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Harry August Jansen (born Jensen; October 3, 1883 – June 15, 1955) was a Danish-born American entertainer who traveled the world as a professional magician under the name Dante the Magician.


Biography

Harry August Jensen was born on October 3, 1883, in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
, Denmark. At the age of 6, Jansen came to
St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...
, in the United States, with his family. At the age of 16, Jansen made his stage debut under Charles Wagner. He then set off on a world tour for five years as The Great Jansen. In 1922, magician Howard Thurston, realizing Jansen's talent and possible competition to him, engaged Jansen to star in the #2 Thurston show. Thurston gave Jansen the stage name of Dante. The name came from the original Dante, Oscar Eliason (1869–1899), who had been killed in a tragic hunting accident in Australia years earlier. In 1925, Dante the Magician Inc. came into being with Thurston as co-owner. The 2nd unit Thurston show was built and co-produced by Jansen. Dante was known throughout the world under the name Dante the Magician, working in vaudeville, burlesque, legitimate theatre, films, and in later years, television. Dante and his troupe, consisting of between 25 and 40 performers, made several global trips and appeared in many U.S. theaters. His stage trademark was to utter three nonsense words, "Sim Sala Bim" (taken from the lyrics of a Danish children's song), during his performances to acknowledge applause. He can be seen using these words in the Swedish
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
feature ''Dantes mysterier'' (''Dante's Mysteries'') and in the
1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...
Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...
comedy '' A-Haunting We Will Go''. Dante Though other magicians like Kalanag have claimed to have invented the phrase. Dante also appeared as himself in '' Racket Busters'' (1938), '' A-Haunting We Will Go'' (1942), and '' Bunco Squad'' (1950), and played a character role in
Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...
's '' The Golden Coach'' (1952). In 1940 he produced and starred the Broadway revue ''Sim Sala Bim'' on the
Morosco Theatre The Morosco Theatre was a Broadway theatre near Times Square in New York City from 1917 to 1982. It housed many notable productions and its demolition, along with four adjacent theaters, was controversial. History Located at 217 West 45th Stre ...
. With television, the public stayed home more often, and the world of variety theatre suffered drastically. As a result, Dante retired to Southern California in the late 1940s. He died at his ranch in
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, of a heart attack, at the age of 71. He was alone at the time of his death.


Legacy

With Dante's death, what historically has been known as the "Golden Age of Magic" came to an end. Gone were the variety theaters of the world, and with it were the large traveling magic productions that had thrilled and mystified millions for generations. In prior decades, the magical lineage created by the American public had elevated magicians Alexander Herrmann, Harry Kellar, Thurston and Dante to the position of the #1 magician in the country. Shortly before Dante's death, he approached a young magician, Lee Grabel, to be his successor in the lineage of great magicians. Plans were underway at the time of Dante's death. However, because Dante died before making a public announcement, some magical historians believe the lineage ended with Dante. This magician has since chosen a Las Vegas headliner magician, Lance Burton to be his successor, therefore carrying on the tradition of the magical lineage to another generation. Despite this, its authenticity is still questioned by some. In 1991, magic historian Phil Temple published the definitive biography of Dante the Magician, ''Dante - The Devil Himself'', based largely on Dante's personal records, and Temple's friendship with surviving family members who had toured with the show decades earlier. Years later, a memoir about life on the road with the Dante show was written by Marion Trikosko, who spent two years with Dante as an assistant. His book, ''Trouping with Dante'', was published in 2006.


See also

* List of magicians in film *
List of magic museums A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...


References


Further reading

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jansen, Harry August 1883 births 1955 deaths American magicians Danish emigrants to the United States People from Copenhagen American vaudeville performers