The Chavez College of Magic was founded in 1941 by

Ben Chavez Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, � ...

, establishing for the first time a bona fide school of

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

. In 1946 the course of study was approved by the California State Department of Education, the only school for magicians in America where

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

s of World War II could study under the

GI Bill of Rights The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

. Over the years methods of teaching have been perfected and new material has been added to the curriculum. It covers billiard balls, cards, coins, thimbles and cigarettes for stage acts. In 1961 Ben Chavez died and Marian Chavez continued to operate the school. When she died in 1978, it was her wish that Neil Foster and

Dale Salwak Dale Salwak is a professional magician from California who continues to perform internationally. He is a regular performer at The Magic Castle and is known as "The Gentleman of Magic". He has been the long-time director and owner (since 1978) of t ...

become the co-owners of the Chavez school. Together over the next nine years, Foster and Salwak made every effort to carry on the training in the tradition established by Ben and Marian Chavez. In 1988, Neil Foster died leaving

to continue teaching and managing the West Coast branch {{Cite web , title=Chavez Studio of Magic - Magicpedia , url=https://www.geniimagazine.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chavez_Studio_of_Magic , access-date=2023-03-21 , website=www.geniimagazine.com

Magicians who visited Chavez

* Channing Pollock *

Norm Nielsen Norm Nielsen (February 17, 1934 – April 21, 2020) was an American magician and business owner. Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin,Dean Carnegie Dean Alan Carnegie is an American stage magician, escape artist and painter. He has appeared on numerous television programs and has performed for three different US Presidents. He is called 'The Artist of Mystery'. History Born in Baltimore, ...

* Ed Groves Mr. E *

Julien Magic Julien may refer to: People * Julien (given name) * Julien (surname) Music * ''Julien'' (opera), a 1913 poème lyrique by Gustave Charpentier * ''Julien'' (album), by Dalida, 1973 * "Julien" (song), by Carly Rae Jepsen, 2019 Places Un ...

*Don Alan *Eugene Lo (Gee) *Hannah Chan *Bond Lee

References

External links

Chavez Studio of Magic
Magic organizations