War Wizardry

Halloween Special 2001

WAR WIZARDRY

Two 20th century master magicians who aided their country's war efforts. Left: Jasper Maskelyne of Great Britain, third generation of the famous Maskelyne magic dynasty helped defeat the Desert Fox in Africa by using magician's technique to cloak Alexandria and other key targets of the Nazi's. Right: American scholar-magician John Mulholland, who aided American intelligence in the 1950's by training agent's in sleight of hand to transmit messages and other endeavors. Largely, the work of both courageous men is still classified as Top Secret.

JEAN EUGENE ROBERT-HOUDIN

The Father of Modern Magic

While the art of magic predates the Christian calender by 2,500 years, the dawn of the modern magician is largely the work of a brilliant Frenchman who did not take up the wand professionally until he was 40 in 1845.

Originally a clockmaker, Robert-Houdin created entertainment that continues to amaze audiences today. He created a luminescent filament in glass many years before Edison ever produced a commercial bulb. His scientific inventions in magnetism and optics garnered many awards -- and the request of the French government to dispel of group of radicals in French Algeria in 1856. Robert-Houdin's performance robbed the rebel Marabout chieftan of his physical strength and he drew blood from the shadow of another fanatic follower. Robert-Houdin received a large declaration of thanks for unprecedented efforts. This ornate scroll can be seen in Robert and Elaine Lund's American Museum of Magic in Marshall, MI. His memoirs, appropriately titled "King of the Conjurers" have been translated into many languages and was the book that inspired a young man in the 1880's named Erik Weiz to add an "i" to the surname and become a legend in his own right.

Robert-Houdin was and continues to be the epitome of a Master Magician.

An artist's sketch of Robert-Houdin's ether suspension. All historical prints courtesy of The Christopher Collection.

Scotland's famous 19th century wizard, John Henry Anderson replicates Robert-Houdin's work using Chloroform.

Milbourne Christopher on Broadway, assisted by Robert Rossi (center), delighting an audience with the weightless suspension of a woman atop a broom, in 1961. Christopher gave over 1000 performances in a WWII unit called "Broadway in Khaki." He performed for Allied forces at the final link up shortly after the Battle of the Bulge.

The Museum of Robert-Houdin, Blois, France. Photo: M. Rothschild, 1977.

Dance Magazine, November 2001. The Robert-Houdin suspension is still being perfomred by performers the world over. A dance troupe incorporates the wonder in a circus setting.

Robert and Selina Rossi in 2001 with their collection of impossible clocks made by Robert-Houdin. Photo: Ben Robinson.

Ben Robinson continues the war magician's effort by bringing needed relief to students, friends and faculty at the St. Bernard's School in Manhattan, the morning of Sept 14, 2001. Above: the audience marvels at the sudden appearance of a ten foot, solid mahogany wand.

St. Bernard's show photo credit: Rebecca Moore

Wearing red, white and blue, Ben Robinson conjures in the audience (above), a fountain of cards leaps from his pocket (left), and charms a giggly assistant (right). Below the St. Bernard's Headmaster thanks Robinson, saying the school had never seen a more creative presentation.