Jim Steinmeyer

by The Last Greatest Magician in the World

  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.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN. “BIRDS OF THE AIR”

  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.

  The Kellar letter is from Ken Klosterman. The vaudeville version of Mile a Minute is mentioned in the July 11, 1915, New York Times. Villa Captured is included in playbills from George Daily. Thurston’s new patent (Villa Captured) was 1,324,630.

  The Thurston patent for the Hippodrome race is 1,104,846. Patent drawings, with alternate designs, are from Twin Cities Magic. The information on the Hippodrome is from Norman Clark, The Mighty Hippodrome (A. S. Barnes, 1968). Jarrett wrote about the auto race and Vanishing Elephant in The Complete Jarrett. I discussed Houdini’s Vanishing Elephant in Hiding the Elephant. Houdini’s letter to Kellar is from the Conjuring Arts Research Center.

  Kellar’s new levitation is described in Kellar’s Wonders and in Illusion Show. Kellar building the prop “for the pleasure” is from Daniel Waldron, Blackstone: A Magician’s Life (David Meyer Magic Books, 1999). A number of letters about purchasing wire appear in Ken Klosterman’s collection. The sneezing powder is from Illusion Show.

  Thurston’s presentations appear in Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book. Kellar’s intention to give the illusion to Thurston is from Of Legerdermain and Diverse Juggling Knacks. Thurston ambitiously reported that he’d been willed a “$10,000” illusion after Kellar’s death; this was clearly the levitation, as reported in the April 1922 issue of The Sphinx. I wrote about Thurston’s presentation in Hiding the Elephant. The instruction “walk backwards” is from The Linking Ring, June 1957. Kellar’s complaints are from The Complete Jarrett and from Illusion Show. Thurston’s interview, with Rex White, is a radio script from Ken Klosterman. Dorny told me the story about being on stage with the levitation many years ago in Chicago.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN. “THE GIRL AND THE RABBIT”

  Thurston’s show at the Globe was reviewed in the September 9, 1919, New York Times, and articles regarding the Equity strike and Thurston’s show appeared in the same newspaper, August 25 and 31. The Houdini letter, and Kellar’s comments, are from the Conjuring Arts Research Center.

  Thurston’s patter appeared in Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book. The story of the farmer and the rabbits is from an undated article (circa 1919) in the Grand Rapids News, from David Copperfield.

  The Thurston letter to Blackstone is from Ken Klosterman collection. Blackstone’s response is from the June 1956 issue of The Linking Ring.

  I’m grateful to Dennis Laub for information on Samri Baldwin. Baldwin’s billing is in programs from George Daily collection. The act is described in the December 7, 1920, letter from Houdini to Kellar, and in a December 6 letter from Houdini to Robert Kudarz, quoted by Dennis Laub. Baldwin’s disagreement is from Of Legerdermain and Diverse Juggling Knacks. The details of the contract, and Kellar’s letter, are quoted from Thomas Sawyer, Foxing Around (Thomas Sawyer, 1987), from the American Museum of Magic.

  Thurston’s letter to Jane is from Ken Klosterman. His rejection of clubs is from his St. Mark’s Church speech.

  Thurston’s health obsessions were discussed by Fredrick Keating, “Howard Thurston, Merchant of Magic,” My Magic Husband, and Our Life of Magic.

  The story of the little boy in the audience is taken from “This Week in Chicago” (no date, circa 1925) from Twin Cities Magic. Dr. Lutz is mentioned in correspondence from Rory Feldman, and his plastic surgery is mentioned in The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston. David and Theo Bamberg’s story is from Illusion Show. Thurston’s letters, Coue’s cure, advice on eating and sleeping, and Leotha’s drinking are from Ken Klosterman and Jay Hunter.

  Thurston worked directly on many scripts, or with other writers to develop scripts. For example, the name “Eternity” was also used for a script developed by Fulton Oursler for Thurston, a very different story of morality, which is from Rory Feldman. The New York Times announced “Eter
nity” (later “Twisted Souls”) in a June 6, 1920, article. “Twisted Souls” was announced in the New York Clipper, July 21, 1920, and September 1, 1920. The title “The Spirit Witness,” and the attempt to recut it is from Plough’s article “Thurston, the Man.”

  Thurston’s letters, about Jane and Leotha’s bouts with influenza, are from Ken Klosterman. Kellar’s letter, and the story of Thurston backstage, are from Robert E. Olson’s “A Letter from Kellar” in the June 1973 issue of The Linking Ring. The story is also told in My Life of Magic. Columbus newspaper accounts of the murder are from Jay Hunter.

  Charles Thurston’s murderer, Robert Stone, later confessed and was imprisoned. In April 1930 a fire raged through the Ohio penitentiary in Columbus. Stone was one of 322 who lost their lives.

  Kellar’s letter, from 1917, is quoted in the Kenneth Silverman notes, Conjuring Arts Research Center.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. “SAWING A WOMAN IN HALF”

  I wrote about the early history of this illusion in Art & Artifice (Hahne, 1998, republished by Carroll and Graf, 2006).

  The account of the SAM banquet is from the July 1921 issue of The Sphinx. Goldin’s patent for the illusion was 1,458,575. It is difficult to evaluate just how close these early drawings are to the illusion he presented that night, but the big boxy base, which disappointed Dante, is in evidence.

  The controversy with the Cannon Illusion is in Fasola correspondence from Gary Hunt. The account of Thurston’s interest is from My Life of Magic and from Phil Temple, Dante: The Devil Himself (Phil Temple, 1991).

  Jansen’s early history is from Dante: The Devil Himself, Magic: A Pictorial History of Conjurers in the Theater, and The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston. While Goldin later disagreed about Jansen’s contributions to the illusion, Jansen added illusionary qualities that were attributable to Servais Le Roy, based on his work in Chicago. A letter from Thurston to Goldin, from David Copperfield, confirms Jansen’s part.

  Thurston’s presentation is from Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book, Recollections of Howard Thurston, and John S. Van Gilder, Watching Thurston from the Front Row (Van Gilder, 1931).

  Kellar’s death is from Kellar’s Wonders. Thurston’s remarks appear in “Thurston Honors Kellar’s Memory,” a March 17, 1922, clipping in an unsourced newspaper from Ken Klosterman. Thurston also wrote about Kellar’s importance in My Life of Magic.

  Dante’s new arrangement was discussed in Okito (Theo Bamberg), “How Dante Got His Name,” M.U.M. magazine, June 1954, and Dante: The Devil Himself. Early posters for Dante show the combined billing; early Dante advertisements are from Twin Cities Magic.

  The Houdini and Thurston story was told to me by Walter Gibson, who was sitting next to Thurston that evening. He was probably in New York to work on tricks for Thurston’s upcoming boxes of candy, a promotion to be sold at his shows. The Evening Telegram article is from David Copperfield. Notice that Thurston had weighed in on the issue of spiritualism in several articles around this time, including National Pictorial Monthly.

  A copy of the United Press article is from Ken Klosterman’s collection; it was quoted, with comments, in the September 1922 issue of The Sphinx.

  Doyle’s statements are from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Our American Adventure (Hodder and Stoughton, 1923). Thurston’s comments to Houdini are from George Daily. Houdini wrote about Palladino in Harry Houdini, A Magician Among the Spirits (Harper and Brothers, 1924).

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. “FIRE AND WATER”

  Grover George’s story is from Magic: A Pictorial History of Conjurers in the Theater and from The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston. A long article about George’s success, “Five Year Mystery Trip,” appears in an August 11, 1929, Putnam, Ohio, newspaper, from George Daily. The legal paperwork, and correspondence from Dante, is from Twin Cities Magic.

  Thurston’s letter to Blackstone is from Phil Temple, Thurston and Dante, the Written Word (Phil Temple, 2006).

  The controversy about Thurston’s exposures ran through The Sphinx from October 1922 to May 1923. Additional material is from Thurston and Dante, the Written Word. Thurston’s press release is from Ken Klosterman. The letter to Mulholland is from Rory Feldman.

  The Water Fountains routine is discussed in The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston, Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book, and The Master Magicians. The routine is in a manuscript from Rory Feldman. The Vanishing Horse is discussed in Dante: The Devil Himself, and drawings for the apparatus, prepared for patent, are from Twin Cities Magic. Thurston’s improvements are discussed in Thurston and Dante, the Written Word, and the patter is from Howard Thurston’s Illusion Show Work Book.

  Fire and Water is discussed in Mike Caveney, The Great Leon, Vaudeville Headliner (Magical Publications, 1987), and in Illusion Show. Letters concerning the controversy are from George Daily.

  Thurston and Dante letters appear in Thurston and Dante, the Written Word. The complaint about Dante’s ad is from George Daily.

  Additional information on Tampa is from Gary R. Frank, Tampa, England’s Court Magician (Gary R. Frank, 2002), Gary R. Frank, Sugden, The Magician (Gary R. Frank, 2007), and The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston. The advertising sheets for Dante and Tampa are from Twin Cities Magic. Correspondence from Fasola is from Gary Hunt.

  The program for Houdini’s show is from the Conjuring Arts Research Center, and also was listed in the October 3, 1925, issue of Billboard. Houdini’s show is discussed in Hiding the Elephant, The Secret Life of Houdini, and Houdini: The Career of Ehrich Weiss. The Sphinx review appeared in December 1925. Wilson’s remarks and Houdini’s boast are from Houdini: The Career of Ehrich Weiss.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN. “CHUNDRA, WHO IS BURIED ALIVE”

  In his autobiography, My Life of Magic, Thurston told the story of his White House performance, emphasizing how he’d procured a duplicate of the president’s watch, and then, through a careless mistake, almost smashed the real watch. It sounds like a typical magician’s exaggeration. Yet Time magazine’s coverage (December 22, 1924) made it clear that Thurston did, indeed, use the president’s new watch for this trick, surprising everyone. Thurston had managed to secure a duplicate.

  The Chicago Defender article is from March 21, 1925. The story of the lion is from My Life of Magic. Memories of George backstage and at Beechhurst are from Our Life of Magic.

  The Thurston and Houdini letters are from George Daily. An account of the dinner is in the American Museum of Magic. Harry Leat’s comments appeared in Leat’s Leaflets (undated); a response is from Oscar S. Teale in the M.U.M. magazine, May 1926.

  Thurston’s patent drawings for Buried Alive are from Twin Cities Magic.

  Thurston’s investments are discussed in correspondence from Ken Klosterman and Rory Feldman. The Perfect Breather is in correspondence and advertising from Ken Klosterman. Mike Caveney wrote an article about this odd invention in the August 2005 issue of MAGIC magazine.

  The history of the Rope Trick is recounted in Peter Lamont, The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick (Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2004). Ken Klosterman owns the model figures used in planning the illusion. Accounts of the experiments are found in Thurston and Dante, the Written Word. The best account of Thurston’s illusion is in The Master Magicians. Thurston prepared a movie of the boy, now owned by Mike Caveney. Information on the steam is from Sugden, The Magician.

  Thurston’s letter to Leotha is from Ken Klosterman. Rory Feldman has an undated letter fragment from T. Nelson Downs reporting a scandalous rumor that Thurston was a “dope addict” with a $50-a-day habit. There is no basis for this rumor, nor any information to support it. But Leotha’s drug use may have become an issue around this time and inspired the talk that surrounded Thurston.

  The monkeys were discussed in Our Life of Magic. David Copperfield has photos of Thurston with the monkeys. Picky is mentioned in letters and newspaper articles from Ken Klosterman, and the monkey production is from Germain the Wizard. The monkey case file, o
f court documents, is from David Copperfield. Thurston’s concerns about the case occupies many letters in Thurston and Dante, the Written Word, and newspaper articles about the incident are from George Daily.

  Thurston’s letters, from Ken Klosterman and Rory Feldman, detail the process of his face-lift that summer and Harry’s involvement. Plough’s story is from his article “Thurston, the Man.” His surgery is also discussed in The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston. Schireson wrote about Thurston’s operation (including retouched before and after photos) in Dr. Henry J. Schireson, As Others See You (Macaulay, 1938). Oddly, in the book Schireson referred to the patient as a “pupil of Herrmann the Great … until his death a few years ago the greatest living magician,” but did not refer to him by name. He stuck to Plough’s story, claiming that he was operating on scar tissue from a steam burn. The story of meeting Grace is from My Magic Husband.

  Houdini’s fateful tour and death are recounted in The Secret Life of Houdini. I’ve also used Don Bell, The Man Who Killed Houdini (Véhicule Press, 2004). Thurston and Dante’s correspondence about the incident is in Thurston and Dante, the Written Word. The Dante manuscript was included in an earlier edition of this book, The Thurston-Dante Letter Set (Phil Temple, 1981).

  Thurston’s comments appeared November 1, 1926, in the New York Times. The note about Houdini’s secrets appeared in a November 3, 1926, Associated Press article, from Gabe Fajuri. The Hilliar letter is from the Conjuring Arts Research Center. The premiere of Buried Alive is discussed in Thurston and Dante, the Written Word.

  CHAPTER TWENTY. “MISS JANE THURSTON (SHE TAKES AFTER HER DAD)”

  The Rope Trick is from Thurston and Dante, the Written Word, The Master Magicians, and my conversation with Walter Gibson.

  The Vanishing Automobile is from The Complete Jarrett. The story of Thurston’s pistol was related by Bud Morris, son of Elmer Morris, in a manuscript from George Daily. The Capone letter is from Mike Caveney.