Brad Steiger

Brad Steiger
Born	Eugene E. Olson (1936-02-19) February 19, 1936 Fort Dodge, Iowa, U.S.
Died	Mason City, Iowa, U.S.
Occupation	Author
Nationality	American
Education	Luther College (Iowa) University of Iowa
Genre	Paranormal
Years active	1956–2018
Spouse	Sherry Hansen Steiger (1987-2018)

Brad Steiger (February 19, 1936 - May 6, 2018) was an American author of fiction and non-fiction works on the paranormal, spirituality, UFOs, true crime, and biographies. Steiger's books sold well to the public, but were criticized by mainstream academics.

Biography

Steiger was born as Eugene E. Olson on 19 February 1936 at the Fort Dodge Lutheran Hospital during a blizzard. He grew up on a farm in Bode, Iowa. He identified as Lutheran until the age of eleven, when a near-death experience changed his religious beliefs. His parents encouraged him to become a teacher. He graduated from Luther College (Iowa) in 1957 and the University of Iowa in 1963. He taught high school English before teaching Literature and Creative Writing at his former college from 1963 to 1967.

Steiger claimed to have written his first book at age seven. His first book, Ghosts, Ghouls and Other Peculiar People was published in 1965. He became a full-time writer by 1967. He has authored/co-authored almost 170 books, which have sold 17 million copies. He wrote biographies on Greta Garbo, Judy Garland, and Rudolph Valentino, the latter of which was adapted as a film in 1977. With his wife Sherry Hansen Steiger, he is the author of Four-legged Miracles: Heartwarming Tales of Lost Dogs' Journeys Home.

Steiger appeared as a radio guest on Coast to Coast AM and the Jeff Rense Program.

Steiger wrote that he believed Atlantis was a real place. In his book Atlantis Rising he argued that Atlantis was the home of an all-powerful civilization with sophisticated technological achievement. He also declared the tracks at Paluxy River to be evidence for an ancient civilization of giant humans.

He was a proponent of the ancient astronaut hypothesis. Steiger stated that many humans descend from alien beings. He referred to these beings as "star people".

Marriage, family, and death

Steiger was married to Sherry Hansen Steiger, an author and minister, from 1987 until his death in 2018. They have five children and nine grandchildren. He died on May 6, 2018 at the age of 82.

Awards

• 1974: San Francisco, the Genie, for Metaphysical Writer of the Year
• 1977: Philadelphia, the Dani, for Services to Humanity
• 1987: Inducted into the Hypnosis Hall of Fame
• 1996: Minneapolis, Lifetime Achievement Award at the National UFO and Unexplained Phenomena Conference

External links

• Brad and Sherry