On June 6th, Dean Gunnarson participated in a rededication of a plaque at the building where it all started over 100 years ago.
From the June 5th article, "Winnipeg still a magic city 100 years after international organization’s founding" by Sam Thompson at Global News:
Internationally-known illusionist and comedy magician Brian Glow says the brotherhood, which is the largest organization of magicians in the world, was founded in Winnipeg in 1922.
The city’s long history of magic — which includes a 1923 performance by the legendary Harry Houdini, who escaped from a straightjacket 30 feet above a downtown building — is largely due to its geographic location.
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Although the brotherhood became so popular that it moved to the U.S. less than a decade after its founding, Gunnarson said the city has a long history of famed magicians to this day — from himself and Glow to the likes of Doug Henning, Darcy Oake, and Greg Wood.
“Sometimes we don’t appreciate things in our own backyard… and Winnipeg has such a vibrant, rich history of politicians, entertainers — and of course magic,” Gunnarson said.
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From the June 6th article "'The magic city': 100th anniversary of International Brotherhood of Magicians marked in Winnipeg, where it all started" by Devon McKendrick at CTV News Winnipeg:
IBM was started by three magicians, including Len Vintus, who is from Transcona, in 1922, and now the organization has around 15,000 members with local groups in more than 88 countries.
"He created the world's largest magic organization with no computer, no smartphone, no fax machine, all with a typewriter and a mimeograph machine," said Dean Gunnarson, who is a Winnipeg escape artist.
The IBM was created to connect magicians who lived outside major cities and were unable to attend magic club meetings.
"(Vintus) promoted magic, the City of Winnipeg, the Province of Manitoba. He was a real ambassador for this city and province and, of course, magic."
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From the June 29th article "World’s largest magic club celebrates 100th anniversary, Winnipeg roots" by Cody Sellar in the Free Press Community Review:
To celebrate the anniversary, local members held a ceremony at the original headquarters on June 6, recreating the unveiling of the 1986 historical building plaque by setting the veil ablaze.
Transconian Melvin McMullen, better known by the stage name Len Vintus, founded the organization in 1922 at the age of 19. He rented an office on the seventh floor of the building at Main Street and William Avenue and set to work.
“He was absolutely driven. Wore a suit and tie and vest every day of his life that I knew him, until he went to the hospital with a stroke,” said Dean Gunnarson, a Winnipeg escape artist who became friends with McMullen until his death in 1999.
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The Winnipeg ring has now morphed into the Magic Club of Winnipeg, run in part by brotherhood member Carey Lauder. He’s helped teach a host of young magicians, including Darcy Oake. He said for some kids, magic provides a crucial confidence boost.
“It’s like kid Toastmasters,” he said, citing parents who told him their children gained the self-assurance to speak up in class and other such things.
Lauder, who also works at the magic counter at Toad Hall Toys, said McMullen’s legacy is a point of pride for the Winnipeg magic community.
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Gunnarson said his tombstone is carved in the shape of the province and inscribed with the title: “Mr. Manitoba.”
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