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Ralph W. Pierce
| Ralph W. Pierce | |
| Born | Ralph Wellington Pierce May 28, 1913 Shell Rock, Iowa |
|---|---|
| Died | August 19, 1995 (age 82) Urbana, Illinois |
Ralph W. Pierce was a part-time vaudeville and full evening show magician. [1]
An I.B.M. number of the Magic Wand Ring 236 of Urbana.
Pierce's interest in magic started in sixth grade. In his senior year in high school, he meet Harry Blackstone, Sr. who took time to encourage him.
He teamed up with John Calvert out of high school and the two built a show in which they would alternate as assistants.
In 1933, Pierce left Calvert and began playing coal mining camps with an hour show and school assembly shows. In 1936, he married Lois ("Bunny"), his schoolmate and first assistant. They began to do shows for churches.
During World War II, Ralph was assigned in the Navy to an entertainment unit where he played in Midway, Saipan, Guam, Johnston, and Okinawa.
After the war, Ralph and Lois moved to California and developed a new show, The Madcap Magic Review. After graduating from the Chavez School of Magic, he started doing a Spook Show in the 1950s called "Graveyard Frolics...with a cast of fifty, three living and forty-seven dead."
Ralph retired as a full-time professional, returned to Illinois and started a photographic studio. Magic was still his hobby and he continued to lecture and work as an MC for Abbott's Get-Together].[2]
