They Also Conjured
NEAMDE
I'm putting together a little project about famous men and women who were
able magicians as well...individuals such as Charles Dickens, Oliver
Goldsmith, Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll), et al. Suggestions and
anecdotes would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Michael Edwards
Gary Brown
Michael-
Let me start with a few suggestions:
1. Orson Wells -- Probably one of the most magical figures in the world of
film, Wells was an avid conjurer. Wells traveled for a time with a magic
act, perhaps as part of the USO. When I was very young, I saw Wells
appear on a television talk show (The Mike Douglas Show) with some
pseudo-psyhic stuff -- displaying a magic rock with had the power to
repair watches (ala Uri Geller) and doing a prediction of the upcoming
presidential election. As I'm sure many will recall, Copperfield actually
worked a film of a very young Wells doing a card trick into his stage show
and perhaps one of his television specials. Wells was a guest star on an
early DC special.
2. Eddie Cantor -- As has been discussed in *Magicol*, the
singer-commedian was an accomplished magician. He often worked along side
numerous magicians -- I have collected several accounts of his work with
Flosso, and T.A. Waters book shows a picture of Cantor stooging with
Russell Swann. Cantor played in Olsen and Johnson's broadway variety show
called "Helzapopin!" in which he did a parody of an escape act performed
by Hardeen.
3. Steve Martin -- As a teenager, Martin worked as an employee at an
amusement part magic shop, demonstrating tricks and picking up some
sleight of hand. His experience with magic is reflected in his stand-up
routines, particularly the Great Flydini.
4. Woody Allen -- according to his biography, the Wood-man spent a great
deal of time picking up tricks at Tannen's when he was a kid. Evidence of
his fascination with magic can be seen in his writings, which have many
references to stage magic, and his films, the sets of which are often
decorated with magic posters (e.g. the Carter posters in *Purple Rose of
Cairo* and the Fak-Hongs Poster in *Manhattan Murder Mystery*.)
5. Johnny Carson -- don't know any details on this, but have frequently
heard that Carson got his start in magic.
6. Shari Lewis -- the puppeteer/ventriloquist has a good deal of interest
in magic, and has written several books on the subject. Her father, a
doctor by profession, was an avid conjuerer, who learned magic from a
magician named Krieger, the son of Cups and Balls king "Pop" Krieger.
Hope this gives you some ideas.
Gary Brown
TommyLadd
Hi...
In reference to the posting:
Shari Lewis' father (Abe Hurwitz) was a doctor....but I don't believe
he was a medical doctor. As I recall, he was an educator by profession
(Yeshiva University, I believe).
Others "people of prominence" who have (or do ) conjure:
Prince Charles (once -and possible still - a member of the Magic
Circle).
Robert Lansing (actor - once studied with Michael Skinner)
Neil Patrick Harris (actor - tv's "Doogie Howser, MD")
John Gardner (author - the current series of James Bond novels)
Harold Lloyd (late comedic actor)
Barbara Stanwyck (late actress - avid amateur magician)
Jackie Gleason (late actor/comedian/etc.)
Dom DeLuise (actor/alleged comedian)
Tom Smothers (comedic entertainer)
Gallagher (comedian)
Gloria Estefan's son Nayib ("Joey") - does he count?
Milton Berle - (comedian - always carries his Stripper Deck)
This is just off the top of my head. I'm sure if I do a little
research, I can quadruple the list....
Tom Ladshaw
Gary Brown
Tom's followup brings a few more candidates to mind:
Danny Kaye -- a frequent customer at Flosso's magic shop, he used to buy
pocket tricks for his UNICEF tours, during which he'd demonstrate, teach
and distribute these items.
Henny Youngman -- reportedly a fan and practitioner of card magic.
And let me just add that it was my (mistaken) assumption that Doc Hurwitz
was a medical doctor -- sorry about that -- but I can say for certain that
he was an avid magic practioner.
Gary Brown
Tom Ritchford
>Let me start with a few suggestions:
>
>1. Orson Wells -- Probably one of the most magical figures in the world of
>film, Wells was an avid conjurer.
[snip]
My father told me of a USO film where Welles saws a tolerant
Marlene Deitrich in two...
>5. Johnny Carson -- don't know any details on this, but have frequently
>heard that Carson got his start in magic.
He performed under the name "The Great Carsoni" and you could see
vestiges of this on his show when he did a parody of a mentalism
show.
Don't forget...
Martin Gardner, who not only wrote Mathematical Games for Scientific
American but has also written a lot on magic, including "The Enclopedia
of Impromptu Magic."
Also, for what it's worth, W.C Fields started as a juggler... you can see
him do some tricks in some of his movies.
--
/t
Tom Ritchford t...@mvision.com
Verge's "Little Idiot" -- Music for the mentally peculiar.
1-800-WEIRDOS http://www.weirdos.com/verge
ihg...@ibm.net
I wonder if if Charles is a member of the Magic Circle becasue of his prowess
at magic or............? Where did you get the info re Harold LLoyd and Barbara
Stanwyck?
Velamila
The report I read at the time said that Charles did a "creditable"
performance of the Cups & Balls at his admission to the Magic Circle. His
great-grandfather (If I am counting correctly) Edward VII, was also a
member of the Magic Circle, avid magic fan and friend of Charles "Isn't it
wonderful?" Bertram, who was almost his double in appearance.
TommyLadd
Hello....
>Subject: Re: They Also Conjured
>From: ihg...@ibm.net
>Date: 29 Jan 1997 00:30:15 GMT
>Message-ID: <5cm5mn$1a1k$2...@news-s01.ny.us.ibm.net>
>Where did you get the info re Harold LLoyd and Barbara Stanwyck?
This stuff is pretty well-documented in a number of places. Look in
old Thayer/Owen catalogs....you'll see pix of Harold Lloyd, etc.
Also....dig out your *real* old Genii's... you'll find all kinds of neat
stuff....
Harold Lloyd started performing magic when he was a young child. He
remained interested throughout his entire life. One of his hobbies was
assisting local pro's (and sometimes nationally prominent pro's) in the
So. Cal. area. He was even a member of Los Magicos - a So. Cal.-based
magic club which numbered several celebrities among its members.
Even though H. Lloyd had lost two fingers of one hand in an accident
ca. 1919, his love was card magic, and he was apparently quite good at
it.
Barbara Stanwyck also developed an interest in magic at a very early
age, and delighted in performing for friends over the years. Apparently,
she, too, was quite adept with the pasteboards.
Hope this answers your questions.......
Tom
Ladshaw
Ehutchison
Adding to the list of the famous and infamous who enjoyed magic:
Muhammed Ali, who is said to have once enjoyed performing card tricks for
his entourage.
General Norman Schwartzkoff, who was known to visit Al's Magic Shop in
Washington, DC, on occasion, and was (or so I understand) a member of IBM.
Tom Ladshaw, famous comic and magic shop groupee.
George Bush, who eventually found some kind of government work.
To say nothing of The Amazing Kreskin (nee George Kresge), Uri Geller, or
the Great Dunninger, all of whom achieved fame as psychics (so-called) but
who were obvious beneficiaries of magical training.
Cordially,
Edward Hutchison
Psychotherapist, professor, poker player and boy magician.
Tom Ritchford
The last time that I saw the amazing bass player Jaco Pastorius
(he died in a barroom brawl not much later) he was doing card tricks
for a bemused younger fan of his.... Jaco already looked much the
worse for wear, I'm afraid...
Bob Loomis
I couldn't resist adding a few further refs to the excellent postings
so far on this thread:
Johnny Carson - See the May 1992 edition of Magic for details of "one
of magic's strongest supporters".
Barbara Stanwick and Harold Lloyd - Both had tricks in The Jinx.
James Stewart - Who doesn't seem to have been mentioned in this thread
to date, also had two tricks in Jinx No.57.
Harry Monk - Originated the Fizbin Drop. See our Web Site for details.
--
Bob Loomis
Pres, Sec, Treas, Scribe and Tea boy.
Association of International Magical Spectators ( A.I.M.S.)
http://www.aims-magic.org/aims/
ihg...@ibm.net
In <5cttdt$rf5$1...@newsserver.dircon.co.uk>, loo...@aims-magic.org (Bob Loomis) writes:
>I couldn't resist adding a few further refs to the excellent postings
>so far on this thread:
>
>Johnny Carson - See the May 1992 edition of Magic for details of "one
>of magic's strongest supporters".
>
>Barbara Stanwick and Harold Lloyd - Both had tricks in The Jinx.
>
>James Stewart - Who doesn't seem to have been mentioned in this thread
>to date, also had two tricks in Jinx No.57.
>
>Harry Monk - Originated the Fizbin Drop. See our Web Site for details.
If memory serves me, believe that the Stanwyck and Lloyd tricks were NOT
by them. I think that the Phoenix had something on this. Anyone comment?
Shadow
don't forget:
Bill Bixby and Harry Anderson
Shadow
Bob Loomis
Someone asked me today who the astronaut was that performed card
tricks in space. I know I've seen it on the Web recently, but my mind
is suffering from Internet Overload to the extent that I can't
remember where I saw it. So, what better place than this thread to ask
if any kind magic nut can tell me who he was and/or a reference to
where I saw it. (Of course, this proves that no matter where you go,
you can't get away from some fool wanting you to take a card!)
Ehutchison
A post from someone calling himself/herself The Shadow reminds me that the
late, great Walter B. Gibson using the pseudonym of Maxwell Grant created
"The Shadow," and wrote a skillion other books. He had a lifelong
interest in magic and ghost-wrote books for Houdini, Blackstone, and, I
think, Dunninger.
Edward Hutchison
Psychotherapist, professor, and author of several books, including:
"Mental Mysteries: The Theory and Practice of Mentalism." See
my home page at: http://members.aol.com/ehutchison/index.html
Shadow
It's himself, to learn more about this "Shadow" check out my homepage.
http:\\www.concentric.net\~magicbob\
It's still very new but it's getting better.
Tanx
Shadow