1. Introduction

John Olsen Lear (December 3, 1942 – March 29, 2022) was an influential conspiracy theorist, record-breaking pilot, and a one-time candidate for State Senate.^[1][2][3]

Unlike previous UFO conspiracy theorists, Lear promoted a story of alien collusion with secret governmental forces.^[1] Lear's tale left a lasting influence on the UFO movement -- one author observed "in the early years [UFO writers] did not, by and large, embrace strong political positions. [Lear and his partner] were the tip of a spear asserting that the number one thing we had to fear was not little green men, but the government that colluded with them, appropriating their technology against us." ^[1][2][4]

2. Early Life

John Olsen Lear was born on December 3, 1942 to industrialist and future Learjet founder Bill Lear and his wife Moya Marie Olsen Lear.^[5][6] He was named after his maternal grandfather, famous comedian John Olsen.^[5] His second and third birthday parties were covered in the "Society" page of an Ohio paper.^[7][8]

Lear graduated from the Institut Le Rosey boarding school in Switzerland and attended Wichita State University.^[9][10] Lear claimed that in 1959 he had become the youngest American to ever climb Switzerland's Matterhorn.^[11]

3. Career

In 1965, Lear was employed by the Paul Kelly Flying Service when its founder was killed while piloting a LearJet. Lear testified at the Civil Aeronautics Board investigation into the crash.^[12]

Between May 23 and 26, 1966, Lear and a crewmate flew a record-breaking flight around the world in a LearJet that covered 22,000 miles in 50 hours and 39 minutes.^[13]

In August 1966, Lear was featured in the Wichita Press after he piloted a LearJet carrying the rock band The Byrds and the trip inspired them to write a song about the plane.^[14] The track, titled "2-4-2 Foxtrot (The Lear Jet Song)", samples Lear's voice as he speaks over the radio.^[14][15]

In 1968, Air Force personnel from Hamilton Air Force Base launched a rescue effort to help Lear land after heavy San Francisco fog interfered with landing. Traffic was cleared from the Golden Gate Bridge in anticipation of a forced landing. After a helicopter pilot established visual contact, Lear was able to successfully land at the base.^[16]

Lear flew cargo planes for the CIA during the Vietnam era.^[17] He claimed to have flown "secret missions for the CIA" between 1967 and 1983.^[18]

4. UFO Claims

In 1987, Lear released a press statement claiming that the US government has close contacts with extraterrestrials and were secretly "promoting" films like E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind to influence the public to see extraterrestrials as "space brothers".^[19] That year, he was interviewed by journalist George Knapp.^[20]

In 1989, Lear served as "State Director" for MUFON, hosting the 1989 symposium "The UFO Cover-Up: A Government Conspiracy?"^[2] Despite initial objections from MUFON founder Walt Andrus, Lear was able to submit a slate of speakers after he threatened to split the symposium. ^[2] At that same symposium, Roswell author Bill Moore tearfully confessed to having intentionally spread disinformation to UFO researcher Paul Bennewitz on behalf of purported counter-intelligence agent Richard Doty. ^[2] Lear's speakers were slated to provide allegedly-independent verification of the Bennewitz claims. ^[2] One of those speakers, Bill Cooper, would later break with Lear after accusing him of being an intelligence agent.^[1] Lear promoted alleged UFO whistle-blower Bob Lazar and his tales of Area 51.^[17]

Lear made multiple appearances on fringe TV shows, including Ancient Aliens, America's Book of Secrets,Brad Meltzer's Decoded, and The Unexplained Files. ^[21] From 2003 to 2015, Lear was a regular guest on Coast to Coast AM.^[22]

5. Personal Life and Death

In 1970, Lear married Marilee Higginbotham, owner of a California fashion modelling agency, at a ceremony in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.^[9]

Lear died on March 29, 2022.^[17][23]