Jim Steinmeyer (55 page)

The Kellar letter is from Ken Klosterman. The vaudeville version of Mile a Minute is mentioned in the July 11, 1915,
New York Times
.
Villa Captured
is included in playbills from George Daily. Thurston’s new patent (Villa Captured) was 1,324,630.

The Thurston patent for the Hippodrome race is 1,104,846. Patent drawings, with alternate designs, are from Twin Cities Magic. The information on the Hippodrome is from Norman Clark,
The Mighty Hippodrome
(A. S. Barnes, 1968). Jarrett wrote about the auto race and Vanishing Elephant in
The Complete Jarrett
. I discussed Houdini’s Vanishing Elephant in
Hiding the Elephant
. Houdini’s letter to Kellar is from the Conjuring Arts Research Center.

Kellar’s new levitation is described in
Kellar’s Wonders
and in
Illusion Show
. Kellar building the prop “for the pleasure” is from Daniel Waldron,
Blackstone: A Magician’s Life
(David Meyer Magic Books, 1999). A number of letters about purchasing wire appear in Ken Klosterman’s collection. The sneezing powder is from
Illusion Show
.

Thurston’s presentations appear in
Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book.
Kellar’s intention to give the illusion to Thurston is from
Of Legerdermain and Diverse Juggling Knacks.
Thurston ambitiously reported that he’d been willed a “$10,000” illusion after Kellar’s death; this was clearly the levitation, as reported in the April 1922 issue of
The Sphinx
. I wrote about Thurston’s presentation in
Hiding the Elephant
. The instruction “walk backwards” is from
The Linking Ring
, June 1957. Kellar’s complaints are from
The Complete Jarrett
and from
Illusion Show
. Thurston’s interview, with Rex White, is a radio script from Ken Klosterman. Dorny told me the story about being on stage with the levitation many years ago in Chicago.

Thurston’s show at the Globe was reviewed in the September 9, 1919,
New York Times
, and articles regarding the Equity strike and Thurston’s show appeared in the same newspaper, August 25 and 31. The Houdini letter, and Kellar’s comments, are from the Conjuring Arts Research Center.

Thurston’s patter appeared in
Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book
. The story of the farmer and the rabbits is from an undated article (circa 1919) in the
Grand Rapids News
, from David Copperfield.

The Thurston letter to Blackstone is from Ken Klosterman collection. Blackstone’s response is from the June 1956 issue of
The Linking Ring
.

I’m grateful to Dennis Laub for information on Samri Baldwin. Baldwin’s billing is in programs from George Daily collection. The act is described in the December 7, 1920, letter from Houdini to Kellar, and in a December 6 letter from Houdini to Robert Kudarz, quoted by Dennis Laub. Baldwin’s disagreement is from
Of Legerdermain and Diverse Juggling Knacks.
The details of the contract, and Kellar’s letter, are quoted from Thomas Sawyer,
Foxing Around
(Thomas Sawyer, 1987), from the American Museum of Magic.

Thurston’s letter to Jane is from Ken Klosterman. His rejection of clubs is from his St. Mark’s Church speech.

Thurston’s health obsessions were discussed by Fredrick Keating, “Howard Thurston, Merchant of Magic,”
My Magic Husband
, and
Our Life of Magic
.

The story of the little boy in the audience is taken from “This Week in Chicago” (no date, circa 1925) from Twin Cities Magic. Dr. Lutz is mentioned in correspondence from Rory Feldman, and his plastic surgery is mentioned in
The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston
. David and Theo Bamberg’s story is from
Illusion Show
. Thurston’s letters, Coue’s cure, advice on eating and sleeping, and Leotha’s drinking are from Ken Klosterman and Jay Hunter.

Thurston worked directly on many scripts, or with other writers to develop scripts. For example, the name “Eternity” was also used for a script developed by Fulton Oursler for Thurston, a very different story of morality, which is from Rory Feldman. The
New York Times
announced “Eternity” (later “Twisted Souls”) in a June 6, 1920, article. “Twisted Souls” was announced in the
New York Clipper
, July 21, 1920, and September 1, 1920. The title “The Spirit Witness,” and the attempt to recut it is from Plough’s article “Thurston, the Man.”

Thurston’s letters, about Jane and Leotha’s bouts with influenza, are from Ken Klosterman. Kellar’s letter, and the story of Thurston backstage, are from Robert E. Olson’s “A Letter from Kellar” in the June 1973 issue of
The Linking Ring
. The story is also told in
My Life of Magic
. Columbus newspaper accounts of the murder are from Jay Hunter.

Charles Thurston’s murderer, Robert Stone, later confessed and was imprisoned. In April 1930 a fire raged through the Ohio penitentiary in Columbus. Stone was one of 322 who lost their lives.

Kellar’s letter, from 1917, is quoted in the Kenneth Silverman notes, Conjuring Arts Research Center.

I wrote about the early history of this illusion in
Art & Artifice
(Hahne, 1998, republished by Carroll and Graf, 2006).

The account of the SAM banquet is from the July 1921 issue of
The Sphinx
. Goldin’s patent for the illusion was 1,458,575. It is difficult to evaluate just how close these early drawings are to the illusion he presented that night, but the big boxy base, which disappointed Dante, is in evidence.

The controversy with the Cannon Illusion is in Fasola correspondence from Gary Hunt. The account of Thurston’s interest is from
My Life of Magic
and from Phil Temple,
Dante: The Devil Himself
(Phil Temple, 1991).

Jansen’s early history is from
Dante: The Devil Himself
,
Magic: A Pictorial History of Conjurers in the Theater
, and
The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston
. While Goldin later disagreed about Jansen’s contributions to the illusion, Jansen added illusionary qualities that were attributable to Servais Le Roy, based on his work in Chicago. A letter from Thurston to Goldin, from David Copperfield, confirms Jansen’s part.

Thurston’s presentation is from
Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book
,
Recollections of Howard Thurston
, and John S. Van Gilder,
Watching Thurston from the Front Row
(Van Gilder, 1931).

Kellar’s death is from
Kellar’s Wonders
. Thurston’s remarks appear in “Thurston Honors Kellar’s Memory,” a March 17, 1922, clipping in an unsourced newspaper from Ken Klosterman. Thurston also wrote about Kellar’s importance in
My Life of Magic
.

Dante’s new arrangement was discussed in Okito (Theo Bamberg), “How Dante Got His Name,”
M.U.M.
magazine, June 1954, and
Dante: The Devil Himself.
Early posters for Dante show the combined billing; early Dante advertisements are from Twin Cities Magic.

The Houdini and Thurston story was told to me by Walter Gibson, who was sitting next to Thurston that evening. He was probably in New York to work on tricks for Thurston’s upcoming boxes of candy, a promotion to be sold at his shows. The
Evening Telegram
article is from David Copperfield. Notice that Thurston had weighed in on the issue of spiritualism in several articles around this time, including
National Pictorial Monthly
.

A copy of the United Press article is from Ken Klosterman’s collection; it was quoted, with comments, in the September 1922 issue of
The Sphinx.

Doyle’s statements are from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
Our American Adventure
(Hodder and Stoughton, 1923). Thurston’s comments to Houdini are from George Daily. Houdini wrote about Palladino in Harry Houdini,
A Magician Among the Spirits
(Harper and Brothers, 1924).

Grover George’s story is from
Magic: A Pictorial History of Conjurers in the Theater
and from
The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston
. A long article about George’s success, “Five Year Mystery Trip,” appears in an August 11, 1929, Putnam, Ohio, newspaper, from George Daily. The legal paperwork, and correspondence from Dante, is from Twin Cities Magic.

Thurston’s letter to Blackstone is from Phil Temple,
Thurston and Dante, the Written Word
(Phil Temple, 2006).

The controversy about Thurston’s exposures ran through
The Sphinx
from October 1922 to May 1923. Additional material is from
Thurston and Dante, the Written Word
. Thurston’s press release is from Ken Klosterman. The letter to Mulholland is from Rory Feldman.

The Water Fountains routine is discussed in
The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston
,
Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book
, and
The Master Magicians
. The routine is in a manuscript from Rory Feldman. The Vanishing Horse is discussed in
Dante: The Devil Himself,
and drawings for the apparatus, prepared for patent, are from Twin Cities Magic. Thurston’s improvements are discussed in
Thurston and Dante, the Written Word
, and the patter is from
Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book.

Fire and Water is discussed in Mike Caveney,
The Great Leon, Vaudeville Headliner
(Magical Publications, 1987), and in
Illusion Show
. Letters concerning the controversy are from George Daily.

Thurston and Dante letters appear in
Thurston and Dante, the Written Word.
The complaint about Dante’s ad is from George Daily.

Additional information on Tampa is from Gary R. Frank,
Tampa, England’s Court Magician
(Gary R. Frank, 2002), Gary R. Frank,
Sugden, The Magician
(Gary R. Frank, 2007), and
The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston
. The advertising sheets for Dante and Tampa are from Twin Cities Magic. Correspondence from Fasola is from Gary Hunt.

The program for Houdini’s show is from the Conjuring Arts Research Center, and also was listed in the October 3, 1925, issue of
Billboard
. Houdini’s show is discussed in
Hiding the Elephant
,
The Secret Life of Houdini,
and
Houdini: The Career of Ehrich Weiss
. The
Sphinx
review appeared in December 1925. Wilson’s remarks and Houdini’s boast are from
Houdini: The Career of Ehrich Weiss.

In his autobiography,
My Life of Magic
, Thurston told the story of his White House performance, emphasizing how he’d procured a duplicate of the president’s watch, and then, through a careless mistake, almost smashed the real watch. It sounds like a typical magician’s exaggeration. Yet
Time
magazine’s coverage (December 22, 1924) made it clear that Thurston did, indeed, use the president’s new watch for this trick, surprising everyone. Thurston had managed to secure a duplicate.

The
Chicago Defender
article is from March 21, 1925. The story of the lion is from
My Life of Magic
. Memories of George backstage and at Beechhurst are from
Our Life of Magic
.

The Thurston and Houdini letters are from George Daily. An account of the dinner is in the American Museum of Magic. Harry Leat’s comments appeared in
Leat’s Leaflets
(undated); a response is from Oscar S. Teale in the
M.U.M.
magazine, May 1926.

Thurston’s patent drawings for Buried Alive are from Twin Cities Magic.

Thurston’s investments are discussed in correspondence from Ken Klosterman and Rory Feldman. The Perfect Breather is in correspondence and advertising from Ken Klosterman. Mike Caveney wrote an article about this odd invention in the August 2005 issue of
MAGIC
magazine.

The history of the Rope Trick is recounted in Peter Lamont,
The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick
(Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2004). Ken Klosterman owns the model figures used in planning the illusion. Accounts of the experiments are found in
Thurston and Dante, the Written Word
. The best account of Thurston’s illusion is in
The Master Magicians
. Thurston prepared a movie of the boy, now owned by Mike Caveney. Information on the steam is from
Sugden, The Magician
.

Thurston’s letter to Leotha is from Ken Klosterman. Rory Feldman has an undated letter fragment from T. Nelson Downs reporting a scandalous rumor that Thurston was a “dope addict” with a $50-a-day habit. There is no basis for this rumor, nor any information to support it. But Leotha’s drug use may have become an issue around this time and inspired the talk that surrounded Thurston.

The monkeys were discussed in
Our Life of Magic
. David Copperfield has photos of Thurston with the monkeys. Picky is mentioned in letters and newspaper articles from Ken Klosterman, and the monkey production is from
Germain the Wizard
. The monkey case file, of court documents, is from David Copperfield. Thurston’s concerns about the case occupies many letters in
Thurston and Dante, the Written Word
, and newspaper articles about the incident are from George Daily.

Thurston’s letters, from Ken Klosterman and Rory Feldman, detail the process of his face-lift that summer and Harry’s involvement. Plough’s story is from his article “Thurston, the Man.” His surgery is also discussed in
The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston
. Schireson wrote about Thurston’s operation (including retouched before and after photos) in Dr. Henry J. Schireson,
As Others See You
(Macaulay, 1938). Oddly, in the book Schireson referred to the patient as a “pupil of Herrmann the Great ... until his death a few years ago the greatest living magician,” but did not refer to him by name. He stuck to Plough’s story, claiming that he was operating on scar tissue from a steam burn. The story of meeting Grace is from
My Magic Husband
.