by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear
Among UFO enthusiasts, in between the serious, science-based researchers and the crackpots, there are people who enjoy the mystery for the fantastic tales and the colorful people it spawns, as well as the social interaction with the like-minded. One of the first examples of this sort of person was Gray Barker, who became known for his 1956 book They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers. He became good friends with James W. Moseley, who would become well-known as the publisher of Saucer Smear magazine, and the two of them became notorious for pranking and poking fun at what they considered their over-serious peers. As the 1960s got under way, a group formed around Moseley, who was based in Fort Lee, New Jersey. This included Allan Greenfield, Eugene Steinberg, and Timothy Green Beckley. Of these, Beckley, Like Barker, would become a prolific publisher of UFO-related material, and in 1978, he started putting out UFO Review, which was a tabloid-style newspaper chock full of UFO news, reports, interviews, and lurid ads for UFO books, UFO merchandise, new age self-help guides and related paraphernalia.
Timothy Green Beckley left this planet on May 31, 2021. Records of his age at the time of his passing range from 65 to 69. According to the IMDb, he was born on March 4, 1952, as Jeremy Stone. In addition to his interest in the paranormal, he was an actor in and producer of soft-core porn/horror movies and was known to fans as “Mr. Creepo.” He wrote and published many books on the paranormal with a definite sensationalized bent and was active in the community up until his death. According to what is believed to be his self-authored bio, “Tim Beckley had so many careers that even his own girlfriend didn’t know what he did for a living… Timothy Green Beckley has been described as the Hunter Thompson of UFOlogy by the editor of UFO magazine Nancy Birnes.” His bio contains the claims that his life was saved by an invisible force at the age of three, he started having out of body experiences at the age of six, he had his first UFO sighting at age ten, and had two more after that in the course of his life.
As near as we can tell, the first issue of UFO Review, “Collectors Edition,” Vol. 1, No. 1, came out prior to June 1978. The month and day are not noted anywhere, but there is a 1978 copyright as well as a notice for the 15th Annual National UFO Congress in Cleveland (organized by Moseley) in June.
The front-page headline is “Top Secret UN Committee Probes Startling Case of Mexican Doctor Who Claims: ‘I Examined a Live Space Alien,’” which sits over a photo purported to be “startling photographic proof” that “UFOs have a base beneath Lake Ontario.” Inside, on page 2, is “On the Trail of Flying Saucers” by Timothy Green Beckley–Mr. UFO. It starts off with the heading, “Welcome Aboard,” and Beckley proceeds to tell the story of his motivation for creating the newspaper and the process of bringing it to life.
According to Beckley, it occurred to him that while interest in UFOs was “at an all-time high,” there weren’t many “sources to turn to for legitimate information on this vital subject.” He assures the reader that those who are aware of his 15 years of research “will instantly recognize my sincerity when it comes to getting to the bottom of the mystery and placing before the public all the information that is available.”
Beckly says “one of the main reasons” that the paper is being put out at this point in history is that the public is hungry for the truth and that Close Encounters of the Third Kind, “has ignited a spark that has turned into a full-blown flame and it is up to someone to kindle the fire before it goes out.” Beckley says he has been busy “spreading the word” in areas where UFO stories wouldn’t be touched and proudly announces that two of his articles will be appearing in Swank and Knave.
Beckley then relates how “a well-known New York City publisher” hired him and his staff at Global Communication to put together a UFO magazine and then told him to drop the project because he, the publisher, had done some research and had found that UFO magazines don’t sell very well. Beckley explains that he tried in vain to make the argument that the magazines didn’t sell well because of poor distribution and then opted to publish a magazine with his own money in the economical tabloid form.
To the right of Beckley’s article there is an ad for three of his books: Book of Space Brothers, a book of “alleged communications from space;” Subterranean World, covering the theory that some UFOs come from an underground base populated by descendants of the people of Atlantis; and People of the Planet Clarion, about the claims and messages of contactee Truman Bertherum.
The lead story about the UN committee hearing about the examination of the alien is on page three. This would have happened just before the presentation at the UN on UFOs organized by Lee Speigel (listed as UFO Review’s chief of field investigations staring with issue number 3) at the behest of Grenada Prime Minister Eric Gairy. According to the report, a Mexican doctor in Guadalajara was visited by a man who said he was very ill. Upon examination, the doctor saw that the man’s skin was unusually pink and that he had no hair follicles except for those on his head. The man then said he had wanted to be examined to prove he was not human and proceeded to say that Earth had been visited regularly by beings from other planets and that there was concern about our slow development. The doctor felt obligated to report the encounter to “someone in authority” and Ambassador Francis Redhead of Grenada “was called in to investigate the matter.” The doctor was subsequently “invited to UN headquarters to tell his story.”
The Centerfold Story is “Flying Saucers & Big Foot are Related!” by Jim Barnett. Barnett presents cases where Bigfoot creatures and UFOs were reported in the same area around the same time. Under the centerfold artwork by Dick Massa, the reader is told that it’s available as a poster for $3.80.
For Gray Barker fans, there is what would be a recurring column by him called “Chasing the Flying Saucers.” In this first one, Barker describes waking up in his West Virginia home on January 9th to see 12 inches of snow covering the area, making breakfast, and opening the West Virginia Reader. He describes a report involving four women spotting a classic saucer while driving. The driver described tears starting to flow uncontrollably from her eyes upon spotting it.
Barker describes rescuing the bacon he was cooking before it burned and then satisfying his hunger with some cinnamon rolls before digging into other reports from S.A.U.C.E.R.S. (Saucers and Unexplained Celestial Events Research Society) which was Moseley’s group that often had him as its sole member. He then presents the details of some more cases and ends describing a discussion of a case with a woman from his office, which might give the reader the impression that he makes his living as a professional UFOlogist. Right in the midst of the article on page 12 there is an ad for books by Barker and saucer related tape recordings for sale describing him as “one of the top UFOlogists in America.”
UFO Review lasted until issue 39, which is the “official program” for the 1994 National New Age, Cosmic Conspiracies & UFO Conference held from May 20-23 in San Diego, California. Beckley was the organizer and speakers included Jim Moseley, Dr. Frank E. Stranges, and Sean David Morton. The keynote address was given by Vince Davis, who was notorious as one of the “Gulf Breeze Six.” Despite the sensationalism and the silliness contained in the paper throughout its existence, there are reports of some noteworthy cases. If nothing else, UFO Review provides a look into the popular, unabashedly commercial side of UFOlogy at that time.