Charles Morritt (1860 – 1936) was an English magician, hypnotist,

mentalist Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include hypnosis, telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precogniti ...

and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

Life and career

Morritt was the son of an elderly gentleman farmer, William, and his young gypsy housekeeper whom he had married at the age of 51. As a teenager Charles worked as a packer in a woollen warehouse in Leeds. He taught himself card tricks and hypnotism in his spare time. Aged 18, Morritt gave a two-hour show at the Public Hall in Selby. On stage, Morritt performed as "The Professor". He was something of an impresario, having taken over the lease of two theatres and the management of several more in the North of England by 1881. He later honed his magic under the tutelage of

John Nevil Maskelyne John Nevil Maskelyne (22 December 183918 May 1917) was an English stage magician and inventor of the pay toilet, along with other Victorian-era devices. He worked with magicians George Alfred Cooke and David Devant, and many of his illusions a ...

. In 1915, Morritt presented his latest invention, the Tally Ho! trick. An "entire fox hunt": two huntsmen with rifles, a hunting dog, and a lady in green velvet riding on the back of a live horse, were produced from a cabinet. Morritt knew

Harry 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 ...

well, selling him several tricks, including adapting his own Disappearing Donkey routine into a vanishing elephant trick for Houdini. Charles Morritt had an assistant, Ada; her full name was Adela Brown Howell. They married in 1883.

Trial

In 1928, Morritt appeared at Halifax court charged with obtaining money by false pretences over his "Man in a Trance" trick. The magicians

P. T. Selbit P. T. Selbit (1881–1938) was an English Magician (illusion), magician, inventor and writer who is credited with being the first person to perform the illusion of sawing a woman in half. Among magicians he was known for his inventiveness and e ...

and

Will Goldston Will Goldston (1878–1948) was an English stage magician in the first half of the 20th century. Career He was born in the city of Liverpool and became interested in the subject at the age of eleven. As well as being a performer he was involve ...

helped to fund Morritt's defence and he was eventually acquitted. After the trial, the then 68-year-old magician moved to

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

with his assistant Bessie and never worked again. He died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in 1936.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morritt, Charles 1860 births 1936 deaths English magicians Harry Houdini Mentalists