Alan Shaxon (28 December 1933 – 27 October 2012) was a professional

magician Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...

and a former president of

The Magic Circle A magic circle is a ritually defined space in a number of magical traditions. Magic circle or Magic Circle may also refer to: * Magic circle (mathematics), an arrangement of natural numbers on circles such that the sum of the numbers on each circl ...

. He specialised in cabaret performances and was billed as one of England's foremost magicians. The Magic Circle gave Shaxon "The Maskelyne" award for services to British Magic. He appeared on television, cruised the world in cabaret on luxury liners, and entertained on four occasions at Buckingham Palace. He was a friend and confidant of magician and inventor

Robert Harbin Robert Harbin (born Edward Richard Charles Williams; 12 February 1908 – 12 January 1978) was a British magician and author. He is noted as the inventor of a number of classic illusions, including the ''Zig Zag Girl''. He also became an authori ...

, and inherited many of Harbin's props after his death in 1978. Shaxon continued to perform a number of Harbin's illusions, including the "Blades of Opah II". Shaxon's signature effects included The Hydrostatic Glass, Confabulation, Thumb Tie, Aerial Fishing and the Human Gasometer. Shaxon appeared as a guest performer in Series 9 of ''

The Paul Daniels Magic Show ''The Paul Daniels Magic Show'' was a British magic show presented by entertainer and magician Paul Daniels that aired on BBC1 from 9 June 1979 to 18 June 1994. Daniels' assistant throughout the series was Debbie McGee Debra Ann McGee (born 3 ...

'', airing in 1988. He appeared as the character "Eddie Spangle" in the 1991 ''

Mr. Bean ''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside Curtis and Ro ...

'' episode " Mr. Bean Goes to Town", starring

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...

. In 1996 he taught

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...

sleight of hand tricks for '' Mission: Impossible''. He wrote two books during his lifetime, ''My Kind of Magic'' (1970) and ''Practical Sorcery'' (1976). After he died, a draft manuscript for a third book was discovered, which was completed by

Scott Penrose Scott Penrose (born 1969 in Essex) is an English magician and magic consultant and is the son of magician John Penrose. Penrose is a former President of The Magic Circle having been proposed for the post by Paul Daniels. He is Honorary Vice Pres ...

, the current President of The Magic Circle, and Steve Short. It had no working title, but when it was published in 2014 it was entitled ''The Sophisticated Sorcerer''. Shaxon died on 27 October 2012 following a short illness.

References

External links

*
Alan Shaxon - Sophisticated Sorcerer Website
English magicians 2012 deaths 1933 births {{UK-entertainer-stub