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RIP Budd Hopkins and Stuart Miller

Double-dose of sad news today – the passing of not one, but two well-known identities in the ‘alien’ research field. Firstly, well-known ‘alien abduction’ researcher Budd Hopkins has passed away, aged 80:

I’m very sad to announce that Budd Hopkins died today, August 21, at 1:35 pm. Budd had been under hospice care for about three weeks, at his home in New York. The combination of liver cancer and pneumonia led to his death. His daughter Grace Hopkins-Lisle and I were with him almost continuously during these past weeks. He was not in any pain throughout any of the process, and he received the best possible care and loving support from those closest to him. Today he gradually slipped away, and simply quietly stopped breathing. He died peacefully and without any struggle, with Grace, Grace’s husband Andrew, and me by his side.

Thanks to all of you for being such strong supporters of this extraordinary man, who has contributed so much to our lives, in so many different ways.

Leslie Kean

Along with the late John Mack, Budd Hopkins was among the best-known researchers in the ‘abduction’ field, having been one of the pioneers in the research of these strange experiences, beginning back in the 1970s. In the past year his methods and theories had come under heavy attack from his ex-wife Carol Rainey, though friends were quick to come to his defence: Fortean author and researcher Jerry Clark described Hopkins as “a kind and compassionate man”, who was one of the first to be “moved by the suffering of abductees, shunned and ridiculed by others to whom they recounted their experiences… Just by listening to them and respecting their testimony, Budd did them a service.” For a sense of who the man was, and where his research was leading him, have a listen to this Binnall of America podcast interview with him from 2009.

The other bad news filtering out over the weekend was that British UFO researcher, writer and publisher Stuart Miller had died in a motorcycle accident. Stuart MillerStuart did a great job covering all angles of ufology in his online magazine UFO Review, and later in his (sadly short-lived) print publication Alien Worlds. Nick Redfern has posted his thoughts on Stuart’s passing, and Paul Kimball has a nice write-up of his personal experience with Stuart over at his blog, describing him as “one of the truly good guys in ufology…a genuinely good man, full of joie de vivre, wit, humour, and a true spirit of adventure and humanity. He will be missed by all who were lucky enough to know him.”

Stuart’s passing is a real tragedy, and our thoughts go out to his family at this difficult time.

Editor
  1. Sad news
    This is certainly sad news.

    Budd Hopkins seemed like a genuinely nice bloke, although perhaps came across as a little gullible and was quite a soft target for those of the sceptical persuasion. 80 is a pretty good innings though.

    Hearing about Stuart Miller has really rocked me. I loved his UFO review, well written and well reasoned, he was certainly no tinfoil-hat-crackpot, and I always thought that it was a shame there weren’t more people approaching the subject with the kind of grounded and sensible approach that he did. I remember being disappointed for him when I heard his Alien Worlds magazine didn’t pan out, now I just can’t imagine what it must be like for his family at this time. My thoughts and condolences are with them all.

  2. Farewell Budd
    Budd will be remembered as a true visionary, in the sense that he was the first daring to consider there was something worth investigating behind the claims of interaction with an unknown by regular individuals. Interactions that didn’t happen in some remote desert or isolated highway, but in the their own bedrooms. You read the testimonies of the people who knew him and you realize this was a person who did what he did because he cared about the persons who came to him seeking help; a help that was not offered by any government institution or medical organization.

    In all likelihood Budd was not sufficiently prepared to assist these desperate individuals —and like most of us he couldn’t refrain from coloring his conclusions with his own bias.

    But it was his door the one they always found open.

    Descanse en Paz.

  3. RIP
    Maybe not the time to pontificate about this – but struck by the obituary being written by Leslie Kean. Didn’t know they were close. She represents the sober view of the UFO phenomenon, while Budd Hopkins represents the further out. I imagine Kean does privately believe in the ET hypothesis, while not advocating it outwardly – which is smart, really.

    Anyway, RIP. His recent memoir was one of the best things I’ve read in the past couple of years.

    1. Kean and Budd
      From what I’ve read and heard over the years, Budd was Leslie’s mentor. Yes she decided to have a more sober and cautious approach to the subject than him when it came to trying to discern the general outline of the phenomenon, but she seems to have remained close to his inner circle in the Intruder’s foundation.

      Another important researcher who had Budd as a mentor is Peter Robbins, and he too shows a more centered focus to the subject, but Peter always supported Bud and defended him throughout the years.

      Leslie and Peter are just two small examples of the huge impact Budd had on the field through all these years —whether we agreed with him or not, he was always at the forefront.

  4. Budd Hopkins
    When someone passes on, it’s deeply sorrowing for family, friends, and colleagues experiencing the loss of a cherished soul who touched and influenced their lives. My profound condolences go out to all who personally knew and loved Budd Hopkins.

    I would never want to diminish the loss of someone who meant so much to so many. But, paradoxically, I feel that any serious study of the UFO phenomenon will ultimately benefit from the diminished distraction of the alien abduction sideshow now that the other of its superstars has passed.

    Alien abduction seems a far too pat and easy explanation for the phenomenon of missing time. The true explanation(s) likely involve the labyrinth of the human psyche as well as brain chemistry and function and their disruption from interaction with an as yet undiscovered or unacknowledged natural force.

    Budd Hopkins seemed to be a kindly and caring (albeit, often misguided) man who was also a gifted visual artist (a fact about him that keeps being downplayed or forgotten). His contributions to culture and society were greater than just hypnotic regressions of alleged alien abductees. I suspect his talent as an artist will be his true legacy to the future.

    1. Alien abductions and Missing Time
      The human psyche and brain chemistry cannot produce the kind of consistent reports that are being received by individuals from around the world who claim to have been abducted by Extraterrestrial Biological Entities.

      The lack of reasoning that permeates among the skeptics is totally amazing to me.

      Budd Hopkins paved the way, along with Leo Sprinkle, John Carpenter, David Jacobs and John Mack…for serious research into the central core of the UFO phenomena.

      Budd will be remembered by many, including those who have known the truth about the reality of UFOs and their occupants, such as myself.

      Once you’ve become an eyewitness to these things, you cannot simply go back into the box and hide there…or bury your head in the sand like an ostrich just because you’re afraid of the truth.

      Anyone wanting to know the simple facts about UFOs and related matters can go and log on to my website: http://www.noufors.com

      Those who aren’t willing to face the facts because their minds are already made up…will simply continue to ridicule those who have seen and experienced these phenomena.

      1. from the Mindful-Anarchy-Dept.
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjLBXb1kgMo

        We all have our authorites that we believe in, our favourite models through which we live in the world. Some may really enjoy Jacques Valle, others may have a Yen for Stan Friedman, etc etc.

        Who knows, perhaps our “minds” “contain” flora & fauna in unknown quantities? Or perhaps Biocentrism is ‘the truth’.

        Myself, I think that life is exactly like the more-than-5 simultaneously truthful interpretations of Quantum Mechanics. So I can choose which model to “believe” in at one time and see what happens…

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