The Forgotten Houdini Protege

Leonard Hicks on the far left. Hardeen in the upper right

We all know that Hardeen succeeded Houdini in the show and received all his props when he died. But did you know that years before there was another person set up to take over for Houdini? It turns out there was a protege that Houdini not only hand picked but also trained and to whom he supplied the equipment*.

Bijou Theatre Richmond VA

His name was William Leonard Hicks and he was born in Owenton, KY on November 6th, 1887. His father, Thomas Hicks was in the hotel business and moved often when job opportunities came his way.

When the boy was 12 years old, he and his family were living in Richmond Virginia.  In April of 1900, Houdini performed for a week at the Bijou Theatre on East Broad Street in Richmond VA. Young Mr. Hicks was present during his week long engagement.  Houdini opened on April 23rd to a packed house. His act consisted of his Challenge Handcuff routine and the Metamorphosis.

During the first part of his act, police officers brought regulation handcuffs to secure Houdini. He stepped behind his 'Ghost House', which was small curtained cabinet that he would kneel in to work some of his escapes in private. Houdini arose from the cabinet free of the cuffs.

A second demonstration of handcuff release took place but this time Houdini presented the escape in full view of the audience. To complete his set, he and Bess presented his signature routine called The Metamorphosis, which was a lightning fast (three seconds) exchange between He and Bess. Houdini would be tied and secured into a cloth sack. The sack would go into a trunk and that was locked and roped. A curtain was pulled around the locked trunk and Bess would step into the curtained enclosure. She would count to three and Houdini would burst forth, free from the trunk! When the trunk was opened, the sack was removed and inside the sack was found Bess Houdini with her hands tied!

Whenever Houdini came to town, he didn't just do a show at the theatre, he often continued with daily exhibitions. His second day in town he went to City Hall to give another demonstration of handcuff release. This time however, to prove he kept no concealed keys, he had his mouth covered with plaster and the tied up with cloth. He was also stripped of his clothes. Captain Angle and Chief Howard of the Richmond Police Department placed shackles on Houdini's wrists and his ankles. Houdini stepped behind a chair that had a piece of carpet thrown over it to partially hide Houdini from view. The audience of some 40 people could see Houdini moving around but his method of escape was kept from prying eyes. Two minutes later Houdini the Handcuff King was free from his bonds.

One of his favorite impromptu bits of magic that he would perform both on stage and offstage was his famous East Indian Needle Trick. Following his naked cuff escape he presented the Needle trick for all of the invited guests and gathering crowd. A doctor who was present in the audience came up to examine Houdini's mouth before and after the effect. He left them completely bewildered and he received a nice write up in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

William Leonard Hicks

There is a good chance that William L. Hicks, who would later be referred to as Leonard Hicks in magic circles, read about Houdini's exploits in Richmond and we know he saw Houdini perform live while he was in town.

Houdini was such a big hit in Richmond, that the management of the Bijou Theatre, arranged to have Houdini return in May 1900. They had to buy out his contract at a NY theatre just to get Houdini back in Richmond! He played a week and headlined a festival in Richmond.

Remember, Leonard Hicks was only 12 at the time. But he was not the only person inspired by Houdini. A Mr. Lee Reinheimer and Mr. Moses May were two individuals also taken in by Houdini. So much so that by June of 1900 they declared that they could duplicate the feats of Houdini and for several months following did just that. They presented handcuff escapes as well as the Metamorphosis. It's probably lucky for them that Houdini didn't return to Richmond as he probably would have gone after them or had his crew attend a show and go after the copyists.

Six years from this time, Houdini is now in Chicago. He is performing in the Windy City and he and Bess are having trouble with the hotel in which they are staying, so they switch to different hotel. When Hicks saw Houdini he was living on a dairy farm with his family. But now in 1906, he and his father were both working in the hotel business. Hicks was the hotel clerk that checked in Mr. and Mrs. Houdini. To use modern day slang, Mr. Hicks gave Houdini the 'hook up', meaning he got him a VERY nice room. Houdini showed his appreciation by inviting Hicks to see his show at the Majestic Theatre.

The two must have developed a friendship which was partially based on Leonard's ability to figure out the act and even make suggestions about it. Houdini was impressed with the young man and by the end of his contract in Chicago Houdini made a suggestion of his own to Leonard Hicks. He told him that he should try out a career in show business. In fact, Houdini offered to train him. That very summer, Leonard Hicks was a temporary resident of 278 (Houdini's home in NYC) where Houdini was teaching the young man the finer points of his escape act.

He changed his performing name to 'Harry Leonard and/The Great Leonard'. According to the Kalush Biography, Hicks even printed up business cards which declared he was the only one authorized to perform Mr. Houdini's act. I wonder if Hicks told Houdini about Reinheimer and Mays in Richmond?
The act he presented was the Challenge Handcuff Escape Act along with the Metamorphosis. When Houdini went to Europe in 1908, Hicks also started presenting the escape from the Galvanized Iron Can Filled with Water better known as the Milk Can Escape. (Just for the record, this is an example of ANOTHER Milk Can known to exist)

For whatever reason, show business didn't keep it's hold on Leonard Hicks and he eventually returned to the hotel business. He would gradually work his way up from Desk Clerk to Assistant Hotel Manager in the 1920s of the Morrison Hotel in Chicago and then Hotel Manager. By 1930 he was the President of the Lorraine Hotel in Chicago and he was president of the American Hotel and Motel Association. He worked and managed a number of hotel properties in the Chicago area.

Later in life he moved to Florida and was the owner of the Casa Marina Hotel in Key West Florida. Below is a photograph signed by Mr. Hicks. As he became a success in the hotel business he used his real name William L. Hicks, but notice this photograph is signed Leonard Hicks. I wonder if the couple in the photograph might have seen him back in his escape days? Leonard Hicks is on the left in the white coat.

William Leonard Hicks died in Florida on April 2, 1966, the one time protege of the World's Greatest Escape Artist.

photo by Auburn University Libraries

*I don't know if Houdini GAVE the props to Hicks or if he sold them to him. But it is true Houdini trained Hicks at his home in NYC.

I have a feeling this is not the last word about Leonard Hicks. I'm going to continue hunting to see what other things I can dig up. If anyone has information on his career, please contact me at
info@carnegiemagic.com

Houdini and Groucho

Imagine these two entertainment icons on stage at the same time. Well it happened, and Groucho shared it with his audiences many times over the years. The first time I heard the story was when Merv Griffin shared it with Orsen Welles on his TV show. But there is nothing like hearing Groucho tell the story.

Here is the story in Groucho's words:

There were times when I used to wear a mustache, and there were times when I didn't. I got tired of wearing it, and I would take it off, because if I didn't have a mustache on, people didn't bother me in the street. Then one night I went to the Wintergarden, and Houdini was appearing there, and I was sans mustache. That means 'without'. Gotta watch yourself at the Wintergarden. Anyway, I'm sitting in the second row, and Houdini is now doing a trick. He would take some needles and put them in his mouth, and a spool of thread, and then he would thread the needles. So he asked for a volunteer out of the audience, and who do you think went up on the stage. And he opened his mouth wide. "I wanna prove that there is no trickery to this trick. What do you see in there?" And I said "Pyorrhea!" and left the stage. 

If you'd like to listen to Groucho tell it...

1911 Magic

I just discovered this on YouTube.com and I'm guessing it will only be up for a day. But on some videos they've added a button that says '1911'. Click the button and it converts the video into a silent movie version of the video complete with Sepia Tone footage and ragtime music.

The Magical Three Stooges

The Three Stooges, comedy icons from the early days of movies. Their popularity continues today though all of the various Stooges are gone. I spent some time recently on Youtube watching videos of interviews with Moe Howard and Larry Fine. The history of their act is fascinating to me. Though I wouldn't say I'm a typical fan of the Stooges. I guess for me, they were intriguing and interesting in the same way a magic act or a manipulator would be, but not really all that funny. That's not meant to be a slam on the Stooges, as some people find them hilarious. I just saw them differently and yet still entertaining.

More Houdini Celebrations

Even WIRED Magazine is getting into the celebration of Houdini's Birthday. Google of course deserves a big huge HIGH FIVE for putting up the Houdini/Google logo today and making people aware of the day.

Thank YOU - Record Day for MAGIC DETECTIVE

Yesterday my friend John Cox over at www.wildabouthoudini.com announced he had the biggest one day number of visits to his site. He deserves it as his site is simply fabulous and is all Houdini 24/7. BUT, as it turns out the Houdini Luck is getting spread around and over here at Carnegie:Magic Detective I just hit my best day as far as number of views. Not bad considering this site is only half Houdini and the rest general magic history. (ok, maybe it's 2/3rds Houdini, lol).

ANOTHER Houdini's Birthday

Paul Michael Glaser as HOUDINI

Just a few hours from now when it's March 25th, we'll be celebrating another Houdini's birthday. This time it's the birthday for actor Paul Michael Glaser who was born , March 25th, 1943.

Best Wishes to the Birthday Boys

We all know it's Houdini's birthday. But did you also know that Rosco 'Fatty' Arbuckle was born on this day in 1887?  Fatty Arbuckle was a pioneer comedian during the Silent Film era. He holds the distinction of being the first person to be hit with a pie on film! When newcomer Charles Chaplin was hired by Mack Sennett to replace a comedian who had just left, Chaplin borrowed the pants of none other than Fatty Arbuckle to help create his character 'The Tramp'.

Happy Birthday Houdini

Rest in Peace Dorothy Young

Dorothy Young, passed away on Sunday at the age of 103. She is the last living person to have worked with and seen Harry Houdini. She had quite an interesting life as a dancer and dance instructor, painter and more.

Dorothy answered an Ad in Variety Magazine to be a showgirl in Houdini's Last Tour. She was the last to audition and got the job. She was the girl in the 'Radio' Illusion in which the box would be showed empty. Then Houdini would turn the dial and the radio could be heard to be playing a 'charleston' dance number and out would pop Dorothy dancing the 'charleston'.

Doyle & Houdini: Spirits & Skeptics - The Barnes & Noble Review

Here is another interesting piece I discovered. It has a slideshow with some interesting graphics discussing the relationship between Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

WILD ABOUT HARRY: MAKING OF THE GREAT HOUDINIS

Paul Michael Glaser as HOUDINI

You must check out this blog about the Making of the Great Houdinis Movie. John Cox has outdone himself. Incredible!

WILD ABOUT HARRY: MAKING OF THE GREAT HOUDINIS: "Unused promo art for The Great Houdinis (from the collection of MSW) Anyone who has spent any time reading this blog knows I have a bit o..."

The Animated Romance of Harry and Bess

This is a very short animated movie (below) about Houdini and Bess that I found on Youtube. I think it's rather cool. Though in all honesty, I WANT MORE!!!! By the way I first saw this fellows animation in the Lemony Snicket's movie. The website for the animator is http://www.benjamingoldman.com/

Jesse Lasky's Magic

Jesse L. Lasky

He was born Jesse Louis Lasky on September 13th 1880. He is probably best known as one of the folks who started Paramount Pictures. However Jesse Lasky had some connections to magic which are quite interesting. But first, how did he get into show biz in the first place?

He began in his teens by performing the cornet. In 1899 he went to Nome Alaska along with many others during the gold rush. While there he continued to play the cornet in music halls and saloons. After a year he headed back to San Fransisco and teamed up with his sister Blanche and they developed a Quick Change Act. This leads to him being hired in 1902 by Leon Herrmann, the nephew of Herrmann The Great. Jesse and his sister present their act, and he also plays cornet in the show with Herrmann for a 40 week tour of the U.S..

Leon Herrmann's Birthday

March 13, 2011 marks the 144th birthday of Leon Herrmann. He was the nephew of Alexander Herrmann, better known as Herrmann the Great! He came to America in 1897 to work with Alexander's widow Adelaide and perform in the show. He bore a striking resemblance to that of Alexander Herrmann.

According the a NY Times article dated Jan 3, 1897, Leon had worked previously with both Alexander and his older brother Carl in their shows in Europe and South America so he was not just starting out in magic but had a firm background in the art.


He only worked with Adelaide Herrmann for three seasons before the personality clashes got to be too much and they parted ways.

One of these days I'll cover the Herrmann family more in depth.

For now, Happy Belated Birthday Leon!!!

The Spirit Cabinet - A History

This article is about the Spirit Cabinet illusion. However, there would be no spirit cabinet without The Fox Sisters. Margaret and Kate Fox were two young girls living in Hydesville NY with their parents. In 1848, the two sisters demonstrated that they could communicate with ghostly spirits by having strange rapping sounds manifest in their presence. Their abilities gave birth to a phenomenon/movement that would be known as Spiritualism. Later in life the sisters admitted they were frauds (but they even recanted that eventually).

Living not far from Hydesville, NY were two brothers, Ira and William Davenport. In 1854, the brothers started making claims similar to that of the Fox Sisters. To prove their abilities they created The Spirit Cabinet and took their show on the road. The Spirit Cabinet was a large rectangular wooden cabinet that rested upon two saw horses. This allowed the audience to view the cabinet from underneath. There was room inside for each brother to sit at opposite ends of the cabinet. I believe there was also room in between them as well for a spectator to sit if the routine called for that.  The basic effect was that the two brothers would be tied to the seats within the cabinet by members of the audience. A number of instruments, like bells and tambourines were placed in between them. The doors of the cabinet were closed to allow 'spirit darkness' and the manifestations would begin, the bells would ring, rapping could be heard and the tambourines would play.

Kellar's Last Mystery

Something is terribly wrong in magicland. This concerns the first Dean of Magicians Harry Kellar. Today, March 10th, marks the 89th Anniversary of his passing. He was cremated and his remains are in Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles CA. All of that is accurate. What follows is the mystery.

As you may or may not know, I collect photos of the graves of magicians who have passed on. I think we should pay homage to those who have done so much for the profession and have now gone into eternity. I had posted the image below from the Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery on one of my blogs in the past. This is the headstone for Harry Kellar's grave. It can be found near the road under a small tree in Section L, directly to the right of the front of the mausoleum.

The Strange Life & Death of Washington Irving Bishop

Washington Irving was an American author who is famous for many books including the stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hallow" and "Rip Van Winkle" both which were written in 1820 and are still popular today.  There was another Washington Irving, however, this one was Washington Irving Bishop and he was supposedly the godson of Washington Irving.

He was born in 1856 to parents who were both devout Spiritualists. His mother, Eleanor, was in fact a practicing medium. He lived a fairly ordinary life, went to college and then got a job. He left that job to work for Anna Eva Fay the famous psychic/medium/mentalist. Before long, Bishop became Fay's manager. But something would happen to change all that. In 1876 an exposure of Anna Eva Fay's act appeared in a newspaper. The information was secretly provided by none other than Washington Irving Bishop. Right after this, Bishop left the employ of Fay and went about presenting his very own 'exposure' show revealing the tricks of Anna Eva Fay and other fake spiritualists. He even went so far as to expose the 'Second Sight' act that Robert Heller the magician had been presenting. Heller by the way, never claimed to be anything other than a musician and a magician.


Around 1877, Bishop's act changed from being an exposure act to one where he did Mind Reading effects. He learned these from another popular mind reader of the time Jacob Randall Brown. The one main effect that he got from Brown was the technique called Muscle Reading. During Muscle Reading the performer can be blindfolded, and while holding the hand of an audience member, is able to locate hidden objects. Bishop built this into quite the phenomenon.

Now fast forward to the night of May 12, 1889. Washington Irving Bishop has been asked to perform before the prestigious Lamb's Club in NYC at 70 West 36th Street New York NY. The Lamb's Club was the first professional theatrical club in America. Over the years some of the famous members have included: John Barrymore, W.C. Fields, Will Rogers, Cecil B. DeMille, George M. Cohan, Fred Astaire, John Phillip Sousa, Cliff Robertson, John Wayne, Charlie Chaplin and many more. Bishop was asked to perform for the top tier of Theatrical Entertainers and he gladly agreed.

He performed a number of unbelievable Mind Reading effects with the use of his muscle reading technique. And then, he collapsed! He fell to the ground unconscious. A friend of Bishop's mentioned that his friend was probably alright. He apparently suffered from catalepsy.   The definition of Catalepsy- noun a physical condition usually associated with catatonic schizophrenia, characterized by suspension of sensation, muscular rigidity, fixity of posture, and often by loss of contact with environment. This was not the first time Bishop passed out during a performance. Because of this he carried a note in his breast pocket explaining the situation and informing whoever found him that under NO circumstances should an autopsy be performed. 

Bishop woke up a short time later and actually requested to finish his performance. But before he got too far he was out again. This time however, he did not wake. Attending doctors eventually pronounced him dead in the early morning. Bishop's wife was notified and the following day she came to see her dead husband at the funeral home. When she saw her husbands body she was mortified. An autopsy had been performed! His skull had been cut open and his brain removed. She began yelling "they've killed my husband!!!" It is very likely that Washington Irving Bishop was simply in a cataleptic trance. The doctors who examined him in the early morning said  'no note was found on his body'. Possibly they found the note after they had begun the autopsy. Shocking!

But the story doesn't end there. If the wife was angry, it was nothing compared to Eleanor Bishop, the mother! She wanted answers. Why was an autopsy done? Who stole her son's brain? She asked for an coroners inquiry, so a second autopsy was done. The missing brain was located in the chest cavity of Bishop, but no cause of death could be discovered.  Later she had charges brought against the doctors involved. Unfortunately, they encountered a hung jury and the doctors were all released.

Mrs. Eleanor Bishop was kind of a unique person. She made countless outlandish claims throughout her life. Things like being friends with Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and William McKinley. She claimed she was owed countless millions of dollars and on an on the tales went. Apparently, none other than Harry Houdini came to her aid later in life and he would purchase items from Bishop's collection to help out the mother. When she passed away, Houdini found out he was the sole beneficiary of her $30 million estate (except there was no money to be had).  

Houdini and The Circus Busch

Founded in 1891, Circus Busch was one of the leading European Circuses in the world.  It was started by Paul Busch and seems to have it's origins in fairs or festivals that centered on weightlifting or strong man acts.  Over time more acts were added, including animal acts and many novelty acts.  By 1895 they put up a permanent building in the Bahnhof Börse in Berlin. They also had permanent locations in Vienna, Hamburg and other parts of Europe.

Houdini first appears at the Circus Busch in 1908 with his Straight Jacket escape and Milk Can Escape. This came as a surprise to the many handcuff act imitators who were expecting Houdini to show up with the act he had presented in Germany a few years before.

During another tour of Germany, September 21, 1912, Houdini debuted his original invention "The Water Torture Cell"at the Circus Busch. Houdini actually presented the Water Torture once before in England about a year and half before this, but that was before an audience of ONE. He did that in order to obtain a copyright of the act.

Magic History in March

Sorry for the slowdown of blog articles, but a sudden onslaught of performances has taken up all my time.  However, there are some very interesting things coming and there are a few things of note I'd like to mention.

On March 10th, there will be a very unusual article about Harry Kellar called "Kellar's Final Mystery" which I know will be very popular. I'm also working on another 'trick origins' piece that I'm still pretty deep into, so I don't know when that will be ready.  And keep your eyes open for the next Houdini article just around the corner.

Over at my Dead Conjurers site, I've added a few more graves along with a little biographical information of the people. Some of the most recent graves include:

Anna Eva Fay

The Original Dante - Oscar Eliason

John Henry Anderson -The Great Wizard of the North

Caryl Fleming 

Hardeen

Homes of Mystery 1

Please keep in mind that all of these homes are private residences today. They were ONCE owned by famous magicians, but no longer. Enjoy them here, but don't go knocking on doors!


CARTER MANOR

First up, Carter Manor. This was the home of illusionist Charles Carter. It's located in San Francisco and at one time overlooked San Fransisco Bay. There are lots of other homes in the area now. Though I don't know for sure if you can see the Bay or the Ocean from the house itself, possibly you still can. The property was purchased in 1929 and the house was built the following year. Not long after, Carter tried to sell it for $90,000, but had no takers. According to the Carter Book by Mike Caveney, the house contained: "A Magic Theatre w 150 seats, vanishing bars, moving pictures (on the wall), hidden chambers, closets, passages, and the dinning room table came up from the floor below via a trap door". What it's like now on the inside is anyone's guess. This might be the most amazing house owned by a magician.

Who was William Fay?

Houdini and William Fay in Australia

His name was William Marion Fay, born in 1840. He was a resident of Buffalo, NY who had an early interest in magic. Various magic histories show his name as William Melville Fay, but his tombstone clearly has his middle name as Marion. He was not related at all to Anna Eva Fay though they share the same last name. I found a reference to the fact that William Fay was doing a 'Second Sight Act' similar to that of Robert Heller's, but I don't know when. My guess is it was prior to going to work for the Davenports.

In 1864 he was hired by the Davenport Brothers to be their Tour Manager as they sailed to England, replacing the Davenport's father. Fay would also be a back-up performer for William Henry Davenport at times when he was too ill to perform. Given that he was interested in 'magic' it's safe to say that the Davenport's taught their rope technique to William Fay. That alone should dispell any belief that the Davenport brothers were creating legitimate spirit manifestations(as if anyone still believes that to be so).


In 1869, a young man by the name of Harry Kellar joined the troupe. It appears that he took over the managing job that William Fay had. Fay was still with the company and surely filled in whenever he was needed. In 1873, Kellar had a falling out with William Henry Davenport and abruptly quit. But he didn't go alone, as William Fay left the employment of the Davenports and went with Harry Kellar.


FAY & KELLAR
The two performers joined forces in the Spring of 1873 and began to tour the United States. Calling themselves Fay & Kellar, probably because William Fay was older than Harry and it was a case of age before beauty. Harry Kellar would do the act that he learned while working with the Fakir of Ava and then the conclusion of the show would be a recreation of The Davenport Cabinet, or what is known today as The Spirit Cabinet. The act apparently was not an immediate success as lack of money left them occasionally stranded.

Their luck would change however. Kellar secured some dates for them in Cuba. At the Albisu Theatre in Havana it was said they made over $3000 during their first night on stage. Success continued for them on their tour of Cuba. From there the two went to Mexico and again met with great success. To cut down on their travel expenses they hit upon the novel idea of leaving the Spirit Cabinet behind in each city they played and simply had a new one built when they got to their next destination. Back in this time, the Spirit Cabinet was just that, a very large wooden cabinet. There was nothing faked or gimmicked about it so having the locals build a new one was easy.

Royal Mail Steamship Boyne

From Mexico they sailed on to South America and toured all over the country. The tour of South America was successful with the exception of a couple weeks in December 1874. By July 1875, the South American tour was complete and Fay and Kellar got on board a steamship called the BOYNE and set sail for Portugal.

On August 18, 1875, the BOYNE hit ground near Ushant Island and sank in the Bay of Biscay. This Ushant Island is just off the coast of France. This area of the Bay of Biscay has claimed numerous ships over the years. The Boyne was not the first ship to go down and would not be the last. Fay and Kellar survived the shipwreck but they lost all of their belongings and show props and money.  This marks the end of the Fay & Kellar partnership. They both returned to England but headed their separate ways. Kellar was determined to rebuild his act. While Fay lucked out and rejoined the Davenport Brothers who had just arrived back in England.


BACK WITH THE DAVENPORTS
The Davenport Brothers were back in England at the same time that William Fay arrived in the country. He rejoined their company and traveled with them to Australia. In 1877, William Henry Davenport who had suffered from poor health for years, died in Sydney. His brother Ira Davenport returned to the United States and William Fay remained behind and settled down in Melbourne Australia. He married Eliza Lydia and together they had one son Franklin.

Whenever Harry Kellar was on tour in Australia he would make a point to visit his old friend and partner William Fay. One year he spent the Christmas holidays with the Fays.

In 1895, Ira Erastus Davenport had the brilliant idea of starting up the act again and he contacted William Fay in Australia to get his opinion. Fay decided to sail to America to join Ira Davenport.  Either the performances were below the standards of their youth, or just behind the times. Whatever the case, they threw in the towel after only three days. Ira retired to Mayville, NY. William Fay went back to Australia.

photo courtesy of Kent Blackmore

Fay died in Australia on July 16th, 1921 at the ripe old age of 81. He was buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery along with the rest of his family.

In the near future I will have a blog article on the Davenport Brothers and their Incredible Cabinet. But I thought you might enjoy learning a little bit about this lesser known part of the company who also worked with Harry Kellar.

If you'd like to learn a bit more about William Henry Davenport, one half of the Davenport Brothers, Kent Blackmore has written an incredible article on him. He has also graciously allowed me to use this grave photo to the left.
http://www.sydneymagic.net/history/davenport.html

The location of the grave at the Melbourne General Cemetery can be found  here: http://deadconjurers.blogspot.com/2011/02/grave-of-william-fay.html

Servais LeRoy the Final Chapter

In my previous blog I mentioned how Harry Kellar came out of retirement for one show and rocked the Hippodrome theatre. That was a positive example of a retired performer coming back and successfully giving a great show. However on Feb 5, I shared with you a blog called 'When Heroes Fall' and it described a very tragic and unsuccessful return for Servais LeRoy. I also said that wasn't the end of the story nor was it the worst part.

Now for the later part of the story. That sad show that ended Servais LeRoy's performing career was in 1940. He never performed again. All of his props were in storage, some in different locations. One day LeRoy went to one of the locations where his props were stored, and with an ax, destroyed everything there. Later, the props that were stored in a garage in Keansburg NJ, were taken and put on the curb side in order to be picked up and hauled off by the trash men. I don't know if costumes survived, but my guess is probably not.

The Lions cage that was such an important part of his show rusted away outside the house. It reminded me of how Thurston's levitation rusted away in the front yard of his house, becoming an unrecognized pile of wire and metal. Here is a photo of the Lions illusion years before it rusted away.

LeRoy turned his back on his magic life after the terrible final performance in 1940. He did have the occasional magician who visited him. But it must have been difficult for him. LeRoy lived until 1953. He outlived Talma and most of his friends. Reading his last days reminded me of when Dai Vernon would talk about all his many friends being dead.

Today, there is precious little in regards to LeRoy's apparatus. Many of his posters survive thankfully. And his legacy lives on with the 'asrah' table design. His life ended in such a sad way. Our magic history is filled with these kinds of stories and it's important to remember them. It also serves as a reminder to us to cherish those among us that came before and celebrate the lives of those we are still fortunate to have with us today. It's a good idea to say thank you to those who contributed so much to the art. It's nice to know you are still appreciated. And it's hard to say thank you once they are gone.


Now do yourself a favor. Go read the entire life story of the great Servais LeRoy. His life ended roughly, but he had a tremendous career. It's covered beautifully in the Servais LeRoy Book by Mike Caveney and William Rausher, plus the photos are wonderful and poster reproductions are just inspiring. To purchase this fantastic book Just click the link.

I'm not 100% sure the book is available, so you may need to email Mike to be sure. If you can't get it there, try some of the magic dealers or ebay. It's worth the investment.

KELLAR & HOUDINI

HOUDINI & KELLAR

 "I knew, as everyone knows, that the easiest way to attract a crowd is to let it be known that at a given time and a given place some one is going to attempt something that in the event of failure will mean sudden death."

HOUDINI 

"You can never arrive at the perfection of art until your handling of the illusion produces a thrill of genuine surprise in all who behold it"

HARRY KELLAR

"The end of all magic is to feed with mystery the human mind, which dearly loves mystery. So leave every mystery forever unexplained!"

HARRY KELLAR

"I do tricks nobody can explain."

HOUDINI

"My professional life has been a constant record of disillusion, and many things that seem wonderful to most men are the every-day commonplaces of my business. "

HOUDINI

"As long as the human mind delights in mysteries, so long it will love magic and be entertained by magicians."

HARRY KELLAR

First Encounter
When Houdini started out with his brother Dash, there were two prominent magicians in America, Herrmann the Great and Harry Kellar. In August 1896, after struggling in the tough world of show business and getting no where, Houdini wrote to both of the great magicians looking for work as assistants in their shows. No reply came from Herrmann who would pass away by December of 1896. Kellar did reply but he told Houdini he had no room in his show at that time.

Kellar's Retirement

1908 Atlantic City

In May of 1908, Harry Kellar left the stage to retire. Just a few weeks later he would spend sometime with the Houdini's in Atlantic City, even Cecelia Weiss was present during this visit. According to the Ken Silverman Bio this is basically where their friendship starts. For a while Kellar lived in NY with his wife Eva, and Houdini and Kellar saw each other from time to time. But only a year later Kellar purchased a home in Los Angeles and he and his wife moved to the west coast.  Kellar still made trips to the east and whenever he was in NY he would usually attend the magic club meetings and see Houdini. Kellar and Houdini stayed in touch writing letters throughout the rest of their lives.

I found a very interesting note in the Kellar's Wonders book by Mike Caveney and Bill Miesel. In 1916, Houdini and Kellar were at a meeting of the Society of American Magicians. It was at this meeting that the decision was made to start local chapters throughout the country, called 'assemblies'. Houdini and Kellar both stepped up and agreed to spread the word and it's no doubt through their efforts that today the S.A.M. has assemblies all over the U.S. and even other parts of the world.

Another interesting S.A.M. item took place when Houdini was President of the organization. He nominated Harry Kellar to be Dean of Magicians. He was unanimously voted in.


Kellar's Second Retirement
On Nov 11, 1917, Houdini coaxed Kellar into coming out of retirement for one evening. This was so that he could be part of an all star cast at the Hippodrome in NYC. The event was to raise money for the victims and family members of the S.S. Antilles, an American Transport ship that had been torpedoed by a German submarine.

On the evening of the 11th, Houdini acted as host and M.C. for the first half of the show. He even presented his Water Torture Cell. But the real thrill that night came from Harry Kellar who treated the audience to his amazing Floating Table routine and he followed this with his Spirit Cabinet. After his performance Houdini stepped on stage with roses for the Grand Master. Then he brought on a sedan chair and members of the show picked up Kellar sitting in the Sedan Chair and marched him across the stage as the entire audience got up and sang 'Auld Lang Syne'. It was a night to remember and Kellar was to taken with the gesture that it was difficult for him to express himself.

A few days later he wrote a heart felt letter to Houdini in which he said "you gave me the proudest and happiest evening in all my life and a farewell that can never be surpassed." Houdini followed this with a letter to Kellar in which he basically said it was an honor to be able to give back to such a beloved man and magician.

PSYCHO

When Harry Kellar sold his show to Howard Thurston, only two things made it into the Thurston show, the Levitation and Kellar's Spirit Cabinet. The other items were sold off and Charles Carter purchased several of them.

One in particular was Kellar's automaton Psycho, which was a knock off of J.N. Maskelyne's automaton of the same name. Psycho had been with Kellar since he purchased it in England in 1878. Kellar referred to him as 'my little companion and friend'. He was also an important part of Harry Kellar's show. He sold it to Howard Thurston in May 1908 and now he was about to come face to face with his old friend.

While Carter was performing in Los Angeles, Kellar convinced Charles Carter to sell Pyscho back to him. Then in May 1919, Harry Houdini received a letter and package from Kellar. It was Psycho and Kellar was giving his old friend to Houdini as a gift.

This was not the only gift Houdini received from his friend Kellar. According to Edward Saint, Houdini had a jeweled Question Mark pin that he received as a gift from Kellar. This pin has been lost to time. Kellar also gave Houdini his Spirit Cabinet that was used in the final Farewell performance of Harry Kellar. I'm curious if the Spirit Cabinet survives today.

FILM

On the set of The Grim Game

Houdini had started the Film Development Corporation and Kellar became one of the investors. Unfortunately, this was not the high point of their relationship. The FDC struggled to make money and Kellar often spoke to Houdini about getting rid of his shares of stock. Kellar's concern it turns out wasn't about loosing money, but instead about being responsible to creditors for future money. Kellar encouraged Houdini to get out as well. He felt it would be a terrible shame for Houdini to loose all the money he had worked so hard for during his career on a bad business venture.  Houdini's concern was less over money and more over loosing his friendship with Kellar over this deal.

One plus to the movie business was that it put Houdini in California and the studio where he was making movies was only a few miles from Harry Kellar's house. Kellar had suffered a stroke and wasn't as mobile as he had been before. Houdini visited him often and made arrangement for flowers to be sent to his home every week. During at least one visit, Houdini was able to capture Kellar on film thus preserving his image for posterity. Imagine how thrilling it would have been to sit in a room while these two spoke of things mysterious and magical.

DEAR FRIENDS
Kellar thought of Houdini as a son and it was obvious that Kellar was a father figure to Houdini. He was also probably the only living magician that Houdini looked up to. However, though their friendship was filled with mutual admiration they did not agree on everything. For example, Houdini let people know that all his effects were presented by purely natural means, his "My Mind is the Key That Sets Me Free" quote expresses this perfectly. But read what Kellar thought..."Make your work artistic by clothing each illusion with all the glamor and shadows of fairyland, and the suggestions of incantations and supernatural powers in order to prepare the observer's mind for a mystery though there be no mystery." Kellar filled his promotional materials with demons and other supernatural beings. Houdini on the other hand was totally against the suggestion of supernatural powers in his performance.

However it's safe to say that they agreed in most areas. Kellar believed that tricks performed by the masters who came before him would no longer fool even children and it was the modern magicians job to constantly update and improve the effects and the methods. Houdini took older tricks and made them new, like the Needle Trick or repackaged them to fit him, like the Sub Trunk, or created brand new effects, like the Water Torture Cell. They both debunked Spiritualist phenomenon in their shows. Interestingly, Kellar is probably best known for his rope tie. Houdini of course was a master of rope ties and rope escapes.

After Chung Ling Soo died on stage doing the Bullet Catch trick, Houdini made plans to add the dangerous Bullet Catching routine to his show. When this news reached Harry Kellar he sent a fast and firm reply to Houdini.  I believe his words were "Don't do the damned Bullet Catch, we cannot afford to loose Houdini!" or something to that affect. Houdini heeded the advice of his old friend and chose to not present the Bullet Catch, ever! Harry Kellar was probably the only person who could scold Houdini and get away with it. But the letter over the Bullet Catch was sent more out of concern and caring for his friend than as a rebuke.


1922
Harry Kellar passed away on March 10, 1922. He had been suffering from a bad bout of pneumonia and had been coughing up blood. The build up of blood in his lungs killed him. He was 73 years old. Houdini was not able to attend the funeral, so he made arrangements for it to be filmed. He actually did the same thing when his friend The Great Lafayette died, he had that funeral filmed as well. But to my knowledge neither of these films have survived.

Before Kellar died Houdini got his permission to write his biography. Houdini would use his 100s of letters (Houdini claimed thousands) and also his many meetings with Kellar as the foundation for the book. He only got as far as 100 pages. This became one of the projects that Houdini never finished because in 1926, only four years after Kellar, Houdini died. In the book Hiding the Elephant by Jim Steinmeyer he says the manuscript resides in the Mullholland Library, which today is part of the David Copperfield Magic Collection.

LAST WORDS

Houdini referred to Kellar as  'the greatest magician the world ever saw.'

In a letter to Houdini, Kellar referred to him as 'our greatest showman-Harry Houdini.'

I think that pretty well sums it up.

Previous Blogs about Harry Kellar include:
http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2011/01/kellars-demon-globe-trick.html

http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2011/01/fords-theatre-mantle-of-magic.html

Houdini's Boston Jail Escape

Houdini at the 'Boston Tombs'

The original article has been moved and updated. New information has been discovered since this article first appeared in 2011. Here is a link to the new article http://www.themagicdetective.com/2017/01/houdini-and-boston-jail-setting-record.html

The Escape

The date was March 19, 1906 and the Superintendent of Police William Pierce had agreed to lock up Houdini in their jail. He was first taken to cell number 77 on the ground floor where Houdini removes his clothes and was checked for keys and picks. Nothing was found and Houdini's clothes are then locked into this cell while he himself is taken to the second floor. He steps into cell number 60 and is secured in handcuffs and leg irons. Then the Superintendent locks Houdini inside Cell #60 and he and the other police officials leave Houdini and head for the main office. They were confident that Houdini could not escape.

Sixteen minutes later Houdini was scaling the outer wall of the jail and running down the road towards Keith's Theatre. Houdini called William Pierce from the theater to let him know he had escaped! Shock set in. Superintendent Pierce asks Houdini to return so that the photographers can get a photo of him going over the wall (see photo at top of page). According to the Kalush Biography, the Superintendent told Houdini he expected him to show up in the jail office if he got out. He shook Houdini's hand and seemed happy with the results. Though Houdini's book "Adventurous Life of a Versatile Artist" paints a different picture. Houdini claims that Pierce's only response was "I have nothing to say".

WILD ABOUT HARRY: The lost posters of Harry Houdini

WILD ABOUT HARRY: The lost posters of Harry Houdini: This is a must view! Please note the link that John Cox has added which shows one of the 'missing' posters, which is now found! And when you are done, check out the links below, they are follow up stories to this original blog. Two of the  'lost' posters were found and in living color!



 http://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2011/02/lost-houdini-posters-found.html


http://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2011/02/latest-on-lost-posters-of-houdini.html

The Vanishing Bird Cage - History

La Cage Volente, La Cage Eclipse, The Flying Cage or as we know it today, The Vanishing Birdcage was the invention of one man Joseph Buatier. In 1873 French magician Buatier (who would later add deKolta to his name and become Buatier DeKolta) created the first hand held cage that could vanish. The first model, possibly a prototype was made of highly polished wood. The bars were possibly string or elastic. It appears the original shape of the cage was square or rectangular but at some point he created a longer cylindrical cage with a round top and bottom.

The Vanishing Birdcage was a sensation and was also quickly ripped off. In the Summer of 1875 Harry Kellar is said to have purchased a cage from DeKolta's cousin for $750. Of course this was unauthorized because Buatier never sold cages to anyone.  This cage was probably the very first one outside of DeKolta's act, but it wouldn't be the last. In fact, Harry Kellar can probably be credited for the deluge of Vanishing Birdcages in America because he sold the secret to a magic dealer in exchange for props. In Europe a letter from Robert Heller to Charles DeVere the french magic dealer shows that the cages were already for sale in December 1875.

Harry Kellar stirred up a bit of controversy while in Australia over his presentation of "The Flying Cage" as he called it. Harry Kellar's routine was simple and direct, he counted to three and the cage with a live canary inside would vanish! A rumor circulated that Kellar was killing a canary every time he presented the effect. An inquiry took place and Kellar proved that was not the case. He showed that he had one bird and one bird only that he had been using for a long while. But this same controversy would come to haunt other magicians across the globe. In fact, this controversy was used as a minor plot point in the movie "The Prestige" in which they give a rather fictitious explanation on how the cage works.

Magicians worldwide began using the Vanishing Birdcage. A few included; Carl Hertz, Harry Blackstone, FuManchu, Fred Keating, Arnold DeBiere, Servais LeRoy, John Booth, Frakson and many more. In recent times the Vanishing Birdcage could be found in the acts of Walter 'Zaney' Blaney, Harry Blackstone Jr, Lance Burton, Billy McComb, Jonathan Pendragon, Tommy Wonder and James Dimmare.

A description of the DeKolta's routine says that he made the cage vanish with a tossing motion. Then he would remove his jacket so that the audience could examine it. After putting the jacket back on DeKolta would make the cage reappear once again.

Harry Blackstone Sr and Jr. used the idea of repeating the effect successfully. After making the cage vanish once, Blackstone would walk offstage to get a second cage and this time invite children up to place their hands on the cage. While attempting to cover the cage with their hands the vanish would occur and their hands would all collapse together.


John Booth had an interesting twist. His cage is what we call a Blackstone cage, meaning it had red ribbon around the outer edges of the cage. He had a second cage with green ribbon so that when he would repeat the trick, it was clear that he wasn't using the same cage but instead a different one.

But my favorite routine comes from Servais LeRoy. He had been doing the cage vanish for years and according to the book "The Elusive Canary" by Mystic Craig,  Servais LeRoy was the first to do the 'repeat' of the vanish with a member of the audience putting their hands upon the cage.  After the cage vanished LeRoy would have the spectators check to see if the cage was on his body. So Blackstone's routine seems to have been inspired by Servais LeRoy.

In 1933 the Camel Cigarette Company 'exposed' the trick in a marketing campaign they called "It's Fun To Be Fooled". Not to be outdone, Servais LeRoy altered his routine. He would stand on a raised platform and had two spectators on stage with him. He would make the cage vanish and then immediately began to disrobe. He took of all of his clothes except for his under garments! He stood on stage in his underwear while the audience checked out his clothes for any sign of the cage. What a sight that must have been, amazing and hysterical.

It's still a wonderful effect today just as it was back in 1873 when Joseph Buatier invented it.
Now just as a treat, I have one more video, but you'll need to move up to 16:30 on the video to see the Vanishing Cage routine. This is the late Billy McComb who does a comedy version and does it in slow motion. Enjoy!

When Heroes Fall

The history of magic is filled with incredible stories of success and failure, triumph and disaster, luck and misfortune. I love history, period, but especially magic history. This next story is tragic. Those who are knowledgeable in our arts past will no doubt know this story or at least be familiar with it. I had heard about it maybe 15 years ago for the first time. All I knew really was a mighty hero of magic experienced an earth shattering event that killed the magic that once burned bright within him.

It would be good to give you some back story to begin with. Our hero is none other than Jean Henri Servais LeRoy. He was born May 4th, 1865 in Spa Belgium. To give you an idea of the time frame, in America the Civil War had just ended and Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated only weeks before. This young man would grow up to Servais LeRoy and would be part of the troupe known as The Monarchs of Magic. This troupe of performers was LeRoy, his wife Mercedes Talma and a comic character known as Bosco who was played by a number of different performers over the years.

LeRoy had a very devilish appearance on stage. He came out wearing a top hat, a long coat and a cane. First he would cause the cane to vanish, followed by the hat, then his trousers would seem to vanish leaving him with what were called 'knee britches'. He transformed into this mephistophelean like character and at that point the show would begin!

Servais LeRoy is someone that anyone involved in illusion magic should closely study. His inventions and twists on existing effects were incredible. One of his inventions, 'The Asrah Levitation' would change the way illusion magic was done from that time up until today! Some of his other creations included; The Costume Trunk, The Palanquin, The Three Graces, The Red Hat, The Strange Disappearance and many more. Many of his illusions are still presented today though I'd venture to say that most modern illusionists are unaware of who created them.

LeRoy, Talma and Bosco were a hit wherever they went, and they went everywhere! They traveled the world and continued to invent and create and change the show as the years went by. Eventually, time and age caught up with LeRoy and he settled in the town of Keansburg NJ.

On October 19th, 1930, while returning from a trip to NYC, LeRoy was walking across the street and was hit by a car. He was rushed to the hospital with multiple injuries and remained there for nine days.
It's safe to say he was never the same after this. But though this was a terrible occurance, this is not the tragic event that I spoke of at the start. LeRoy eventually recovered and continued to invent and create and occasionally perform.

In 1940, Sam Margules was putting together the annual S.A.M. show and he wanted to really give this show a distinctive stamp. His idea was to let Servais LeRoy (now 75 years old) present his full evening show! Keep in mind, Servais LeRoy was a product of the Victorian Age and his style of dress and presentation were ideal for his time. But now it's 1940 and he has to perform for people accustomed to movies, radio a much faster pace of life.

The Heckscher Theatre Today

On June 6th, 1940 the show billed as "NEVER BEFORE SUCH A MAGIC SHOW" would take place at the Heckscher Theatre in NYC. Servais LeRoy would perform his full evening show for the first time in years. However, his trusted assistants who had been with him throughout his life would not be part of the show. Instead, LeRoy 'trained' a new set of assistants. Actually, he only had a single rehearsal with the new crew and he seemed unsure what to do many times during the rehearsal.

The evening of the show the curtain was almost an hour late to open because LeRoy knew full well he was in no condition to do the show. But somehow he summoned up the courage and walked out on stage. The seventy five year old veteran of thousands of shows suddenly found himself in unfamiliar territory. He struggled from the moment he went out on stage. Worse yet, the assistants who had barely one rehearsal, could not follow along with what LeRoy wanted or expected them to do. It was a train wreck and the only thing that stopped it was an intermission.

As you might imagine, a great deal of the audience got up and left during the very long intermission. I can't even begin to imagine the feelings they must have felt. Here was this icon of magic, one of the real greats who was unraveling before their eyes. Then again, some of them may have been unfamiliar with LeRoy and were just angry at seeing such a terrible magic show. Sadly, Servais LeRoy returned to do the second half of the show and it was worse than the first. Sam Margules, the producer of the show eventually stepped in and drew the curtain on LeRoy. The show was stopped before LeRoy was finished, but it truly was over before it began.

That singular night killed the magic that lived in Servais LeRoy's heart. He would never again perform or step onto a stage. A career filled with triumph and success ended in excruciating humiliation. He was now a broken and defeated man.

The first time I read the full account of the event, I had tears in my eyes and my heart ached for a performer who I never knew in person. I tried to imagine the heartache that he must have felt, but what I imagined probably paled in comparison to what LeRoy felt.

In the book "Servais LeRoy-Monarch of Mystery" by Mike Caveney and William Rauscher there is a much more detailed description of the evening. The book is out of print but shows up from time to time on eBay. Find a copy if you can it's worth it, though you too may find  yourself in tears over the sad ending of such a beloved performer.

Today LeRoy is mostly forgotten. Yet performers are still doing his tricks. The recent appearance of Ali Cook on "Penn and Tellers FOOL US" is a perfect example. The trick where the heads of a chicken and a duck are removed and then switched so that the duck has a chicken head and the chicken has a ducks head is right out of Servais LeRoy's act. Though it was David Copperfield who first brought it back to modern audiences in the 1980s (this link has the routine at 5:17). Anyone doing 'Things That Go Bump In The Night' is really presenting LeRoy's Three Graces Illusion. And any illusionist using the 'asrah furniture' owes a debt of thanks to Servais LeRoy.

That night at the Heckscher Theatre in NY is a heart wrenching story. There may only be a handful of people still alive who saw the show. Most would probably rather forget it, including Sam Margules who never even wrote about it but chose to forget it ever took place. It's sad but it's part of our magic history now.

Recreations of Historical Magic Routines

This is interesting. Apparently it was a TV show at one time, though I'm not sure when. The performers have recreated a number of 'historical magic routines'. I have to say it's not 100% historically accurate, but it is interesting to watch. The first is Houdini's Milk Can Escape.
HOUDINI


Next we have Servais LeRoy's Levitation as presented by this troupe of performers on the TV show "Illusions". Again, not 100% accurate historically but it gives you an idea of the style and what it may have been like.
SERVAIS LEROY


Next up is DeKolta's Vanishing Lady. Interestingly, the performer does lay down a sheet of newspaper beforehand, which Dekolta did. But DeKolta also did something that no other performer has done since and that is make the entire cloth that covers the girl vanish as well.
DEKOLTA



The final video is a recreation of Kalanag's Sub Trunk Vignette. I don't know quite enough about Kalanag's actual performance pieces to know how close this is. I'm guessing it's like the others, it's meant to give the viewer an idea of what it was like but probably not an exact recreation.
KALANAG

Great Magic History Talk

Jim Steinmeyer's new book "The Last Greatest Magician in the World" is out. It's a biography on Howard Thurston. I covered a little bit on the "Passing of the Mantle of Magic" recently. Jim talks about the book and Thurston AND Houdini on the MagicNewsWire.com. Please check it out it's a great interview.

Kellar's Demon Globe Trick

This is an exploration into a historical trick. The effect is known as the Golliwog Ball and is credited to David Devant. I knew Harry Kellar used it also and I assumed (and wrongly) that he took it from Devant.

Actually, it began as the invention of Harry Kellar. The effect is that a large ball is placed upon a board that is leaning at an angle upon a chair. By placing the ball at the top of the board it rolls down. But the magician, Kellar, could cause the ball to stop half way and go back up the board and obey his commands to start and stop and roll down and roll back upwards. I very rarely do this but I'm even going to divulge how Harry Kellar did the trick. He had electro-magnets in the board and metal pieces placed within the ball. The control of the ball was done backstage by turning the electromagnets off and on it caused the ball to roll down, stop or seemingly roll back upwards.

Kellar claimed the inspiration for the effect came from seeing a large ball roll around a stage at a circus. At the end of the routine the ball burst open and a clown came out. In magic history there was a previous trick called "The Obediant Ball" which was a ball with a hole in it that was placed upon a rod. The ball would rise or lower on the rod at the magicians command. Kellar's trick was called "The Demon Globe" and as you can see he took the idea of the "The Obediant Ball" and made it into a stage sized trick. There is another smaller trick also called 'The Obedient Ball' which was a ball with a string running through it. The ball was threaded on the string and held at the top and dropped and would stop whenever the magician commanded. But it could not go back up as in the other versions.

There was one problem with Kellar's version. This thing was a monster to set up and take down. It apparently had tons of wires and was just very difficult to operate. It also cost Kellar a lot to build which was why he was keeping it in his show. The effect in operation looked mechanical which was another drawback.
One day David Devant was visiting the United States and he saw Kellar's show. He particularly liked Kellar's Demon Globe trick but thought it was much too complicated. He spoke with Kellar about it and asked him if he could go back to England and come up with something less complicated. If he was able to do this he would give it to Kellar with the agreement that he would have Kellar's permission to use it in England. Sure enough a short time later Devant returned to the states and showed Kellar the new version (which I will not tell you how it's done).  Kellar loved the new version and it stayed in his show. David Devant called his version "The Wolligog-Golliwog Ball". 

Devant borrowed a piece from Kellar's presentation. During his introduction of the trick he mentioned the clown inside the ball from the circus. This he said was his inspiration for the trick and he added, “there is no clown inside the ball, the only clown here is outside the ball”. 

The final bit of research was the name. I figured it was probably just a made up name that Devant created. To my surprise and shock, the name has a history. Apparently the name Golliwog was a character in a 19th century children's book and it referred to a rag doll. The rag doll was very dark skinned and basically looked like a minstrel character. The term 'golliwog' which later became 'wog' turned into a racist insult. There is nothing about Devant's routine that would suggest anything racist. Devant performed for families and had routines targeted for kids like the Eggs From the Hat. His slogan was “All Done By Kindness.” More than likely the term had a very innocent connotation when Devant adopted it for his routine and over time developed into the negative term it became.

The name has been used for other things including the original name for the band Creedance Clearwater Revival, a commercially sold biscuit in Australia and is the name of an all female band from Slovenia. Outside of the trick, I personally never heard the term used or said. Frankly if I had heard it I would associate it instantly with this particular trick. I had no idea that the name 'golliwog' had a controversial history attached to it or that it even existed outside of this trick. I thought it was a made up name but checked it anyway and was very surprised by what I found.

For the record, I included this in the story of the ball trick to give a broader historical context and in no way intended to insult the memory of Devant, Kellar or offend anyone.

I think this was a very interesting effect for the time. An animated object seemingly under the spell of the performer. There is a wonderful poster that Kellar used to promote the trick which can be seen on this link. I was actually thinking about it and came up with a much different method which could create the same effect today. But I'm not sure how it would play for modern audiences who see remote control cars and planes and such. Still, it must have been amazing to see back in it's day.