Lou Lancaster (October 31, 1936 – July 5, 2008), born Louis Lancaster McClung, was an American

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

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. 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 Close-up magic (also known as table magic or micromagic) is Magic (illusion), magic performed in an intimate setting usually no more than 3 meters (10 feet) from one's audience and is usually performed while sitting at a table. Sleight-of-hand, ...

, and he appeared in several instructional videos produced by the

International Magicians Society The International Magicians Society (IMS) is a magic society created by Tony Hassini to "help promote and preserve the art of magic and provide a format where magicians could share their secrets and ideas." The society gives its own "Merlin Award" ...

. The August 2005 issue of ''

The Linking Ring ''The Linking Ring'' is a monthly print magic magazine published by the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) for its members since 1922. It is based in Bluffton, Ohio. In 2007, Samuel Patrick Smith, a magician, author and publisher based ...

'' featured a cover story on Lancaster and his innovations. Lancaster performed at the

Magic Castle The Magic Castle is a clubhouse for magicians and magic enthusiasts, as well as the clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts. It is in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California and it bills itself as "the most unusual private club in t ...

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 Dorothy Dietrich (born October 31, 1969) is an American stage magician and escapology, escapologist, best known for performing the bullet catch in her mouth (although Adelaide Herrmann reputedly did this earlier) and the first woman to perform a s ...

and

Dick Brooks Richard Brooks (April 14, 1942 – February 1, 2006) was an American NASCAR driver. Born in Porterville, California, he was the 1969 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, and went on to win the 1973 Talladega 500. Brooks held off veteran Buddy Baker b ...

. He helped assemble Dietrich's straitjacket escape for the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

Special ''The World's Greatest Escapes'', in which she appeared as special guest star. She holds the record for the highest stationary escape by a woman from a straitjacket while hanging from a burning rope. She has been quoted as saying, "I trusted my life to Lou Lancaster!" She also says he invented the famous Twister illusion for Mark Wilson when he worked on his TV show. He was the resident magician at Magic Island in Newport for two years. After Lancaster's death,

Jeff McBride Jeff McBride (born September 11, 1959), also known as "Magnus", is an American magician and magic instructor. He is known for his sleight of hand skills and specializes in the manipulation of playing cards, coins, and other small objects. His s ...

- who credits Lancaster with giving him his first professional engagement - participated in Lancaster's memorial

Broken Wand Ceremony A broken wand ceremony is a ritual performed at or shortly before the funeral of a magician, in which a wand — either the wand which the magician used in performances, or a ceremonial one — is broken, indicating that with the magician's death, ...

References

*'' Genii'', September 2008 *''

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 ...

'', September 2008 *''

'', August 2005

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lancaster, Lou 1936 births 2008 deaths American magicians