I just heard the sad news that Robert Olson has passed away. He was a very interesting character from the New England area. He performed a historical magic show as Richard Potter, the early colonial magician. He shared stories and did magic from that time period. Of course, he dressed the part as can be seen above.
I got to meet him briefly at the 2024 NEMCA Conference in Nashua NH back in 2024. He was very kind and complimentary to me about my lecture. We spoke a little bit about Robert Heller, and then later he emailed me all the information he had in his files on Heller for my future book.
He worked for many years with the Old Sturbridge Village in Mass, this is the largest outdoor history museum in the Northeast. It recreates the conditions of early 19th century living, with buildings, costumed presenters, workshops, lectures, performances and more. Robert was an active artist at this location.
He was the featured guest at last years NEMCA Conference and was interviewed about his life and career as a performer and character performer. A truly remarkable human being. Of course, I cover only magic related things, but he was a father, husband, friend, and so much more!
Robert Olson passed away on December 13th, 2025. He was 86 years young. RIP
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