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{{Infobox person
 
{{Infobox person
| image                    = Genii_1964_July.jpg
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| image_size               =  
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| image                    = GeniiCoverV64N4.jpg
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| image size               = 325px
 
| alt                      =  
 
| alt                      =  
| caption                  = Cover of [[Genii 1964 July]]
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| caption                  = Cover of Genii - June 2013
 
| birth_name                =  
 
| birth_name                =  
| birth_day                = June 9,
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| birth_day                = June 9,
| birth_year                =   1898
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| birth_year                = 1898
 
| birth_place              = Chicago, Illinois
 
| birth_place              = Chicago, Illinois
| death_day                = February 25,  
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| death_day                = February 25,  
| death_year                = 1970
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| death_year                = 1970
 
| death_place              = New York City, New York
 
| death_place              = New York City, New York
 
| resting_place            =  
 
| resting_place            =  
 
| resting_place_coordinates =   
 
| resting_place_coordinates =   
| nationality              =  
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| nationality              = American
 
| known_for                =  
 
| known_for                =  
 
| notable works            =
 
| notable works            =
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| misc                      =
 
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[[John Mulholland]] (1898 - 1970), born in Chicago, but moved to New York City when young with his mother started performing as a teenager and went on to become authority on magic.  
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'''John Mulholland''' (b.1898-d.1970) was born in Chicago, but moved to New York City when young with his mother.  He started performing as a teenager, and went on to become a widely respected authority on magic.
 +
 
 +
== Career in Magic ==
 +
 
 +
Mulholland was taught by [[John William Sargent]]. During his career, he performed in forty-two countries, authored ten books on magic, and performed at the White house eight times. His 90-minute stage show was carried in two suitcases. He also served as a consultant on conjuring for the ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' and the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary''. He was, at one time, the only magician listed in "Who's Who in America".
 +
 
 +
He also invented the "Mulholland Box" (a type of [[Okito coin box]]).
 +
 
 +
In the 1930s, he took over ''[[The Sphinx]]'', the largest magic magazine at it's time, after the death of [[A. M. Wilson]], and continued as the editor for 23 years. Mulholland stopped the ''Sphinx'' to  become a consultant to the newly created CIA in 1953, although he told subscribers it was due to health reasons.
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Mulholland's 1944 book The Art of Illusion: Magic for Men To Do was selected by the Council on Books in Wartime to be reprinted as an Armed Services Edition (a small paperback version distributed to U.S. military personnel). It is estimated that almost 100,000 copies of the Armed Services Edition were printed (in November 1944), making it probably the most popular magic book of World War Two, by quantity produced.
 +
 
 +
== Career with U.S. Intelligence ==
  
He was taught by [[John William Sargent]]. He performed in forty-two countries, authored ten books and performed at the White house eight times. His 90-minute stage show was carried in two suitcases.   He was also served as consultant on conjuring for the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Merriam-Webster dictionary. He was also at one time, the only magician listed in "Who's Who in American".
+
Mulholland was recruited by Sidney Gottleib in 1953, for the top secret CIA project known as "MK-ULTRA"His assignments included working with billionaires and inventors, cracking codes and delving into the world of ESP research, experiments with the use of LSD, and writing a manual on deception for use in the Cold War.
  
In the 1930s, he took over the largest magic magazine at it's time [[The Sphinx]] after the death of [[A. M. Wilson]], which he was the editor for 23 years. Mulholland stopped the Sphinx to  become a consultant to the newly created CIA in 1953 (although he told his subscribers it was due to health reasons).  
+
He also wrote classified manuscripts for the CIA.  Two that have since been de-classified are: "Some Operational Applications of the Art of Deception", and "Recognition Signals" in 1954. Mulholland continued to work for the CIA at least until 1958.
  
Recruited by Sidney Gottleib for the top secret CIA project "MK-ULTRA", his assignments included working with billionaires and inventors, cracking codes and delving into the world of ESP research, LSD use and writing a manual on deception. He wrote classified manuscripts for the CIA. Two that are known are "Some Operational Applications of the Art of Deception" and "Recognition Signals" in 1954. He continued to work for the CIA at least until 1958.
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== Death ==
  
Mulholland, at the time, had one of the largest collection of magic memorabilia and apparatus with over 4,000 books.  
+
Mulholland died in New York City on February 25, 1970 at age 71.
  
He invented the Mulholland Box (a type of [[Okito coin box]]).
+
At the time of his death, Mulholland had one of the largest collections of magic memorabilia and apparatus (including almost all of [[Houdini]]'s paper archival estate that had not been given to the Library of Congress) and a library of over 4,000 books.  Following his death, illusionist [[David Copperfield]] purchased most of Mulholland's archival magic estate and library (including the entire Houdini archival collection and library owned by Mulholland) all of which is now housed in Copperfield's [[International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts]] in Las Vegas.
  
 
== Books by ==
 
== Books by ==
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* The Magical Mind - Key to Successful Communications (with George Gordon 1967)
 
* The Magical Mind - Key to Successful Communications (with George Gordon 1967)
  
== References ==
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{{References}}
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{{Wikipedia|John Mulholland (magician)}}
 
* Cover [[Genii 1937 October]]
 
* Cover [[Genii 1937 October]]
 
* Cover [[Genii 1964 July]]
 
* Cover [[Genii 1964 July]]
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* The MagiCIAn: John Mulholland's Secret Life by Ben Robinson (2008)
 
* The MagiCIAn: John Mulholland's Secret Life by Ben Robinson (2008)
 
* http://www.frankolsonproject.org/Articles/Mulholland.html
 
* http://www.frankolsonproject.org/Articles/Mulholland.html
* The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception by Melton and Wallace (2009)
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* [[The Official C.I.A. Manual of Trickery and Deception]] by Melton and Wallace (2009)
 
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Gottlieb
 
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Gottlieb
 
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKULTRA
 
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKULTRA
 
* http://www.miraclefactory.net/mulhollandcontents.htm
 
* http://www.miraclefactory.net/mulhollandcontents.htm
  
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulholland}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulholland,John}}
 
[[Category:Biographies]]
 
[[Category:Biographies]]
 
[[Category:Professional magicians]]
 
[[Category:Professional magicians]]
 
[[Category:American magicians]]
 
[[Category:American magicians]]
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[[de:John Mulholland]]

Latest revision as of 01:19, 30 January 2024

John Mulholland

Cover of Genii - June 2013
BornJune 9, 1898
Chicago, Illinois
DiedFebruary 25, 1970 (age 71)
New York City, New York
NationalityAmerican
CategoriesBooks by John Mulholland

John Mulholland (b.1898-d.1970) was born in Chicago, but moved to New York City when young with his mother. He started performing as a teenager, and went on to become a widely respected authority on magic.

Career in Magic

Mulholland was taught by John William Sargent. During his career, he performed in forty-two countries, authored ten books on magic, and performed at the White house eight times. His 90-minute stage show was carried in two suitcases. He also served as a consultant on conjuring for the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. He was, at one time, the only magician listed in "Who's Who in America".

He also invented the "Mulholland Box" (a type of Okito coin box).

In the 1930s, he took over The Sphinx, the largest magic magazine at it's time, after the death of A. M. Wilson, and continued as the editor for 23 years. Mulholland stopped the Sphinx to become a consultant to the newly created CIA in 1953, although he told subscribers it was due to health reasons.

Mulholland's 1944 book The Art of Illusion: Magic for Men To Do was selected by the Council on Books in Wartime to be reprinted as an Armed Services Edition (a small paperback version distributed to U.S. military personnel). It is estimated that almost 100,000 copies of the Armed Services Edition were printed (in November 1944), making it probably the most popular magic book of World War Two, by quantity produced.

Career with U.S. Intelligence

Mulholland was recruited by Sidney Gottleib in 1953, for the top secret CIA project known as "MK-ULTRA". His assignments included working with billionaires and inventors, cracking codes and delving into the world of ESP research, experiments with the use of LSD, and writing a manual on deception for use in the Cold War.

He also wrote classified manuscripts for the CIA. Two that have since been de-classified are: "Some Operational Applications of the Art of Deception", and "Recognition Signals" in 1954. Mulholland continued to work for the CIA at least until 1958.

Death

Mulholland died in New York City on February 25, 1970 at age 71.

At the time of his death, Mulholland had one of the largest collections of magic memorabilia and apparatus (including almost all of Houdini's paper archival estate that had not been given to the Library of Congress) and a library of over 4,000 books. Following his death, illusionist David Copperfield purchased most of Mulholland's archival magic estate and library (including the entire Houdini archival collection and library owned by Mulholland) all of which is now housed in Copperfield's International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts in Las Vegas.

Books by

  • Conjurer and Pedagogue (with Milton M. Smith 1924)
  • Magic in the Making (with Milton M. Smith 1925)
  • Behind the Magician's Curtain (1928)
  • Quicker than the Eye (1932)
  • The Magic and Magicians of the World (1932)
  • Mulholland's Story of Magic (1935)
  • Modern Magician: A Pocket Manual of Tricks (1937)
  • Beware Familiar Spirits (1938)
  • The Girl in the Cage (a novel with Cortland Fitzsimmons, 1939)
  • Christmas Conjurer (ca. 1940)
  • Magic in the Library (1943)
  • The Art of Illusion: Magic for Men To Do (1944)
  • Magic for Entertaining, The Early Magic Shows ( Reprint of "Art of Illusions" 1945)
  • Practical Puppetry (1961)
  • John Mulholland's Book of Magic (1963)
  • Magic of the World (1965)
  • The Magical Mind - Key to Successful Communications (with George Gordon 1967)

References

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