Dai Vernon
Aug. 28th, 2008 08:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yendiI just finished reading The Magician and the Cardsharp, the tale of Dai Vernon and his search for Allen Kennedy.
Kennedy was a Midwestern gambler who had perfected the ultimate gambler's trick: he'd learned how to deal from the middle of the deck. Beyond the book, there's not a lot of information out there about him, as his profession wasn't the sort that encouraged publicity.
Vernon, on the other hand, was famous enough that I'd heard of him, although never as more than one of those famous names from the past. He was the preeminent magician of the 20th Century, but was better known as the guy other magicians admired, rather than the guy who sought out fame for himself. Since he died in 1992 (at the age of 98!), seeing him at his peak is impossible (exacerbated by the fact that he fell six stories and broke both arms back in the '40s; arm and hand injuries are not a magician's friend).
Fortunately, he did manage to make some TV appearances later in his life. Here he is. You can see how much he influenced Ricky Jay here.
I can only imagine how amazing it must have been to see Vernon perform his magic tricks when he was in his prime.
Kennedy was a Midwestern gambler who had perfected the ultimate gambler's trick: he'd learned how to deal from the middle of the deck. Beyond the book, there's not a lot of information out there about him, as his profession wasn't the sort that encouraged publicity.
Vernon, on the other hand, was famous enough that I'd heard of him, although never as more than one of those famous names from the past. He was the preeminent magician of the 20th Century, but was better known as the guy other magicians admired, rather than the guy who sought out fame for himself. Since he died in 1992 (at the age of 98!), seeing him at his peak is impossible (exacerbated by the fact that he fell six stories and broke both arms back in the '40s; arm and hand injuries are not a magician's friend).
Fortunately, he did manage to make some TV appearances later in his life. Here he is. You can see how much he influenced Ricky Jay here.
I can only imagine how amazing it must have been to see Vernon perform his magic tricks when he was in his prime.
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Date: 2008-08-28 05:46 pm (UTC)Unfortunately that kind of magic comes and goes in popularity, and the 80s were a time where only a few headliners would occasionally come to Boston. I sort of gave up on my interests for it in those days...
I'm glad to see at least some of the old shows are still out there...