Theodore "Theo" Annemann (born Theodore John Squires; February 22, 1907 – January 12, 1942), stage name Ted Anneman, was an American professional magician who specialized in the field of

mentalism 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, precognitio ...

. He is most famous for inventing and refining many of the standard mentalism routines that continue to be used by mentalists today.

Biography

Early in his life, Annemann began working as a railroad

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

and then got into

showbusiness Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

as a

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

singer and a magician's assistant. He eventually became interested in mentalism and used his invention and performance skills to become one of the most talented and respected mentalists of the 1930s. Annemann perfected his own version of the famous

bullet catch The bullet catch is a stage magic illusion in which a magician appears to catch a bullet fired directly at them ⁠— often in the mouth, sometimes in the hand or sometimes caught with other items such as a dinner plate. The bullet catch ma ...

illusion, performing the effect outdoors. Accounts of his performance describe the feat as a dramatic effect wherein Annemann would collapse from the apparent force of the gun and then produce the bullet from his blood-drenched mouth. In 1934, Annemann began publishing the famous magazine '' The Jinx'', for magicians. The magazine was focused on mentalism, but also featured ground-breaking effects from other fields of magic. The publication of the magazine ceased after Annemann's death and copies of it have become collector's items. Effects from the magazine have been published in several books and manuscripts, among them ''Ted Annemann's Practical Mental Magic''. This book is considered a classic in

. It is notable for exposing the billet reading tricks of the medium

Bert Reese Bert Reese (1851–1926) was an American-Polish medium and mentalist, most well known for his billet reading demonstrations. Biography Reese was born Berthold Riess in Posen. He was a spiritualist and friend of Aleister Crowley. He claimed to ...

. His book ''Practical Mental Effects'', while often criticised for being old fashioned, contained the 'secrets' behind the effects many mentalists still use today. Annemann was married twice and had a daughter by his first wife. His personality is the subject of much speculation. Two weeks before Annemann was scheduled to perform his bullet catch indoors for the first time, he committed suicide.. Retrieved June 20, 2016.

Books

Manuscripts by Annemann

*''Card Miracles'' (1929)
''Mental Mysteries''
(1929) *''The Book With a Name'' (1931) *''The Book Without a Name'' (1931) *''The Trick of the Month Club Presents: A Dead Name Duplication'' (1931)
''202 Methods of Forcing''
(1933) *''Annemann Manuscripts'' (1933)
''Sh-h-h--!: It's a Secret''
(1934)
''Annemann's Complete One Man Mental And Psychic Routine''
(1935)
''Annemann's Mental Bargain Effects''
(1935)
''En Rapport''
(1937) *''The Incorporated Strange Secrets'' (1939)

Edited posthumously

*''Ted Annemann's Full Deck of Impromptu Card Tricks'' (1943) *''Ted Annemann's Practical Mental Effects'' (1944)
''Annemann's Miracles of Card Magic''
(1948) *''Annemann's Buried Treasures'' (1952) *''Miracles of Card Magic'' (1964) *''Annemann's Card Magic'' (1977)
''Practical Mental Magic''
(1983)

Biography

*''Annemann, Life and Times of a Legend'' by Max Abrams, L & L Publishing (1992)

References

External links

Sanders The Great: Theodore AnnemannClip of Annemann performing the bullet catch
(YouTube.com) {{DEFAULTSORT:Annemann, Theodore 1907 births 1942 deaths American magicians American skeptics Mentalists 1942 suicides Suicides in the United States