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Robert Houdin French, 1805-1871
Houdin is considered to be the father
of modern conjuring. He was a watchmaker, mechanic,
inventor,
maker of automatons, an early experimenter with electricity,
and the author of several fine books
on magic, including his famous memoirs. Houdin became
fascinated by magic in his teens after
seeing a street conjurer.
He traveled with an itinerant magician
named ‘Torrini’, from whom he learned many
basics,
and was the first magician to work in a re- latively
modern manner, that is, in conventional
clothes on a relative bare stage. Houdin performed before
many of the crowned heads of Europe and was greatly
renowned and widely imitated.
As a dedicated performer of the magical
arts, he was one of the first to do a second-sight act
in
which, by means of a secret code, he conveyed descriptions
of objects held by various members
of the audience to his blindfolded son on stage.
Note: Sent to Algeria by his government
to control a native uprising, he presented Magic so
impressive the local chiefs gave up their cause as hopeless
in view of the Superior magic of the French.
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K. Lal and Jr. K. Lal
K. Lal.
"If you examined his blood, you would find nothing
but magic in it." the late Raj Kapoor a true visionary
once said about K.Lal.
Magic is the essence of K. Lal's life. Starting from
the tender age of 7 and 70 years hence, he still strives
to dedicate his life to this great scientific and technical
art. He brings honour to his country by spreading the
glory of Indian Magic in every corner of the world.
K.Lal whose full name is Kantilal Vora was born in
Bagasra, a tiny village near Rajkot, in Gujarat. K.Lal's
grandfather being the Nager Seth (village chief) of
Bagasra, the family was extremely influential. Due to
which the rural entertainers (singers,magicians, jugglers
etc.) took their halt at their residence, while performing
at Bagasra.Although his parents disapproved, Lal had
his first lessons in magic from his guests.
In the early thirties Lal's family's migration to Calcutta
for trading in cloth, gave him the golden opportunity
to experiment in "the land of magicians" -
Calcutta.
A visit to Ganapati's magic show in Calcutta with his
uncle, became the turning point in Lal's life. Backstage
K.Lal's explanation to Ganapati, as to how the "human
skeleton dance" was performed, left the magician
impressed beyond words. He not only prophesised K.Lal's
world fame as a magician, but also offered to teach
him magic.
After putting his parents doubts of "black magic"
at rest, K.Lal went on to pursue his career as a magician
at the young age of 15. From here on there was no looking
back for him. Academic pursuits took a back seat to
his dedication to magic.
Riots in Calcutta in the early forties, forced the
family to go back to Gujarat. Much to the anger of his
family, Lal gave his first public performance here.
Some people even misconstrued his talent as black magic
and supernatural powers. Only after his convincing them
that magic is "sleight of hand" and nothing
else, did people stop avoiding him, and start appreciating
his talent.
Visit to Japan
K.Lal and Jr.K.Lal performed their first show in Japan
in 1969. Following it's success they visited Japan 18
times, covering 61 cities. Their shows which were televised
gained them popularity with the Japanese.
On returning to Calcutta, K.Lal discovered much to
his sorrow the sad demise of his Guru, Ganapati Chakraborty.
But fortunately for him, another Calcutta based magician,
Geeta Kumar became his new guru.
From here on it was a climb to fame. His first professional
show was at Roxy Theatre in Calcutta, in 1951. His performance
in Bombay was no less impressive, and went on for a
hundred days.
He began holding shows all over India, collected a
troupe, invested in props , sets and a wide variety
of costumes, and decided to call his show as 'Mayajal'
(The web of illusion).
Over the years, he and his troupe covered various countries.
To date Lal is said to have performed 16,800 shows,
(up to Dec. 1996). In 1968, in the USA, the International
bureau of magicians awarded him the title of the worlds
fastest and greatest magician.
Lal changed the concept of magic from a dark, gloomy
and scary show, to one that is bright, cheerful, and
entertaining, comparable to anything in the tinsel world.
This boy, who rose to become the president of the society,
through his iron will and determination,
also became an unofficial cultural ambassador to India.
Honoured by Mrs. Indira Gandhi
Our Late Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi learnt about
K.Lals talents only during her visit to Japan, from
the then Japanese Prime Minister Mr. Bhagaya Tak. Lal
being busy with his commitments, only met Mrs. Indira
Gandhi when she invited him during her visit to Bombay.
At the end of the performance a part of her saree caught
fire. Security guards came rushing pointing their guns
at K.Lal. But nothing happened either to the saree,
or to
Mrs. Gandhi. It was only an illusion. With a hearty
laugh she bid farewell to Lal.
With a collective troupe of 45 members working in front
and back stage, K.Lal works 18 hours a day, practicing
and innovating. To K.Lal, magic is nothing but a conditioning
of the mind. Audience perceives only what he wants them
to. "I am so obsessed with my show that even when
I sleep I'm not free of it. Many of my ideas come to
me in my dreams." -says K.Lal. "Through our
item, ' Water of India' we spread the message of national
integration that although we differ with language and
religion, yet we are all one-Indians."
-says Jr.K.Lal.
Junior K.Lal
Jr. K.lal proved to be a worthy son of a worthy father.
Even though the parents were against the idea of him
taking magic as his career, and wanted him to continue
with his B.Com., he couldn't help but take to magic
because it ran in his blood. At the age of 20 he quit
studies and began learning magic secretly, without the
knowledge of his parents. On discovery of his skills
at magic, waves were created within the family.
Jr. Lal bags the credit of being the first magician
in Asia to introduce wild animals like lion, Panther,
Tiger, Cheetah, Crocodile and Elephant in his shows.
Each of his shows became a memorable experience.
"I spend all my spare time exploring the scope
of creating new computerised illusions. It gives great
satisfaction when audiences offer their applause with
warm hearts to our new innovations."-says Jr. K.Lal.
Today both conduct shows jointly, and individually,
and are fully conversant with all the items in the programme.
Lal's efforts are clearly reflected in his shows from
the latest in mirror illusion, to the best of technologies,
they have it all. Great music effects, change of props,
costume changes to the tune of 400 varieties in a duration
of three hours, and usage of animals are all part of
his shows. The success of Lal's shows lies in the fact
that he is constantly innovating and adding new attractions
to his bagful of tricks. He also tries to add local
flavour to his shows. Like for instance he would conjure
up a mighty Dragon on stage in Tokyo, or get a robot
to do tricks in New York, or even bring alive Goddess
Durga in a show in Calcutta.
The interesting thing about K.Lal is, that he is as
much of an entertainer as he is a magician. He actually
takes care to find out how the audience reacts to his
performance, and sees to it that all of them leave their
worries outside the hall.
And knowing K.Lal, that seems to be no empty boast.
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Romanoff & Juliette
Whatever you want from a magician / illusionist .....a
card trick .....a major illusion .....a rabbbit in the
hat .....a girl or more from a box .....a six tonne
truck vanished complete with driver and load!! ....
then Bob Romanoff and his talented group of asssistants
are the people for you.
Whether you require personal entertainment at an intimate
dinnner party or something truly spectacular at an arena
event then we can provide it!!
Bob Romanoff has gained wealth of experience not only
in most fields of the magic business but in other aspects
of showbusiness, over a period spanning more than two
decades. His clients over the years have included many
major national and international companies. He is equally
at home in a one to one situation, at an exclusive dinnner
event or on the largest stage.
His particular forte is the major illusion. He has wide
range of illusions at his disposal but can, if required,
design and build a completely new effect suitable to
the occaision!
Bob's principal assistant, Juliette, and the "Copacabana
Girls," are fully trained dancers with a wide range
of talents. Their numbers are specially choreographed
to enhance the various illusion presentations although
they are avilable for "stand alone" situations
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Joseph Dunninger
Joseph Dunninger, the Master Mind whose mental wizardry
has baffled scientists and psychologists throughout
the world, is a native New Yorker, born just before
the turn of the century and reared in the heart of the
city. He still makes his home in New York not far from
the district in which he spent his boyhood days and
near the homes of many of his old friends, who are still
his most esteemed critics.
Apparently Dunninger's mysterious "master mind"
is not a case of heridity. His father was a successful
Bavarian textile manufacturer, and his mother performed
the duties of a housewife in a purely mundane manner.
Nor did his brothers have any link with the world of
magic; one became a concert violinist and the other
a painter and designer.
But in Joseph there was awakened a yearning towards
magic feats even at the age of five, when he showed
a marked ability at sleight-of-hand. His parents encouraged
this novelty; much amused they were at the dexterity
in simple palming tricks. Self-taught, Dunninger soon
had a remarkable repertoire of necromancy. His childhood
pastime earned him an invitation to appear before a
Masonic Club at the age of seven, where he was billed
as "Master Joseph Dunninger, Child Magician."
It was at this time that he caused some wonderment
among his school teachers. Master Joseph did not seem
to be an extra brilliant pupil, but he invariably got
all his arithmatic problems correct. Could it be that
he copied the answers from bright children seated near
him? His seating place in the classroom was frequently
changed, but still Joseph's papers were marked 100%.
Dunninger explains it now: "You see, I just couldn't
get the wrong answer. I didn't have to work the problems
out. The bright children in the classroom just sent
me thought waves, and consequently I got everything
right."
By the time that Dunninger was sixteen, he was an adult
magician with an enviable reputation, and appeared for
a year at the famous Eden Musee in 23rd Street. The
boy Dunninger outmastered many of the most prominent
prestidigitators of the day, and this launched him on
a vaudeville tour. It was during this tour that he developed
the astounding stunt of reading the minds of members
of his audiences. For many years actors had presented
such an illusion through the means of code messages
between an assistant in the audience and the "thought
reader" on stage. Dunninger used no assistants,
and has never found it necessary to do so.
In fact, he has a standing offer of $10,000 to anyone
who can prove that he uses confederates or "stooges".
Dunninger often says he could raise that offer to $100,000.
No one will ever collect it, because he does not need
assistance.
Dunninger headlined throughout the Keith-Orpheum Circuit,
and was much in demand for private entertainment. At
the age of seventeen he was invited to perform at the
home of Theodore Roosevelt in Oyster Bay and at the
home of the inventor Thomas A. Edison, both of whom
were avid admirers of his mysticism. It was during this
association that Dunninger developed some of the remarkable
experiments that he uses in his performance today.
His ability to read thoughts amazed the great Harry
Houdini, and Howard Thurston went to great length in
his search for the secret of Dunninger's mental wizardry.
It was in this association that Dunninger took up his
campaign of "illusion busting" waged against
fraudulent mediums who have grown rich by falsification
of seances that are designed to make people believe
that word can come back from the spirit world. Through
the Scientific American Magazine and the Universal Council
for Psychic Research Dunninger has offered $10,000 to
any medium who can produce by psychic or supernatural
means any physical phenomena that he cannot reproduce
by natural means or explain in convincing materialistic
terms.
He has offered that amount of money to anyone who,
with astra aid, can disclose the translation of secret
code messages entrusted to him by the late Harry Houdini
and Thomas A. Edison, both of whom wanted to investigate
the possibilities of communication with spirits. Dunninger
has also offered $10,000 to anyone who can introduce
to him a real, house-hunting ghost.
Most of the big-time vaudeville houses in the country
boasted of having Dunninger on their stages in those
days. Before long his "single" became a troup
of fifty, with "Dunninger, the Master Mind of Mental
Mystery" presenting a full evening's entertainment
which included all manner of amazing illusions. Many
of the acts he created for the presence of many startling
features in the repertoire of magicians now appearing
before the public today. It is said that Dunninger has
created more illusions than any other inventor of this
type of entertainment now alive.
He has toured the world East and West, reading the
thoughts of princes, Pope Pius XII, and had been invited
to the White House six times for presidential parties
at which times he read the minds of the presidents.
When commercial radio started, Dunninger was the first
paid entertainer to go on the air. His air debut was
in a demonstration of hypnosis by radio. He was then
heard in the role of a psychic detective, but neither
of these features caught on. It was Daniel S. Tuthill,
Vice-president and director of the Popular Division
of the National Concert and Artists Corporation, who
successfully evolved the Dunninger radio-formula--thought
reading. The idea quickly caught the favor of Phillips
Carlin, Vice-president of the Blue Network, and on September
12, 1943, Dunninger's first broadcast as Dunninger-the
Master Mind was produced. Dunninger is now the sensation
of the airwaves. Fan mail pours in, people clamor for
tickets to the broadcast.
This business of reading thoughts is hard work. Dunninger
loses a pound or so during each of his programs. "Not
perspiration, either,--energy," he says. So his
private life is a quiet one. No night clubs or swing
music. Just the movies or a drive in his car, or best
of all, an evening at home. There he has his fabulous
collection of Oriental art, his assortment of price-less
Buddhas, his scrap books and his album of photographs.
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