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Bert Allerton

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Bert Allerton

Cover of Genii (1941)
BornAlbert Allen Gustafson
January 1, 1889
Lynn Center, Illinois
DiedFebruary 22, 1958 (age 69)
Veterans Hospital, Elgin, Illinois
Resting placeMemorial Park Cemetery, Skokie, Illinois

Bert Allerton (1889-1958), born Albert Allen Gustafson, worked as a successful close-up magician in top nightclubs and hotels across the United States.

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.

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.

Final resting place is at Memorial Park Cemetery, 9900 Gross Point Road, Skokie, IL.[1][2][3][4]

Works

The Close-Up Magician

See Bert Allerton's The Close Up Magician.

Stars of Magic

Series 3 of the Stars of Magic was published in 1947, and was devoted to Allerton.

  • "Pump Room Phantasy" (Series 3, No. 1)
  • "Bamboozle" (Series 3, No. 2)

Other Published Items

Title Publication Title Author Type Vol. No. Month Year Pages
"Mind Reading with the Finger Tips" (as Bert Gustafson) Greater Magic John Northern Hilliard Book 1938 900-2
"Contrary Do As I Do" Expert Card Technique Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue Book 1940 395-7
"Aces Up" More Card Manipulations, Number IV Jean Hugard Book 1941 34-5
"Magnetic Thought" More Card Manipulations, Number IV Jean Hugard Book 1941 44-6
"A Close Fit" Cut the Cards Martin Gardner Book 1942 5
"The Allerton Top Palm" Card Control Arthur Buckley Book 1946 69
"Allerton's Indicator" 50 Tricks You Can Do, You Will Do, Easy to Do W. F. "Rufus" Steele Book 1946 37-8
"You Remember This One" 50 Tricks You Can Do, You Will Do, Easy to Do W. F. "Rufus" Steele Book 1946 44-5
"Missing Deuce" 50 Tricks You Can Do, You Will Do, Easy to Do W. F. "Rufus" Steele Book 1946 53-5
"Allerton's Amazing Aces" Show Stoppers with Cards Jean Hugard and Fred Braue Book 1948 3-4
"Transcendent Trick" 52 Amazing Card Tricks W. F. "Rufus" Steele Book 1949 40-1
"Prepared Improvisation" 52 Amazing Card Tricks W. F. "Rufus" Steele Book 1949 51-2
"Allerchrist Card Trick" (with Henry Christ) Scarne on Card Tricks John Scarne Book 1950 114-5
"Memorizing the Deck" The Last Word on Cards W. F. "Rufus" Steele Book 1952 40
"The Magic Card Square" (with Robert Parrish) The Last Word on Cards W. F. "Rufus" Steele Book 1952 46-7
"On the Phone" (with Chick Schoke) The Last Word on Cards W. F. "Rufus" Steele Book 1952 51
"Miracle Stab" (with Frank Garcia) Million Dollar Card Secrets Frank Garcia Book 1972 73-4
"Magnetic Thought" The Fred Braue Notebooks, Vol. 4 Fred Braue and Jeff Busby, ed. Book 1985 18-19
"The Bert Allerton Aspirin Tin Routine" (with Eugene Burger) The Performance of Close-Up Magic Eugene Burger Book 1987 23-33
"Improved Hunter Knot" Martin Gardner Presents Martin Gardner Book 1993 36-8
"Ten Card Deal P.S." Martin Gardner Presents Martin Gardner Book 1993 188-9
"A Biddle Effect" Martin Gardner Presents Martin Gardner Book 1993 195
"Some Laughs From Bert and The Senator" Martin Gardner Presents Martin Gardner Book 1993 270-1
"Allerton's Crazy Cards" Martin Gardner Presents Martin Gardner Book 1993 302-4
"A Close Fit" Martin Gardner Presents Martin Gardner Book 1993 382
"Directoscopic Mind Reading" The Linking Ring Magazine 22 4 June 1942 45-6
"Ten Card Deal P.S." The Phoenix Magazine 170 Feb. 11 1949 681
"Biddle Move" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 6 10 Mar. 1949 525
"Directoscopic Mind Reading" The Linking Ring Magazine 29 2 April 1949 51-3
"Allerton's Wrist Watch" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 7 1 June 1949 555
"Crazy Cards" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 7 3 Aug. 1949 575
"Crazy Cards Variation" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 7 11 Apr. 1950 651
"Allerton's Biddled Card" The Phoenix Magazine 241 Nov. 2 1951 963
"New Papel Blanco" The Phoenix Magazine 241 Nov. 2 1951 963-4
"Deck Stab" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 16 11 April 1959 124
"Spirit Cartography" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 18 9 May 1961 139
"Magnetic Thought" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 18 9 May 1961 139
"On My Mind" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 18 10 June 1961 109
"Card-reading" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 18 10 June 1961 109,16
"Think-a-Card" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 18 10 June 1961 116
"The Esophagus Card" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 18 10 June 1961 116
"Four Card Location" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 18 10 June 1961 116
"The Rope Cut" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 19 3 Nov. 1961 29
"Card Memory" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 19 3 Nov. 1961 29
"Mindreading" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 19 3 Nov. 1961 29
"The Pass" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 19 3 Nov. 1961 29
"Sidelight" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 19 3 Nov. 1961 29
Variation on the Hunter Knot The Gen Magazine 17 7 Nov. 1961 184-5
Cornball Special Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 19 7 Mar. 1962 80
"$50,000 Pre-Arrangement Routine" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 19 10 June 1962 108
"Allerton Cut" Hugard's Magic Monthly Magazine 20 2 Oct. 1962 12

Articles about Allerton

Title Column Author Magazine Vol. No. Date Pages
"Bert Allen Gustafson" Cover T. J. Crawford The Linking Ring 18 12 February 1939 750-1
"Bert Allerton" Cover William W. Larsen Genii 5 8 April 1941 253
"Bert Allerton" Will Davidson The Linking Ring 23 5 July 1943 31
"Bert Allerton" Modern Magicians Maurice Zolotow The Conjurors' Magazine 1 5 June 1945 19-20
"Bert Allerton, Super-Salesman of Hanky-Panky" Little Johnny Jones The Sphinx 44 4 June 1945 108-10
"Bert Allerton" Cover John Braun The Linking Ring 26 4 June 1946 17-8
"Bert Allerton" American Profiles Robert Lund Abracadabra 8 195 Oct. 22, 1949 202
"Bert Allerton as Frances Ireland Knew Him" Frances Ireland The Linking Ring 38 2 April 1958 93-5
Obituary Chicago Miscellany Herman Homar M-U-M 47 11 April 1958 487
Untitled article and photo Entres Nous Dorny The New Tops 5 5 May 1965 22-3
"Bert Allerton" Spotlight Eugene Burger Genii 57 8 June 1994 533
"Remembering Bert Allerton" Russell Barnhart Genii 61 4 August 1998 38-41

References

  1. Cover Genii, Vol. 5, No. 8, April 1941, page 253
  2. Obit Hugard's Magic Monthly, Vol. 15, no. 11, April 1958
  3. Spotlight: This Month Bert Allerton by Eugene Burger in Genii 1994 June
  4. Article Remembering Bert Allerton by Russ Barnhart Genii 1998 August
  • The Linking Ring, Vol. 23, No. 5, July 1943, BERT ALLERTON, by Will Davidson, page 31
  • The Conjurors' Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 5, June 1945, Modern Magicians – Bert ALLERTON by MAURICE ZOLOTOW, page 19
  • The Linking Ring, Vol. 26, No. 4, June 1946, Bert Allerton by John Braun, page 17
  • The Linking Ring, Vol. 29, No. 2, April 1949, Chicago Parade, by Eddie Clever, Bert Allerton, page 51
  • The Linking Ring, Vol. 38, No. 2, April 1958, Bert Allerton as Frances Ireland knew him, page 93
  • M-U-M, Vol. 47, No. 11, April 1958, Chicago Miscellany by Hermann Homar, page 487
  • Genii, Vol. 57, No. 8, June 1994, Spotlight, This Month: Bert Allerton by Eugene Burger, page 533
  • Genii, Vol.61, No. 4, August 1998, Remembering Bert Allerton, Reminiscences by Russell T. Barnhart, page 38