secretsoffamousillusionists
Harry Houdini
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SECRETS OF FAMOUS ILLUSIONISTS
WILL UOLDSTON
SECRETS OF
FAMOUS ILLUSIONISTS ll
By
WILL GOLDSTON IV
FOUNDER OF THE MAGICIANS’ CLUB
With a Foreword by
J. C. CANNELL
AUTHOR OF
“THE SECRETS OF HOUDINI ” (8TH THOUSAND)
LONDON
JOHN LONG, LIMITED
34, 35 & 36 PATERNOSTER ROW
MCMXXXIII
Republished by Gryphon Books, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1971
?3.S
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r- Librart of Congress Catalog Card Number 75-157495
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o FOREWORD
O ghosts of great magicians should rise up to
N' reproach
mysteries.
Will Goldston for unveiling their
He has striven to pay homage to their
genius, to the skill with which they conceived their illusions,
the showmanship which made them celebrated, and able
always to command our admiration, our wonder, and
delight. He has drawn aside the curtain to show the
brilliant ingenuity behind illusions which in their time have
thrilled thousands. He has told of the drama in the private
lives of some of these world figures, of the men as they
were in shadow and light.
The story of Chung Ling Soo, the illusionist who met his
death on the stage of a London music-hall in the view of
thousands, is, for example, a little classic of its kind. Will
Goldston tells in these pages for the first time the whole
truth about the affair, explaining in detail the secret of the
rifle used in Chung Ling Soo’s bullet-catching illusion,
which caused the great magician’s death. He dissipates,
too, some earlier legends concerning the tragic end of
Lafayette, the famous magician, who died in a theatre fire
in Edinburgh ; he talks intimately about the Maskelyne
_ family, of Devant, Horace Goldin, and himself. Along the
path of Goldston’s story come Carl Hertz, with his bird-
cage trick, de Kolta, with his “ Vanishing Lady,” J. N.
,
Maskelyne with Psycho, his automaton, and a group of
j lesser but none the less fascinating personalities of world
magic. He tells of fraudulent mediums and their methods,
^
l and of ghosts, real and spurious ; he tells many tales out
^ of school, but none is malicious.
J That Goldston has told so much will cause controversy
in some quarters, but I do not agree with those who think
P that the secrets of illusionists should never be exposed.
Indeed, I believe that whep.the pnb^jc have been deceived
2706895
8 FOREWORD
for a quarter of a century with a famous trick there is no
harm in telling them at last how it was done —and at the
same time showing them a new one.
When Horace Goldin’s illusion, “ Sawing through a
Woman,” was exposed after he had travelled the world
with it, he just laughed and devised another form of the
same trick and made it more baffling than ever. The really
clever and resourceful magician will always do that.
Although so much is given away in this book, I dare to
say that I could, with ease, deceive with the simplest of
tricks the average person after he had read it.
Although I claim to know a great deal about magical
secrets— my research into the work of Houdini alone lasted
more than four years— I am frequently mystified by a good
conjuring trick.
I can with truthfulness say of this book by Will Goldston
that it is the most interesting contribution to the literature
of magic and illusions that I have ever read.
—
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGE
The Truth about Chung Ling Soo . . .17 .
“ Chinaman ” whose real name was
Robinson His
famous bullet-catching illusion how it led to his death on
—
;
—
a London stage The secret of the rifle — Other illusions
of Chung Ling Soo.
CHAPTER II
The Romantic Story or Carl Hertz . . . .31
A trick with a canary that caused a national controversy
—My challenge to Hertz — The secret of the bird-cage
Was there cruelty f
CHAPTER III
The Great Lafayette —the most hated Magician . . 44
—
His passion for his dog “ Beauty ” The drama of his
—
death in a theatre fire Some popular legends exploded
The tragedy of the iron door.
CHAPTER IV
Maskelyne and the Psycho Sensation ....
The Psycho sensation which baffled our grandfathers
54
An ingenious device and its secret.
Houdini as I Knew Him
—
Some new facts His first
......
CHAPTER V
—
interest in magic More of
60
Houdini’s secrets revealed.
Did Houdini Fail T .......
CHAPTER VI
A handcuff challenge and the sequel — An assertion I did
69
not believe.
9
—
-
10 CONTENTS
CHAPTER VII
Some More New Facts about Houdini ....
His love of publicity and the results— Some Houdini
thrills the public missed— His film failure and a
broken
friendship.
CHAPTER VIII
De Kolia's “ Vanishing Ladv ” Secret
—
....—
His many imitators The secret of an ingenious illusion
The expanding die—An inventor of many effective tricks.
CHAPTER IX
The Truth about the Indian Rope Trick
Fact or legend ?— An impossible effect — Other popular
deceptions of the fakirs.
CHAPTER X
Tricks of Bogus Mediums
—
.....
Ghosts real and unreal Ingenious deception in the stance
—
room A magician among the spirits—Ghosts that walk
in the dark.
CHAPTER XI
Why I am a Spiritualist ....
My first interest in survival—My original scepticism —
What happened to me —Convinced by a blind medium
I watch for trickery.
CHAPTER XII
Mediums I have sat with ....
A record of twenty-five years’ investigation — A survey and
a summary— Some puzzling facts— Rudi Schneider and
others.
CHAPTER XIII
Magic and Crime .....
A point of contact—Deception by the magician and the
crook — Some tricks of card-sharpers explained in detail —
Other clever race-course swindles.
CHAPTER XIV
The Great Kellar ....
Harry Kellar, the great but unscrupulous magician A —
—
clever man who plagiarised The showman who victimised
Maskelyne — His search for a successor.
——
CONTENTS 11
CHAPTER XV
Howard Thurston’s Rise tq Riches
Kellar’s appointed successor
....
—From potato-peeler seller
»o.
143
to millionaire.
CHAPTER XVI
Zancigs and their brilliant Thought-reading Code . 146
—
How they baffled the world Zancig’s humble start in life
— An accident which altered his career Northcliffe —
impressed—The theory of Napoleon of Fleet Street.
CHAPTER XVII
How ZOMAH DELAYED A MURDER . . . . . 162
CHAPTER XVIII
David Devant —Master Magician . . . . .165
His great contribution to English magic — A classic name
—My memorable
The box escape visit to Devant —A much
misunderstood man.
CHAPTER XIX
A King or Modern Conjurers . . .160 . •
Horace Goldin— A strikingly original illusionist —How
Goldin outwitted the New York police.
CHAPTER XX
A Medley op Magicians . . . . .165
Chevalier Ernst Thom, Chefalo, John Mulholland.
CHAPTER XXI
My Magical Life . . . . . . • 170
A strange story—Early beginnings—My sad experience
with a magical salesman —First appearance as a conjurer—
My impromptu act—The mystery of my resignation from
the Magic Circle — Baffling my brother magicians.
CHAPTER XXII
“ The Man who made Ice famous ” ,
100
Van Hoven —How he started life as a pea-nut seller
Promotion to a bottle juggler —Bad conjurer who became
a first-class comic turn.
CHAPTER XXIII
An Undertaker’s Interruption . . . • .197
The great Raymond—My adventure with him.
12 CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXIV
The Prince who stabbed his Partner
The dusky potentate and his manager
....
—A laughable story
PACK
200 f
with a tragic ending. I
Ceeley and the Naked Lady
CHAPTER XXV
.....
An improper story but a true one—The comedy of an
204
illusionist’s assistant and a button misadventure.
His experiences in Russia
”.....
CHAPTER XXVI
Dante’s “ Disappearing Lady
—How magic is accepted in the
206
Soviet Republic.
CHAPTER XXVII
wrong .........
—
The Handcuffed Clergyman an Escape that went
211
The great Maurice
.....
CHAPTER XXVIII
A Conjurer’s Rapid Courtship
—Saw and wooed his wife in five
213
minutes.
Muller the Mystic .......
CHAPTER XXIX
Pathetic story of his return.
217
CHAPTER XXX
Dilemma of a Parliamentary Magician 219
Mr. Frederick Montague’s unrehearsed effects — An Under-
secretary as conjurer.
>
CHAPTER XXXI
The Cornells and their ghastly Publicity Stunt 221
A queer thought-reading act and its purpose— A mortuary
travesty.
WlSHART AND THE CORPSE ......
CHAPTER XXXII
Extraordinary adventure at a lodging-house.
223
I
The Tragedy of Hanco .......
CHAPTER XXXIII
—
An escape artist who dressed himself as a convict His
226
fatal love affair.
CONTENTS 18
CHAPTER XXXIV PAGE
The £ a. d. of Magic 227
Some facta and figures about the earnings of famous
magicians.
Miscellaneous Magic .......
CHAPTER XXXV
Stage tricks and illusions and a collection of pooket tricks
234
used by celebrated magical performers.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Will Goldston ...... Frontispiece
PACING PAGE
Chung Ling Soo . . . . . . .24
Will Goldston’s Challenge to Carl Hertz . . . 38
A HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED PICTURE OP LAFAYETTE 48
....
. .
The late Captain Clive Maskelyne 66
An unusual Picture op Houdini in Film Work
Mr. J. C. Cannell ........
Long Tack Sam, the great Chinese Magician, and
. . 64
76
Assistants . . . . . . . 88
Will Goldston showing Student Members op the
Magicians’ Club a new Trick 112
Harry Kellar, one op the Grand Old Men op Magic . 128
Horace Goldin
.......
David Devant, a Master Magician, as he appeared in
a Magical Play 166
162
Ernst Chevalier Thorn . . . . . .
1
. 176
Chefalo as the Guest of Indian Magicians . . .184
The Annual Banquet op the Magicians’ Club . .192
......
A typical Magicians’ Club Gathering at which new
........
Tricks are performed 208
228
Arnold de Biere
CHAPTER I
THE TRUTH ABOUT CHUNG LING SOO
N OT in the whole story of magic is there more
drama than in the manner by which Chung Ling
Soo, Chinese illusionist— in reality, William E.
—
Robinson, a Scots-American came by his death.
Shot by a rifle used in his most spectacular illusion,
Chung Ling Soo fell mortally wounded on to the stage in
the full blaze of the footlights, while a crowded audience
at the Wood Green Empire looked on, thrilled and horrified.
The nations were in a death grapple when Chung Ling
Soo was killed at the climax of a stage illusion, for it was
in March, 1918, that the crack of the rifle that killed him
echoed in the capitals of Europe and America where he
was known.
His dying was even more dramatic than that of the
great Lafayette, burned in a theatre fire at Edinburgh, of
whom I shall have more to say later. A great showman
to the last, he managed, though lying in death agonies on
”
the stage, to call out, “ Ring down the curtain !
The curtain did ring down, but it did not close the
chapter of drama, or end the mystery of Chung Ling Soo
and his death.
Completely in the dark as to the secret of Chung Ling
Soo’s bullet-catching illusion, and unaware of certain
circumstances connected, as I believe, with his death, the
public have for these fourteen years been left wondering
about this strange affair.
And now, for the first time, I am going to reveal all the
facts, including the secret of the illusion.
The trick began by the audience examining and marking
four bullets taken to them by Soo’s assistant. The bullets
were taken to Soo, who openly loaded them into four
B 17
18 SECRETS OF FAMOUS ILLUSIONISTS
after he had put in charges of powder and cotton-
rifles
wool plugs. The four rifles were fired at Soo by four
assistants and he caught the marked bullets on a plate
held in front of him !
The illusion was really managed in a very simple way.
The bullets were on a plate. In returning to' the stage the
assistant had no difficulty in retaining the marked
bullets
in her hand and letting four others
roll on to the plate.
The four marked bullets were secretly dropped into Soo’s
hand when the plate was handed to him, but the audience
still saw four bullets on the plate
and took them to be
the marked ones.
B . fOR BULLET FXTRflCr
BULLET
The barrel of each rifle was divided down the centre
)
with a partition— there were really two tubes in one large
tube. Into the uppermost tube the powder was poured
and rammed down with a plug of cotton-wool on the top.
The bullet was dropped into the lower tube and thus was
|
never near the powder. As an additional precaution the
bullet was held in place by a clip, which normally would 1
be a sufficient check on any tendency of the bullet to be
ejected by the force of the explosion in the adjoining
barrel. The rifles were fired and simultaneously Soo
deftly
allowed the marked bullets to drop from his hand on to
the plate which he held in front of him.
Now the accident, or whatever it was, which caused
Soo’s death was due to a defect in one of the rifles. There
was a minute hole between the two tubes in the barrel,
and so the bullet, instead of being unaffected by the
explosion of the powder, was— in spite of the clip, which
never could hold the bullet in position in such circum-
stances —actually fired at close range.
!
THE TRUTH ABOUT CHUNG LING SOO 19
He was not the first magician to be killed by this trick.
Again and again his friends had warned him about doing
it and had begged him to give it up. He refused, because
of its great drawing power with the public, who love a
feat that looks dangerous.
Seeing that you have now learned the secret of the
illusion you will be the better able to consider with me
some of the possibilities in the situation.
Was Chung Ling Soo murdered ? No, I do not think
so. I had given the matter a good deal of thoughtful
attention, and I am convinced that not one of the enemies
whom I knew Soo to possess would have been clever or
unscrupulous enough to have planned such a terrible
crime.
But I am just as equally certain that there was at least
one man who knew what was about to happen on that fateful
Saturday night at the Wood Green Empire. That man was
none other than Chung Ling Soo himself
—
Suicide the most ingenious and cold-blooded suicide
that was ever planned That is my theory. Already I
!
can hear the mocking, deriding cries of the sceptics asking
me for proof. Of course, I have no proof. But the facts
are pregnant with suspicion.
Let us examine the details of Soo’s death. He was
killed in his last trick on the second performance of a
Saturday night. This illusion, known as Catching the
Bullets,” was extremely good, and he had performed it
on hundreds of previous occasions without the slightest
hitch or difficulty.
On the fatal night everything seems to have gone wrong.
A fraction of a second after the assistant pulled the trigger,
Soo pitched forward on his face with a cry of My God
“ !
”
You’ve shot me !
The plate fell from his grasp, and was broken on the
stage. But it had not been shattered by the bullets. This
goes to prove that the magician had not held the plate
over his chest according to his usual custom. Had he
done so it must inevitably have been shattered. Why
had Soo suddenly become so careless ?
An examination of the rifle after the tragedy revealed
20 SECRETS OF FAMOUS ILLUSIONISTS
the fact that the sealed barrel had been opened . Was this
by accident or design ? There is no doubt that Soo would
never have been shot had the rifle been in its usual
condition. And, supposing that the rifle barrel had
been
deliberately opened, whose hand was responsible ?
Again, I repeat, I have no proof. However, a friend
of mine who must remain nameless, happened to call
on
Soo in the interval between the two performances. As my
friend entered the dressing-room, he found the magician
toying with the rifle. This fact takes on an added import-
ance when one considers that any damage done to the rifle
must have been done during the first and second perform-
ances on the Saturday night.
And what of the marked bullets—those which should
have been caught on the plate ? I made a personal search
of the stage and auditorium of the theatre on the following
Monday, shortly after the news of Soo’s death had reached
me. I found nothing. Thinking I might have overlooked
them, and wishing to rid myself of the many uneasy sus-
picions in my mind, I offered to pay £l for each of
the
marked bullets when found. Nobody ever claimed the
reward. The bullets had disappeared as strangely and as
mysteriously as if they had never existed.
I might add that I never expected the bullets to be
recovered. I was convinced that they were in poor Soo’s
body.
On the night in question, Soo loaded the rifle himself.
As I have already explained, this was a task which was
allocated to a male assistant. Here again the
magician
departed from his usual mode of procedure for no apparent
reason.
I think it will be generally agreed that I have
outlined a
pretty strong case against an accidental death.
The
details I have so far described are consistent with
a deliber-
ate and well-schemed suicide (I have already indicated
that
the theory of murder cannot be accepted). But no suicide
theory can be considered complete unless a
motive is
supplied. Not even the most violent lunatic would take
his own life for sheer blood-lust.
In this special case, the motive was not lacking. No t
THE TRUTH ABOUT CHUNG LING SOO 21
long before the tragedy, Soo had asked my opinion on a
domestic affair which was obviously worrying him a great
deal. I had replied in a non-committal manner, for I was
not anxious to be concerned in affairs that might adversely
affectmy professional reputation.
Lastly there was Soo’s strange settlement of all his
debts. On the Thursday before he was killed, he walked
into my office in Green Street.
“ Good morning, Will,” he said, taking a chair, and
helping himself to a piece of chocolate. “ How much
money do I owe you ? ”
I thought this an unusual greeting, and told him so.
But he did not appear to be in the least disturbed.
“ It’s like this,” explained. “ I’m paying off all my
debts. I guess it’s just about time I got all my affairs in
order. The sooner I get things straightened out, the better
I shall like it.”
He paid his account, and took his departure. As the
door closed behind him, I little thought I had seen the last
of a man whose dramatic death, two days later, was to
startle the whole world. Why had Soo been so anxious to
settle his liabilities ?
There you have my theory with regard to Chung Ling
Soo, as briefly as I can put it. In conclusion, I should like
to tabulate the various points in the case, which, to my
mind, point definitely to suicide.
(1) Chung Ling Soo was worried by domestic troubles.
(2) He cleared up all his business affairs before his death.
(3) He was shot on his last performance on a Saturday
night.
(4) The gun which killed him had been tampered with.
(5) Soo himself was seen handling the gun a few minutes
before his performance.
(6) The marked (real) bullets which were used in the
trick were never found.
(7) The plate was not shattered by the bullets, proving
that Soo could not have held the plate before his
chest according to his usual custom.
(8) Soo himself loaded the rifle which fired the fatal shots.
22 SECRETS OF FAMOUS ILLUSIONISTS
Chung Ling Soo once told me that he never got very far
in the magical world until he gave up doing small sleight
of hand tricks to large audiences. Soo discovered from
experience what he, with his vast knowledge of magic and
audiences, should have known without putting the matter
to the test, namely, that comparatively few members of the
general public are so interested in magic that they will
pay to see small sleight of hand tricks performed in a large
hall.
Tricks of that kind, done under those conditions, appeal
only to magicians who understand what is going on and
can appreciate the fine points of each trick. A magician
who presents small sleight of hand tricks in a large hall
—
and expects to interest and amuse a huge audience many
members of which probably have great diificulty in seeing
—
the tricks is making trouble for himself. He is trying to
force an audience to like something which they do not
like. What would one say to a pianist who, engaged to
play to huge audiences of jazz “ fans,” persisted in making
them listen to some of Chopin’s nocturnes ?
Soo was not quite accurate when he said that he did not
start to make a name for himself until he gave up sleight of
hand work in public. It would be more correct to say that
he got one foot firmly on the ladder of fame by giving up
sleight of hand and, at the same time, thinking of some-
—
thing very much better from the point of view of the
general public. He quickly became famous all over the
world after he had hit upon the idea of ceasing to be
William E. Robinson and becoming Chung Ling Soo, the
Chinese magician.
At that time there was a definite boom in “ spectacular
magic ” the public flocked to see almost any magician
;
who could present a series of illusions in swift succession.
Such performances were popular because people had no
difficulty in seeing what was going on and —what was
—
equally important understanding it. The illusionist
arranged his programme in such a way that he had no need
to talk ;
his various tricks and illusions explained them-
selves.
At the same time the public were —as they always have
THE TRUTH ABOUT CHUNG LING SOO 23
—
been and always will be eager for novelty, and what
better novelty could one think of at that time than an act
of Chinese magic presented by a Chinaman ? Soo did the
thing well. He wore gorgeous Chinese robes his assistants
;
were suitably dressed ; he had Chinese scenery, Chinese
drop curtains, and so on. The fact that many of the tricks
he showed were not Chinese did not matter in the least the
;
public were ignorant on that point and there was no need
to enlighten them.
It is no secret that Chung Ling Soo would probably have
never hit upon the idea of becoming a Chinese magician if
a real Chinaman had not first shown the way. Soo did not
—
copy this performer far from it. It was soon obvious that
the act presented by the man who was masquerading as a
Chinaman was much more to the liking of the general
public than the act which was genuine Chinese.
Soo’s great success was undoubtedly due to the fact that,
in addition to being a great magician, he was a magnificent
actor. His make-up as a Chinaman was perfect, and
deceived thousands of people into believing that the
magician was really an Oriental. He acted the part per-
fectly. His slow, deliberate walk, the equally slow move-
ment of his hands, the expression of his eyes, his bland little
smile when he sprang a surprise on the audience, and his
habit of shaking hands with himself when he was taking a
—
curtain all these things impressed audiences and served
to convince them that Soo was really a Chinaman. He
used to say that at times when he was on the stage he
almost forgot that he was an American.
Perhaps part of his success was due to the fact that he
had a good deal of a Chinaman’s cunning in his own
nature he could be amusingly “ deep ” when it served his
;
purpose to be so. Thus on a Monday morning, when he
arrived at a town for a week’s engagement, he was always
at home at his hotel to the Press and to any amateur con-
jurers who cared to come along. What more natural at
such a gathering than that someone should set the ball
rolling by asking Soo to
11
show us a trick.” The next step
was equally natural. At such a merry, informal, friendly
little party someone would have the audacity to
ask the
24 SECRETS OF FAMOUS ILLUSIONISTS
great magician to explain how the trick was done. It was
then that Soo’s native cunning came to the top.
The average magician is very “ close ” when asked to
give a trick away ;
his stock of excuses for not doing any-
thing of the kind is unlimited !But Soo was much cleverer
— —
much more subtle than the average magician. At one
of these private receptions he would do trick after trick,
if he saw that his guests were interested, and if anyone
dared to suggest that Soo might perhaps be persuaded to
—
give a trick away “ something easy, that I can do ” he —
consented at once. Then, to anyone who was really behind
the scenes and knew what was really happening, the fun
would begin.
Soo would lead off by disclosing the secret of the trick
lie had been asked to explain. But he never stopped at
— —
that point. lie would go on and on and on doing —
tricks and explaining how they were done — as fast as he
could. He knew that no one can remember a number of
tricks performed in rapid succession ;
in fact, ninety-nine
persons in a hundred could not remember the effects of the
tricks. The explanations would merely bewilder and con-
fuse them ; afterwards they would not be able to recall one
clearly.
This knowledge of those facts was up Soo’s sleeve all the
time. By doing many tricks and showing how they were
done, he gained the reputation among amateur conjurers
of being very kind and generous, and they always made a
point of coming to Soo’s show, bringing their friends and
telling others that it was the greatest magical show in the
world, and so on.
One imagines that when Soo was by himself he smiled
that bland Chinese smile he had rehearsed so many times.
He knew quite well that even a magician of great experi-
ence cannot possibly remember the secrets of a dozen or
more tricks when they have been shown to him quickly,
one after the other some important details Mill always
;
be forgotten. As a matter of fact, there is no harder test
of a man’s memory and power of observation than to ask
him to describe exactly the effect of one trick he has just
seen— just one trick. If the trick is a fairly long one, the
CHUNG LING SOO
THE TRUTH ABOUT CHUNG LING SOO 25
feat is practically impossible to any ordinary man, and all
magicians know this and trade on the knowledge.
Although Soo protected his secrets in this way when he
was assailed by inquisitive strangers, he was kindness itself
to any friends who were really interested in magic and
knew something of the art. He was very kind to all
children, and was never too tired to entertain any children
he met in private life.
Magic was Soo’s living, but it was also his hobby. At his
home in Barnes he had fully equipped workshops and a
wonder store of tricks and illusions. It was his habit,
whenever he saw a trick or illusion that interested him, to
have it made at once in his workshop he liked to look at
;
the apparatus occasionally, even though he might never
use it in public.
One of Soo’s favourite tricks was the “ Growing Roses.”
On paper there may seem to be nothing in the trick, but in
Soo’s hands it was a perfect mystery and an extremely
pretty one.
On the stage were two tall pedestals. Soo showed the
audience two large plant pots, and after he had filled them
with earth, he placed them on the pedestals. He then held
up a large cone-shaped cover to the audience and showed
that there was nothing in it. (At that moment it actually
was empty.) Soo then put the cover on one of the pots of
earth and removed it. Nothing had happened. He walked
over to the other pedestal, went through the same move-
ments, but this time, when the cover was lifted, the
audience saw a large rose-tree in bloom. Before the
audience had recovered from that surprise, Soo gave them
—
another with the pot on the other pedestal.
The secret ? Very simple. Concealed behind the
pedestals were two cone-shaped tubes which fitted into the
cover when the cover was dropped over them, and each of
those tubes held a rose-tree. After Soo had taken the
cover off the pot the first time, he dropped it over the tube
behind the pedestal, but only a magician who knew the
trick, and knew exactly what Soo was going to do, ever
saw him doing this the audiences never realised that for
;
the fraction of a second the cover was out of their sight.
26 SECRETS OF FAMOUS ILLUSIONISTS
Another of Soo’s favourite mysteries was “ The Oyster
Shell,” a picturesque illusion.
The “ Oyster Shell ” was a delightful deception— very
effective and yet the secret was simple. The third
diagram
shows the “ shell ” as shown to the audience, on a small
raised platform. The top shell was closed over the
lower,
s-
and the whole shell was then flat on the platform. In a
moment the top shell was raised and out stepped the
“ Pearl ” from the “ Oyster.”
—
The assistant as will be seen from the diagrams was —
concealed behind the lower shell in the first place. The
oyster in the shell was nothing morfe than gauze on a spring
blind. Directly the top shell concealed the lower one, the
THE TRUTH ABOUT CHUNG LING SOO 27
assistant released the spring, and so passed through in
between the two shells.
Another extremely popular illusion which figured in
Chung Ling Soo’s programmes was “ The Veiled Woman.”
In this case, a girl can be made to vanish.
Having taken up her place on the table, under which the
audience can see, the girl, heavily veiled, remains motion-
less while the magician proceeds to cover her with a large
sheet. Several times he places the sheet over her, and then
snatches it away again as though he were anxious that the
audience would have “ one last look.” Finally, he covers
her with the sheet, and attaches it to a rope hanging from
the flies. Having stepped down from the table, the con-
jurer picks up a revolver, fires it, and the woman vanishes.
Several ideas are contained in this illusion. To begin
with, the veiled girl has a wire frame over the top of her
head, and her veil and dress are in one piece. After the
conjurer has placed the sheet over her and removed it a few
times, the audience do not perceive that anything has
happened, but, unknown to them, she has slipped away
through a trap in the stage.
Her manner of departure was arranged in this way for :
a few seconds, while taking the sheet from the girl, the
conjurer allowed it to drop down and hide the table. In
that moment, the woman slipped out of her dress and veil
and, being in tights, had no difficulty in passing downwards,
being assisted in her descent by an elevator trap. The veil
and dress were prevented from falling because, a moment
before, the conjurer held them in position by means of a
small catch attached to his elbow. The wire frame under
the veil kept it in place, and the audience were therefore
unable to see that the woman had really gone.
The rope to which the conjurer apparently attached the
sheet was a faked rope, being hollow, and fitted inside with
a spring terminating in a hook. The conjurer placed this
hook in the wire frame forming the headpiece, a hole in the
top of the veil permitting this.
The sheet was wrapped round the figure, but the audience
were led to believe that it was fastened to the rope.
Attached to the hook in the rope was a thread, which, being
28 SECRETS OF FAMOUS ILLUSIONISTS
pulled by an assistant off the stage, released the hook,
which thus drew up the wire frame into the hollow rope.
The dress and the veil then fell on the table and were
hidden by the sheet, and in this way the disappearance of
the girl was effected.
j
Yet another illusion which was a particular favourite
with Soo’s public was “The Arbour Illusion.”
In “ The Arbour Illusion ” is shown at the back of the
stage an arbour which the audience can see is not occupied.
A hammock is slung near the arbour ; the performer wraps
himself in a cloak, gets into the hammock and falls asleep.
Gradually the figure of a woman appears in the arbour.
She steps out, sings a song, and then returns to the arbour, ‘
fading away as mysteriously as she came, but while her
figure is becoming indistinct, the audience sec it change
slowly into the figure of the performer. When the figure °is ‘
quite plain to all, the performer steps out of the arbour, and
an assistant comes in and draws away the cloak from the
hammock.
The first thing to be explained is the manner in which the
performer disappears from the hammock. He wraps him-
self in a cloak, but in doing so manages to raise a “ strut,” :
and this gives the appearance of his arms being under the
cloak. The performer is behind the cloak, which hangs
down to the floor and so enables him to escape through the >
back cloth.
The appearance and disappearance of the woman are ’
caused by a sliding mirror, which passes diagonally across ,
the arbour. At the commencement of the illusion, this
mirror is in position across one corner of the arbour, and
the woman is hidden behind it. The mirror reflects part of
,
the side of the arbour which thus appears to be empty.
The silvering of the mirror is etched away toward the edge,
and so, when it is drawn slowly away, the woman is made
to appear gradually. She comes out, sings her song, and
returns to the arbour. W7
hen the mirror is being pushed
back into its original position, to cause the disappearance
of the woman, the performer’s “ double ” stands in one
corner of the wings, and his reflection in the mirror is taken
to be the figure of the performer himself. The mirror is not
-
THE TRUTH ABOUT CHUNG LING SOO 29
pushed right across, but only far enough to allow the
woman to escape from the back and for the performer to
take her place. Then the “ double ” leaves his position,
and the glass, being pulled back, shows the performer, who
steps out. The lighting is that of the usual stage moon,
with a little blue tint in it, to hide the movement caused by
the sliding of the glass.
Soo baffled his brother illusionists and the public with
his favourite mystery, “ The Girl and the Dominoes.”
The effect of the dominoes illusion is as follows :The
conjurer stacks a number of solid dominoes of a giant size
on the table, and his assistant comes on and steps into a
large box on the stage. The magician has a large square
tube lowered over the dominoes, and when it is lifted, the
woman is seen on the table. Going to the box, the magician
shows it full of dominoes.
The dominoes on the table are solid pieces of wood. The
lower part of the table is made of wickerwork, and the
audience can see through it. To prove this fact, the con-
jurer can hold a light behind the table.
A large crescent-shaped piece is cut out of the back of the
table, and the tube that covers the dominoes is fitted with
a flap door. After the light has been shown behind the
table, black blinds are drawn down by an assistant beneath
the stage, thus forming a complete “ cover ” from the top
of the table to the stage. Behind the table, in the space
left by the piece cut out of the table, is a trap. After the
tube is placed over the dominoes, the assistant gets up
through the trap, removes the dominoes by taking them
through the flap door in the tube, and then allows the girl
to step into the empty tube.
The young woman gets clear of the box on the table
because there is a hole in the bottom of the box and another
in the stage. The box is arranged on the principle of the
well-known drawer box, which can be shown either empty
or full at the will of the conjurer. The dominoes shown at
the end of the trick in the box are dummy ones, made of
canvas and springs. All the dominoes, in a compressed
condition, were kept at the top of the box when the girl first
got into it. After the young woman has been shown on the
30 SECRETS OF FAMOUS ILLUSIONISTS
4
table, the conjurer pulls out the drawer of the box in such
a way that he also draws out the dominoes which have been
concealed in the box.
One turn of the knob in the drawer of the box operates a
small catch, which enables the conjurer to do this, and the
drawer is then shown apparently full of dominoes.
CHAPTER II
THE ROMANTIC STORY OF CARL HERTZ
t r
ARL HERTZ will be remembered as one of the
C greatest American magicians of all time. The story
of his rise to fame is as romantic as any fairy story
from Grimm, and is a triumph of pluck and perseverance.
Carl’s determination to succeed carried him through a
thousand troubles, and eventually enabled him to reach the
foremost rank of his profession.
His real name was Louis Morgenstein, and he was born of
Jewish parents about sixty-nine years ago in San Francisco.
His father owned a dry-goods store in one of the meaner
parts of the town, and was determined that his son should
be in the same trade. Carl, however, had other ideas. He
had decided to become a magician.
Curiously enough, it was not until he had seen a con-
juring performance by the Great Hermann that Carl’s
thoughts definitely turned towards magic. But that one
performance had so impressed him that he decided then
and there to change his vocation.
His first step was to learn a few tricks. This he did
without any professional tuition, and practised so assidu-
ously that in a very short while he felt confident that he
could present a quite passable public performance. But
now he was faced with his greatest difficulty. Who would
engage him ?
This was only one of the many problems which beset
him. His father, having sold up his own business, put Carl
out as assistant at a neighbouring stores. From this
position he was sacked for demonstrating conjuring tricks
during business hours, and he lost other good posts for the
same reason.
His parents became much alarmed at his continual
31
32 SECRETS OF FAMOUS ILLUSIONISTS
failures, and tlireatened that, unless he could put his mind
to his business, all his conjuring apparatus would be
destroyed. This threat they afterwards carried out.
Carl’s first appearance on the stage (as an amateur) was
a dismal failure. All his tricks went wrong, and his stage
fright was so obvious that the audience hooted him off the
platform. In one trick, where he had to fire a revolver, he
lost his nerve entirely, and fired a weapon containing a live
cartridge. The bullet clipped the ear of a man standing in
the wings, and it was only by a miracle that the young
conjurer did not stand a trial for manslaughter. As it was,
he vowed he would never again appear in public.
But a few months later he was offered a professional
engagement which, against his parents’ wishes, he decided
to accept. He joined a touring company bound for the
towns of Southern California. The tour lasted exactly two
days. The manager absconded, and Carl was forced to
pawn his gold cuff-links in order to pay his fare back to
San Francisco.
This was a bad start, but there was worse to follow. In
a short while he received another offer, this time from a
well-known manager who was sending a company to tour
the mining towns. Carl signed up the contract, and set off
for Petaluma, where the show was due to open. To his
utter astonishment he found only two actors and an actress
waiting to receive him. The manager told him that other
artists were on their way, and handed him several sheets of
closely written manuscript.
“ What’s this ? ” asked Carl.
“ Your part. We’re doing H.M.S. Pinafore ,” was the
short reply.
Carl gasped open-mouthed.
“ But hang it all,” he protested, “ I’m a conjurer.”
“ Rubbish You don’t know anything about magic, so
!
you may as well play opera instead.”
“ I can’t sing a note ! I absolutely refuse.”
“ Listen.” The manager dismissed his protest with an
airy wave of the hand. “ You either play the part of Dick
Deadeye, or else start walking home. Please yourself.”
Carl was almost “ broke,” and had no option.
THE ROMANTIC STORY OF CARL HERTZ 33
The performance, which had been widely advertised as
“ A Special Show by Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pinafore
Company,” was a fiasco. University students attended in
force, and when they realised that four artists were attempt-
ing to play every part in the opera, there was almost a riot.
They booed, made cat-calls, and eventually started throw-
ing eggs. After several attempts to gain a hearing the
actors retired, and the curtain was rung down. The next
day the company returned to San Francisco.
Bitterly disappointed, Carl was forced to return to the
dry-goods trade. He surprised his parents by working
exceptionally hard, and they had hopes that he would
settle down and lead the normal life of a business man. In
reality he was saving to pay his fare to Kansas City, where
he was determined to try his luck as a single turn. In the
meantime, he was giving conjuring performances at private
houses and charity shows, and was gaining confidence and
skill. When he had saved sufficient money, he packed up
his apparatus, and started on the two thousand mile
journey to the west.
For eleven days he suffered the worst discomforts
imaginable. The emigrant train which he boarded was
dirty and smelly, and as he was travelling in the height of
summer, the conditions became nearly unbearable. His
food consisted of canned meats and vegetables, which his
mother had thoughtfully put into a hamper.
“ That journey was the worst experience of my life,” he
told me forty years afterwards. “ Even though it was so
long ago, it remains a vivid nightmare. I don’t know how
I endured it.”
When he arrived at his destination he jumped from the
train and had a hurried wash, his first since leaving San
Francisco. Then after a meal which he ate so quickly that
he was troubled with indigestion for a week afterwards, he
went to the best hotel in the town, and reserved a room.
“ My luggage is being sent on in due course,” he
explained to the suspicious booking clerk.
That same evening he was lounging outside the hotel
entrance when he noticed a young man in shirt sleeves
giving instructions to another man who was dressing the
o
34 SECRETS OF FAMOUS ILLUSIONISTS
windows of an adjoining shop, known as “ The Boston One
Price Clothing Store.” Carl, who felt badly in need of
human companionship, started a conversation, and almost
before he realised it, he had told the other of his theatrical
ambitions, and of the many disappointments which had
come his way.
“ So you want to get on at the Theatre Comique ? ”
asked the shop assistant, who had introduced himself as
Hano. “ Well, I guess you’ll have to wait a while. The
theatre is being repaired, and won’t be finished for another
three weeks.”
Carl whistled.
“ That’s bad,” he remarked. “ I’m staying at the best
hotel in the town, and haven’t enough money to pay for
one week, let alone three.”
“ That’s all right,” returned Hano. “ You clear out of
that hotel right now. I can fix you up until your engage-
ment starts. I happen to have taken a liking to you, and I
reckon you’ll make a success. Get your luggage sent along
to my rooms.”
Carl was not slow to take advantage of his new friend’s
kindness. He straightway handed in his notice at the
hotel, and moved his luggage and his precious bundle of
tricks to a small room at the back of the clothing store,
had it not been for Hano’s generosity, more likely than not
he would have returned home, and have finished his days
behind the shop counters which he hated so much.
On the following morning the young conjurer set out to
visit the manager of the Theatre Comique.
“ I’m Carl Hertz, the great conjurer,” he said by way of
introduction. “ I believe you’re reopening in three weeks.
I’ll hang on if you care to engage me for a week.”
The manager smiled thoughtfully.
“ So you’re a great conjurer, are you ? Well, I’ve never
heard of you. Nor has anyone else I daresay. Let’s see
what you can do.”
Carl gave a demonstration, and was relieved to observe
that the manager seemed impressed.
“ That’s enough,” said the great- man. “ What’s your
”
price ?
THE ROMANTIC STORY OF CARL HERTZ 35
“ Sixty dollars a week.”
“ That’s absurd. I may pay you thirty.”
“ That’s equally absurd. As a sacrifice, I can come
down to fifty.”
“ Far too high.”
But at last everything was arranged amicably. Carl was
engaged for one week at forty dollars, a figure which was
then considered excellent payment. He filled in the three
weeks before his engagement by doing various odd jobs
in the “ Boston One Price Clothing Store.” On one occasion
he was allowed to dress the window, and this he did with
such success that the proprietor begged him to give up the
idea of stage life, offering him an excellent salary as chief
window dresser to the firm. Needless to say, Carl declined
with thanks.
His performance met with extraordinary success, and the
manager was so delighted that he extended the contract
for a further fortnight. Meanwhile the conjurer wrote to
agents in all parts of the United States, enclosing his pro-
gramme and several Press cuttings in praise of his Kansas
j
City performance. As a result, he obtained further engage-
ments which lasted for another twelve months.
In 1884, when he had become a popular figure in America,
Carl decided to visit England. In July he sailed for Liver-
pool, with the intention of remaining a few months.
Actually he stopped three years. Strangely enough, the
Liverpool managers would not look at him, although he
assured them he had definitely established himself as one
of America’s leading magicians. So, more in disgust than
in anger, he travelled on to Manchester, where he persuaded
a manager to book him for one week on the understanding
that if he were a failure there was to be no payment.
His performance was well received, and he was engaged
for a further fortnight. Flushed with success, he came to
London, and, as news of his northern triumph had already
trickled south, he had no difficulty in obtaining further
bookings.
It was at this time that Beautier de Kolta was astonish-
ing audiences at the Trocadero with his celebrated
“ Vanishing Lady ” illusion. This trick was different from
36 SECRETS OF FAMOUS ILLUSIONISTS
anything that had been seen before, and was
the talk of
London. Anxious not to miss anything which
might be of
use to him, Carl saw de Kolta’s
performance, and came
away greatly impressed.
He altered a few of the details of the “ Vanishing Lady,”
renamed it, and used it as his own trick. He created a
profound sensation in all the towns he visited,
and within
a comparatively short space of time he
found himself
famous. That, in brief, is the romantic story
of his rise to
fame.
For nearly twenty years he remained the
undisputed
king of vaudeville magicians, and it was not
until Horace
Goldin first appeared here, at the beginning
of this century,
that the American’s position was seriously
challenged!
Hertz saw Goldin’s performance, and realised
that he had
now a serious rival. He became panic-stricken, and decided
to alter the whole of his programme.
From that moment
he seemed to lose all his old artistry and
showmanship.
He purchased a number of new illusions from Basch, a
well-known German manufacturer. This was a great
mistake. Clever mechanic though he was,
Basch was no
inventor, and obtained the ideas for his
illusions from the
programme of the best Continental performers.
Carl soon lost the reputation which had
cost him so
much to build. He became known as an imitator, and lost
caste not only among his brother
magicians, but with
theatrical managers as well. He was content
to appear at
second-class theatres, and indeed, had it not
been for his
wonderful bird-cage trick, it is doubtful if he would
have
secured engagements at all.
It is not given to every magician to gain fame
and
fortune by his performance of a trick invented by another
magician and performed by its inventor hundreds
of times
in London, but that is precisely what
Carl Hertz did. He
will be remembered by magicians and
the public as the man
who use.! to do the “ Vanishing Bird-Cage,” but he was not
the inventor of the trick. It was invented by Beautier de
Ivolta, a i ery clever magician who originated a number
of
excellent tricks. Opinions will probably differ a