Benjamin Rucker (June 6, 1889 – April 15, 1934) was an American
stage magician
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...
, better known by his stage name Black Herman. He was the most prominent
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
magician of his time.
He appears as a major character in Ishmael Reed's 1972 novel ''
Mumbo-Jumbo''.
Early life
He was born Benjamin Rucker in
Amherst, Virginia
Amherst (formerly Dearborn) is a town in Amherst County, Virginia, Amherst County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,231 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Amherst County, Virginia, Amherst County.
Amherst is part of the Lync ...
on June 6, 1889.
[
Black Herman learned the art of staged illusions from a performer called Prince Herman, who was first his teacher and later his partner.
]
Career
The two sold patent medicine
A patent medicine, sometimes called a proprietary medicine, is an over-the-counter (nonprescription) medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name (and sometimes a patent) and claimed ...
as well as performing prestidigitation
Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' ()) refers to fine motor skills when used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card f ...
, making their act as much a medicine show
Medicine shows were touring acts (traveling by truck, horse, or wagon teams) that peddled "miracle cure" patent medicines and other products between various entertainments. They developed from European Charlatan, mountebank shows and were common i ...
as a stage show. When Prince Herman died, in 1909, Rucker, then only 17 years old, took the name "Black Herman" in his friend's honour and continued to tour, focusing on the stage act and dropping the medicine show aspects of his performance.
Eventually, Herman made Harlem, New York City
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
his home base. Jim Crow
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
policies were in effect at that time, so in the Northern states he could perform before racially mixed audiences, but when he traveled through the South, often with his own tent show, segregation Segregation may refer to:
Separation of people
* Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space
* School segregation
* Housing segregation
* Racial segregation, separation of humans ...
laws kept his audiences primarily black. His specialties included the Asrah levitation The Asrah levitation, sometimes called Lighter than Air, is a classic levitation illusion.
Effect
The magician hypnotizes an assistant and commands them to recline on a table or couch. The assistant is then fully covered with a cloth and levitat ...
, the production of rabbits, release from knots tied by audience members, and a "buried alive" act which began with his interment in an outdoor area called "Black Herman's Private Graveyard" and continued three days later with his exhumation, revival and a walk to the stage venue, where he performed the rest of his show.
Publication
Herman was the ostensible author of ''Secrets of Magic, Mystery, and Legerdemain,'' published in 1925 that contains his semi-fictionalized autobiography, directions for simple illusions suitable to the novice stage magician, advice on astrology
Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...
and lucky numbers
''Lucky Numbers'' is a 2000 black comedy film directed by Nora Ephron. The screenplay by Adam Resnick was inspired by the 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal. It is the only film Ephron directed without also writing the screenplay. It is considered ...
, and a sampling of African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
hoodoo folk magic
In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, traditional religion or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized rel ...
customs and practices. An announcement on the book's title page, "Black Herman Comes Through Every Seven Years", referred to Herman's pattern of returning to venues on a regular basis; the book was sold at his performances.
Death
Black Herman died on April 15, 1934 at age 44, in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
, presumably the result of a heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
. Despite sensational stories saying Herman died after collapsing during his show, press reports and Herman's own death certificate indicate that he died at a boarding house he and his troupe were staying at in Louisville. Due to the fame of his "buried alive" act, many people refused to believe he was really dead, and thus it came about that his assistant, Washington Reeves, charged admission to view Rucker's corpse at the funeral home, bringing a dramatic close to a life spent in showmanship. He was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York City
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Yor ...
.
Publication
Black Herman's Secrets of Magic-Mystery & Legerdemain
' (1925) and republished many times
References
Further reading
*Black Herman enjamin Rucker ''Secrets of Magic, Mystery, and Legerdemain''. 1925. Republished in 1938 first by Empire Publishing, then by Dorene Publishing. This book was ghost-written by Mr. Young, who is also presumed to be the author pseudonymously known as Lewis de Claremont Lewis de Claremont, also spelled Louis de Clermont, was the pseudonym of an American author on occultism who flourished during the 1930s.
Books attributed to de Claremont include ''7 Steps to Power'', ''7 Keys to Success'', ''The Ancient's Book of ...
.
*Haskins, Jim and Kathleen Benson, ''Conjure Times'', Walker & Co., New York, 2001.
*Patton, George. ''Black Jack: A Drama of Magic, Mystery and Legerdemain'', Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, 2009.
*Reed, Ishmael. '' Mumbo-Jumbo'', New York: Doubleday, 1972.