Nelson Papucci served one term as a Republican in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1995-1998 during a period when simply calling Republicans the “minority Party” would be an understatement.
His single term in the Legislature appears to have been relatively uneventful, except for one bizarre incident in which controversial emails were sent under his name. According to the Associated Press, Papucci claimed at the time that his political enemies fraudulently sent the emails.
That’s exactly the kind of thing that Papucci says he doesn’t miss about politics now that he’s in a new line of work — comedian hypnotist.
“Nello, the Great and Powerful,” as he is now known, travels the country performing family-friendly comedy routines that feature volunteers being hypnotized on stage and compelled to follow Papucci’s commands.
In one clip, Papucci convinces a hypnotized woman that she’s the first female President of the United States and must identify from a group of other hypnotized individuals three “lizard people” who are a threat to our civilization. He makes another woman speak an alien language. He makes several hypnotized individuals laugh uncontrollably any time they’re spoken to.
In another clip from a high school fundraiser, Papucci’s presumably hypnotized subjects believe they are freezing in a car. Another teenage subject believes she’s 85 years old. Another subject can’t speak because Papucci has him believing that his tongue will fall out of his mouth.
Yellowhammer caught up with Papucci this morning to find out how he went from the House of Representatives to the stage.
“I’ve done a lot since the 90s,” Papucci said. “I was a real estate broker. I was a math and science teacher and some other things. But I got into hypnosis and the entertainment business about a year ago. I trained under a gentleman who’s hypnotized a million people internationally. I learned the craft. You can’t just sign up at a college to learn this. You’ve got to learn on your own and get hands-on experience. I was fascinated by it.”
Papucci said he first considered the idea of becoming a hypnotist on a trip to the place where all good ideas originate — Las Vegas.
“The first time I ever learned about it was in Vegas,” he explained. “We went to a hypnosis show and it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen. That’s when I knew I wanted to pursue this further. Those shows are adult-themed, though. Mine are family-friendly.”
Since then, Papucci said he’s also found that hypnosis can do more than make people laugh.
“I’ve realized that it can not only be used for entertainment but also lifestyle changes,” he said. “It can help people sleep better, quit smoking, lose weight… there’s a lot more you can do with it. I’m able to do that and help people now. So it’s been a fascinating journey.”
Yellowhammer asked Papucci if there’s ever a moment when he misses politics. He didn’t even have to think about his answer.
“I’m so glad to be done with it,” he exclaimed. “I have absolutely no desire to get back involved again other than to cast a vote every couple of years. I met some good people while I was working in politics, but boy I met some not-so-good people, too. I’m glad to have a chance to live…” He hesitated for a moment before concluding, “Well, I was going to say a ‘normal life.’ But I’m not sure you could call my life normal.”
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