Oz Pearlman | |
|---|---|
| Pearlman after a mind reading show | |
| Born | July 19, 1982 Israel |
| Other names | Oz the Mentalist |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse | Elisa Rosen (m. 2010) |
| Children | 5 |
| Website | ozpearlman |
Oz Pearlman (born July 19, 1982), also known as "Oz the Mentalist," is an American mentalist, magician, and long-distance runner for marathons and ultramarathons. He is best known for major media appearances performing mentalism for sports teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, Green Bay Packers, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
NBC (national) aired a travel show about Oz called Oz Knows. [1] He won an Emmy Award for the show. [2]
According to an article published by LEADERS Magazine in 2025, Oz Pearlman is the most televised mentalist in the world. The article also states that Oz is the most followed mentalist on social media. [3] Oz has appeared in televised media outside of the United States. Examples include ESPN Philippines [4] and a TV commercial for Mohegan Sun in China. [5]
Oz Pearlman was born on July 19, 1982, in Israel. [6] Pearlman began performing magic at restaurants, kids’ shows, and corporate events at the age of 14, and has stated that he always had a deck of cards on him between the ages of 13 and 18. [7] [8]
Pearlman was originally employed at Merrill Lynch in their global technology services department, at that time only performing magic and mentalism as a part-time profession. After he was hired by his employer to deliver a corporate entertainment show to upper management within the company, he quit his full-time job at Merrill Lynch in order to focus on being a full-time entertainer. [8] Since then he has focused on a full-time career performing as a mentalist.
Oz had appeared on America's Got Talent [9] [10] [11] , Joe Rogan Experience, [12] [13] [14] The Ellen Show , [15] Forbes, [16] Sports Illustrated, [17] HBO Hard Knocks, [18] CBS The Early Show , The Dr. Oz Show , [19] CNBC Power Lunch , [20] [21] [22] ABC World News Tonight, USA Today, [23] The Howard Stern Show , [24] [25] The New York Times, [26] Fox & Friends , [27] NBC Squawk Box, [28] NBC Golf Channel, [29] Jake Paul's podcast BS w/ Jake Paul, [30] Flagrant , [31] [32] NBC Today Show, [33] [34] [35] [36] Bert Kreischer's podcast, [37] Elvis Duran and the Morning Show , [38] [39] People Magazine, [40] Esquire, [41] GQ, [42] and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon . [43] [5]
On June 4, 2025, Oz Pearlman aired on the Joe Rogan Experience . According to Joe, Oz correctly guessed the ATM PIN code of Joe's bank account. [12] [13] [14] Rogan appeared visibly disturbed by this and stated "Yeah... that's weird," followed by "Yeah, I don't like that." [44] [13] The hosts of FLAGRANT had Oz on their podcast the following week. [31] [32]
Pearlman has performed mentalism for major sports teams, including:
He appeared on HBO's Hard Knocks [74] the NBC Golf Channel. [29] and as a guest on CBS Sports NCAA March Madness. [75] Pearlman won third-place on America's Got Talent , Season 10 (2015). [9] [10] On January 13, 2020, he returned as a contestant in America's Got Talent: The Champions . [11]
NBC TV (national) aired a travel show called Oz Knows in 2018, which was about Pearlman traveling to various tourist attractions and performing mentalism. Oz won an Emmy Award in May 2018 for the show. [2] [1] In July 2023, Pearlman was a featured performer for ESPY Awards on ESPN. [76] [77] He also made guest appearances on NBC Today Show on August 23, 2015, [78] and in 2016, [33] [34] [35] [36] and predicted the American Super Bowl result on January 26, 2017. [79]
On December 17, 2024, Pearlman was a guest on The Howard Stern Show. Back in 2014, guest Valerie Harper while discussing her terminal illness, told Howard in private a secret code word that only the two of them would know, which could be used after her death to prove if psychics were real. This idea for a secret word was based on a pact Harry Houdini had made with his wife Bess where they promised each other that the first one to die would attempt to contact the surviving spouse from the afterlife, using a code the couple had created to verify any spiritualists or psychics claiming they had made contact. Oz correctly guessed that the word was "curly," shocking the shock jock. [24] [25]
Critics have accused Pearlman of deception; such as scouting audience members prior to performances and carrying out investigative discovery into guests to get answers. [80] Pearlman is the first to admit the "lie is that I can read your mind." [81] "I don't read minds," Pearlman confesses, "I read people." [80]
Not all mentalism attempts by Pearlman have been successful, however. On The Today Show in 2016, Pearlman asked Al Roker to pick a celebrity who he thought might run for President. Roker chose George Clooney; but Pearlman had incorrectly predicted he would say Taylor Swift by revealing a pre-printed T-Shirt with an image of Swift underneath the slogan: "T-Swift for President". [80] [82] Pearlman deconstructed the televised moment in a later interview with 60 Minutes , saying: "And what if it could be anybody else?" What if-- and-- and so, I was steering him back on track to what I thought would work. And-- and so it looked even more amazing, because it seemed like he changed his mind at the last moment." [81]
On April 4, 2022, Oz Pearlman broke the world record for most number of miles run in Central Park (New York). The total distance he ran was over 116 miles (16 loops), and it was completed in 17 hours, 40 minutes, and 59 seconds. The New York Times, Reuters, Runner's World, and CBS News published articles about the event. The event raised money to help Ukrainian citizens afflicted by Russia's war with Ukraine. [83] [84] [85] [86] [87] On August 5, 2022, Oz ran 130 miles in 21 hours, 52 minutes, and 33 seconds from Montauk to Manhattan. The Audacious Report produced a short documentary about the run and New York Times published an article about it. [88] [89] [26] Pearlman won the New Jersey Marathon four times. He won the 50-mile Chicago Ultra Marathon in 2015 in 5 hours, 25 minutes, and 26 seconds, [90] and has ranked within the top 30 fastest Americans for 50-mile races. He has also participated in the Hawaii Ironman World Championship, Western States 100 Mile Run, Spartathlon 153 Mile Run, Leadville 100 Mile Run, and Badwater 135 Mile Run. [91]
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