Editing Fred Crisman (section)

==Legacy==
From 1976 to 1985,  conspiracy author [[Richard E. Sprague]]'s fringe book ''The Taking of America 1-2-3'' named Crisman as a grassy knoll shooter.<ref>{{cite book | last=Sprague | first=R.E. | title=The Taking of America, 1-2-3 | publisher=Richard Sprague | year=1976 | url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=03a67c4d40918fc7e30425e994c819c4190900cb|via=psu.edu | page=}}</ref>

In 1977, controversial district attorney Jim Garrison claimed that Crisman was one of the "Three Tramps" arrested by Dallas police as well as being a Bishop of the Universal Life Church. Garrison theorized:
<blockquote> "I suggest the only reasonable conclusion is that he [Crisman] was (and probably is, if still around), an operative at a deep cover level in a long-range, clandestine, intelligence mission directly (in terms of our national intelligence paranoia) related to maintaining national security... Crisman emerges as an operative at a supervisory level ... acquired by the apparatus to carry out the menial jobs that are needed to push a current mission forward, a middle man—in the final analysis—between the mechanics who eliminate, and the handy men, who otherwise support a termination mission, on one hand, and the distant, far removed, deep submerged command level on the other."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.onthetrailofdelusion.com/post/jim-garrison-s-memo-to-the-hsca-regarding-fred-crisman-and-thomas-beckham-part-one |title=Jim Garrison's Memo to the HSCA regarding Fred Crisman and Thomas Beckham, part one |date=13 January 2021|access-date = 4 May 2021|archive-date = 4 May 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210504233551/https://www.onthetrailofdelusion.com/post/jim-garrison-s-memo-to-the-hsca-regarding-fred-crisman-and-thomas-beckham-part-one|url-status = live}}</ref></blockquote>

In 1979, the [[House Select Committee on Assassinations]] reported that forensic anthropologists had analyzed and compared the photographs of the "[[three tramps]]" with those of Crisman, as well as with photographs of [[Watergate scandal|Watergate]] figures [[E. Howard Hunt]], [[Frank Sturgis]], and two other men.<ref name="HCSA-IB">{{cite book |title=Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/ |year=1979 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=91–92 |chapter=I.B. |chapter-url=https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/part-1b.html |ref={{harvid|Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives, Chapter I, Section B|1979}} |access-date=August 28, 2017 |archive-date=April 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200403232215/https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the Committee, only Crisman resembled any of the tramps; but the same Committee determined that he was not in Dealey Plaza on the day of the assassination.<ref name="HCSA-IB"/>

A document called ''The Easy Papers'' was circulated for decades among conspiracy researchers;  The document, bearing the date September 13, 1969, purported to be a service record of Crisman's time as an OSS and later CIA agent.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A-RJFs5Nq5sC&pg=PA49 | title=Cyberculture Counterconspiracy: A Steamshovel Web Reader | isbn=9781585091256 | last1=Thomas | first1=Kenn | year=1999 | publisher=Book Tree }}</ref>

In 1997, influential conspiracy author [[Jim Marrs]]  cited the document as proof that Crisman had been a member of the [[Office of Strategic Services|OSS]] during World War 2; Marrs was criticized for relying on the untrustworthy document.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Marrs |first1=Jim |title=Alien Agenda |date=1997 |page=86 |publisher=HarperCollinsPublishers |isbn=9780060186425 |url=https://archive.org/details/alienagendainves00marr|quote=According to CIA files, Crisman too was a member of the OSS during World War II, serving as a liaison officer with the British Royal Air Force. At the end of the war, Crisman, supposedly discharged from the military, entered a special OSS Internal Security School and was quietly transferred to the newly formed CIA, where he operated as an "extended agent," primarily as an internal security specialist in "dis- ruption" activities. The files show Crisman was involved in a highly classified subsection of Internal Security known as lSece, Easy Sec- tion, a disruption planning unit whose very existence was denied by the CIA. The CIA documents detailed Crisman's activities over the years — including secret reports to the agency on military officers dur- ing the Korean War and company officials while working for Boeing in Seattle — but contained no mention of the Maury Island affair}}</ref>  In 1999,  conspiracy author [[Kenn Thomas]]'s book on the Maury Island incident carried the subtitle ''The Crisman Conspiracy''.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WUoEAAAACAAJ | title=Maury Island UFO: The Crisman Conspiracy | isbn=9781881532194 | last1=Thomas | first1=Kenn | year=1999 | publisher=IllumiNet Press }}</ref>  Conspiracy figure [[Michael Riconosciuto]] claims he knew Fred Crisman since Riconosciuto was a child.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BaSVMKVnE44C&pg=PA220 | title=The Octopus: Secret Government and the Death of Danny Casolaro | isbn=978-0-922915-91-0 | last1=Thomas | first1=Kenn | last2=Keith | first2=Jim | date=2004 | publisher=Feral House }}</ref>

===Animated comedy===
'''''Fred Crisman:  Cave of the Space Nazis''''' is a 2022 animated comedy film based on the tales of Fred Crisman<!--, a 20th-century eccentric who claimed to have fought inhuman monsters in subterranean caverns in the 1940s-->.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Edmiston |first1=Steve |title=When is a Hoax not a Hoax? |journal=Fate Magazine |date=May 21, 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Poster_for_Fred_Crisman_-_Cave_of_the_Space_Nazis_(2022).jpeg|thumb|right|Poster for the "Fred Crisman:  Cave of the Space Nazis']]
;Synopsis
The film begins with the disclaimer:  "The following events are ''apparently'' true, based on the many claims of Fred Lee Crisman.  Technically, we can't prove this didn't happen."

The first scene sees Fred Crisman broadcasting from Tacoma radio station [[KSUH|KAYE]].  Crisman tells listeners he was not involved with the [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|Kennedy assassination]], saying "I could never have performed such a stunt...", before slyly adding "alone".  Crisman claims he  has protected the Earth from aliens, saying to doubters "If you don't believe that I protected this world from egregious extraterrestrials, then I simply ask you:  Where are they?  I don't see any aliens here.  You're welcome!"

In flashback to 1946,  the film introduces [[Raymond A. Palmer|Raymond Palmer]], the editor of [[Amazing Stories|Unbelievable Tales Magazine]], as Crisman recounts an adventurous story of being shot down over the [[Bay of Bengal]] during the Second World War.  Making his way to [[Cheduba Island]], Crisman seeks shelter in a cave, where he discovers the dead bodies of soldiers.  Venturing further into the cave,  Crisman discovered the cave is inhabited by the Deros, evil monsters who believe themselves to be the true superior race of the Earth.   When Crisman witnesses the Deros torture a victim, he pulls out a pistol, firing it while screaming "Die, you Space Nazi Monsters!".

Crisman is wounded in the firefight, receiving a scar on his shoulder (Palmer notes that medical records indicate scar was present when Crisman first enlisted, but Crisman dismisses this as a Deros forgery).  Killing many of the enemy, Crisman escapes and lives to tell the tale.

;Cast
* Brock Baker as [[Richard Shaver]]
* [[Pat Cashman]] as Fred Crisman
* Gabriella Castro	as Radio Jingle Singer
* Alec Crisman as Radio Announcer
* Meghan Nigrelli as The Computer
* Hellbent as Dero Victim
* Bryan Shickley as [[Richard Sharpe Shaver#The Shaver Mystery|The Deros]]
* Nathaniel Williams as [[Raymond A. Palmer|Raymond Palmer]]

;Reception

Promotional material described the film emerging after "a group of talented folks asked the question 'Why hasn't Fred Crisman had a movie yet?'"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fredcrisman.com/|title=Fred Crisman ChroniclesRED |website=fredcrisman.com}}</ref>

The film premiered on August 4, 2022, at [[Gen Con]] Film Festival, where it garnered the award for Best Comedy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gencon.com/gen-con-indy/film-festival|title=Gen Con &#124; Gen Con Film Festival|website=www.gencon.com}}</ref><ref name="GenConWin"/>
Director Bryan Shickley told reporters: "I love the utter outrageousness that is Fred Lee Crisman, and no matter how you feel about his claims, you just can't come away from spending time with Crisman without forming strong feelings about him."<ref name="GenConWin">{{Cite web|url=https://b-townblog.com/local-film-fred-crisman-cave-of-the-space-nazis-wins-best-comedy-at-gen-con-film-festival/|title=Local film 'Fred Crisman: Cave of the Space Nazis!' wins Best Comedy at Gen Con Film Festival|first=Scott|last=Schaefer|date=August 10, 2022|website=The B-Town (Burien) Blog}}</ref>

The film was an official selection of the Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://watch.brooklynscififilmfest.com/videos/fred-crisman-cave-of-the-space-nazis|title=Fred Crisman: Cave of the Space Nazis!|website=watch.brooklynscififilmfest.com|access-date=March 21, 2023|archive-date=March 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320040513/https://watch.brooklynscififilmfest.com/videos/fred-crisman-cave-of-the-space-nazis|url-status=dead}}</ref>