Jim Steinmeyer (54 page)

The story of Thurston’s breakup with Grace is from
My Magic Husband
. Thurston’s engagements are from contemporary issues of
Mahatma
and
The Sphinx
magazines. The newspaper quote, Thurston at Keith’s, is reproduced in
The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston
. The nest of boxes (Triple Trunks) is discussed in correspondence between Thurston and Fasola, from Gary Hunt.

Thurston wrote about Henry in
My Magic Life
, and his last name, Couzens, appears in playbills of the time. Amazement is described in
The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston
, as well as in Australian reviews. The Houdini correspondence is from the Conjuring Arts Research Center.

I wrote about Harry Kellar in
Hiding the Elephant
and
The Glorious Deception.
Additional material is taken from Mike Caveney and Bill Miesel,
Kellar’s Wonders
(Mike Caveney’s Magic Words, 2003).

Thurston’s Australian tour is described in Charles Waller,
Magical Nights at the Theater
(Gerald Taylor, 1980) and from Charles J. Holzmueller,
Trouping with Thurston the Magician, 1905-1907
(Phil Temple, 2002). Information on Beatrice Foster is from marriage and divorce documents, as well as a newspaper article, “Presto, Magician to Change to a Hubby” (no source or date, circa May 1910), in the Houdini scrapbooks, Conjuring Arts Research Center.

The story of Thurston’s Australian, Oriental, and Indian Tours is from Thurston’s
My Magic Life
, Waller,
Magical Nights at the Theater
, Holzmueller,
Trouping with Thurston the Magician, 1905-1907
, and Olson,
The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston
. I also used Australian reviews and newspaper articles, Thurston Scrapbook, Billy Rose Collection, New York Public Library, and the collections of Ken Klosterman and George Daily. Passenger lists confirm some of the travel to and from Australia. Harry Thurston arrived in Sydney on the
Ventura
on January 27, 1906, and arrived in Vancouver on May 26, 1906. Material on Servais Le Roy is from
Servais Le Roy, Monarch of Mystery.

The story of the yogi in India appeared in my book, Jarrett and Steinmeyer
, The Complete Jarrett
(Hahne, 2001), where Guy Jarrett reported it as backstage gossip attributed to Beatrice. Presumably he was unaware that Thurston had already included the story in his own autobiography; Thurston was not embarrassed by the incident at all.

I wrote about Herrmann’s retirement in
The Glorious Deception
, and Kellar’s retirement, with Valadon and Hilliard, in
Hiding the Elephant
. Additional material is from
Kellar’s Wonders
. Hilliard and Kellar are also discussed in John Braun,
Of Legerdemain and Diverse Juggling Knacks
(Kenneth Klosterman, 1999).

Fritz Bucha and his shoes are recounted in the December 1935 issue of
The Linking Ring
.

Harry Thurston’s information is from census records. Thurston’s tour is from
My Magic Life
and from
Trouping with Thurston the Magician, 1905-1907
. Ships’ logs record the crew’s travels back to America, as well as Howard and Beatrice’s travels. Thurston and Maskelyne’s contracts are from
The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston.

Jarrett is quoted from
The Complete Jarrett
. Evans is quoted from
Stanyon’s Magic
, April 1907. The Thurston and Kellar contract is from Rory Feldman. Thurston recalled his travels with Kellar in
My Magic Life
.

Thurston and Houdini’s disagreement in Chicago, and Downs’s letters to Houdini, are from Thurston and Houdini, and Downs and Houdini correspondence, Conjuring Arts Research Center. Thurston’s initials in the alley and his account of the last performance are from
My Magic Life
. Author David Price noted Thurston’s mention of Kellar as his inspiration in
Magic: A Pictorial History of Conjurers in the Theater
(Cornwall, 1985).

Mortgage information on the Cos Cob property is from Ken Klosterman. The account of the farm is from
The Sphinx,
September 1910. The Thurston Amusement Company flyer for Maid of Mystery is from Twin Cities Magic and Rory Feldman. The account of the Waltz Ride is from patent papers, Twin Cities Magic, and David Bamberg,
Illusion Show
(David Meyer Magic Books, 1991). Thurston’s divorce is reported in
The Conjurer’s Magazine
, September 1907.

Thurston’s show was described in the February 1969 issue of
The New Tops
magazine. I’ve also taken patter from
Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book
. Thurston’s manuscript to Devant appears in the same book. Mike Caveney has the Thurston poster advertising the missing illusions.

The Fasola letter is from Gary Hunt. The description of the Lady and the Lion is from
Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book.

The account of Valadon and comments on Thurston are from letters from Elliott to Downs, from the American Museum of Magic.

Kellar’s retirement is from
Kellar’s Wonders
. Kellar and the painted magic prop is from
Illusion Show
. The “thirty percent” remark is from the August 1954 issue of
The Linking Ring
. George Daily has a playbill from Paris, showing Thurston and Bamberg on the same bill, 1902, though Bamberg claimed to have met Thurston years later, when he toured the Orient. Their partnership is from
Illusion Show
, and Theodore Bamberg and Robert Parrish,
Okito on Magic
(Edward O. Drane, 1952).

Information on Carter is from
Magical Nights in the Theater
, from Mike Caveney,
Carter the Great
(Mike Caveney’s Magic Words, 1995), and from
Kellar’s Wonders
. Thurston’s marriage is from the previously cited article “Presto, Magician to Change to Hubby.”

The Palladino story is taken from the
New York Times
, May 20, 24, 27, 1910, from an article in
Magical World
, January 4, 1911, and from Howard Thurston’s “Do Dead Men Ever Tell Tales?”
National Pictorial Monthly
, April 1922. This last article appears to have been ghostwritten by Carrington and was quoted in a later (undated) clipping from
Ghost Stories Magazine
. Carrington commented on the séances in Hereward Carrington,
Psychic Oddities
(Rider and Company, 1952). Rinn’s quotes are from Joseph Rinn,
Searchlight on Psychical Research
(Rider and Company, 1954).

Thurston’s marriage is taken from the marriage license. Correspondence concerning Swanson is from Ken Klosterman and Rory Feldman. Correspondence with Houdini is from the Conjuring Arts Research Center.

The Automobile Mystery is described in
Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book
; Jarrett described the “leg drop comedies” in
The Complete Jarrett
. Bamberg and Thurston’s planning was described in
Illusion Show.
David Bamberg provided an excellent description of the Thurston show.

Fernanda Myro and the Myro troupe are described in
The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston.
Her name, Lucille, is in an early souvenir newspaper, as pointed out by Robert Olson.

Germain and Kellar are taken from Stuart Cramer,
Germain the Wizard
(The Miracle Factory, 2002). Carter and McAdow are from
Carter the Great
. Jarrett is from
The Complete Jarrett
. Kellar’s formula for building magic was quoted by Thurston, December 5, 1925, in
Literary Digest
. Thurston’s patter is from
Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book
. Kellar and the match is quoted in
Illusion Show
.

The Thurston loan paperwork is from Ken Klosterman, including an accounting of the trunks of the show. Hyman Fish’s conviction is from the
New York Times,
March 20, 1915.

Valadon’s plight is from
The Sphinx
, January 1912 and following issues. The Valadon Fund was also championed in several magic magazines, starting with Will Goldston’s
The Magician
, January 1912. The magician’s fate is described in
Kellar’s Wonders.

The story of
The Honeymoon Express
is from the February 7, 1913,
New York Times
, Gerald Boardman,
American Musical Theater
(Oxford University Press, 1978),
Jolson: The Legend Comes to Life
, and Edward Krows,
Play Production in America
(Henry Holt, 1916). The legal correspondence regarding Carter, Thurston, and MacMahon is from Ken Klosterman and Rory Feldman. Thurston and McCormick’s patent numbers are 1,093,711 and 1,093,943; Carter’s is 611,054. Carter threatened to attach Thurston’s show continually; the telegram to Pittsburgh is from Jay Hunter.

Thurston’s Waltz Ride has the patent number 1,099,951 and is described in correspondence from Ken Klosterman and Rory Feldman, and in the January 1913 issue of
The Sphinx
. The quote about hot dogs is from
Illusion Show
. David Bamberg claimed to have ridden it many times at Coney Island.

Thurston’s lifesaving patent is 1,051,649; the application was filed May 3, 1912; the
Titanic
sank about two weeks earlier, on April 15 of that year. Thurston described it in his souvenir book,
Fooling Millions
(Howard Thurston, 1928).

Hilliard’s letter about writing the book is from Ken Klosterman. Thurston’s letter about the language is from Rory Feldman. Howard and Tommy’s trip is from immigration records, and
The New York Clipper
, an undated clipping from Rory Feldman. Devant’s routine is described in David Devant,
Secrets of My Magic
(Hutchinson and Company, 1936) and in S. H. Sharpe,
Devant’s Delightful Delusions
(Magical Publications, 1990). Thanks to Mark Walker for Thurston’s joke about the policeman.

Correspondence with Devant and Kellar is from David Copperfield. Information on Beatrice’s affair is from the divorce documents. MacMahon’s problems are in his correspondence, from Ken Klosterman and Rory Feldman. The “doctor’s care” letter is from Ken Klosterman. Census records show Beatrice’s marriage to Dr. Eakins.

Abbott’s Spirit Paintings are described in David Abbott,
The David P. Abbott’s Book of Mysteries
(Modern Litho, 1977). Thurston’s Spirit Paintings and Vanishing Piano were described in
Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book
and in
The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston
. The Boy, the Girl, and the Donkey was described in Walter Gibson,
The Master Magicians
(Doubleday, 1966). Germain’s part is described in
Germain the Wizard
. Carter is from
Carter the Great
. I discussed Houdini’s magic act in
Hiding the Elephant
, and it is also explained in
The Secret Life of Houdini
and in
Houdini: The Career of Ehrich Weiss
. Bamberg’s penetration trick is from
Illusion Show
, and Thurston’s gloves are from
The Sphinx
, May 1919.

Bamberg’s introduction to Nina is from
Okito on Magic
. Thurston’s story of the children’s party is from
My Magic Life
. Other accounts are from newspaper interviews, for example Nina’s obituary in the
Ohio State Journal
, American Museum of Magic, or Hazel Drukker’s newspaper column, May 15, 1927, in a Thurston scrapbook in Gabe Fajuri’s collection.

Regarding Nina, I’ve taken information from her death certificate, U.S. and Canadian census information,
Our Life of Magic
, and family information provided by Laurie Schaim. Information on John R. Willadsen is from his obituary,
Los Angeles Times
, February 2, 1939, and his passport application, 1914. In some early articles, the names Nina and Jane Allison appear (as in
The Conjuring Record
, December 1914); I believe that this is a corruption or simplification of Willadsen. The “past experiences” letter is from Rory Feldman. The other love letters are from Ken Klosterman.

Lenore Schulz is credited in programs; she appears in census records and is also mentioned as a friend in Thurston correspondence, from Ken Klosterman. The “love code” is mentioned in Thomas Chew Worthington,
Recollections of Howard Thurston
(Worthington, 1938), and he also recorded the school sessions. The quote about the backstage sessions is from
Illusion Show
. The story of the Detroit theater setup is from
The Sphinx
, December 1919.

Many of the letters to Jane appear in the collections of Ken Klosterman, Rory Feldman, Jay Hunter, David Sigafus, and David Copperfield. The patter is quoted from
Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book.

Keating’s story is from his article “Howard Thurston, Merchant of Magic,”
The Sphinx
, March 1952. Thurston’s presentations are from
Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book
. “Eileen” is from Mike Caveney, as related by Jane Thurston.

Thurston’s home is recounted in
My Magic Life
and in
Our Magic Life
. Letters to Jane at school appear in the David Copperfield collection. Articles about children’s matinees are from George Daily and Ken Klosterman.

Harry Thurston’s museums are discussed in correspondence from Mike Caveney and Rory Feldman, and a
New York Clipper
article, March 27, 1915. The visitor to Harry’s museum was Robert Lund; his remarks are preserved in a manuscript obituary for Will Rock, courtesy of the American Museum of Magic.
Inside Magic
explains Thurston’s friendship with Hinky Dink Kenna. George Boston was famous for exaggerating; for example, he never worked in Howard Thurston’s show, but this suggestion is surreptitiously inserted in the pages of his book. Harry Blackstone used to say that Boston’s book should have been called
Great Magicians Who Have Fired Me
. If Harry was a friend of Hinky Dink Kenna, it would have been late in Kenna’s life (mid-’20s to mid-’30s), when his legendary political influence was considerably lessened.