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David Michael Rorvik (born 1943) is an American
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
and
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
who was the author of the 1978 book ''In his Image: The Cloning of a Man'' in which he claimed to have been part of a successful endeavor to create a clone of a human being. The book is widely considered to be a
hoax A hoax (plural: hoaxes) is a widely publicised falsehood created to deceive its audience with false and often astonishing information, with the either malicious or humorous intent of causing shock and interest in as many people as possible. S ...
.


Biography

Rorvik was born in
Circle, Montana Circle is a town in and the county seat of McCone County, Montana, United States. The population was 591 at the 2020 census. The community was so named because a rancher there branded his cattle with the image of a circle. History After arrivi ...
. He graduated with a
B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...
from the University of Montana in 1966 and a
M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...
''
summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
'' from the
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sch ...
in 1967. He worked as a science writer and a medical reporter for ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' and contributed articles to numerous publications, including ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', and wrote several books. In a 1969 magazine article, Rorvik outlined the Shettles Method to influence the sex of a child. Two years later, he and Landrum B. Shettles co-authored the bestselling book ''Your Baby's Sex: Now You Can Choose''. In 1976, Rorvik was awarded an
Alicia Patterson Foundation The Alicia Patterson Foundation (APF) program was established in 1965 in memory of Alicia Patterson, who was the editor and publisher of ''Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk c ...
Fellowship for investigatory reporting on the politics of cancer research worldwide. Some of his findings from this investigation were reported on in Harper's Magazine, the Washington Post and other publications. Earlier in his career, he was the recipient of a Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship for investigation of the effects of apartheid politics in Africa on press freedoms.


''In his Image''

In ''In his Image'', Rorvik claimed that in 1973 a wealthy businessman he dubbed "Max" had contacted him and recruited him to find scientists willing to create a clone of him. Rorvik claims to have formed a scientific team that was taken to a lab at a secret location. After a few years of experimentation they managed to implant a specially prepared body
cell nucleus The cell nucleus (; : nuclei) is a membrane-bound organelle found in eukaryote, eukaryotic cell (biology), cells. Eukaryotic cells usually have a single nucleus, but a few cell types, such as mammalian red blood cells, have #Anucleated_cells, ...
into the cytoplast of a human
ovum The egg cell or ovum (: ova) is the female reproductive cell, or gamete, in most anisogamous organisms (organisms that reproduce sexually with a larger, female gamete and a smaller, male one). The term is used when the female gamete is not capa ...
(a technique known as
somatic cell nuclear transfer In genetics and developmental biology, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a laboratory strategy for creating a viable embryo from a body cell and an egg cell. The technique consists of taking a denucleated oocyte (egg cell) and implanti ...
) and, in turn, succeeded in implanting this egg into the
uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the hollow organ, organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic development, embryonic and prenatal development, f ...
of a surrogate mother, a local resident called "Sparrow." A healthy child, it was claimed, was born nine months later. He stated in the book that he was able to tell the story only on the condition that he safeguard the identities of all involved and cautioned his readers that the book did not provide proof that the cloning had occurred, although he stated he was convinced that it had. Before the book was published, the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' learned of the story and made it front-page news on March 3, 1978. Soon after,
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
's
Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American author and retired network television journalist. He first served as the co-anchor of Today (American TV program), ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anch ...
interviewed Rorvik on ''
The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...
''. The book was very popular and caused much discussion about the
ethics of cloning In bioethics, the ethics of cloning concerns the ethical positions on the practice and possibilities of cloning, especially human cloning, of humans. While many of these views are religious in origin, some of the questions raised are faced by secul ...
. However, scientists including
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
professor
Clement Markert Clement Lawrence Markert (April 11, 1917 – October 1, 1999) was an American biologist credited with the discovery of isozymes (different forms of enzymes that catalyze the same reaction). He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences ...
generally disbelieved Rorvik's claims. Efforts to clone mammals had not been undertaken at that time and it was widely assumed that there would be enormous obstacles to achieving successful mammalian cloning. British scientist Derek Bromhall filed a $7,000,000 defamation suit against Rorvik's publisher, J. B. Lippincott, alleging that the book was a hoax, that it incorporated parts of his
doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...
as the theoretical basis for the cloning process, and that it had used his name without permission. When Rorvik refused to reveal the identity of "Max" or provide proof of the existence of the clone, judge John Fullam found that the book was a "fraud and a hoax" in a pretrial ruling. The case went to trial in 1982, with the charges being reduced to invasion of privacy. The publisher soon entered into an out-of-court settlement that included a payment of $100,000 and a public representation that the book was a hoax. No evidence, however, was presented in pre-trial proceedings, during the trial, or thereafter that established either the truthfulness or the falsity of the book. Rorvik himself denied that there had been any hoax, and refused either to be party to the out-of-court settlement or to contribute to it financially. He wrote an article defending ''In his Image'' for '' Omni'' in 1980. Rorvik has since written, ghost-written, edited and agented several books on diet and nutrition, psychology and other topics, including the ''Physician Desk Reference for Nutritional Supplements'' (2001). In 2006, a sixth edition of ''Your Baby's Sex: Now You Can Choose'' was published, marking nearly 40 years of continuous print.


References


External links

* *
"The Cloning of a Man"
at Museum of Hoaxes (hoaxes.org) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rorvik, David 1944 births Literary forgeries Living people Writers from Montana University of Montana alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Time (magazine) people People from McCone County, Montana American male writers