Arnold Crowther (born 7 October 1909 in Chatham, Kent, England, UK – died 1 May 1974) was a skilled stage magician,

ventriloquist Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ve ...

, and puppeteer, and was married to Patricia Crowther. He was born as one of a pair of fraternal twins. During his career he worked in

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

, and in 1938–1939, he entertained Princess Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret Rose at Buckingham Palace, which got him invited to numerous engagements to entertain the titled gentry of England. Crowther was also a founder, member and President of the Puppet Guild, and he made more than 500

puppets A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to mov ...

in his lifetime.The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism by Shelley Rabinovitch, James Lewis

Introduction to witchcraft

Shortly before World War II Crowther met

Gerald Gardner Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, as well as an author and an amateur anthropology, anthropologist and archaeology, archaeologist. He was instrumental in bri ...

and his wife Donna at the

Caledonian Market The Metropolitan Cattle Market (later Caledonian Market), just off the Caledonian Road in the parish of Islington (now the London Borough of Islington) was built by the City of London Corporation and was opened in June 1855 by Prince Albert. ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

. Arnold Crowther became friends with the Gardners and Crowther frequently visited the Gardners' London flat. Crowther became very interested in

Witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

after meeting Gardner, but was not initiated until eighteen years later. When they met, Gardner's coven was very averse to publicity, and was afraid that Crowther might use Witchcraft in his act.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Crowther entertained with the Entertainments National Services Association, touring throughout

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and entertaining service men with his "Black Magic" show. During the war years, Crowther joined the Forces Entertainment's Corps, and entertained troops all over Europe with his show "Black Magic." The "Black Magic" show also included an African

Basuto The Sotho () people, also known as the Basuto or Basotho (), are a Bantu nation native to southern Africa. They split into different ethnic groups over time, due to regional conflicts and colonialism, which resulted in the modern Basotho, who ...

choir. On 10 November 1943, while en route from

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, he performed aboard a DC 3 airplane flying at 4,000 feet. For a time during the war Crowther was stationed in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and there he first learned of what he would come to believe was an accurate representation of his past life as a Tibetan beggar monk. He and an officer went to visit palmist, "Madame Brux", who invited them to a séance. After introductions the medium, "Madame Brux", conceivably went into a trance and mayhap began to communicate with a masculine spirit. According to Crowther's testimony, the spirit claimed to have been Crowther's teacher in a previous life, and was his guide in this present one. The perceived spirit reported that Crowther had been a student in a Tibetan lamasery, and he (the spirit) mentioned the name "Younghusband" and that "he" had been killed in a battle. However, Crowther reasoned that if he had been such a monk in a past life he would not have been reincarnated as Crowther in this one. But later, at a London exhibition of Tibetan curios, Crowther discovered that there had been a Colonel Younghusband who had led a military attack against Tibet in 1904. Crowther came to believe that in his previous life as "Younghusband" he had killed a soldier in the attack before being killed himself. Also, during his wartime travels he had met

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

who he introduced to Gardner in 1947. Following the war Crowther returned to performing on public stage and then he met Patricia Dawson who initiated Arnold Crowther into

, and later married him (see Patricia Crowther.)

Spokespersons for witchcraft

After they were married in 1960, Arnold and Patricia Crowther lived in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

and the both of them became prominent spokespersons for Witchcraft. Crowther authored in collaboration with Patricia two books, numerous magazine articles, and a radio series on Witchcraft. In addition to his collaborated works with his wife Patricia, Crowther's other publishing efforts include: ''Let's Put on a Show'' (1964), a how-to magic book that he illustrated himself; ''Linda and the Lollipop Man'' (1973), a book on road safety for children; ''Yorkshire Customs'' (1974); and ''Hex Certificate'' (late 1970s), a collection of cartoons which he drew on the themes of Witchcraft. His autobiography, ''Hand in Glove'', was not published but made into a series by the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

and heard in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, Medway and

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

between 1975 and 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowther, Arnold 1909 births 1974 deaths Ventriloquists English Wiccans