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Magic Towne House
The Magic Towne House was a magic show spot on three floors at 1026 Third Avenue, north of 60th Street, New York City, in the 1970s and 1980s. It was a venue for adults in the cabaret as well as having a children's theater for patrons of all ages to see and enjoy magic. Importance The Magic Towne House became a popular magic show spot in New York City, with the longest continuously running magic shows in New York City's history. For fifteen years it showcased both new and established magicians to the general public. It was in the posh area of the Upper East Side of Manhattan on Third Avenue and 61st Street next to Bloomingdale's Department Store. Operation It was headed up by magicians Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brooks. According to William Dorfliinger's book ''The Magic Catalogue'': Dick Brooks and Dorothy Dietrich were "involved in the management and direction of all its activities. Incubator for young magicians One of the goals of the establishment was to deve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milbourne Christopher
Milbourne Christopher (23 March 1914 – 17 June 1984) was a prominent American illusionist, magic historian, and author. President of the Society of American Magicians, an honorary vice-president to The Magic Circle, and one of the founding members of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, Christopher wrote a number of books, including a biography of Harry Houdini titled ''Houdini: The Untold Story,'' a chronicle of his own craft titled ''The Illustrated History Of Magic,'' and thousands of essays relating to magic and mentalism. Debunking work Christopher regarded those individuals who claimed extrasensory perception or psychic powers to be actually using magic trickery. He wrote three book-length exposés regarding those he said were false seers or psychics: ''ESP, Seers & Psychics;'' ''Mediums, Mystics & The Occult;'' and ''Search For The Soul.'' In the latter book he found no evidence for the existence of the soul. Skeptical investigator Joe Nickell who was influenced by C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard Thurston
Howard Thurston (July 20, 1869 – April 13, 1936) was a stage magician from Columbus, Ohio, United States. His childhood was unhappy, and he ran away to join the circus, where his future partner Harry Kellar also performed. Thurston was deeply impressed after he attended magician Alexander Herrmann's magic show and was determined to equal his work. He eventually became the most famous magician of his time. Thurston's traveling magic show was the biggest one of all; it was so large that it needed eight train cars to transport his road show. Early life Howard Thurston was born July 20, 1869, in Columbus, Ohio. He was the middle son of William and Margaret Thurston. His father William Henry Thurston was a wheelwright and carriage maker who served briefly as a private during the Civil War in the Third Ohio Regiment. His mother Margaret (Cloude), was the daughter of an Ohio farmer. He attended Mount Hermon School for Boys in Northfield, Massachusetts, class of 1893. Among his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Houdini
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician Robert-Houdin (1805–1871). He first attracted notice in vaudeville in the United States and then as "Harry 'Handcuff' Houdini" on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it. In 1904, thousands watched as he tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's ''Daily Mirror'', keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini present ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slydini
Tony Slydini (September 1, 1900, Foggia, Italy – January 15, 1991), simply known as Slydini, was a world-renowned magician. His mastery, expertise, originality and innovative approach to close-up artistry magic, earned him a legendary reputation in the magic world. He traveled the world performing for the public as well as performing and lecturing fellow magicians. As a result, he served as an inspiration to generations of well-known magicians, celebrities and entertainers, including Doug Henning, Dick Cavett, Bill Bixby, Ricky Jay, David Copperfield and countless others. Although he was best known as a master of close-up artistry, he continually demonstrated an extraordinary performing ability and during his lifetime was responsible for a long series of books, films and publications highlighting his mastery of the magical crafts. For his work, he received the highest honors that his profession could bestow, including both the coveted ''Masters Fellowship Award'' and ''Per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Schindler
George Schindler is an American stage magician, magic consultant, comedian, actor, ventriloquist and writer based in New York. In addition to creating noteworthy illusions and publishing many books on magic, Schindler has performed at venues around the world and is currently "lifetime dean" of the Society of American Magicians, having previous tenure in the "S.A.M. Hall of Fame" as well as president and spokesperson. From the 1950s to the 1960s, he had also been a frequent contributor to ''Billboard Magazine's'' comedy, magic and vaudeville columns. Biography Born in Brooklyn, Schindler first picked up an appreciation for magic at age 11 after seeing a magician at his school make a live goldfish appear in thin air. While studying card and sleight of hand illusions during his teens, Schindler entertained friends and relatives in Brooklyn and the Bronx, apprenticed for various New York City-area magic shops and eventually carried out magic acts before a community center audience ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darwin Ortiz
Darwin Ortiz (born 1948) is a magician, who is an authority on gambling and card manipulation. Life and work Ortiz was born and raised in New York City, where he had a keen interest in card tricks since childhood. In 1974, he dropped out of NYU Law School and pursued card magic full-time. During that time, he initially supported himself playing blackjack (using card counting techniques) and as an instructor at Harry Lorayne's memory school in New York City. Ortiz was a contemporary and close friend of the influential US coin magician, David Roth, and was initially mentored by the seminal British/US close-up performer, Derek Dingle. Ortiz later became a consultant to a number of casinos in the United States, Europe, Africa, UK and Australasia, and was a regular featured presenter for a succession of years at the World Gaming Congress in Nevada. Ortiz currently resides in Washington, D.C. Books Ortiz is the author of books on gambling and magic. He is particularly respected ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Roth (magician)
David Roth (March 13, 1952 – January 13, 2021) was an American magician widely regarded as one of the world's greatest coin magicians. Roth was an important contributor to Richard Kaufman's ''Coinmagic'', an influential text on contemporary coin technique; his major work was chronicled in ''David Roth's Expert Coin Magic'', a book written by Richard Kaufman. Roth was associated with Fantasma Magic, a magic manufacturing and retail company in New York City before going to work for the Conjuring Arts Research Center during the last decade of his life. The sleight of hand artist Dai Vernon wrote about Roth: "First let me state that David Roth has an amazing ability when performing with coins. He is truly a genius. I have been fortunate to have enjoyed the confidence and friendship of the leading exponents of coin manipulation of the past. T. Nelson Downs, Allan Shaw, Manuel and Welch Miller all specialized in this branch of the magical art. To the very best of my judgment, Davi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Randi
James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician, author and scientific skepticism, scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims.#Rodrigues, Rodrigues 2010p. 271/ref> He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo". Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87. Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator". He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on ''The Tonight Show Starring J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Max Maven
Max Maven (born Philip T. Goldstein; December 21, 1950 – November 1, 2022) was an American magician and mentalist whose performances were considered erudite and intelligent. He is ranked as one of the most influential mentalists of all time, and one of the 100 "Most Influential Magicians of the 20th Century" by ''Magic Magazine''. Life and career Maven often appeared on television magic shows to perform "interactive" mind reading tricks. Among other cities, including Rome, Maven grew up largely in Boston, Massachusetts, where he became known for his performances at several nightspots including the then popular Playboy Club. In Boston, he was formerly a radio deejay. Maven was also a prolific author and conceived many magical and mentalist effects used by other magicians. He was a magic consultant for such performers as David Copperfield and Penn & Teller, Siegfried & Roy, and Doug Henning, and was a frequent contributor to industry journals such as '' Genii,'' ''The Linking ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lou Lancaster
Lou Lancaster (October 31, 1936 – July 5, 2008), born Louis Lancaster McClung, was an American magician and author. His 1984 book ''Tricks Of The Trade: A Professional Looks at Commercial Closeup Magic'' OCLC 12995877 dited by Phyllis Guggenheim; photos by Lancaster & Guggenheimexplained many techniques of close-up magic, and he appeared in several instructional videos produced by the International Magicians Society. The August 2005 issue of ''The Linking Ring'' featured a cover story on Lancaster and his innovations. Lancaster performed at the Magic Castle eighteen times, with multiple engagements throughout Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Sacramento, and the Catskills. When in New York he worked at the famous Magic Towne House headed up by Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brooks. He helped assemble Dietrich's straitjacket escape for the HBO Special ''The World's Greatest Escapes'', in which she appeared as special guest star. She holds the record for the highest stationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter B
Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1987), who previously wrestled as "Walter" * Walter, standard author abbreviation for Thomas Walter (botanist) ( – 1789) Companies * American Chocolate, later called Walter, an American automobile manufactured from 1902 to 1906 * Walter Energy, a metallurgical coal producer for the global steel industry * Walter Aircraft Engines, Czech manufacturer of aero-engines Films and television * ''Walter'' (1982 film), a British television drama film * Walter Vetrivel, a 1993 Tamil crime drama film * ''Walter'' (2014 film), a British television crime drama * ''Walter'' (2015 film), an American comedy-drama film * ''Walter'' (2020 film), an Indian crime drama film * '' W*A*L*T*E*R'', a 1984 pilot for a spin-off of the TV series ''M*A*S*H'' * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
