Sam Mullins

If it was the right time or the right place for you, and you remained on stage, he'd turn to face you and begin the induction. He'd ask you to look into the stage lights, to slow your breathing, to focus on his words and his words alone. And he has you.

If it was the right time or the right place for you, and you remained on stage, he'd turn to face you and begin the induction. He'd ask you to look into the stage lights, to slow your breathing, to focus on his words and his words alone. And he has you.

You hand over the keys to your whole being as his voice becomes your world, disconnecting you from reality as he brings you to a new place. Suddenly, you're a child. You're a dancer.

You hand over the keys to your whole being as his voice becomes your world, disconnecting you from reality as he brings you to a new place. Suddenly, you're a child. You're a dancer.

Now you're hot, unbearably hot. Now you're cold. You do anything he asks you to do for as long as he asks, until he's done with you.

Now you're hot, unbearably hot. Now you're cold. You do anything he asks you to do for as long as he asks, until he's done with you.

The ability to capture a stage and an audience on your own is something I've studied and sought after for most of my life. I'm a solo performer myself, and the difference between people who can capture an audience and those who can't is a strange X factor. There's no recipe for it, but performers are constantly trying to bottle it, and you know it when you see it.

The ability to capture a stage and an audience on your own is something I've studied and sought after for most of my life. I'm a solo performer myself, and the difference between people who can capture an audience and those who can't is a strange X factor. There's no recipe for it, but performers are constantly trying to bottle it, and you know it when you see it.

The first time I picked up a photo of Dante on stage in his prime, immediately, unmistakably, I could see it. His stage presence. In any image of Dante, at any stage in his life, his star power leaps off the page.

The first time I picked up a photo of Dante on stage in his prime, immediately, unmistakably, I could see it. His stage presence. In any image of Dante, at any stage in his life, his star power leaps off the page.

Like this one image of Dante holding a mic stand like he's Elvis, staring into the middle distance, eyes wild, possessed, as a row of subjects in their 1960s horn rims slump toward each other in the depths of hypnosis. I first learned about Dante from a filmmaker named Bradley Beasley, who spent a lot of time with Dante and conducted several of the interviews you'll hear in this series.

Like this one image of Dante holding a mic stand like he's Elvis, staring into the middle distance, eyes wild, possessed, as a row of subjects in their 1960s horn rims slump toward each other in the depths of hypnosis. I first learned about Dante from a filmmaker named Bradley Beasley, who spent a lot of time with Dante and conducted several of the interviews you'll hear in this series.

And once I dug in, like Bradley and so many people before me, I was captivated, consumed by a simple question. Who is this guy? As I spent the past year combing through everything I could find about him, what became abundantly clear is that Ronald Dante, more than anyone I've ever seen or heard of, understood human desire.

And once I dug in, like Bradley and so many people before me, I was captivated, consumed by a simple question. Who is this guy? As I spent the past year combing through everything I could find about him, what became abundantly clear is that Ronald Dante, more than anyone I've ever seen or heard of, understood human desire.

He could spot what people wanted, what their dreams were, from a glance, from a tick, from the shortest of conversations. He would stand there always ready to swoop in and be the person, or at least seem like the person, who could make your dreams a reality. The skills that made Dante a great hypnotist were the same skills Dante would use in his other career too, as a con man.

He could spot what people wanted, what their dreams were, from a glance, from a tick, from the shortest of conversations. He would stand there always ready to swoop in and be the person, or at least seem like the person, who could make your dreams a reality. The skills that made Dante a great hypnotist were the same skills Dante would use in his other career too, as a con man.

His ability to read people, be charismatic, have poise under pressure. He honed these skills in the nightclubs and used them to climb to the top tier of a strange and impressive series of industries. Tracking the many incarnations of Dante will take us through yacht clubs, the Ivy Leagues, the courtroom dramas, trailer parks, theme parks, and prison cells.

His ability to read people, be charismatic, have poise under pressure. He honed these skills in the nightclubs and used them to climb to the top tier of a strange and impressive series of industries. Tracking the many incarnations of Dante will take us through yacht clubs, the Ivy Leagues, the courtroom dramas, trailer parks, theme parks, and prison cells.

But before he would ascend to the dizzying heights of Hollywood, the cutting edge of the beauty industry, and the top tier of academia, before he would prove to be one of the most dynamic con men in American history, first he needed a ticket to the game. A ticket he would buy one night in Hollywood when he walked into a club, approached one of the most famous women in the world, and made her his.

But before he would ascend to the dizzying heights of Hollywood, the cutting edge of the beauty industry, and the top tier of academia, before he would prove to be one of the most dynamic con men in American history, first he needed a ticket to the game. A ticket he would buy one night in Hollywood when he walked into a club, approached one of the most famous women in the world, and made her his.