Dean met Randi in the Spring of 1987 when Randi was lecturing in St. Paul, Minnesota.
They discussed and shared their beliefs in escapology and the paranormal, discovering
many similarities. A great mutual respect was formed that day.
Randi was acknowledged as the greatest escape artist since Houdini. When Randi retired to pursue investigating paranormal phenomena, he named Dean Gunnarson as his successor. Randi passed on to Dean his collection of escape memorabilia, including Houdini's milk can.
Randi, the first magician ever, was the recipient of the McArthur Foundation Award in 1986 for his research into psychic phenomena.
Randi leads the James Randi Educational Foundation. The JREF has offered +$1,000,000 to an individual who can actually demonstrate something supernatural.
Randi has written the following books pertaining to the art of escape and the paranormal:
- The Truth About Uri Geller (Prometheus Books, Buffalo, New York, 1982)
- Houdini: His Life & Art (Grossett & Dunlap, New York, 1978)
- Flim Flam!: The Truth about Unicorns, Parapsychology & Other Delusions (Harper & Row, New York, 1980)
- Test Your ESP Potential (Dover, 1983)
- The Faith Healers (Prometheus Books, New York, 1987)
- The Magic World of the Amazing Randi (Bob Adams Pub., Boston, 1989)
- The Mask of Nostradamus (Charles Scribner's, New York, 1990)
- James Randi: Psychic Investigator (Boxtree, London, 1991)
- Conjuring (St. Martin's Press, New York, 1992)
- An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (St. Martin's Press, New York, 1995)
- Wrong! (In Production)
- A Magician In The Labratory (In Production)