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{{Infobox person
[[File: JNHilliard.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ John Northern Hilliard]]]]
| name = Bert Allerton
 
| image                    =  GeniiCoverV5N8.jpg
'''John Northern Hilliard''' (1872 - 1935) was a Rochester newspaper man  and clever amateur magician.
| image_size                =
| alt                      =
| caption                  = Cover of Genii (1941)
| birth_name                =  Albert Allen Gustafson
| birth_day                =  January 01,
| birth_year                =  1889
| birth_place              =  Lynn Center, Illinois
| death_day                =  February 22,
| death_year                =  1958
| death_place              =  Veterans Hospital, Elgin, Illinois
| resting_place            =  Memorial Park Cemetery, Skokie, Illinois
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| nationality              =
| known_for                =
| notable works            = 
| flourished                =
| awards                    =
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| misc                      =
}}
'''Bert Allerton''' (January 1, 1889 - February 22, 1958), born Albert Allen Gustafson, worked as a successful close-up magician in top nightclubs and hotels across the United States.


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
After a career as an oil salesman and the death of his wife, Allerton took up magic. He eventually started performing close-up magic in nightclubs. He worked for many years at the Ambassador East Hotel Pump Room in Chicago as well as the House of Murphy in Hollywood and the Hotel Pierre in New York City.
Hilliard was dramatic critic with The Chicago Herald and later on the staff of The Rochester (N. Y.) Post Express. After moving to New York, he met [[Howard Thurston]] while a reporter on The New York World and became interested in magic. John was credited with securing the master magician with his first engagement on the stage. Several years later Thurston induced Hilliard to give up his newspaper work and become his personal representative.
 
He was one of the few magicians at the time to work exclusively in the close-up arena. One of his features was performing the [[Vanishing Bird Cage]] close up.


His final resting place is at Memorial Park Cemetery, 9900 Gross Point Road, Skokie, IL.  
With the urging of [[Floyd G. Thayer]], John starting writing for [[Thayer's Magical Bulletin]] magazine. In 1925, Hilliard became an advance man for The Thurston show. During this time he accumulated notes on what he was learning about magic. In 1932, Carl Waring Jones urged him to turn his notes into a book, offering to publish it. But Hilliard suddenly died of a heart attack in 1935 while in a hotel room in Indianapolis.


[[Bert Allerton|Read more about Bert Allerton...]]
[[John Northern Hilliard|Read more about John Northern Hilliard…]]

Latest revision as of 09:23, 20 February 2026

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John Northern Hilliard (1872 - 1935) was a Rochester newspaper man and clever amateur magician.

Biography

Hilliard was dramatic critic with The Chicago Herald and later on the staff of The Rochester (N. Y.) Post Express. After moving to New York, he met Howard Thurston while a reporter on The New York World and became interested in magic. John was credited with securing the master magician with his first engagement on the stage. Several years later Thurston induced Hilliard to give up his newspaper work and become his personal representative.

With the urging of Floyd G. Thayer, John starting writing for Thayer's Magical Bulletin magazine. In 1925, Hilliard became an advance man for The Thurston show. During this time he accumulated notes on what he was learning about magic. In 1932, Carl Waring Jones urged him to turn his notes into a book, offering to publish it. But Hilliard suddenly died of a heart attack in 1935 while in a hotel room in Indianapolis.

Read more about John Northern Hilliard…