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| '''Youree Dell Cleomili Harris''' (born August 12, 1962 in Los Angeles, California<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/cleo1.html | title=Miss Cleo's birth certificate | publisher=The Smoking Gun |date= 2002 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2006-11-18}}</ref>), better known as '''Miss Cleo''', is a self-proclaimed psychic. Harris became well-known through television ads in the 1990s, where she introduced herself as "Miss Cleo" hawking a psychic pay-per-call service. | | '''Youree Dell Cleomili Harris''' (born August 12, 1962 in Los Angeles, California<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/cleo1.html | title=Miss Cleo's birth certificate | publisher=The Smoking Gun |date= 2002 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2006-11-18}}</ref>), better known as '''Miss Cleo''', is a self-proclaimed psychic. Harris became well-known through television ads in the 1990s, where she introduced herself as "Miss Cleo" hawking a psychic pay-per-call service. She voiced [[Auntie Poulet]] in [[Grand Theft Auto: Vice City]]. |
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| ==Background==
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| ===Seattle===
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| In 1996 in Seattle, Miss Cleo (known then as Youree "Ree" Perris) and her partner opened a production company which produced several of her plays.<ref name="seattle">{{cite news | url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/lifestyle/60478_misscleo.shtml | title=Miss Cleo left a trail of deception in Seattle | publisher=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date= March 2, 2002 | first=D. | last=Parvaz | accessdate = 2006-11-18}}</ref> She acted in her first project, ''Women Only: A Celebration of Love, Life and Healing''. This play was autobiographical. She also performed in her last project, ''Supper Club Cafe''.<ref name="seattle" /> This venture was not successful and she "left town with a trail of debts and broken promises".<ref name="seattle" />
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| The actors in her productions were not paid and "Miss Cleo", aka Perris "told her cast members she had [[bone cancer]]" and "her medical costs would prevent her from paying people immediately, but she wrote each actor and crew member a letter telling him or her how much money she owed them."<ref name="seattle" /> The actors and crew were never paid.<ref name="seattle" />
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| ===The Psychic Readers Network===
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| In the late 1990s Harris had a career as a television infomercial psychic in which she claimed she was originally from Jamaica. The Psychic Readers Network sent spam e-mails, which stated, "[Miss Cleo has] been authorized to issue you a Special Tarot Reading!... it is vital that you call immediately!..."
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| Starting in 2001, Access Resource Services d/b/a Psychic Readers Network was sued in various lawsuits brought by (among others) Missouri and Florida, and the Federal Communications Commission. Ms. Harris herself was sued only by the State of Florida because Florida law allows a "spokesperson" to be sued as well as the company, however the case was dismissed on the condition that Ms. Harris waive her ability to sue the State of Florida regarding the case. The company owners, Steve Feder and Peter Stolz, purposely marketed the company to appear that Miss Cleo owned and operated the Psychic Readers Network. Later in 2002, a Florida newspaper reported Miss Cleo's birth certificate identifies her as Youree Dell Harris, and that she was born in Los Angeles.
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| She was paid $1700 for her first infomercial with the company, and was paid a flat fee for each commercial she appeared in thereafter. The company coined the title "Miss Cleo". Ms. Harris used her middle name Cleomili or Cleo when she worked on the psychic line. At the time of the lawsuit, Ms. Harris had severed ties with the Psychic Readers Network. Harris did not have any ownership interest in the Psychic Readers Network and was indeed a paid spokesperson for the network. For more than a year, Ms. Harris worked on the actual "hotline" before appearing in any of the company's commercials.
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| Miss Cleo has been researched by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Bob Steiner, CSICOP Fellow and magician, has observed that her techniques and methodology were at best questionable.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.csicop.org/list/listarchive/msg00325.html | title=Miss Cleo Watch | publisher=Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal |date= 19 Feb 2002 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2006-11-18}}</ref>
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| ===Personal life===
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| In the October 2006 issue of The Advocate magazine, Harris stated she is a lesbian.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.advocate.com/currentstory1_w_ektid36683.asp | title=Miss Cleo Comes Out | publisher=The Advocate |date= October 2006 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2006-11-18}}</ref>
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| Harris also has a son (adopted), named Billy Harris.
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| In 2003, Harris returned to her private practice as a spiritual advisor.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.wahgwaanentertainment.com/ | title=Welcome to Wahgwaan Entertainment Inc....Home of the one and only CLEO | publisher=Wahgwaan Entertainment/Miss Cleo |date= 2003 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2006-11-18}}</ref>
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| ==Legal problems==
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| Long before becoming "Ms Cleo" the psychic advsor, Harris had several run-ins with the law.<ref name="seattle" /> In 1999, lawsuits against Harris and her promoters concerning the psychic network were filed.<ref>[http://www.slate.com/?id=2063700 The lawsuits pile up for Miss Cleo]</ref> In 2002, the FTC Charged Harris' promoters, Steven Feder and Peter Stotz, with deceptive advertising, billing and collection practices, though Harris was not indicted. <ref>[http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/02/accessresource.htm FTC Charges "Miss Cleo" Promoters with Deceptive Advertising, Billing and Collection Practices]</ref> Her promoters agreed to settle for a fraction of the amount they took in.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_2_27/ai_98252920 | title='Miss Cleo' settles with the Federal Trade Commission - News and Comment | publisher=Skeptical Inquirer |date= March-April, 2003 | first=Kevin | last=Christopher | accessdate = 2006-11-18}}</ref>
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| In late 1999 Stephen Schwartz was in a "state of depression" and looking for answers he called Miss Cleo.<ref name="CourtTV">{{cite news | url=http://www.courttv.com/news/feature/cleo/misscleo_ctv.html | title=Seeing the future—or just dollar signs? | publisher=Court TV |date= Jan. 17, 2002 | first=Matt | last=Bean | accessdate = 2006-11-18}}</ref> After speaking to the "pyschic" who "commented on his personality and character, but offered little else in the way of a psychic reading until, disappointed, Schwartz ended the call."<ref name="CourtTV" /> He was billed full cost ($300) for the call, but sued, ultimately getting back $200.<ref name="CourtTV" />
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| The "associates" that gave psychic readings read from a script, made available by Court TV [http://www.courttv.com/news/feature/cleo/script1.html here].
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| She has had to pay fines, according to the Federal Trade Commission for deceptive business practices relating to paranormal claims.
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| ==Trivia==
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| *Miss Cleo used the catchphrases, "The cards never lie!" and "Call me now!" She often referred to her viewers as "babies," as in "Call me now, babies!"
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| *Miss Cleo has been parodied on a number of different TV shows including: ''That's So Raven''; ''Futurama''; ''Madtv;''Charmed''; ''Chappelle's Show''; ''The Man Show''; ''That's My Bush'';''Celebrity Deathmatch''; and on the ''Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' in which singer Vicki Randle imitated her. Recently, on an episode of ''The Simpsons'' about outsourcing jobs to India, the cousin of Apu answers the phone saying, "This is Queen Mama Jama!" in a fake Jamaican accent.
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| *Ja Rule imitates and mocks Miss Cleo on his album ''Pain Is Love'' in a skit called Leo. He later reprised the character he invented in this skit on an episode of MadTV.
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| *She also landed a brief voice acting job to voice a Haitian gang-leader character, [[Auntie Poulet]], in the [[Rockstar Games]] title ''[[Grand Theft Auto: Vice City]]''.
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| *Miss cleo once tried to enter the mortal kombat tournament but the shaolin monastery forbode it saying she was a phony fraud who never had experience in these tourneys even though shhe said she did
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| ==Aliases== | | ==Aliases== |
| Miss Cleo uses numerous aliases. In the past, she has gone by:<ref name="seattle" /> | | Miss Cleo uses numerous aliases. In the past, she has gone by:<ref name="seattle" /> |
