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U.F.OOLED YOU Filmmaker reveals how he faked infamous ‘Roswell alien autopsy’ footage using animal organs and pig brains in a London flat

A HOAXER has revealed how he faked an “alien autopsy” using animal organs and pig brains – and managed to fool the world for over a decade.

Filmmaker Spyros Melaris led the team behind the now infamous footage claiming to show an alien from the 1947 Roswell UFO crash being dissected by medics.

The so-called Roswell Autopsy Footage grabbed headlines around the world when it was released by entrepreneur Ray Santilli in 1995.

Santilli claimed he obtained the 17-minute clip from a retired military cameraman while seeking archive material on Elvis Presley.

In fact, Spyros and his team shot the grainy black and white film in his then girlfriend’s house in Camden, North London — using a foam alien sculpture filled with offal.

It was sold to TV stations in 33 countries and in 2006 inspired comedy sci-fi movie Alien Autopsy starring Geordie duo Ant and Dec.

Now more than two decades on Spyros, who is a top magician, has come clean for the first time.

Spyros, 56, said: “It was not an easy task and, apart from the look and feel, the film had to be correct in every aspect — the props, the costumes, every little detail.

“I was fortunate to have access to professional filming and editing equipment. More importantly, I also had access to a handful of very talented people.

“For me, ‘The alien autopsy’ film was a challenge. Could it be done?

“As a magician, I wanted to create the biggest illusion ever performed on a global stage.

“It was never meant to be anything else for me. Once it was created, and it achieved worldwide acclaim, experts saying it was real, others said it was not, no one proved it either way. 

“The film had a life of its own and Santilli did a very good job of keeping it alive. I am very proud of the film and my team who helped me create it.

“I regret the film created some negativity as well as bewilderment. I am in show business. I only ever wanted to entertain.”

Spyros revealed he was given a £30,000 budget and set to work creating the set, props and “contamination suits”.

He asked pal John Humphreys, a Royal Academy-trained sculptor, to make the alien corpse, and another friend to play a soldier. His brother helped out behind the scenes.

And his then-girlfriend, who wishes to remain anonymous, checked medical books, spoke with surgeons and pathologists and even played the part of a nurse in the film.

The team made two autopsy films as some of the medical procedures in the first were not accurate. 

During the second shoot, the foam latex used to fill the dummy had not worked and an air bubble left a hollow space in the creature’s leg. 

Humphreys bought a leg of lamb from the local butchers and inserted it into the gap before it was blow-torched to resemble a crash injury. 

Animal organs were used for the alien’s innards, altered with a scalpel and coated with latex. 

Three sheep’s brains and a pig brain cast in gelatine were used for the contents of the alien’s skull. 

But they also left deliberate clues the whole thing was a hoax – such as the word “video” spelled out in lettering resembling ancient hieroglyphics on a piece of flying saucer wreckage.

Spyros said: “John Humphreys is a world-class sculptor and artist and one of my best friends. 

“His work is not only technically brilliant, it is also highly original. John also played the part of the surgeon who performs the autopsy in the film. 

“Together we also made the many props which featured in the autopsy itself and also ‘The Debris Footage’.

“My girlfriend at the time did all the intensive and detailed research, made the costumes, and played the part of the nurse as well. 

“You should not underestimate the importance of this role. It was she who taught John how to do an autopsy, as if done by a surgeon in America in 1947. To say she is a genius is an understatement.”

One the film was released, requests for interviews with the elusive cameraman poured in and Spyros hatched a plan to jet out to Los Angeles to find someone to play him. 

He found an old tramp living on the streets, offered him $500 and a night in a hotel and he agreed. 

By pure chance the homeless man had been an actor many years ago. 

He cleaned him up, gave him a shave, added a bit of make-up and a false prosthetic nose and chin. 

The film was delivered in person in New York to US TV producer Bob Kiviat by Santilli’s business partner Gary Shoefield and a man claiming to be the cameraman’s son.

Spyros said the film was so top secret that he never even told his mum and dad about it. 

He signed a confidentiality agreement and Santilli didn’t want to go public until he had recouped all his initial investment, he said. 

And apart from a cheque for £10,000, which Spyros split with his small team, no royalties were ever paid — even though Santilli is believed to have made a fortune from the film.

In 2006, Santilli finally admitted that the film had been “recreated” but claimed it was based on a few frames of “real” footage — a claim Spyros disputes. 

Spyros, who is single and lives in London, said: “Santilli has contacted me regularly and asked that we meet to build some bridges. 

“I have consistently refused to see him unless he is now prepared to tell the truth. 

“I have repeatedly challenged Santilli and Shoefield to produce just one frame of genuine 1947 film with the alien’s image on it.”

But despite faking the autopsy footage, Spyros believes something otherworldly did take place in Roswell. 

“I promise you, something happened in Roswell. I’m a sceptic. I’m not an easy person to convince. 

“Thirty people that I talked to out there, clever people, doctors, lecturers, all sorts of people tell me they saw something. And I believe them. Something happened.”

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