Dr. Elliott Haimoff has certainly researched the Gagarin story thoroughly. As reported back in 2002 in RealScreen magazine, in 1998 Haimoff worked on one of his first docs about the rise and fall of the Soviet space program, and then he had no idea his research would belie the existing historical record.
Global Science Productions spent fifteen years, traveled to six countries around the world, and at a cost of well over $1,000,000, verifying the accuracy of those documents and storylines. Haimoff, who has a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Cambridge in England, and worked as a research biologist at UCLA, managed to track down the highly-decorated distinguished cosmonaut, General Vladimir Ilyushin, still living in Russia. Haimoff also learned that the U.S. Government had recorded evidence of the flight, which was never released and is still to this day considered "Top Secret." Haimoff confronted the U.S. National Security Agency, but it claimed the documents were still too sensitive and refused to hand them over. Undeterred, Haimoff challenged the government in court and eventually brought to light strong evidence that Gagarin was not the first man in space.
From Day One, Dr. Haimoff was determined to sign the 'Capricorn One' star to this project, believing Gould to be the perfect tie-in to this documentary's surprising premise. For the last 20 years, Haimoff has produced over 200 award-winning, top-quality space, science, and historical TV documentaries and news segments. After a two-year stint working as a producer at the Los Angeles PBS station KCET on a science TV series that won two L.A.-area Emmys, he formed his own production company, Global Science Productions back in 1990. In a classic style of pulling together the best people possible for "Fallen Idol: The Yuri Gagarin Conspiracy," Haimoff brought together a dream-team of heavy-hitters for this history-changing program. The impressive list of on-camera subjects and participants include: Dr. Sergei Khrushchev, son of the former cold war-era Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev; the late Dennis Ogden, Moscow Correspondent for the London-based communist newspaper, The Daily Worker, who first broke the story of a suspect space mission before Gagarin; Colonel Yuri Lyzlov, a member of the Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces for 25 years who personally knew Gagarin; Racheal Seymour, a former CIA political analyst in the Russian/Asian division, who decided to come forward; along with other top Soviet experts and military historians.
Indican Pictures
