DeLouise, Joseph (1927-)

Successful Chicago psychic famous for his predictions of future events. DeLouise was born in Gibellina, Sicily, on November 10, 1927. Both his father and grandfather were healers, and his grandfather introduced him to meditation and psychic experiences. At age five, DeLouise had his initial psychic "feeling," which led to the family's securing enough money to move to the United States.

DeLouise grew up in Chicago. He dropped out of school after finishing the elementary grades and on his seventeenth birthday joined the navy. His career was marked by service in the Pacific. In an incident shortly before his discharge in 1946, he had a "feeling" of a major disaster in an ammo depository on Guam where he was working. Refusing to return to work saved his life when the place exploded.

After the war, he married, attended beauty school, and settled down to a normal life. He was divorced in 1950, which led to his separation from the Roman Catholic Church. He began to receive psychic impressions from the women whose hair he styled, and he practiced giving brief readings to them, gaining a reputation as a psychic. He also attended séances and eventually became a Spiritualist minister. He learned to work with a crystal ball to increase his concentration.

In November 1967, during an interview on a Chicago radio show, DeLouise predicted a major bridge collapse before the year was out. Twenty-one days later, the Silver Bridge across the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, West Virginia, collapsed. It matched in every detail the collapse described by DeLouise on the air. Then in 1969 he predicted a major train crash, the drowning of Mary Jo Kopechne (while a passenger in a car being driven by Sen. Edward Kennedy), and an airplane disaster in Indianapolis and gave his insights into the connection of the Manson Family to the murder of actress Sharon Tate. Whereas the 1967 prediction had made him famous in Chicago, the 1969 predictions established his reputation across America.

DeLousie has since operated as a professional psychic with offices in Chicago. He sees individual clients and also works with groups.

Sources:

Delfano, M. M. The Living Prophets. New York: Dell, 1972.

DeLouise, Joseph, and Tom Valentine. Psychic Mission. Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1971.