Norm Nielsen (February 17, 1934 – April 21, 2020) was an American magician and business owner. Born in

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

,Norm Nielsen.
Magic Wisconsin, 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2011. Nielsen was known for his original musical act.

Early life and career

Nielsen's interest in magic started at a young age after watching his barber perform a few cigarette tricks. After seeing Neil Foster perform at a magic convention in White Water, Wisconsin, Nielsen enrolled at the Chavez School of Magic in Los Angeles. He graduated in 1953.

Creation of magic tricks

One of his first ideas for a magic trick was to make a trumpet toot as it floated in thin air. He eventually rejected this idea as the audience would not be able to see the keys move. This led to the creation of the floating violin, whose moving bow was more readily seen. The prototype took nearly two years to develop, and the illusion itself took several more. This illusion was in Nielsen's repertoire for decades as his trademark trick. Nielsen developed other aspects of his musical act, including a flute that disintegrates into silver dust and coins that are dropped melodically onto a vertical xylophone.

Magic career

Nielsen has worked in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Caracas, Santiago,

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Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, and Monte Carlo. He had a regular engagement at the Crazy Horse Saloon in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he performed on and off for six years. He was the owner of Nielsen Magic, founded in 1956. In the early years, he learned how to make magic props from Theo Bamberg, also known as Okito. He was given permission by Okito to manufacture all items of his line, including the Okito Checker Cabinet. He was the manufacturer of the Nielsen line of products, which include among others, Vanishing Bottles, Rubber Doves and Manipulation Cards.

Awards

* Stage Magician of the Year – Magic Castle (1970) * Magician of the Year – Magic Castle (1978) * Jack Gwynne Award (1977, 1988) * Chavez Award (1991) * Golden Mandrake Award – Paris (1991) * Performing Fellowship – Magic Castle (1994) * Magician's Favorite Magician CBS-TV (1995) * D.R.A.G.O.N Award (2005)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Norm American magicians 1934 births 2020 deaths Academy of Magical Arts Magician of the Year winners Academy of Magical Arts Masters Fellowship winners Academy of Magical Arts Stage Magician of the Year winners