Robert Heller, also Joseph Heller, (born William Henry Palmer; 1826–1878) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

magician,

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 musician. The year of his birth is the subject of some speculation; some sources list it as 1829 while others claim 1830. As the son of a famous concert

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, Heller began his life as a musician studying at the Royal Academy of Music. After becoming fascinated with magic at age 14, Heller began copying his idol

Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

, from whom he adopted his first name. Heller left his scholarship at the academy to become a professional magician. A reporter for the ''St. Louis Luminary'', recorded his impressions of a Robert Heller performance of February 7, 1855, in Washington D.C.: :''At night I went to see the performance of an acrobatic Macromancer by the name of Robert Heller, who performed some wonderful feats. He caused an orange tree to bloom and bring forth fruit. Real ripe oranges which were distributed among the crowd, and afterward butterflies came out from among its leaves. A boy was suspended upon two poles, one placed under each arm about midway from the elbow to the shoulder and the stool upon which he stood was then taken from under his feet. The boy was entirely senseless, choloriform (sic) having been administered unto him. The poles had no fastenings, but were set loose upon the floor. One of the poles was then taken from under his left arm, which left him suspended by one arm, his left hand was then touched by the Necromancer when it fell to his side; his right hand was then raised so as to rest his face upon it. His feet were then directed to a horizontal position with his head and thus he remained suspended for sometime — his whole body resting upon noting save the right arm upon the end of the pole. Money, handkerchiefs and many other articles were passed from under silver vases on one table to others at another part of the stage without seemingly any human agency. Many other wonderful feats were performed by this great Necromancer.'' Heller married one of his pupils, the daughter of a wealthy Washington resident and would eventually return to New York. Deciding to try his magic act again, Heller abandoned the accent and image of before and focused on the presentation of his illusions. His tour that spanned from 1869 to 1875 became a success throughout much of the United States,

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, and

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. Heller's success prompted fellow magician

Harry Kellar Harry Kellar (July 11, 1849 – March 10, 1922) was an American magician who presented large stage shows during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kellar was a predecessor of Harry Houdini and a successor of Robert Heller and Isaiah Hug ...

to change his name as to avoid the impression that he was copying the greatness of Heller. Robert Heller Headstone Inscription

Heller retired from magic after his successful tour. He spent the remaining years of his life performing

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

in Washington, D.C. In 1878, Heller died suddenly of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, United States and was buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Yeadon,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

References

*Hay, Henry. ''Cyclopedia of Magic''. (1949) *Thomas, Daniel Hadlond. ''Preston Thomas: his life and travels''. (1942) * Randi, James. ''

Conjuring Conjuration or Conjuring may refer to: __NOTOC__ Concepts * Conjuration (summoning), the evocation of spirits or other supernatural entities ** Conjuration, a school of magic in ''Dungeons & Dragons'' * Conjuration (illusion), the performance of s ...

''. (1992) {{DEFAULTSORT:Heller, Robert 1826 births 1878 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Pennsylvania English magicians Mentalists Burials at Mount Moriah Cemetery (Philadelphia)