Ray Santilli

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Ray Santilli
Raymond Santilli
Born (1958-09-30) 30 September 1958 (age 64)
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s) Television producer, Musician, Film producer, and Record producer
Years active1982 – Present
Known forFounder of Orbital Media
Website www.orbitalmedia.net

Ray Santilli (born 30 September 1958) is a British musician, record and film producer. He is best known for his exploitation in 1995 of the controversial "alien autopsy" footage and subject of the Warner Bros. film Alien Autopsy . [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Early life

Born in London, Santilli was the son of Italian immigrants. He spent his childhood in Islington London.

Career

Ray Santilli started his professional career in 1974 as a session musician, record producer and music distributor. [4] In 1982, Santilli founded AMP Entertainment, where he produced and promoted acts of the day. [4] [5]

In 1981, Santilli produced The Tweets album which featured "The Birdy Song".[ citation needed ] In 1985 he founded Music Broadcasting Services Ltd, an independent record label which handled the exclusive rights to the Walt Disney Audio Soundtrack Catalogue in the United Kingdom. [6] [7]

In 1987 Santilli produced the charity record "The Wishing Well" featuring Boy George, Dollar and Grace Kennedy for Great Ormond Street Hospital. In 1991, Santilli founded the Merlin Group. The company specialised in the re-recording of hits with original artists. Merlin also produced and marketed a number of television specials. [8] In 1994 Santilli formed Orbital Media Ltd where he produced a succession of TV documentaries and films for television. [4]

Santilli is best known for his claim to have discovered footage which depicted the autopsy of an alien creature. [9] [10] The Alien autopsy footage, supposedly of extraterrestrial corpses from the so-called Roswell UFO incident, was broadcast to a worldwide audience on 28 August 1995. [11] [12] [13] The film and those who took part in the making of it have all admitted it is a hoax, although Santilli still maintains it is real despite him changing his story numerous times. He also claims Kodak have analysed the film and confirmed its date, but when asked to resubmit the film with the images, Santilli has always refused. [14]

In 2006 the story of Ray Santilli and the autopsy was the subject of a Warner Bros. film Alien Autopsy featuring the British double act Ant & Dec. [15] [16] Dec plays Ray Santilli with Ant as Santilli's real life business partner and friend Gary Shoefield. [17] [18] [19] That same year, Ray Santilli claimed that sections of the autopsy footage had been 'restored'. [20] [21]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1994The Beatles, The Long and Winding Road: The Life and TimesCo-producerTV movie documentary
1994The Life of Bruce LeeExecutive producerTV movie documentary
1994BatmadProducer, writerTV movie
1995Alan Shearer: Sheer MagicProducerVideo documentary
1995 Alien Autopsy: (Fact or Fiction?) Producer-uncredited, ActorTV movie documentary
1995The Doctors, 30 Years of Time Travel and BeyondExecutive producerVideo documentary
1999Bruce Lee: The Legend Lives OnProducer, writer, DirecorTV movie
2001Elvis: The Missing YearsProducer, directorVideo documentary
2001The Beatles... Off the Record: Newsreel Footage 1964-1966Producer, writer, DirectorTV movie documentary)
2002John Lennon: The MessengerProducer, writer, DirectorTV movie documentary)
2002Beckham Mania: The Kick OffProducerTV movie documentary)
2002George Harrison: The Quiet OneProducer, writer, DirectorVideo documentary)
2002Irish Tenor Trio: A Classic Irish ChristmasProducer, writerTV movie
2003Alien Signs: Undeniable Evidence - The MessageExecutive producerTV movie documentary
2003Elvis: The JourneyCo-producer, Writer, DirectorTV movie
2004Bob Marley: Spiritual JourneyCo-executive producer, Writer, Director, EditorTV movie
2004Benny Goodman: Legends in Concert - The Last PerformanceProducer, directorTV movie
2004Jimi Hendrix: The Last 24 Hours Executive producer, WriterTV movie documentary
2005Elvis: The Last 24 HoursProducerTV movie
2005Nat King Cole: For Sentimental ReasonsCo-producer, Writer, DirectorTV movie
2005Viva Joe Strummer: The Clash and BeyondProducer, writerVideo documentary
2005Marc Bolan: Ride OnProducerVideo documentary
2005Tom Jones: Up Close and PersonalCo-producer, Writer, DirectorTV movie
2005Johnny Cash: The Man in Black - His Early YearsExecutive producerVideo documentary
2005Frank Sinatra: A ReflectionProducer, writerTV movie documentary
2006Clash: The Joe Strummer StoryProducerTV movie
2006Dean Martin: A ReflectionProducer, writerTV movie documentary
2006 Alien Autopsy Executive producer, Cameo as himselfFilm
2006Thin Lizzy: Outlawed - The Real Phil LynottExecutive producerTV movie documentary
2006Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash: The Road ShowExecutive producerVideo documentary
2007Bob Marley Freedom RoadExecutive producerDocumentary
2008Blue RendezvousProducer, writer, DirectorTV movie
2012One Direction: All for OneExecutive producerDocumentary
2013Hendrix on HendrixExecutive producerDocumentary

Related Research Articles

The alien autopsy is a 17-minute black-and-white film supposedly depicting a secret medical examination or autopsy of an alien by the United States military. It was released in 1995 by London-based entrepreneur Ray Santilli. He presented it as an authentic autopsy on the body of an alien recovered from the 1947 crash of a "flying disc" near Roswell, New Mexico. The film footage was allegedly supplied to him by a retired military cameraman who wished to remain anonymous.

UFO conspiracy theories are a subset of conspiracy theories which argue that various governments and politicians globally, in particular the United States government, are suppressing evidence that unidentified flying objects are controlled by a non-human intelligence or built using alien technology. Such conspiracy theories usually argue that Earth governments are in communication or cooperation with extraterrestrial visitors despite public disclaimers, and further that some of these theories claim that the governments are explicitly allowing alien abduction.

Majestic 12, also known as MJ-12 for short, is a purported organization that appears in UFO conspiracy theories. The organization is claimed to be the code name of an alleged secret committee of scientists, military leaders, and government officials, formed in 1947 by an executive order by U.S. President Harry S. Truman to facilitate recovery and investigation of alien spacecraft. The concept originated in a series of supposedly leaked secret government documents first circulated by ufologists in 1984. Upon examination, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) declared the documents to be "completely bogus", and many ufologists consider them to be an elaborate hoax. Majestic 12 remains popular among some UFO conspiracy theorists and the concept has appeared in popular culture including television, film and literature.

<i>Alternative 3</i> 1977 hoax television mockumentary

Alternative 3 is a 1977 British television mockumentary concerning government conspiracies. It inspired much speculation and interest by proponents of fringe ideas. It has been compared to Orson Welles' radio production of The War of the Worlds, as both were science fiction programmes, not intended to alarm the public, that were misinterpreted as legitimate. The former had a far greater immediate effect.

Grey aliens, also referred to as Zeta Reticulans, Roswell Greys, or Grays, are purported extraterrestrial beings. They are frequent subjects of close encounters and alien abduction claims. The details of such claims vary widely, however Greys are typically described as being human-like with small bodies, smooth, grey-colored skin; enlarged, hairless heads; and large, black eyes. The Barney and Betty Hill abduction claim, which purportedly took place in New Hampshire in 1961, popularized Grey aliens. Precursor figures have been described in science fiction and similar descriptions appeared in early accounts of the 1948 Aztec UFO Hoax and later accounts of the 1947 Roswell UFO incident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roswell incident</span> 1947 unspecified object crash near Corona, New Mexico, US

The "Roswell incident", or simply "Roswell", was the July 1947 recovery of metallic and rubber debris from a military balloon by Roswell Army Air Field personnel, who issued a press release announcing possession of a "flying disc". Decades later, conspiracy theories claimed that debris from an alien spaceship had been covered up by the government. In response, in 1994 the United States Air Force published a report concluding the crashed object was a top secret nuclear test surveillance balloon from Project Mogul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ant & Dec</span> British television presenting duo

Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo consisting of Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly from Newcastle upon Tyne. Formed after their meeting as child actors on CBBC's drama Byker Grove, they performed together as pop musicians PJ & Duncan, the names of their characters from the series. For their earliest TV presenting roles they used the aliases Tony & Lan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travis Walton UFO incident</span> Alleged alien abduction, 1975

The Travis Walton UFO incident was an alleged alien abduction of American forestry worker Travis Walton by a UFO on November 5, 1975, while he was working in the Apache–Sitgreaves National Forests near Snowflake, Arizona. Walton was missing for five days and six hours. After days of searching with scent dogs and helicopters, Walton says he reappeared by the side of a road near Heber, Arizona. The Walton case received mainstream publicity and remains one of the best-known alien abduction stories, while scientific skeptics consider it a hoax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British UFO Research Association</span>

The British UFO Research Association or BUFORA is a UK organisation formerly registered as "BUFORA Ltd"; dedicated to investigating UFO phenomena in the British Isles. In 1997 the organisation was reported to have around 1,000 members.

<i>Hangar 18</i> (film) 1980 American science fiction action film by James L. Conway

Hangar 18 is a 1980 American science fiction action film directed by James L. Conway and written by Ken Pettus, from a story by Thomas C. Chapman and Conway. It stars Darren McGavin, Robert Vaughn, Gary Collins, James Hampton and Pamela Bellwood.

The Pied Piper of Cleveland: A Day in the Life of a Famous Disc Jockey is an American musical documentary film produced in the fall of 1955 documenting the career of disc jockey Bill Randle. Arthur Cohen directed the film, which was produced by Bill Randle himself.

<i>Roswell</i> (film) 1994 film directed by Jeremy Kagan

Roswell is a 1994 television film produced by Paul Davids based on a supposedly true story about the Roswell UFO incident, the alleged U.S. military capture of a flying saucer and its alien crew following a crash near the town of Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947. Along with the Roswell crash, the film references prominent UFOlogy events such as Area 51, alien autopsies, the death of James Forrestal and Majestic-12.

<i>Alien Autopsy</i> (2006 film) 2006 film by Jonny Campbell

Alien Autopsy is a 2006 British comedy film with elements of science fiction directed by Jonny Campbell. Written by William Davies, it relates the events surrounding the famous "alien autopsy" film promoted by Ray Santilli and stars Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, also known as Ant & Dec, as Santilli and Gary Shoefield. The film was a moderate commercial success domestically, making no. 3 on the British box office chart.

Gary Shoefield is a television and film producer.

William J. "Bill" Birnes is an American author, the incoming auditor for Solebury Township, Pennsylvania, the chairman of the board at Sunrise Community Counseling Center, and ufologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurora, Texas, UFO incident</span> Alleged UFO crash in 1897

The Aurora, Texas, UFO incident reportedly occurred on April 17, 1897, when, according to locals, a UFO crashed on a farm near Aurora, Texas. The incident is claimed to have resulted in a fatality of the pilot. The pilot was "not of this world" and was said to be an alien. The pilot was buried at the Aurora cemetery. A stone was placed as a marker for the grave, but has since been removed.

<i>The Day After Roswell</i> 1997 book by Philip J. Corso

The Day After Roswell is an American book about extraterrestrial spacecraft and the Roswell UFO incident. It was written by United States Army Colonel Philip J. Corso, with help from William J. Birnes, and was published as a tell-all memoir by Pocket Books in 1997, a year before Corso's death. The book claims that an extraterrestrial spacecraft crashed near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947 and was recovered by the United States government who then sought to cover up all evidence of extraterrestrials.

<i>UFO Hunters</i> American television series

UFO Hunters is an American television series that premiered on January 30, 2008, on The History Channel, produced by Motion Picture Production Inc., and ran for three seasons. Jon Alon Walz was the executive producer of the show and was responsible for selling the series to History Channel after a bidding war for the rights to the show broke out between History Channel and Sci-Fi Channel.

The Roswell incident, a myth of a 1947 crashed flying saucer, has been widely featured in fiction.

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