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Difference between revisions of "Jack Read"
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He was one of few New Zealanders to have seen [[Harry Houdini]] in person, in 1921. | He was one of few New Zealanders to have seen [[Harry Houdini]] in person, in 1921. | ||
| − | Read saw out his days at Selwyn Village retirement home in Point Chevalier. He was still entertaining in his late 80s. He died in 1987 at the age of 89.<ref>http:// | + | Read saw out his days at Selwyn Village retirement home in Point Chevalier. He was still entertaining in his late 80s. He died in 1987 at the age of 89.<ref>http://bam.net.nz/grand-masters-of-magic/#jackread</ref> |
== Awards == | == Awards == | ||
Latest revision as of 12:18, 20 December 2017
| Jack Read | |
| Born | circa 1897 |
|---|---|
| Died | circa 1987 (age 89) |
Jack Read (c.1898-1987) was known as The Versatile Entertainer. The name was coined when he was booked to perform in a show for a bowling club in the 1930s on a wet cold night, when none of the other performers showed up, and over the course of the evening performed four times with a completely different act.
Biography
As well as magic Read performed a clown act, paper tearing, lightning cartoons, a gymnast act, chalk talk, ventriloquism, glove puppetry and played the harmonica.
He became interested in magic around 1940 when performing with the Irma Squirrel Concert Party. His first tricks were pocket effects he had ordered in a catalog.
In his early days he put together a comedy act based around the Zombie. The ball (from an old lavatory cistern) would rise from a table, float around the stage, pass through a hoop and then back to the table.
As a gym instructor at the Leys Institute in Ponsonby, a position he held for seventeen years, Read guided a troupe of gymnasts through many charity performances during the depression. He even made a brief entry into films with an appearance in a silent comedy, The Daughter of Auckland.
After the Irma Squirrel Concert Party disbanded when Irma moved to Australia, he joined up with Joy Beatty’s Concert Party and performed shows throughout New Zealand.
Read also performed as Bimbo the Clown and became a familiar figure in Auckland. For a decade he had a four week Christmas season at a Queen Street department store.
He was one of few New Zealanders to have seen Harry Houdini in person, in 1921.
Read saw out his days at Selwyn Village retirement home in Point Chevalier. He was still entertaining in his late 80s. He died in 1987 at the age of 89.[1]
Awards
- Grand Master of Magic Award (1976)
- He was a regular performer in competitions at national magicians conventions and was a recipient of the comedy trophy for the funniest routine six times.
- The Variety Artists Club of New Zealand presented him with a Scroll of Honour (1973)
References
