Television magicians from decades long gone

Two Canadians in the top 8!

From Me TV Chicago's article "8 Magicians Who Dazzled Us on TV as Children":

1. DOUG HENNING

With his bedazzled overalls and beaming smile, Henning was the perfect man to introduce children to the world of magic, a lovable character akin to Gallagher or Slim Goodbody. The Canadian first broke in this country on Broadway, earning a Tony nom for his 1974 production, The Magic Show. A year after that opening, 50 million viewers tuned in for the TV special Doug Henning's World of Magic. The escape artist and lover of Houdini went on to create stage tricks for Earth, Wind and Fire and Michael Jackson tours.

2. THE AMAZING RANDI

James Randi is as well known for his skepticism as his illusions. The performer famously offered $1,000 (then $10,000, then $1,000,000) to anyone who could prove the existence of the supernatural. He's still waiting to pay out. Randi, seen here on the cover of Dynamite magazine, had a mission to expose charlatans posing as naturally gifted psychics. He would especially work to debunk the following man, his nemesis…

 Read more.

Grand champion magician honoured at the 2016 Academy of Magical Arts awards

As a follow-up to this post, read the official press release from the Greg Frewin Theatre:

Hollywood, California - May 16th, 2016 EST - The Academy of Magical Arts delightfully announced Greg Frewin as the 2015 recipient of the Performing Fellowship Award. Established in 1968, the award recognizes outstanding achievement and significant contribution to the performance art of magic.  Frewin is the 2nd Canadian in the Academy’s history to have won this award.

"We were honored to bestow Greg with the Performing Fellowship for his great work in his Niagara Falls theatre," commented Academy of Magical Arts President, Randy Sinnott. “Greg has done a tremendous job advancing the Art, and with his creativity and energy and his year round/full-evening show has created a positive image of magic for the thousands that have seen him perform."

Frewin performs nightly at his own theatre in Niagara Falls, Ontario. He and his long-running production have become one of magic's great destinations in the world.

Previous to owning and running his own theatre in Canada, Frewin appeared on stages all over the world, including Caesars Palace, Tropicana and Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas, Showboat in Atlantic City, Crystal Palace Casino in Nassau, Bahamas, the fabulous Genting Resort in Malaysia, Kaula Lumpur, Malaysia. He has also appeared on over 35 television programs, including NBC's World's Greatest Magic, ABC's Champions of Magic, CW's Masters of Illusion, and his own three-part CBC special Magic Man: Home for the Holidays.

"It's a great honour to be singled out by the Academy of Magical Arts & Magic Castle," Frewin remarked after learning of the award. "Bringing the prestigious fellowship home to Canada means so much to me, my family, and those who share my vision at the theatre. Moreover, I feel extra special to win because world renowned Illusionist Doug Henning, my childhood hero, is the only other Canadian to ever win this award. I'm in excellent company!"

"Greg Frewin's influence on magic is deep and broad," said Vittoria Wikston, the General Manager of the Greg Frewin Theatre. “He performs nightly entertaining thousands of people from different walks of life, all while creating lifelong devotees of magic in the process. Additionally, Frewin tirelessly demonstrates that if you keep focused, committed and true to yourself then you will attain your dreams. Now that's real magic!"

Among Frewin's awards are 'Magician of The Year' from the World Magic Awards, First Place in the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) competition of professional magicians, The Gold Medal of Excellence, First Place at the Society of American Magicians (SAM) annual magic convention competition, and First Place at FISM, the Olympics of magic.

Driven by the promotion and development of the art of magic, The Academy of Magical Arts is the proud founder of the Performance Fellowship award. Since its inception almost fifty years ago, the AMA has continually been a passionate advocate for the magical arts.

###

For more information about the magic of Greg Frewin visit the official website:
www.gregfrewintheatre.com
 

And from the Greg Frewin Theatre Twitter feed:

So proud to be the 2nd #Canadian ever to win an @AMA_Magic Performing Fellowship Award! #niagarafalls #theatre pic.twitter.com/LSxD9PFPnk

— Greg Frewin Theatre (@GF_Theatre) June 15, 2016

Greg Frewin: 2016 winner of the AMA Performing Fellowship

Congratulations Greg!

According to Lee Asher, the only other Canadian to receive this award was Doug Henning.

Read Richard Kaufman's post at the Genii forums to find out all of the other award winners from last night.


From the AMA Twitter feed:
A note to subscribers: the content of this post is embedded from another website and is not available to preview. To view the content of the post, please visit http://CanadasMagic.blogspot.com. Some of the embedded code may be visible in this notification.

@AMA_Magic thank you all at the Academy of Magical Arts. It is an amazing honour...# so excited #honoured #magiclife #magic

— Greg Frewin (@GregFrewinMagic) May 16, 2016

Canadians on the list of "Top Ten Magicians of the 20th Century"

Have a look over at The Top Tens and see how Doug Henning, Dai Vernon, Shawn Farquhar, and Shin Lim are ranking in their list of "Top Ten Magicians of the 20th Century."

While you're there, add your vote!

New insight into the John Giordmaine - Doug Henning connection

From the curator of the Johnny Giordmaine tribute site:

I am very excited to bring you news about the latest addition to JohnGiordmaine.com, the online tribute to Canada's most beloved children's magician (Johnny Giordmaine, 1898-1974).
Brian Lumley, who used to work for Doug Henning, provides the first ever-in-print anecdotal evidence of Johnny's influential mentorship with Doug. 

Since I reposted Doug's 1989 "retirement from magic" letter last December (first published in Genii) in which he thanked "the late John Giordmaine" ahead of Dai Vernon, Slydini, Jay Marshall and others, I have tried to find a reason why Doug thanked Johnny first and foremost. Theirs must have been a very special kind of mentorship and friendship but nowhere in any of the magical history literature has there ever appeared any documented evidence for it. 

Until now. 

Brian Lumley recalls a very special "Spellbound" backstage tour in late December 1973 which Doug gave Johnny mere hours before Johnny's heart attack which would ultimately prove fatal. With this breakthrough recollection we at long last have the very first eyewitness account in print of what it meant to Doug to have Johnny as a friend and mentor. 

Only now can we really begin to appreciate the reasons why Doug Henning thanked "the late John Giordmaine" first in his "letter of retirement". 

This story appears nowhere else to date to the best of my knowledge. It will hopefully open the door to future further research into Johnny's pivotal influence on arguably Canada's most internationally famous magician of the 20th century. 

You can read all about it, exclusively, here: 

www.johngiordmaine.com

And now for some Doug Henning videos

From the Johnny Carson YouTube channel:



[via iTricks]



And one from Clive Court's Facebook page:

Post by Clive Court.

11/2014 update to the Johnny Giordmaine tribute site

From the curator of the Johnny Giordmaine tribute site:

John Giordmaine tribute news. 

JohnGiordmaine.com, the online tribute to Canada's most beloved children's magician (1898-1974), has posted an interim update to welcome new visitors from the Society of American Magicians who have read the featured article about Johnny in MUM's December 2014 issue.

All other visitors are also very welcome!

This update features Doug Henning's 1989 "retirement from magic " letter published in GENII. Visitors may be surprised to read that Doug thanked "the late John Giordmaine" first and foremost for helping him "so much over the years" - even before Dai Vernon, Slydini or Jay Marshall!

There are now over 50 pages about Johnny and his inspiring legacy in magic. Remembrances are always very welcome; contact information is on the site, which is:

http://www.johngiordmaine.com  

Classifieds: Own a piece of magic history

The following is a classified ad from David Merry.  For more information, or to make an offer, contact Dave directly.

--

Own a piece of magic history.

I am just about to buy an amazing piece of comedy memorabilia and am putting up a magic four pack of autographs from my collection. They are Houdini (a letter with his actual signature from 1926) and pictures framed. Blackstone Sr. (from 1949) an actual Merlin playbill signed by Doug Henning and Chita Rivera from early 1980’s) and David Copperfield see attached pictures. I thought I’d put it out to my friends in Canada first before the open market $2500.


Houdini letter with his actual signature:





Houdini letter (above) and pictures framed





Blackstone Sr.:





Signed Merlin playbill:





David Copperfield:

Spot the Canadian

Trick question, of course.


From the IBM Facebook page:

Post by IBM - International Brotherhood of Magicians.

Once upon a time, Doug Henning hired a struggling comedian

Post by All About Magicians .com.

Doug Henning mentioned in Arrested Development

For what it's worth, iTricks reports that Doug Henning is mentioned in the new Arrested Development episodes.

Your mileage may vary.

Spellbinder: The Wonder-Filled Life of Doug Henning

John Cox has a nice review of "Spellbinder: The Wonder-Filled Life of Doug Henning".  From Wild About Houdini:

I really think this book is essential reading for anyone interested in magic history. In fact, I'd even go as far to say that it's as important as The Memories of Robert-Houdin in understanding how a single magician advanced the art of magic from one golden age to another. I also applaud Harrison for his amazing research and for telling the story of Henning, who I don't think always gets the credit he deserves. I put Henning right up there with Houdin, Herrmann, and Houdini as one of the seminal figures in magic history. I think that will become more apparent with time.

Read more.

Doug Henning

We've had a lot of Doug Henning related anniversaries come through our calendar this month!

John Cox has a great post up commemorating the 35th anniversary of Doug's third live "World of Magic" television special on NBC.
 
From Wild About Houdini:

It was 35 years today ago on December 15, 1977, that NBC aired Doug Henning's third live "World of Magic" television special. Having performed the Chinese Water Torture Cell and Vanishing Elephant on his first two specials, Henning once again built his show around a Houdini classic -- Walking Through A Brick Wall.

Read more.
 

And for your viewing pleasure, two YouTube videos recently posted at iTricks:

Vernon and Henning at the Magic Castle

Watch 1972 CBC footage of Dai Vernon coaching Doug Henning at the Magic Castle:



[h/t: The Magic Newswire]

David Copperfield talks about Doug Henning

In his Reddit Q&A, David Copperfield answers the question "What is your favorite memory of Doug?"

Doug Henning opened a lot of doors for us in magic. He was someone I admired since I was a teenager. Amazing.

Read more.

[h/t: iTricks]

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.

Doug Henning and Bill Cosby

Watch The Magic Of Bill Cosby And The magic Of Doug Henning on YouTube.



[h/t: iTricks]

Doug Henning in The Cabbagetown People Project

From Inside Toronto:

The list of former Cabbagetowners is indeed impressive, from Arthur Schawlow who co-developed the laser to musical prodigy and composer Sir Ernest MacMillan, magician Doug Henning and Oronhyatekha, the first First Nations-born medical doctor in Canada.

Read more.

Eleven years ago today

The hard must become habit. The habit must become easy. The easy must become beautiful.
-- Doug Henning

Eleven years ago today, at the age of 52 Doug Henning passed away five months after being diagnosed with liver cancer.

Last October 16th he posthumously received Canada's Walk of Fame Legends Award.

View the tribute to Doug presented by Howie Mandel at Canada's Walk of Fame Tribute Show:
 


Read more about Doug at Wikipedia, the Canadian Magician Archives, or purchase the book Spellbound: The Wonder-filled Life of Doug Henning.