Paul Curry (August 19, 1917–February 19, 1986) was the vice-president of the
Blue Cross Insurance Company of New York, and a famous amateur
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 ...
who became well known in the magic community for inventing highly-original card magic.
Many magicians have performed illusions and effects created by Curry.
Doug Henning
Douglas James Henning (May 3, 1947 – February 7, 2000) was a Canadian magician, illusionist, escape artist and politician.
Early life
Henning was born in the Fort Garry district of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and began practising magic at Oakenw ...
used Curry's "The Sliding Knot" in one of his TV specials. Curry's most famous creation is
Out of This World, a
self-working card trick
Card manipulation is the branch of magic that deals with creating effects using sleight of hand techniques involving playing cards. Card manipulation is often used in magical performances, especially in close-up, parlor, and street magic. Some ...
that he created in 1942, at the age of 25. Curry is the author of a number of books and manuscripts dealing with his many original magical creations.
He has also been credited with inventing the
missing square puzzle
The missing square puzzle is an optical illusion used in mathematics classes to help students reason about geometrical figures; or rather to teach them not to reason using figures, but to use only textual descriptions and the axioms of geometry. ...
.
On 12 March 1977, the Academy of Magical Arts 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 ...
awarded Paul Curry a "Creative Fellowship" award.
Selected books
*''Paul Curry's Worlds Beyond'' (2002)
*''Magician's Magic'' (1965)
References
1917 births
1986 deaths
American magicians
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