Tommy Wonder and some others pronounce it "Day". Daryl, Mike Ammar and others pronounce it "Die".

Anyone know how The Professor pronounced it?

Johnny Thompson claims that it's "Day", but slips and refers to him as "Die".

Herb Zarrow said it was Day when he was in New York. I think the Die came about when he moved west.

Richard

In 87 he told me it was Dai as in David without the vd. Really. He said he got rid of the vd years ago. And that's a quote.

Mr. Townsend, that's very funny. Seems he a good sense of humor.

~Joe

This is what he told me: When he moved out to California, Jay Ose called him "Die." Now others had, too, all through the years because of the spelling; but, most all the Easterners called him "Day." A lot of Easterners call "Gee-nee" magazine "Gene-eye" too. But no question, Vernon told me it was "Day" short for David.
Anyway, Dai loved Jay, Jay introduced him to everyone out here he didn't already know as "Die," and Dai told me he loved Jay too much to bother to correct him. By that time, of course, he had been answering to both pronunciations for years.
Pat Culliton

Either or either

Both, initially it was pronounced Day, but in time many began to pronounce it Dai, he answered to both.

So, should we pronounce it as Day or Die?

Vernon in his Vernon Touch column in Genii magazine and I also heard him say this at an early Desert Magic Seminar. When asked how his name was pronounced he would say as posted above. "Either, or either." Both ways are correct. Pick the way you would like to say his name and use it.

I am used to "Die" - so I'll stick to it then.

If it did not matter to him, it should not matter to us...

Exactly! And, people who were close to him went in both directions. Ammar said "Die" and Lorayne said "Day"...

... "but you doesn't haf to call me Johnson" ...

I hung around with Dai for years - and his name was obviously Dai, short for David. Many years later, when I'd visit Dai at the Magic Castle, he once told me about Jay Ose calling him Dye, and Dai didn't want to embarrass him by telling him the correct pronunciation. I told Dai then (it was too late, of course) that he should have started to introduce Jay as Jye - that would have "told" him. HL.

I pronounce it as Ehrich Weiss.

*jeep!
--Grandpa

That can really mess your seances up.

Tomato tomaaato?

I knew him for over 40 years and people called him by both.

Both? I never heard anyone call him both.

I never say Die.
Is it HunDay or HunDie(the car).

Seriously, I always called him Mr. Vernon... or "Professor".