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“

The illusion of magic is an idealistic fantasy; it exists only in the imagination of the spectator. - Paul LePaul

”

Featured article John Northern Hilliard 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… Did you know... From MagicPedia's random pages: Le Grand David ... Le Grand David and His Spectacular Magic Company was the longest consecutively running stage magic show in the world... ... Jerry Andrus called his home the castle of chaos… ... Al Mann was at Dunninger's bedside when he died… …Channing Pollock gave his act, including his birds, to his chauffeur... …Tony Corinda had the magic concession in Hamley's Toy Shop and it was run by Ali Bongo… See also Recent changes. Featured Tip Use the Discussion tab at the top of an article to add comments or make a suggestion. Send News Items and Upcoming Events here. If the front page content is out of date purge the cache Subscribe to MagicPedia updates MagicPedia RSS feed for new articles MagicPedia RSS feed for latest changes Follow @MagicPedia on Twitter

On this day February 23... P.C. Sorcar 1890 - Harlan Tarbell (1890-1960), stage magician, illustrator and author of Tarbell Course in Magic, was born in the Illinois town of Delavan. 1913 - P.C. Sorcar (1913-1971), stage name of the Indian magician Protul Chandra Sorcar, was born in India. 1953 - Herman L. Weber (1900 - 1953), who performed as Namreh (Herman backwards), dies 1954 - Jeff Busby was born. 1964 - Milton Woodward, part of "Woodward and Cooper", dies in England at the age of 61. 1969 - Carl Rosini (1885-1969), who performed for crowned heads of Europe, Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt, dies in Florida. 1995 - Norman Hunter, last surviving magician from Maskelyne's shows, dies at the age of 94. 1995 - Playing card collector Fred Taylor dies in Salt Lake City, Utah. 1999 - Folklorist, writer-editor and amateur magician Gershon Legman (1917-1999) dies. 2012 - Magic dealer and publisher Martin Breese (1937-2012) dies. Featured Video Aquarian by Mark Wilson Load video YouTube YouTube might collect personal data. Privacy Policy Continue Dismiss In the news Penn & Teller Now You See Me Now You Don't Another brick and mortar hits the bricks. Penn & Teller inducted into Magic Circle. Recent deaths: |Ron Urban| |Jeff Sheridan| |Robert A. Olson| |Harry Monti| Upcoming Events... 2026 Blackpool Magic Convention February 19 - 22 Blackpool, UK Collaboration requests... Help MagicPedia by: Selecting a Random page and reviewing it. Making an article from the Wanted Page list. Adding public domain pictures to articles. All you need to do is join (free) and click "Edit"

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