James Edmondson, Sr. (June 10, 1910 – January 29, 1976), also known as Professor Backwards, was a vaudevillian/comedian who appeared on TV from the 1950s to the early 1970s, most notably on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Dean Martin Show and The Mike Douglas Show, where he appeared more times than any other guest. In addition to traditional stand-up comedy, Edmondson's act featured his ability to write in script that was upside down and/or backwards, spell and pronounce words backwards, and read an inverted blackboard correctly.
On Jan. 29, 1976, he was abducted from his home and his body was found the next day. Three men and a woman were later arrested for the crime. Apparently the woman, who was his housekeeper, let the other three into the house in order to rob him. They wound up kidnapping and then killing him.