Help us get to over 8,769 articles in 2026.

If you know of a magician not listed in MagicPedia, start a New Biography for them. Contact us at magicpediahelp@gmail.com

Magicpedia:Today's featured article: Difference between revisions

From Magicpedia, the free online encyclopedia for magicians by magicians.
Jump to navigation Jump to search
No edit summary
No edit summary
Tag: Manual revert
 
(123 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 8: Line 8:
{{clear}}
{{clear}}
</noinclude>
</noinclude>
'''Dai Vernon''' (1894–1992) was a Canadian magician who's expert sleight-of-hand technique and extensive knowledge garnered him universal respect among fellow magicians and the nickname of The Professor. His influence was considerable in the magic world with his generous mentoring to a number of famous magicians. He lived out his last years at the [[Magic Castle]].
[[File: JNHilliard.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ John Northern Hilliard]]]]
 
'''John Northern Hilliard''' (1872 - 1935) was a Rochester newspaper man  and clever amateur magician.


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
[[File: GeniiCoverV27N8.jpg |right|thumb|200px|Dai Vernon]]
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.
Due to his extraordinary skill at sleight of hand, Dai Vernon is affectionately called The Professor. [[Harry Houdini]] (who in his early years billed himself as "The King of Cards") often boasted that if he saw a card trick performed three times in a row he would be able to figure it out. Vernon then showed Houdini a trick, where he removed the top card of the deck and placed it in the middle, and then turned over the top card to again reveal the original card. Houdini watched Vernon do the trick seven times, each time insisting that Vernon "do it again". Finally Houdini's wife, and Vernon's friends said, "Face it Houdini, you're fooled." For years afterward, Vernon used the title "The Man Who Fooled Houdini" in his advertisements.


Vernon first fell in love with magic when he was eight years old after his father took him to see a magic show. The first real magic book he ever owned was an early edition of perhaps the most famous card book of them all, "[[Expert at the Card Table]]", by S. W. [[Erdnase]]. By the time he was 13 he had completely memorized the contents of the book. He also had a famous encounter with another up-and-coming young magician from his town who asked Vernon, "What kind of magic do you do?" Vernon responded by asking the boy to name a card. Upon pulling a pack of cards from his pocket, Vernon turned over the top card of the deck to reveal the named card and replied to the speechless boy, "That's the kind of magic I do. What kind of magic do you do?"
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.


[[Dai Vernon |Read more about Dai Vernon...]]
[[John Northern Hilliard|Read more about John Northern Hilliard…]]

Latest revision as of 09:23, 20 February 2026

Previous featured articles are located in Category:Featured Article

Proposed candidates are listed in Category:Featured Article Candidate

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…