Prankster puts fake ad in RGJ
Cute kitten with two heads lives only in Californian’s imagination
The “absolutely adorable” kitten with two heads lives, apparently, only in the somewhat bizarre imagination of a Southern California man who identified himself Tuesday as Rory Emerald, the serial prankster.
“People don’t want to believe it’s not real,” Emerald said by telephone. “They want to believe a two-headed cat exists.”
On paper it does, or did. The classified advertisement in the Reno Gazette-Journal said:
“KITTEN: Unique kitten with two heads, absolutely adorable, found N. Reno area.”
No such kitten was found in north Reno or anyplace else. It was all just a joke, according to Emerald, who said he lives in Anaheim, Calif., and puts false advertisements in newspapers across the country for laughs.
This time he picked Reno.
“It was a friendly hoax,” said Emerald, who described himself as a 38-year-old stay-at-home father who enjoys being funny in print.
The seven-day ad, which appeared for the last time Wednesday, was placed for free in the “found pets” column of the Gazette-Journal’s classified section. It started running Sept. 1.
“I knew I wanted to do something in the Reno paper,” Emerald said. “I don’t really know why. Something told me to do it in the Reno paper. It turned out to be a good thing.”
A cat with two heads, apparently, attracted attention.
Calls from across state
“I have been getting so many calls from Reno and all over Nevada,” said Emerald, who included his home telephone number in the ad. “I would say it’s definitely up to 50.”
Emerald said he didn’t talk to everyone who answered his ad.
“I was away for the weekend,” Emerald said. “There were a lot of calls from my (answering) service. I turned the phone off. I even got some calls at 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning.”
Sometimes, said Kathleen Colombo, Gazette-Journal classified sales manager, it’s hard to tell truth from hoax, especially when someone is placing an ad by phone. All you hear is a voice.
“The hardest part is if you get somebody very convincing,” Colombo said. “You can’t check the body language.”
Since June, Emerald has become famous, at least on the Internet, for his fake ads. There are Web stories about hoax classified ads from Emerald in newspapers in North Dakota, Texas and Montana.
One of those ads said Elvis Presley’s tour bus had been found near Fargo, N.D., with many personal items from the dead rock ’n’ roll legend. Another ad said ancient Egyptian artifacts had been discovered in the hills near Missoula, Mont.
Emerald said he started the pranks during the Michael Jackson trial this year when he placed an ad in a California newspaper saying a prosthetic nose was discovered near Jackson’s ranch near Santa Barbara, Calif.
“I’m trying to keep the ads funny,” Emerald said.
Sometimes, apparently, the laughter dies.
Arrested in Beverly Hills
Emerald said he spent about five months in a Los Angeles jail several years ago when he was arrested for theft in a Beverly Hills store while posing as the personal shopper for actress Mia Farrow.
“Yes, that happened,” Emerald said. “I remember getting arrested.”
The pranks, at least the ones in newspapers, will continue, according to Emerald.
“I’m going to keep doing it until I can’t find anything interesting or fun to put in the paper,” he said. “A bunch of things came to me (Monday) night.”
But it’s hard to tell with Emerald, whose name is a question. He legally changed it to Emerald from Julian Lee Hobbs, so he says.
2006-06-24 16:26:59
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answer #1
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answered by sportin_jenny 2
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Rory Emerald is a professional hoaxster extraordinaire who was once married to movie star Dame Elizabeth Taylor and the daughter of the late Peter Sellers, Victoria Sellers. Peter was the original Pink Panther. Rory & Victoria have one child together. They are no longer together. Victoria, Rory, & Heidi Fleiss were all in the sorted Heidi Fleiss scandal. But the biggest scandal Rory was in, was the one with him & Dame Elizabeth. A big Hollywood scandal since War of the Worlds. President Ronald Regan & former First Lady Nancy Regan made special speeches about the ruse to American & Canadian citizens. Emerald is best friends with actress Jodie Foster & Cher. He is friends with politicians, movie stars, astronauts, royalty, & just normal people who are not famous for anything.
2006-06-24 16:25:02
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answer #2
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answered by Spock 6
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