching and supporting him over the years. The concluding words of Larry King on the show were, "I... I, I don't know what to say except to you, my audience, thank you. And instead of goodbye, how about so long." On February 17, 2012, CNN announced that he would no longer host specials. In March 2012, King co-founded Ora TV , a production company, with his wife Shawn Southwick-King and Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim . On January 16, 2013, Ora TV celebrated their 100th episode of Larry King Now . In September 2017, King's agent stated that King "looks forward to working for another 60 years." Ora TV signed
1102-668: A weekly political talk show, on the same three channels from 2013 to 2020. King also appeared in television series and films, usually playing himself. He remained active until his death in 2021. On January 2, 2021, King was hospitalized with COVID-19 at the Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles . King recovered from the virus, but died on January 23 from sepsis at the age of 87. King was born in Brooklyn , New York City, on November 19, 1933. His parents were Orthodox Jews who immigrated to
1160-417: Is no scientific support, have been heavily criticized by skeptics and scientific communities. Magician and skeptic James Randi said that Ramtha's believers have "no way of evaluating [her teachings]", while Carl Sagan in his book The Demon-Haunted World says that "the simplest hypothesis is that Ms. Knight makes 'Ramtha' speak all by herself, and that she has no contact with disembodied entities from
1218-475: The Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. After graduating from high school, King worked to help support his mother. From an early age, he desired to work in radio broadcasting. A CBS production supervisor, James F. Sirmons , suggested he go to Florida, which was a growing media market with openings for inexperienced broadcasters. King went to Miami . After initial setbacks, he gained his first job in radio at
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#17328587182901276-690: The British Raj . In her teachings "Ramtha" has made several controversial statements such as Christianity is a "backward" religion , that Jesus ' parables can be explained by means of photon waves and probability , that "murder isn't really wrong or evil" (if one believes in reincarnation), or (during the court case JZ Knight v Jeff Knight) Jeff Knight stated Ramtha had declared HIV is Nature's way of 'getting rid of' homosexuality . The Southern Poverty Law Center observed "Ramtha" has made antisemitic comments such as "Fuck God's chosen people ! I think they have earned enough cash to have paid their way out of
1334-503: The Larry King Now show on its network. King said in an advertisement on RT America: "I would rather ask questions to people in positions of power, instead of speaking on their behalf." The show continued to be available on Hulu.com and Ora.tv. When criticized for doing business with a Russian-owned TV network in 2014, King responded, "I don't work for RT", commenting that his podcasts, Larry King Now and Politicking , are licensed for
1392-597: The Pleistocene Ice Age ." He goes on to write a list of questions that Ramtha's answers to would help us determine whether he is actually a disembodied entity from the paleolithic times (such as "What were the indigenous languages, and social structure?", "What was their writing like?" or "How do we know that he lived 35,000 years ago?"), and ends by saying that "[i]nstead, all we are offered are banal homilies." Knight's former husband, Jeff Knight, in an interview in 1992 with Joe Szimhart, said that Ramtha's teachings are
1450-430: The "circus atmosphere" that would have been created. Knight herself claimed that she had been in a trance and did not remember anything of what was said in the retreat inquiry. Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger ; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American author, radio host and TV host. His awards and nominations include two Peabodys , an Emmy , and 10 Cable ACE Awards . King
1508-514: The 1970s, he hosted a sports talk-show called Sports-a-la-King , featuring guests and callers. On January 30, 1978, King began hosting a nightly coast-to-coast radio program on the Mutual Broadcasting System , inheriting the talk show slot that had begun with Herb Jepko in late 1975, then followed by "Long John" Nebel in 1977. King's Mutual show rapidly developed a devoted audience, called "King-aholics". The Larry King Show
1566-651: The Larry King Cardiac Foundation, a non-profit organization which paid for life-saving cardiac procedures for people who otherwise would not be able to afford them. On August 30, 2010, King served as the host of Chabad 's 30th annual "To Life" telethon, in Los Angeles. He donated to the Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden , where his name is on the monument. King resided in Beverly Hills, California . A lifelong Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers fan, he
1624-530: The Magnificent , first published in 1979) of Knight's and aspects of Ramtha which he simply saw as Knight acting. Among the things he mentions is the fact that Ramtha mispronounces the same words that Knight mispronounces, and that Ramtha quotes the same books that Knight has read. Furthermore, Ramtha's teachings as they are portrayed in the movie What the Bleep Do We Know!? , not only in the general gist of
1682-512: The Miami area in the 1950s and 1960s and beginning in 1978, gained national prominence as host of The Larry King Show , an all-night nationwide call-in radio program heard over the Mutual Broadcasting System . From 1985 to 2010, he hosted the nightly interview television program Larry King Live on CNN . King hosted Larry King Now from 2012 to 2020, which aired on Hulu , Ora TV , and RT America . He hosted Politicking with Larry King ,
1740-746: The Ugly Stepsister in Shrek 2 and its sequels. He also played himself in The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story and appeared as himself in an episode of Law and Order: Trial by Jury . King hosted the educational television series In View with Larry King from 2013 to 2015, which was carried on cable television networks including Fox Business Network and Discovery and produced by The Profiles Series production company. King and his wife Shawn appeared on WWE Raw in October 2012, participating in
1798-608: The United States from Soviet Belarus in the 1920s. He was one of two sons of Jennie (née Gitlitz), a garment worker who was born in Minsk in the Russian Empire in present-day Belarus , and Aaron Edward Zeiger, a restaurant owner and defense-plant worker who was born in Pinsk (also in modern-day Belarus). During his early childhood, the family lived at 208 Howard Avenue, a rowhouse in
J. Z. Knight - Misplaced Pages Continue
1856-489: The air, and in a bright flash of light he ascended before them. Knight says that he made a promise to his army he would come back to teach them everything he had learned. JZ Knight says that in 1977 Ramtha appeared before her and told her he had come to help her over the ditch. JZ Knight claims to have become his first student of what she calls the great work. Ramtha is the central figure (the "master teacher") of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment , started by Knight in 1987 near
1914-516: The assistance of comedian Jackie Gleason , whose national television variety show was being taped in Miami Beach, beginning in 1964. "That show really took off because Gleason came to Miami," King said in a 1996 interview he gave when inducted into the Broadcasters' Hall of Fame. "He did that show and stayed all night with me. We stayed till five in the morning. He didn't like the set, so we broke into
1972-498: The audience by telling amusing stories from his youth or early broadcasting career. Wishing to reduce his workload, King began hosting a shorter, daytime version of the show in 1993. Jim Bohannon , King's primary fill-in host, took over the late night time slot. After 16 years on Mutual, King decided to retire from the program. The final broadcast of The Larry King Show was heard on May 27, 1994; Mutual gave King's afternoon slot to David Brenner and Mutual's affiliates were given
2030-501: The film (which was directed and funded by students of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment) but also in instances where Ramtha is interviewed on screen, have been heavily criticized by the scientific community, and skeptics, such as James Randi . Knight has been involved in several court disputes, some personal and others business-related. She brought a suit against a woman from Berlin named Julie Ravell for disturbing Knight's psychic state and leaving her "hanging in spiritual limbo" during
2088-466: The five years Ravell claimed she was also channeling Ramtha. The case was brought to the supreme court in Vienna and lasted over five years, at the end of which Austria's supreme court awarded copyright to Knight as the sole channeler of Ramtha, and Ravell was made to pay $ 800 in psychic damages to Knight. Another case involving copyright and trademark ownership was JZK, Inc vs. Glandon , in which Joseph Glandon
2146-524: The general manager declared that Zeiger was too difficult to remember, saying it was "too German, too Jewish and not showbusiness enough". Minutes before airtime, Larry chose the surname "King", which was inspired from a Miami Herald advertisement he saw for King's Wholesale Liquor. Within two years, he legally changed his name to Larry King. King began to conduct interviews on a mid-morning show for WIOD from Pumpernik's Restaurant in Miami Beach. He would interview whoever walked in. His first interview
2204-544: The general manager's office and changed the set. Gleason changed the set, he changed the lighting, and he became like a mentor of mine." During this period, WIOD gave King further exposure as a color commentator for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League , during their 1970 season and most of their 1971 season. On December 20, 1971, he was dismissed by both WIOD and television station WTVJ as
2262-519: The goddamned gas chambers by now". Skeptics point to Ramtha's story as proof that he does not exist. Ramtha claims to come from the continent of Lemuria and to have conquered Atlantis . The existence of the two locations is considered of legendary nature, and neither has been found. Furthermore, the claim that Ramtha led an army of 2.5 million contradicts estimates of the world population at 33,000 BC, and her claims of clairvoyant , telepathic , telekinetic and other ESP abilities, for which there
2320-517: The ideas are similar to those of Shirley MacLaine , which were criticized for being "kindergarten metaphysics" by mathematician and skeptic Martin Gardner . Shirley Maclaine claimed in her book that she was the brother of Ramtha in their Atlantean past lives. Ramtha's teachings have been criticized by scientists and skeptics. The Southern Poverty Law Center has criticized Knight for "homophobic, anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic racist rants". Knight lives in
2378-574: The leading figures of his time. According to CNN, King conducted more than 30,000 interviews in his career. An avid sports fan, King wrote a regular column for The Sporting News during the 1980s. King also wrote a regular column in USA Today for almost 20 years, from shortly after that first national newspaper's debut in Baltimore–Washington in 1982 until September 2001. The column consisted of short "plugs, superlatives and dropped names" but
J. Z. Knight - Misplaced Pages Continue
2436-527: The name of the disembodied entity have either failed to come true (e.g. predicting a holocaust would take place in 1985, or the US would be involved in a major war in 1985) or the predicted scenarios are too wide to evaluate and/or have too large an error margin to be considered, which is usually the case with channelers. When Knight says she is channeling Ramtha she speaks mostly in English in what sounds like an accent from
2494-668: The option of carrying the audio of King's new CNN evening television program. After Westwood One dissolved Mutual in 1999, the radio simulcast of the CNN show continued until December 31, 2009. Larry King Live began on CNN in June 1985. King hosted a broad range of guests, from figures such as UFO conspiracy theorists and alleged psychics , to prominent politicians and entertainment industry figures, often giving their first or only interview on breaking news stories on his show. After broadcasting his CNN show from 9 to 10 p.m., King then traveled to
2552-457: The procedure. In the early 1980s, King took human growth hormone daily. After describing himself as a Jewish agnostic in 2005, he stated that he was fully atheist in 2015. In 2017, he told The Jerusalem Post , "I love being Jewish, am proud of my Jewishness, and I love Israel ". In 2019, King sued Nate Holzapfel , a Shark Tank contestant and entrepreneur, alleging that he had misrepresented himself and his reasons for filming
2610-456: The retreat, Ramtha questioned the girl, her father, Geis and Martin. This inquiry took place on stage in front of an audience of over 800 people for about an hour. Geis and Martin confessed to having molested the girl, and the school contacted authorities. Charged with 10 counts of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor, Geis and Martin pleaded not guilty and the case went to trial. Prosecutors were reluctant to have Knight appear in court due to
2668-408: The school of being a cult . He further claims that he was intimidated during his studies there, and he felt like mind control was being exerted by Knight and the school. He said "At one point I was running around scared I was going to get eaten by the lizard people." McCarthy became disappointed, not only with his own experience of Ramtha's teachings but also as he had cut ties from his family to become
2726-571: The show. On June 29, 2010, King announced that after 25 years, he would be stepping down as the show's host. However, he stated that he would remain with CNN to host occasional specials. The announcement came in the wake of speculation that CNN had approached Piers Morgan , the British television personality and journalist, as King's primetime replacement, which was confirmed that September. The final edition of Larry King Live aired on December 16, 2010. The show concluded with his last thoughts and
2784-782: The studios of the Mutual Broadcasting System to do his radio show, when both shows still aired. Two of his best-remembered interviews involved political figures. In 1992, billionaire Ross Perot announced his presidential bid on the show. In 1993, a debate between Al Gore and Perot became CNN's most-watched segment until 2015. Unlike many interviewers, King had a direct, non-confrontational approach. His reputation for asking easy, open-ended questions made him attractive to important figures who wanted to state their position while avoiding being challenged on contentious topics. King said that when interviewing authors, he did not read their books in advance, so that he would not know more than his audience. Throughout his career, King interviewed many of
2842-493: The town Yelm, Washington. Classes (or "dialogues") had been held around the world for the previous 10 years. There are currently over 6,000 students of Knight's teachings. The four cornerstones of Knight's philosophy are: Knight's teachings appear to be a mixture of Jungian philosophy , Western occult traditions and contemporary positive-thinking attitudes (such as New Age beliefs) and have yet to stand against elementary skepticism or scrutiny. Predictions made by Knight in
2900-551: The town of Yelm, Washington . Knight owns several U.S. trademark registrations featuring the "Ramtha" name. She appeared in the 2004 film What the Bleep Do We Know!? , produced by members of the Ramtha School. "Ramtha" (the name is claimed to be derived from Ram and to mean "the God" in Ramtha's language) is a reputed entity whom Knight says she channels . According to Knight, Ramtha was
2958-499: The western time zones carried the Open Phone America portion of the show live, followed by the guest interview on tape delay. Some of King's regular callers used pseudonyms or were given nicknames by King, such as "The Numbers Guy", "The Chair", "The Portland Laugher", "The Miami Derelict", and "The Scandal Scooper". At the beginning, the show had 28 affiliates, but eventually rose to over 500. King occasionally entertained
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#17328587182903016-405: Was accused of distributing copyrighted teachings of Ramtha. In Knight vs. Knight (1992–1995), Jeff Knight alleges that he lost years of his life by postponing modern medical treatment for his HIV infection, due to advice from his wife that Ramtha could heal him. The court decided against him; he died before he could appeal the court's decision. Knight, through JZK Inc., accused WhiteWind Weaver,
3074-473: Was also awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 32nd Annual News and Documentary Emmys. During his career, King conducted over 50,000 interviews on radio and TV. King was born and raised in New York City to Jewish parents who immigrated to the United States from what is now Belarus in the 1920s. He studied at Lafayette High School , a public high school in Brooklyn. He was a WMBM radio interviewer in
3132-576: Was betrayed and almost killed. Knight maintains Ramtha spent the next seven years in isolation recovering and observing nature, the seasons, his army making homes and families, and many other things. She says he later mastered many skills, including foresight and out-of-body experiences , until he led his army to the Indus River while in his late fifties (after having led his army for 63 years). According to Knight, Ramtha taught his soldiers everything he knew for 120 days, then he bade them farewell, rose into
3190-499: Was broadcast live Monday through Friday from midnight to 5:30 a.m. Eastern Time. King would interview a guest for the first hour, with callers asking questions that continued the interview for the next two hours. At 3 a.m., the Open Phone America segment began, where he allowed callers to discuss any topic they pleased with him, until the end of the program when he expressed his own political opinions. Many stations in
3248-579: Was dropped when the newspaper redesigned its "Life" section. The column was resurrected in blog form in November 2008 and on Twitter in April 2009. During his career, King conducted more than 60,000 interviews. CNN's Larry King Live became "the longest-running television show hosted by the same person, on the same network and in the same time slot", and was recognized for it by the Guinness Book of World Records . He retired in 2010 after taping 6,000 episodes of
3306-480: Was frequently seen behind home plate at the team's games. He was part of an investment group that attempted to bring a Major League Baseball franchise to Buffalo, New York , in 1990. He lost $ 2.8 million to Bernie Madoff . In 2009, 2011, and several times in 2015, King said that he would like to be cryonically suspended . He discussed the issue with his family two years before his death, and "after much consideration," he decided that he did not want to undergo
3364-522: Was with a waiter at the restaurant. Two days later, singer Bobby Darin , in Miami for a concert that evening, walked into Pumpernik's having heard King's radio show; Darin became King's first celebrity interview guest. King's Miami radio show brought him local attention. A few years later, in May 1960, he hosted Miami Undercover , airing Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m. on Miami television station WPST-TV . King credited his success on local television to
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