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Greg Kiefer New user 64 Posts |
A couple of magic biographies I’ve enjoyed are Harry Loyrayne’s Before I Forget and Arthur Brandon’s Milo & Roger: A Magical Life. Does anyone have a favorite magic biography recommendation?
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landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts |
I enjoyed Jim Steinmeyer's Thurston bio and his Chung Ling Soo bio. There was a nice memoir also written by one of Dante's assistants. The name escapes me at the moment, but it was a fun backstage look at a touring life. Whenever this topic is mentioned, the Bamberg autobiography invariably is named as well.
Click here to get Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years
All proceeds to Open Heart Magic charity. |
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Rachmaninov Inner circle 1076 Posts |
I’ve read several biographies, all were rather boring (Fay, Hurst, Golden, Mr Electric, Levante, Angel…). The only which captured my interest was the Robert Houdin one, in French, Comment on devient sorcier. It shaped the way I’m studying, practicing and performing magic.
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ekins Special user Portland, Oregon 513 Posts |
A few biographies that are a fun read are:
Wise Guy by Harry Anderson - Not only a biography but also includes many of the effects he developed. The biography portion is interesting. The Odds Against Me by John Scarne - This is a true biography but it often reads more like an action novel. It's amazing the experiences Scarne had. You can find used copies for a reasonable price on Amazon Tabman Magic by Tabby Crabb - Another person with a lot of amazing experiences and writes about them very openly and honestly. This is also available on Amazon and I'm not sure if it's still available anywhere else. Carney, Pitchman, Indian Chief by Carl Herron (Brother Shadow) - Another interesting and fun read. Unfortunately, it looks like this is a difficult one to find and all I found were a couple of opportunists asking extortionist prices. It's worth keeping an eye out for though. |
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mindmagic Inner circle London 1740 Posts |
I can recommend The Secret Life of Houdini by Kalush and Sloman.
Barry |
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Ray Haining Inner circle Hot Springs, AR 1907 Posts |
There's also Spellbound: The Wonder-filled Life of Doug Henning.
Note that there is a difference between biography and autobiography, the latter being a biography written by the subject themselves. |
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kamlet New user Chicago, IL 56 Posts |
Some of my favorites: (in no particular order)
Pleasant Nightmares - Dr. Neff and his Madhouse of Mystery by William V. Rauscher We Remember Dante by Joel Ray - while not so much a biography - the stories told by those that knew Dante really paint a picture.... Beating a Dead Horse: The Life and Times of Jay Marshall Don't Fool Yourself: The Magical Life of Dell O'Dell - by Michael Claxton Mike |
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miltos New user 58 Posts |
Robert Houdin Biography.
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noble1 Special user 651 Posts |
I LIE FOR MONEY - candid outrageous stories from a magician's misadventures - about Steve Spill from the Magicopolis show in Santa Monica - available hardcover, kindle, audibles, etc - here's the amazon link:
https://www.amazon.com/Lie-Money-Outrage......32204924 |
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landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts |
I'll second that. Hilarious and informative.
Click here to get Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years
All proceeds to Open Heart Magic charity. |
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Greg Kiefer New user 64 Posts |
Hello all! Many thanks to you all for the above recommendations. I guess I better get cracking with the many biographies and autobiographies book recommendations. I tend to enjoy the stories from the early 1900’s. Such as Al Baker tome that came out several years ago (the title escapes me). I missed an opportunity to meet Tabby Crabb. At one time he lived not too far from me. I believe he passed away several years ago in South Georgia. He was very active in the workshop forum on this site.
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Vogler Special user Greece 707 Posts |
Hiding the elephant by Steinmeyer! excellent history book , but also pure joy!
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Pop Haydn Inner circle Los Angeles 3691 Posts |
You might enjoy my book, Stories of a Street Performer:
https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Street-Pe......37981339 |
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senno52 Regular user new york 161 Posts |
The Coney Island Fakir: The Magical Life of Al Flosso
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Pop Haydn Inner circle Los Angeles 3691 Posts |
Magic for Magicians by Nightingale the Mystifier. Wonderful book by a world-trotting magician who quit vaudeville in 1915 to become an electrical engineer for Westinghouse, and eventually the creator of garden lighting. He designed the lights for Brookledge-Thayer's home and shop in Los Angeles.
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MaxfieldsMagic Inner circle Instead of practicing, I made 3009 Posts |
Quote:
On Apr 24, 2019, noble1 wrote: The Audible version of this is special because Spill reads it himself.
Now appearing nightly in my basement.
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motown Inner circle Atlanta by way of Detroit 6127 Posts |
Two favorites of mine are:
Dante: The Devil Himself and Blackstone: A Magician’s Life.
"If you ever write anything about me after I'm gone, I will come back and haunt you."
– Karl Germain |
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magicfish Inner circle 7006 Posts |
Paul Daniels and the Story of Magic by John Fisher.
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markmiller Special user 731 Posts |
I Lie for Money by Steve Spill
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JoeLyons New user Although I've lurked here for years, i only have 24 Posts |
Milo & Roger is a great read.
Illusion Show by David Bamberg is also one of the best. |
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The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Books, Pamphlets & Lecture Notes » » Entertaining or amusing magic biographies recomendations? (16 Likes) | ||||||||||
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