Curtis Howe Springer
Curtis Howe Springer (born December 2, 1896 in Birmingham , Alabama , † August 19, 1985 in Las Vegas , Nevada ) was an American con man who made a career as a radio preacher and faith healer. He became best known for the Zzyzx spa which he founded .
biography
Little is known about the early years of Curtis Howe Springer, born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1896. He probably served in the US Army and worked for politicians (such as William Jennings Bryan ) and preachers (such as Billy Sunday ). Springer was married twice and had several children.
In the 1930s, Springer appeared in public lectures in the American Midwest where he adorned himself with false academic titles and offered obscure miracle cures for sale. He had his own programs on various radio stations and published his messages in print. In his lectures, broadcasts and publications he combined religious and medical topics to advertise his miracle cures and to collect donations.
In 1935 the American Medical Association published an investigation report that exposed Springer as a fraudster .
In 1931 Springer opened its first spa in Maple Glen, Pennsylvania , which went bankrupt after six years due to outstanding tax debt. Further attempts to offer miracle cures at a permanent location also failed. In 1944 he acquired mining rights in the middle of the Mojave Desert . The site was a former army post and stop on the disused "Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad" from Ludlow, California to Beatty , Nevada .
Springer gave the place previously known as "Soda Springs" the name Zzyzx . Over time, a complete bathing resort with a spa (including hot springs, whose water was artificially heated), hotel, church, radio station, airfield, artificial lake and other buildings emerged. Springer preached on the radio from here and marketed numerous miracle drugs and cures.
At the end of the 1960s, proceedings were initiated against Springer after he had begun to release land for private development in return for donations. Although he had acquired mining rights, he did not own the property. Springer and his supporters had to evacuate Zzyzx. In 1976 a desert research center was set up in the buildings.
As a result, Springer was sentenced to several months in prison for fraudulent advertising. Springer spent the rest of his life in Las Vegas , where he died in 1985 at the age of 88.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Burial list (excerpt) from Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, Riverside County, California, with Springer's birth and death dates
- ↑ Article in the LA Times of June 16, 2002: Zzyzx: An Unlikely Home of Hucksterism and Miracle Cures (English)
- ↑ Article on Word Ways , 1996: ZZYZX ( Memento from April 26, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- ↑ Article in the Daytona Beach Morning Journal: Improbable Name, But ... ZZYZX Is A Booming Health Spa
- ↑ Article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, September 14, 1935: Bureau of Investigation: Curtis Howe Springer - A Quack and His Nostrums (English)
- ↑ Trial record of the US Court of Appeals: Rehearing Denied March 5, 1973 ( Memento of the original of March 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ Article on the website of Radio KNPR: Zzyzx (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Springer, Curtis Howe |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American con man, radio preacher and faith healer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 2, 1896 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Birmingham , Alabama , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 19, 1985 |
| Place of death | Las Vegas , Nevada , United States |