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For more than 30 years, John Kiesewetter has been the source for information about all things in local media — comings and goings, local people appearing on the big or small screen, special programs, and much more. Contact John at johnkiese@yahoo.com.

Comedian Gary Owen Seeks Out 'The Healer'

HBO/Mathieu Young
Gary Owen

Chronic knee pain sends comedian Gary Owen from Liberty Township to "The Healer" Monday on TLC.

Owen, who was born in Cincinnati and grew up in a trailer near Oxford, appears in the season finale of "The Healer" (10 p.m. Monday Dec. 11, TLC) starring Australian energy healer Charlie Goldsmith.

"While his jokes have earned him the title of 'Funniest Serviceman in America,' Gary experiences chronic knee pain from a botched surgery and finds it hard to walk at a normal pace. He calls on Charlie after traditional medical practices and physical therapy failed to ease his pain," says publicity for the six-episode TLC series.

Credit TLC
Gary Owen with Charlie Goldsmith on "The Healer" episode Dec. 11.

"The Healer" shows Goldsmith, 37, giving relief to people who have not found remedies from traditional medical practices.  Before filming the series, Goldsmith had worked with actors Eric Roberts ("The Dark Knight") and Gerard Butler ("London Has Fallen"), model Miranda Kerr and other celebrities.

"I have a gift that's able to heal people. When I focus my energy on someone's issue, often the state of that issue will rapidly change," Goldsmith says on the TLC trailer. "It's not a fraud. Just give me a second of your time, and I will show you it's not."

https://youtu.be/2avGjsmVKhA","_id":"0000017a-3b4d-d913-abfe-bf4d903a0000","_type":"035d81d3-5be2-3ed2-bc8a-6da208e0d9e2"}">https://youtu.be/2avGjsmVKhA">https://youtu.be/2avGjsmVKhA","_id":"0000017a-3b4d-d913-abfe-bf4d903a0000","_type":"035d81d3-5be2-3ed2-bc8a-6da208e0d9e2"}">https://youtu.be/2avGjsmVKhA

Credit HBO/Mathieu Young
A publicity photo from Owen's HBO special.

Owen, 43, enlisted in the U.S. Navy after attending Talawanda High School. He began doing stand-up comedy while serving as a military police officer in San Diego, and was named the "Funniest Serviceman in America." He made his TV debut in 1992 on "BET's Comicview."

His creditsinclude "Think Like A Man" and "Think Like A Man Too," plus "Ride Along," "House of Payne," "Daddy Day Care," "Meet The Blacks," "Littleman," many cable TV comedy concerts and hosting TruTV's "Upload" sketch show with  Shaquille O’Neal.

John Kiesewetter, who has covered television and media for more than 35 years, has been working for Cincinnati Public Radio and WVXU-FM since 2015.