Broken wand: Luis Cheng

From the Linking Ring:

Luis Peclian Cheng, 74, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, died January 18, 2013. His I.B.M. number was 63070, and he had been a member since 2002. He was a member of Ring 92 (Vancouver). He was born in the Philippines. He married his wife and they moved to Canada in 1969. He worked as a millwright for decades, and retired in his 60s. He enjoyed the magic and social aspects of the Vancouver Magic Circle. He often performed as the “famous” Fu Ling Yu, magician and comedian, from Beijing, China. He also enjoyed line dancing, Chinese painting and calligraphy, karaoke, and playing pool. Among survivors are his wife of forty-three years,Felisa; daughters Yvonne (Quan), and Raquel (Hoai), and four grandchildren.

Read more.

Broken wand: Charles Peterson

From the Linking Ring:

Charles (Chuck) Gilbert Peterson, 60, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, died March 6, 2013 after a long battle with cancer. His I.B.M. member number was 36840 and he had been a member since 2011. His life work was to help people with disabilities since he was blind most of his life. He was a social worker, working for the Government of Alberta for people with special needs and disabilities. He demonstrated with his own life that even with a disability you could do almost anything. He loved to cook, bake, sew costumes, and paint pictures, in addition to doing magic (which he did for small parties, birthday parties, and special events. He also played guitar and banjo, and was a real cowboy. He was active in the gay community and equal rights. Survivors include his husband, Dale; step-children Johnathan, Joshua (Katrina), sister Pauline, and father-in-law, Mike. Memorial contributions may be made in his name to the Cross Cancer Institute,11560 University Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G1Z2 

 Read more.

From the Edmonton Journal:

June 14, 1952 - March 6, 2013

On March 6, 2013 Charles (Chuck) Peterson passed away from a long and lengthy battle with cancer at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, Alberta at the age of 60 years.

He will be sadly missed and remembered by his husband Dale, stepchildren; Johnathan, Joshua, wife Katrina, sister Pauline, father-in- law Mike, mother-in-law (Deceased) Jane, niece Jackie, great niece Lori, nephew Cody as well as numerous relatives and loving friends.

Read more.

Broken Wand: William Anderson

Recently we were notified by Dennis Schick, the editor of the Broken Wand in the International Brotherhood of Magician's magazine, The Linking Ring, of the passing of William Anderson. Dennis is graciously allowing me to pass this on to you.
 

Dennis also pointed out that the more ALL of us share news and information about magic with the REST of us, the better off the entire magic community will be.
 

I take this opportunity to ask you to not just ASSUME that we already know about some magic news that YOU hear about. Please tell us about it. We would always rather hear some news SEVERAL times rather than not at all!

-----

WILLIAM J. ANDERSON

The I.B.M. Headquarters recently learned that William J. (Bill) Anderson, 83, of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, died July 29, 2012 of cancer. His member number was 63254, and he had been a member since 2002. He became interested in magic as a teenager, and it became a life-long hobby. He was literally a jack of all trades, from a master plumber and welder, to a carpenter and furniture and antique restorer, He and his wife lived and traveled throughout Canada and the United States over their almost sixty-four years of marriage. Survivors include his wife, Phyllis; children Richard, Heather (Alex) Chiong, and Judith (Mike) Meyer; and grandchildren, Nora, Mark and Tina.

 

Broken wand: Andrew Philip

Recently we were notified by Dennis Schick, the editor of the Broken Wand in the International Brotherhood of Magician's magazine, The Linking Ring, of the passing of Andrew Philip. Dennis is graciously allowing me to pass this on to you. 

 

Dennis also pointed out that the more ALL of us share news and information about magic with the REST of us, the better off the entire magic community will be. 

 

I take this opportunity to ask you to not just ASSUME that we already know about some magic news that YOU hear about. Please tell us about it. We would always rather hear some news SEVERAL times rather than not at all!

 

-----

 

 

Andrew Philip

 

Andrew (Andy) William Philip, 50, of Unionville, Ontario, Canada, died February 16, 2013. He was a former member of the I.B.M. (1986-2000). A high school math teacher introduced him to magic, and they became life-long friends. Although diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease as a teenager, he was never without cards and coins everywhere he went. He was a finance manager at I.B.M. Canada for seventeen years until his health prevented him from working any longer. With magic he was obsessed with presentation and crafting scripts, and he loved performing for children, especially at the family cottage in Port Elgin. Survivors include his wife of twenty-four years, Kim, and their children David and Danielle.

 

 

Broken wand: Raymond Massecar

From Your Life Moments:

Raymond Massecar

MASSECAR, Raymond Earl of St. Thomas, passed away peacefully, surrounded in his final hours by his loving family on Monday, February 4th, 2013, at the St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital, in his 88th year. Beloved husband and best friend of 57 years of Marion (Robinson) Massecar and dearly loved father of Leo and his wife Wendy Massecar of St. Thomas, Ed Massecar of Mississauga, Mary Lou Weber and her husband Chuck of St. Thomas and Brian Massecar of St. Thomas. Much loved grandfather of Shawn (Natalie) and Lindsey Hardy (Rich). Predeceased by a grandson Robbie. Loved great grandfather of Liam and Lincoln. Predeceased by 3 brothers Gordon, Howard and Donald Massecar. Sadly missed by a number of nieces and nephews. Ray was born in Waterford on June 20th, 1925, the son of the late Earl and Grace (Warwick) Massecar. He was retired from Magna (1985). Ray served overseas with the army during W.W.II. He was a member of Grace United Church and a former member of the Kinsmen Club and the Knights of Pythias and the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

Read more.

[With thanks to Dennis Schick for passing this information along.]

Broken wand: Munro MacKenzie

From The Vancouver Sun:

1923 - March 6, 2013

With sadness we announce the passing of Munro MacKenzie: Son, Student, Soldier, Husband, Father, Cousin, Pharmacist, Volunteer, Friend, Mentor. Munro was born in New Westminster BC and grew up in Vancouver. He bravely served his country in World War 2 as part of the Canadian Scottish Regiment, coming home to finish his studies in Pharmacy at UBC and marry his sweetheart. He was the well-liked neighbourhood pharmacist until an armed robbery left him seriously injured in the early '80's. Determined to live life to the fullest, he became a volunteer, working for the Vancouver Aquarium, and Meals on Wheels. He was a Patron at Science World, putting in over 12,000 hours as a volunteer, right up until a week before his passing. In 2007, he was honoured with a Community Achievement Award, in Victoria. He was also a very active member of the Vancouver Magic Circle.

Read more.

Broken wand: Mehdi Talbi

From Mehdi Magicien: (warning: sound)

C'est avec beaucoup de tristesse que nous vous annonçons le décès de Mehdi la super étoile de la magie le 24 avril 2013 a l'âge de 64 ans ,comme il le souhaitait, gardons la magie et l'émerveillement dans nos coeurs.

La famille.
Read english transaltion. (warning: sound)
 

Our thoughts are with his family.



[with thanks to Phil Matlin for letting me know]

Broken wand: Greg Kramer

From the Montreal Gazette:

Greg Kramer has passed away. In addition to being a fine actor, an excellent director, and an award-nominated author of novels and  short stories, Kramer was also a magician of considerable expertise. He was hired as a consultant by the Stratford Festival to help create the special effects for their recent production of The Tempest starring Christopher Plummer as Prospero.

Read more.

From the CBC:

Montreal's close-knit theatre community is still reeling from the shock of losing Greg Kramer, the 51-year-old playwright, actor, director, songwriter and magician found dead in his apartment Monday — the very day rehearsals began at the Segal Centre for the last play he wrote.

Kramer performed on stages across Canada, the country he made home after leaving Britain in 1981 because of Margaret Thatcher's cuts to arts funding.  

Read more.

From the Globe and Mail:

Riding in on a skateboard as a juggling, fire-breathing Mustardseed in the 1987 Vancouver Playhouse production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Greg Kramer, a free-wheeling and sometimes outrageously multi-talented artist, tripped over his feet and cracked both ankles. He was so high on adrenalin that he carried on until the end of the show.

Read more.

[With appreciation to Phil Matlin for letting me know.]

Broken wand: Peter Reveen

From Reveen's website:

Reveen had great respect for his audiences and became lifelong friends with many of the people who attended his shows.   He will be remembered for his extraordinary sense of humor, his willingness to share his knowledge and advice without expectation of something in return, his generosity and his humble dedication to charity. His incredible memory provided him with an endless supply of stories and jokes that he enjoyed sharing with friends and family.

 
The Reveen family takes comfort in knowing that he is now at peace.  We are proud to have shared him with countless fans, friends and family around the world and we are incredibly grateful for the kind words of support from the many people whose lives he touched.
A memorial service is being planned to honour the great entertainer.

Read more.

From the CBC:

Reveen the Impossibilist, a master hypnotist and illusionist, has died.

Born in Australia in 1935, Peter Reveen passed away Monday morning in Las Vegas. He died as a result of complications due to diabetes and dementia, according to the obituary posted on his website.

He was well-known throughout Atlantic Canada, presenting shows for decades in cities across the East Coast. Over his 50-year career he presented 6,000 live performances throughout Canada, the U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom. 

Read more.
 

From the Winnipeg Free Press:

After immigrating to Canada from Australia in 1961, he began his career knocking on the doors of businesses in small towns in British Columbia, offering free tickets to shop owners if they put up his poster in their windows, she said.

As a youth he was a stage magician, but he later studied hypnosis and developed a show that emphasized audience engagement.

He performed in front of packed theatres and campus audiences around the world. But Cathy Reveen said he was particularly fond of entertaining audiences in small communities in Atlantic Canada, where he made his final tour in 2008.

Read more.

From the Merlina mailing list:

Peter J. Reveen (born 1935 in Adelaide, Australia - Died 8 Apr 2013) was a stage hypnotist and illusionist who performed mainly in Canada. He was the "Impossibilist". Mr. Reveen toured as a performer for over 35 years. He came out of retirment in 2007 with a mini-tour which he called The Return of Reveen. He was a founding member of The Magic Castle, was awarded the DRAGON Award in 2000, was manager to Lance Burton and his biography of accomplishments goes on and on. He was married to Coral and had 4 sons, Wayne, Tyrone, Calvin and Peter Jr. His passing leaves a huge void in the world of magic and entertainment. May he Rest In Peace.

Our thoughts are with his sons Wayne, Tyrone, Calvin and Peter Jr as well as extended family and friends.

Broken wand: Blain Harper

Updated at 4pm to include this link to a tribute to Blain by Lee Elliott.

From Mount Pleasant Group:

Harper, Blain
 
It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Blain, on March 15, 2013 at St. Michael’s Hospital in his 41st year. Blain brought humour and magic into the lives of everyone he met and will be sadly missed. Cherished husband to Sophie for 13 years. Adoring father to Kara. Loving son to the late Marilyn (1991) and Robert and his wife Susan. Loving and supportive brother to Jennifer. Devoted uncle “Goofball” to Willow. He will also be missed by his step siblings Alison and Warren Lawtey as well as by his aunts, uncles, and cousins. He was revered by his multitude of friends, neighbours, and colleagues at Yonge & Rubicam where he worked as an Associate Creative Director. Family and Friends may call at PINE HILLS CEMETERY & VISITATION CENTRE, 625 Birchmount Rd., Scarborough (north of St. Clair Ave. E., 416-267-8229) on Thursday, March 21, 2013 from 3-5pm and 7-9pm for visitation. A memorial service will be held on Friday, March 22, 2013 at 11am in the chapel at Pine Hills.

Read more.

[with appreciation to Lee Elliott for letting us know]

Broken wand: Stuart Feldman

From the Montreal Gazette:

FELDMAN, Stuart
Suddenly, on Sunday, March 3, 2013. Dear brother and brother-in-law of Rhoda and Leon Grinberg, Judy and Allan Klein of Houston, Texas. Son of the late Rosaline and the late Abbey Feldman. Stuart will be sadly mourned by his nieces, nephews, family and friends.

Read more.
 

Read condolence messages, including one by Richard Sanders, at Paperman and Sons.


[Thank you to Perfect Magic, for sharing the news.]

Broken wand: Lucien "Stephano" Boucher

From Le Survol de la Rive-Nord:

À Saint-Eustache, le 24 novembre 2012 à l’âge de 89 ans, est décédé Lucien Boucher, époux d’Huguette Beaudoin. Outre son épouse, il laisse dans le deuil ses fils Pierre et Stéphane (Diane); ses petits-enfants : Alyssa, Aaron, Frankie et Missy; de nombreux frères et sœurs ainsi que plusieurs autres parents et amis.

Lucien Boucher a fait sa marque, sous le nom de Stéphano, dans le milieu des variétés en tant que magicien, humoriste et photographe.

Read more.

Read in english via Google Translate.


[With thanks to Phil Matlin.]

Broken wand: Leonard Miedzianowski

From the Montreal Gazette:

1951-2013 Leonard Miedzianowski, aka Nemo Turner son of the late Peter Miedzianowski and Wanda Lorek, survived by his brother John and sister Regina, and numerous friends. Leonard was a well known Montreal magician.

Read more.

[via Perfect Magic]


From "Remebering Nemo" over at the Rotary Club of Montreal.

Nemo Turner, born Leonard Miedzianowski, age 61, died early Friday morning, February 8, 2013.

Nemo (the name he took when he began to perform magic) was a well known Montrealer having frequently appeared in the media.
After attending Concordia University (Loyola campus) and receiving a Bachelor’s degree in psychology he carried on with his career as a magician and llusionist, his loyal assistant, Melvin Rabbit at his side. A sense of whimsy and an ability to generate publicity on Nemo’s part led to Melvin, a small white rabbit, gaining his own measure of fame, resulting in a lifestyle that included his own bank account and dining at the Mount Stephen Club. Nemo went on to blend his entertainment skills with education and also was involved in real estate ventures.

Read more.

Remembering

Added Lucien Boucher on February 23rd, 2013.

• Boucher, Lucien "Stephano" (1923 - 2012)
• Everett Andrews (1935 - 2012)
• Felsher, Steven ( -2012)
• Hooten, Cameron (1926-2012)
• Martineau, Francis  (1922-2012) 

Broken wand: Everett Andrews

Updated October 15th, to include link to Legacy.com listing and date of passing.

Earlier this week on October 15th, Calgary magician Everett Andrews passed away.  Born May 5th, 1935, Everett was 77.

More details will be posted when they become available.

Thank you to Gwyn and Ryan for sharing the news.

Our thoughts are with Everett's family and friends at this difficult time.

Remembering Doug Henning

Evelyn Matlin has a wonderful post up at the Perfect Magic blog describing Phil's encounter with Doug Henning.   From her post:

Once, many years ago, Doug Henning, the first celebrity magician in  50 years, came to Montreal to perform. At that time a customer, who was an ardent magic collector and a friend, was dying in the hospital. The friend’s wife phoned Phil and asked if there was any way for Doug Henning to come and visit her husband because it would mean so much to him. Phil said he would try.


Read more.

More from Matt about Ron Leonard

Another comment from Matt DiSero, on the post Remembering Ron Leonard:

I just found a old VHS tape of a hat and rabbit club show I was on with Ron from 1996... he was the emcee. Black Tux, Red cummerbund. White Hair. It was later in his life...but he was still great. He did the production of the oranges and lots of great emcee bits. Man he's fun to watch. I miss him. Jeff Pinsky is right...he was an amazing business man... I STILL to this day, every day, use bits of professional advice he gave me.

He had an older style of performing, but people loved him. 

What stuck me most after watching this video was, that most of the acts on the show were younger " up and coming" acts... the new guys... all slick with their tricks and style of performing....but when you really watch the tape, you could see the audience still liked Ron best. Man he was funny. A zillion one liners... Just goes to show ya... no substitute for a solid, worked in act.

For me, Ron embodied something you don't see much of anymore. A guy who liked to PERFORM. Not just come up with tricks and moves to sell...but he liked his act. He impressed upon me the importance of always working on it, and always loving to perform. Its good advice. You don't hear it much anymore.... I wonder what Ron, or Herb Morrisey, or Len Cooper would think of the state of acts of late?

[Guest post]: Remembering Sam Cramer

I am grateful to Phil Matlin and all of his input to the creation of the Broken Wands page. In the absence of a proper tribute page, Phil offers some memories of Sam Cramer, from Montréal:

One of the names I gave you was Sam Cramer. Although I am not sure I believe he had the first magic shop in Montreal. My first visit to his store was in 1947. I was 10. For about 2 or 3 months he sold me what I wanted (i.e. what he demonstrated) and then one day he wouldn't sell me another trick until I bought books. He set me up with a plan that if I gave him $3.00 every 2 weeks he would give a volume of the Tarbell course. I eventually got all 5 (that's how many there were then). The price of each volume was $6.00. When he retired, his brother-in-law Alex Chervin took over the store and kept it. Had to move a few times and finally closed it up when the city expropriated the land they were on. Alex's main interest was stamp collecting but he also was a wonderful magician. Alex is still around. I spoke to him a few months ago. He is still living by himself, (his wife died close to ten years ago), and confided in me that he was 94 years old. Between Sam and Alex, every magician in Montreal then and now owe them, because without them, magic in Montreal as we know it today would never have happened. I know that Sam Cramer from Montreal was a cover feature in an issue of MUM. So far I have been unable to find it.

Jeff Pinsky and Matt DiSero remember Ron Leonard

In response to the earlier post Remembering Ron Leonard, the following comments from Matt DiSero and Jeff Pinsky have been added to the original post.

From Matt DiSero:

Ron was so nice to me as a kid at the magic club...when I got to be on a show with him for the first time it was one of the biggest thrills of my career at that time. He was so nice, and generous.... I miss him.

[Copied with permission from Facebook.]

From Jeff Pinsky:

I have fond memories of Ron Leonard. I was born in 1966. Thus I really only have my childhood memories during the decade of the 1970s.
 
Of course for those of us who were bitten by the wonderful magic 'bug' in Ontario Ron Leonard was an important figure.
 
How exciting it was to learn at the beginning of the Uncle Bobby Show that magic guest Ron Leonard was on. If memory serves me right he was not on all of the shows. That I learned many years later was due to his strong business acumen; busy with many professional performances and a gifted commercial painter.
 
In an era when there were about 12 television stations - one being in French - anything to do with magic appearing on television was exciting. Can you imagine the first Henning special? Or seeing for the first time Slydini on the Dick Cavett Show?
 
What was for me particularly wonderful about seeing Mr. Leonard perform on the Uncle Bobby Show was that he was using at times props which I might be able to afford if I saved my money. I could not dream of buying something I saw Doug Henning perform. And of course until I studied 'Magic of Slydini' I had no idea how Slydini's effects were done.
 
It was sort of a video catalogue for a magic shop well before there was any video! Watch Ron Leonard... then decide if I like the trick... then look it up in the (printed) magic catalogue and find out the price.
  
Years later after I took over Browser's Den of Magic I would have the pleasure of meeting Mr. Leonard. He was quite different than his TV personality. And why wouldn't he? On the show he was performing for little children at home.
 
But he was always pleasant when he would visit even with his poor hearing and health beginning to fail. One could tell it was affecting his enjoyment of life but at least he still had some 'magic' in him.
 
Jeff Pinsky
Browser's Den of Magic
Toronto, Canada
February 16, 2012


[With thanks to The Magic Demon for passing this along.]

James Randi remembers Ron Leonard

The following is correspondence from James Randi in response to the earlier post Remembering Ron Leonard.  These thoughts have been added as a comment to the original post.  James, thank you very much for making the time to put some thoughts about Mr. Leonard together to share.

(And thank you to The Magic Demon for making this happen!)

I recall that one of the very first magicians I ever saw - live - was Ron Leonard, at a large theater somewhere in Toronto. I sat in the very front row, the music played, and Ron stepped out fanning and manipulating cards. Then he paused for applause, riffled through the deck until he was told to stop, and extracted that card, its face toward him. He pointed at a man on the aisle and asked him to name a card - "any card." The gentleman did, and Ron flipped the card around - it was correct! Only backstage in his dressing-room, did he reveal the secret. It had been a total fluke! His usual line, he told me, was to simply reply to the card named, with "Absolutely correct, sir!" - without revealing the face of the card. He was only right about once every 52 guesses, but I'd been lucky to witness such a moment...

Handsome, well-dressed, well-spoken and elegant, Ron Leonard was one of my early heroes, though he was only five years my senior. In fact, when I was on my own in Toronto as a teen, I responded to an ad offering a room for rent, only to find that it was being rented out by Ron's mother, a spare room that she had available! It was a couple of months before that lady noticed my interest in the conjuring profession, and proudly announced the identity of her son...! I was appropriately floored by the coincidence.

Ron, along with Johnny Giordmaine, Ross Bertram, Dai Vernon, Raymond Lowe, Howard Lyons, Bruce Posgate, Tom Ransom, Sid Lorraine, and our spiritual father, Harry Smith, saw me through the tortures of a top-change, multiplying billiard balls, and various rope-ties until I was able to head off to the USA as a pro. I'll never forget these chaps, all of whom made it possible for me to enjoy a long and happy career as a performer...

James (The Amazing) Randi.

[via The Magic Demon]