s we kicked off the new Amillennium, readers of this magazine cast their ballots to elect the ten most influential magicians of the 20th century. Although there were some sur- prises, few could argue with the top two — Harry Houdini and Dai Vernon. While scores of books have been written about Houdini, David Ben has spent the past five years prepar- ing the first detailed biography of Dai Vernon. What follows is a thumbnail sketch of Vernon’s remarkable life, legacy, and con- tribution to the art of magic.

BY DAVIDBEN Scene: Ottawa admired performers such as T. Nelson Scene: Ballroom of the Great Year: 1899 Downs, Nate Leipzig, and J. Warren Keane Northern Hotel, Chicago David Frederick Wingfield Verner, born more. He marveled at their ability to enter- Year: 1922 on June 11, 1894, was raised in the rough- tain audiences with simple props and virtu- On February 6, 1922, Vernon and his and-tumble capital of a fledgling country, oso sleight of hand. Coins flitted and flick- confidant, Sam Margules, attended a ban- Canada, during the adolescence of magic’s ered through Downs’ fingers, while Leipzig quet in honor of Harry Houdini in the Golden Age. It was his father, James Verner, and Keane, ever the gentlemen, entertained Crystal Ballroom of the Great Northern who ignited his interest in secrets. James, a with packs of cards and other small, simple to learn, however, that he might as well have Hotel. That night, Vernon met Houdini, the career civil servant, performed a few simple props. Bigger, Vernon determined, was not been the teacher. great self-liberator and self-professed “King tricks, tricks learned from his father. Young necessarily better. In 1915, New York could lay claim to of Cards.” Vernon fooled him with a card David — Dai Vernon — was swept away. The next epiphany came at the age of 11. several private magic emporiums, the places trick, not just once but eight times. (Houdini How was it possible, for example, for his Vernon discovered a book — Artifice, Ruse where magic secrets were bought, built, and had thrown down the gauntlet that he could father to knock a chalk mark through the and Subterfuge at the Card Table — by S.W. sold. Much to Vernon’s chagrin, the propri- not be fooled by a trick if he had the oppor- surface of an oak table? Discovering the Erdnase. Popularly known as The Expert etor and staff at Clyde Powers’ shop on tunity of seeing it performed three times in secret, Vernon yearned for more. Although at the Card Table, the work taught how to 42nd Street mistook him for a rank amateur. a row.) Thereafter, Vernon was known as professional magicians of the Victorian era cheat at cards — masterfully. By the time Vernon was soon invited into the inner the man who fooled Houdini. He returned groused and groaned over the continual pub- he was 12, an age at which most had yet to sanctum, however, having flabbergasted the to New York swimming with ideas and lic exposure of their trade secrets in newspa- learn the values and suits in a deck, Vernon shop’s best-posted demonstrators and the with a slight swagger in his step. The trick: pers, magazines, and books, Vernon was had absorbed its contents. The book became professional clientele, including Dr. James a mini-Ambitious Card routine employing appreciative. He scoured libraries for the his life map. William Elliott. Elliott, a Harvard trained a little known gaff — a double-backed secrets sequestered there, discovering works As a teenager, Vernon’s skill with the physician, was recognized by his peers as playing card. by Professor Hoffmann and others. pasteboards attracted his first patron, a the greatest exponent of sleight of hand In 1922, vaudeville was in full force and At the age of seven, already enthralled by wealthy industrialist with an interest in con- with playing cards in the world. Vernon magicians were featured as specialty acts in the clandestine world of conjuring, Vernon juring named Warren Soper. Soper gave fooled Elliott and the others with his amal- an era with an insatiable appetite for live met Howard Thurston, a self-described Vernon access to information, wealth, privi- gamation of gambling sleights, estimation, entertainment. Horace Goldin’s Sawing A “master” manipulator of playing cards. lege, and an Edwardian education at Canada’s and improvisation. Woman In Two was a worldwide phenome- Invited to the home of a friend whose father pre-eminent preparatory school for boys, Artistic successes aside, harsh realities non. Vernon returned to Coney Island and was entertaining Thurston, Vernon fooled Ashbury College. Though a mediocre stu- crashed into his world on more than one joined a troupe that performed the illusion. the master with a simple card trick drawn dent, Vernon proved himself as a gifted ath- occasion. Without steady work — Vernon The troupe traveled to Cuba where Vernon from Thurston’s own publication, Howard lete. When not on the playing field or in quickly learned that fooling magicians didn’t enjoyed the lifestyle and characters that the Thurston’s Card Tricks. Vernon was both the hockey rink, Vernon spent time studying pay the rent — he found himself adrift in island had to offer. When he returned to shocked and reassured by the realization the nuances of sleight of hand. Manhattan. Eventually, Sam Margules New York, Vernon connected with Jeanne that there was no correlation between public As The Expert became a larger part of escorted him to Coney Island. While there, Hayes, a visual artist so petite that she profile and professional prowess. Vernon’s being he began to seek out the men Vernon recalled seeing a silhouette artist formed the lower half (the feet) in the Sawing The following few years brought count- who practiced its principles and worked the years before and thought that he, too, might illusion. After a brief courtship, they married. less other showmen of every description to unique blend of sleights and subtleties it laid be able to cut exquisite profiles from matte- To finance the romance Vernon sold a small Ottawa. Vernon gravitated towards the bare. Vernon met gamblers and cheats who black paper. Vernon set up a stall that adver- manuscript titled Secrets, and taught Jeanne magicians, and although he enjoyed the mys- preyed upon the itinerant labor attracted to tised one silhouette for 50 cents, two for 75. to cut silhouettes. Together, they led a tique associated with grand illusion, particu- Ottawa’s burgeoning lumber industry. He Before long, Vernon came to regard silhou- Bohemian lifestyle that alternated between larly when performed by Harry Kellar, he learned from them finesse points for the shift, ettes as currency, black pieces of paper that Manhattan and the Atlantic City boardwalk. the second deal, and the crimp and, more could be transformed into gold. Although As a young, dashing New Yorker in his importantly, he was encouraged to refine his his deft touch and artistic sensibility would 20s, handsome and confident, his reputation ever-growing arsenal of techniques. Vernon eventually earn him the title as one of the grew in the magic world. Whispers of mira- was intrigued by their exotic world, riding great silhouette artists of the 20th century, cles emanating from his fingertips continued the rails from town to town in search of for Vernon, cutting silhouettes was simply a to circulate through professional circles, games and the taking down of big “fish.” It means to an end, a way of supporting his sometimes creeping into print in the pages sparked his interest in traveling the world exploration, his study of magic and card of The Sphinx and other trade journals. and exploring the subculture of gambling, table artifice. And yet, as the legend of his work grew, the in all its down-and-dirty glory. Coney Island generated seasonal income. exploration of magic and gambling became In the off-season, Vernon toured the coun- his life’s work. try, seeking out the moves and the magic In 1924, while plying his trade in that fueled his fire. Cutting silhouettes Atlantic City, Vernon was discovered by financed his peregrinations. In 1919, while Frances Rockefeller King, the preeminent in Chicago, he caught wind of an elderly agent for private theatricals in New York. gambler who never lost. Dad Stevens was King promised Vernon a $5,000 winter the gambler’s name, and Vernon, after income if he would perform his magic at some effort, tracked him down. Though their Scene: New York City encounter in Chicago was brief, Vernon Year: 1915 would forever regard Stevens the most skill- Vernon arrived in Manhattan, a hustling, ful and innovative advantage player of the bustling metropolis that was quickly becom- 20th century. The technique Stevens dis- ing the center of the modern world. There played literally brought tears to Vernon’s he set his sights on another educational eyes; he never imagined that someone could institution: the Art Students League. He was be so skillful with a pack of cards. Stevens warned, however, by disillusioned artists, could deal seconds, thirds and fourths — not to turn his avocation into a vocation. flawlessly. His piece-de-resistance, however, [Facing page] David Verner on his third While gifted in a number of visual mediums, was the Riffle Cull, a technique for covertly birthday. [Top to bottom] Vernon’s wife Vernon heeded the advice and terminated assembling cards at will under the guise of Jeanne poses as her husband snips away in his tenure at the school. He entered another a series of table shuffles. Gaining Stevens’ the back of the Little Blue Bookshop in classroom — the magic emporium — hoping confidence, Vernon was ushered into the Atlantic City, 1924. Silhouettes of Cardini to learn great marvels. He was disappointed innermost circle of them all. and Houdini. Vernon working Greenwich Village, New York, circa 1943.

64 MAGIC • june 2006 MAGIC • june 2006 65 private parties in Manhattan. Vernon even- for a private session. The session would take VING DESFOR tually accepted her offer and began a ten- place while Vernon was on tour cutting sil- year association with King, performing for houettes. McGuire and Downs’ goal was to the elite of Manhattan society including the convince Vernon’s confreres to part with the PHOTO: IR Carnegies, the Schwabs, and the Astors. secrets, particularly those belonging to Vernon The student of the art of magic became one in exchange for access to Walter Scott. of its preeminent practitioners. Vernon con- Scott bamboozled the assembly — a group jured in intimate settings. Participants in that included Horowitz, Cardini, and Max his miracle-making did not select cards, Holden. Holden crowned Scott the new king they simply thought of them. Then, infalli- of the cards. Scott, although a gifted advan- bly and uncannily, Vernon made their tage player, was not as skillful as he appeared thoughts materialize. to be, relying on marked decks provided to The roaring ’20s also marked an era in him by the conspirators. Vernon soon recog- which Vernon formed strong, lasting bonds nized the session as a hoax, one designed to with two other magicians — amateurs — S. deceive the Inner Circle and get its members to Leo Horowitz and Arthur Finley. Together, part with their cherished secrets. He had out- the trio was a vanguard that introduced a hustled other hustlers before who had mis- new wave, one that imported the secret tech- taken him for easy prey. Vernon did not reveal niques of gamblers into the realm of the his secrets to either Downs or McGuire. escamoteur, shrouding this virtuoso skill in the natural movements and mannerisms of the artist. Led (in the figurative sense) by Vernon, this trio developed and honed princi- ples that would become hallmarks of 20th- Scene: The Great Depression century card magic: estimation, card controls, Year: 1932 palms, and doctored decks. The source of Large-scale illusion shows were fading power shifted from the back rooms of magic fast, ambushed by shifting economic sandsCharlie Miller and Vernon in the midst of a session. [Below] The Harlequin Act at New emporiums to the late night coffee table du and new forces in the entertainment indus-York’s Heckscher Theatre, February 25, 1939. jour that these gentlemen frequented. try. Performers could no longer afford to A newcomer, a recent immigrant to tour and audiences preferred to spend their America named Richard Pitchford, soon money on talking pictures. entertainment was new, and Vernon was a ance and instruction. They wanted to learn joined their ranks. Pitchford was a Great Interested in neither money nor publicity,perfect fit. His intimate style and endless cata-from him, yet Vernon was not interested in War veteran with an insatiable appetite for Vernon toured the Midwest with his young log of one-on-one illusions guaranteed his accepting money for his instruction. He sleight of hand. With Vernon’s assistance, wife and son, Edward Verner, cutting silhou-success. Casino de Paree clientele representedshared information because he loved the craft. Pitchford refined the character — an appar- ettes, meeting magicians, and searching fora who’s who of New York society and enter-He became known as “The Professor.” ently tipsy monocled card manipulator advantage players. He met Paul Fox, a superbtainment. Vernon met celebrities, gangsters, One student, Garrick Spencer, an attor- called Cardini — and charted a course to magical craftsman and jeweler in Colorado and political figures. Although the era of theney for the Woolworth Corporation, sug-

great acclaim, one that would inspire thou- large-scale illusion show had faded, magicgested that Vernon create a stage act similar VING DESFOR DESFOR VING Springs. Vernon also befriended a small-town sands of copycat magicians. magician named Faucett Ross in St. Joseph, experienced a renaissance in New York asto his friend, Cardini, an act that could be Reports of Vernon’s own work continued Missouri. Through Ross, Vernon met a fashionable nightclubs featured sophisticatedperformed entirely to music and showcased to filter out into the community. In his Sphinx variety artists. Vernon was at the forefront ofanywhere in the world. Vernon accepted the

PHOTO: IR PHOTO: Mexican gambler named Amador Villasenor. column “Trouping Around New York,” Max Villasenor informed Vernon that he had metyet another new wave. challenge and created the Harlequin Act. Holden regularly reported the effects Vernon a man who could deal from the center of the Soon, his base of operation shifted to theJeanne designed the costumes and acted as had been performing around the city. While deck, an entirely new concept that, if true, Madison Hotel, where he performed table his assistant. After performing out of town some dismissed Holden’s descriptions of would be the Holy Grail for card cheats. magic for one year. Yet, a certain satisfactiontry-outs, Vernon premiered the act in New Vernon’s tricks as hyperbole, others like Vernon embarked on an exhaustive hunt andwas lacking in his work for the public, and York in 1938 at the fabled Rainbow Room Charles Miller aspired to duplicate them. eventually located the man in Pleasant Hill, Vernon became disenchanted with performing.in Rockefeller Center. He received great criti- Soon Holden declared that New York had Missouri. His name was Allen Kennedy andHe preferred to spend his waking moments an “Inner Circle” and intimated that Vernon he could do what no one thought was possi-studying and practicing obscure sleight of was its king. ble, exactly as Villasenor had described it: hand. Though a proven professional per- While a new generation of magicians, par- deal from the center of the deck — perfectlyfor. mer — a virtually peerless magician in all ticularly amateurs, was inspired by the Inner Vernon convinced Kennedy to teach him therespects — he regarded himself as a student of Circle and its officers, an old guard planned deal and, like the Riffle Cull, guarded the the art first and foremost. Despite familial PHOTO: RICHARD PITCHFORD to steal Vernon’s crown. T. Nelson Downs, secret closely for 50 years. Ross did convinceresponsibilities and the protestations of his Vernon’s boyhood idol, conspired with Eddie Vernon, however, to publish some of his wife, Jeanne, Vernon started to turn down “Tex” McGuire to usher a New England lucrative engagements. other secrets in a small manuscript. The PHOTO: IRVING DESFOR card cheat named Walter Scott, dubbed The now-famous publication was called Ten Card With two boys to raise Jeanne Verner tired Phantom of the Card Table, into New York Problems and sold for a then whopping $20.of the hunt for elusive gamblers quickly, to The Vernon legend continued to grow. say nothing of the sporadic income her hus- In December 1933 Vernon returned to band generated. She helped make ends meet New York with a second son, Derek Verner.by sculpting performance masks for actors, On arrival he met up with Cardini who intro-magicians, and artists. In the meantime, duced him to Billy Rose, a nightclub impre- Vernon displayed a callous disregard for con- sario. Rose hired Vernon as a resident per- ventional home life. He slept during the day former, Vernon performing magic at patrons’and spent most nights practicing sleight of tables at the Casino De Paree, Manhattan’s hand, meeting with magicians, and sharing premier nightspot. The concept of tableside his secrets. A colorful cast of characters fre- quented the Vernon household seeking guid- Vernon performing at the Kit Kat Club in Manhattan, 1936. Jeanne’s life-like mask of Cardini. The Vernon family — Derek, Dai, Ted, and Jeanne — in a 1944 snap- shot by Cardini.

66 MAGIC • june 2006 MAGIC • june 2006 67 wary of this new medium because of its voracious appetite for material. Like many vaudevillians, for years magicians under- stood that a ten-minute stage act could gen- erate ten years of income. The way televised

PHOTO: IRVING DESFOR ture on cruise ships that traveled between performances consumed material, there was New York and Buenos Aires. It was a lifestyle no time to hone sophisticated performance Vernon, a hedonist in the truest sense of the pieces or refine skill to a virtuoso level. word, found easy to enjoy. Essentially, he was Vernon was one of the first performers paid to work in a ’30s-era nightclub environ- invited to perform on television, yet, like other ment stationed on the high seas. But more opportunities, he failed to rise to the occasion, importantly, cruising gave him the opportunity choosing instead to become removed from the to meet magicians, including David Bamberg, debate on how his craft could benefit econom- and advantage players in ports of call. He ically and artistically from the new technology. soon tired of the routine, however, abandon- He was at an age when he should be thinking ing the field and opening it to others. of retirement. Unfortunately, he had no means By the late 1950s, Vernon was unen- of economic support. cumbered by family; his sons, now grown, Vernon spied a young boy practicing achieved their own success despite an sophisticated gambling technique in the corner unorthodox upbringing. Vernon had of a cafeteria. Impressed by the boy’s prowess, renounced his Canadian citizenship so that Vernon invited him to sit in with the Inner his son, Edward Verner, could enter Anna- Circle. The boy, Persi Diaconis, was 14 years old. Soon after their initial encounter, Vernon polis Naval Academy. He rose through the PHOTO: IRVING DESFOR ranks to become a Lt. Colonel in the United asked Diaconis if he would like to join him in States Air Force. Derek Verner also joined the hunt for an advantage player. Diaconis ran cal acclaim and was held over for ten weeks. River construction site, where after only twothe Navy, but left eventually to become a away from home and joined Vernon on a trek Magicians regarded the Harlequin Act as the weeks on the job, he fell through a plank intotechnical writer in the aerospace industry. across the country. Under Vernon’s tutelage, high water mark of artistic excellence. On the river, breaking both arms. With doctorsJeanne Verner stayed at home in West- Diaconis explored the subculture of gamblers, the heels of glowing reviews, the act was ready to amputate, Dr. Jacob Daley, a Newchester, New York. Vernon’s lack of financial hustlers, and magicians, and developed into booked into Radio City Music Hall but York ear, eye, and throat specialist and stu-support, however, made it difficult for her to one of the 20th century’s finest practitioners of closed after three performances, too small dent of Vernon’s, intervened. The road to make ends meet. She sought refuge in the sleight of hand. During his time with Vernon, to be seen and appreciated on the cavernous recovery was long and one that, in Vernon’sbottle, becoming an alcoholic. Diaconis displayed other talents, as well. stage. Vernon was crushed and returned to opinion, he never completed. His superhumanVernon was invited to lecture and perform Vernon advised Diaconis to continue his edu- past practices, sleeping away his days and sleight-of-hand skills were diminished forever.in Europe. Magicians followed him from cation. Eventually, Diaconis graduated from sessioning into the wee hours. town to town, absorbing what has become Harvard, pursued a career in mathematics, By 1939, the dissemination of magic known as “The Vernon Touch.” To spread and went on to receive a MacArthur Foun- secrets had exploded; the notion of secrecy the gospel even further, Vernon agreed to the dation Grant for his work in statistics. Scene: The world is at war release of some of his most valued secrets within the magic community undertook a Year: 1941 fundamental shift. Unbeknownst to the pub- in a series of publications written by Lewis lic, the safe had fallen open, its contents laid Vernon performed for soldiers stationed Ganson. The Dai Vernon Book of Magic bare to all who expressed an interest in thein America and in the South Pacific as part became an instant classic and launched a new secret art. Books such as Greater Magic andof a troupe of performers organized by era of magic publications in both size and [Facing page] Recovering from his construction site accident; this photo is inscribed January Expert Card Technique drew heavily fromAntoinette Perry. After the war, Vernon content. Other works, including tributes to 3, 1942. Vernon was the star of the Stars of Magic. [Above] Bill Larsen prepares The Vernon’s repertoire, and these tomes imme-became the focal point of the groundbreak- Nate Leipzig and Max Malini, became part Scene: Sunny hills of California Professor for a lecture at the Magic Castle. Mingling with two other grand men of magic, diately became recognized as the most signif-ing Stars of Magic series, manuscripts that of Vernon’s oeuvre. Year : 1963 Blackstone and Ose. Appearing with one of his students, Doug Henning. icant contributions to magic literature sincerepresented a manifesto for performing close- The 1950s ushered in the television era, the publication of Erdnase’s book in 1902.up magic. With the uptick in interest at the the small screen quickly becoming the pri- William and Milt Larsen, the sons of a Even so, Vernon received no remunerationhobbyist level, Vernon was also persuaded to mary purveyor of family entertainment. California lawyer obsessed with magic, extensive notes on all of their meetings. unlikely pair — the octogenarian and the for his contributions. lecture on the art to magic societies. He laid Magic was at a crossroads, and the public opened the Magic Castle on Franklin AvenueDecades later, these notes of tricks, tech-hippy — Vernon recognized Henning’s talent Eventually, Jeanne persuaded her husbandthe groundwork for an industry in which was skeptical. A public accustomed to and in Hollywood. Vernon, now turning 70, leftniques, and routines were published to and agreed to tutor him. Vernon predicted to accept a steady, non-showbiz job. He performers were paid to perform and explain wary of the visual illusions made possible Jeanne in New York to visit Jay Ose, the inspire another generation of magicians. that Henning would change the face of magic. signed on as project manager on an Easttheir secrets to aficionados. by multiple cameras and editing did not magician who had been hired as the resident Vernon, ensconced at the Magic Castle,His approach was fresh, exciting, and rooted The quest for a steady income continued to find magic very convincing on TV, especially performer at the new venue. Vowing to staypondered abstract questions related to sleightin the Vernon tradition that the effect — not knock at Vernon’s door, so he became a fix- stage-sized illusions. Magicians were also a week, Vernon extended his visit by close toof hand. The methodology he studied was the technique — is of primary importance. 30 years. The Larsens provide Vernon withboth sophisticated and esoteric, and the meritsHenning starred in the most successful magic room, board, and a small stipend. In turn, of his work were recognized by an ever appre-show in the history of Broadway and par- Vernon provided the Magic Castle with pub-ciative group of magicians. In 1968, he waslayed these performances into a series of lic and professional credibility. In the process,awarded the inaugural Masters Fellowshipaward-winning television shows. with Vernon’s move, the center of the magic from the Academy of Magical Arts & Sciences. Henning shattered stereotypes and broke world shifted from New York to Los new ground in the way that magic was pre- Angeles, and a whole new cast of charac- sented on television by performing and ters — actors, writers, and producers — transmitting the shows live. There could be joined Vernon’s circle. Scene: The Magic Castle no debate about trick photography, camera Shortly after the Magic Castle opened, Year: 1972 editing, or post-production. His magic two young hobbyists, Larry Jennings from Suddenly, as if dropped from the sky fullyemphasized mystery and wonder in a way Detroit and Bruce Cervon from Akron, formed, a young Canadian magician namedthat appealed to all ages. Henning breathed Ohio, traveled to Los Angeles to be near Doug Henning was awarded a travel grant bynew life into a moribund industry, inspired a Vernon, the living legend. They were the the Canada Council to study magic in Loswhole new generation of magicians, ushered first of many who pulled up stakes and Angeles with Vernon. Henning, sporting longin a new Golden Age and set the stage for migrated to California. Cervon transcribedhair, tie-dyed T-shirts, and flower-power David Copperfield. charisma, was the antithesis of the public per- ception of a magician. Though they made an

68 MAGIC • june 2006 MAGIC • june 2006 69 PHOTOS: KARGER, FOR STARS OF MAGIC PHOTOS: KARGER, FOR STARS Although retired from per- speech. He was an inspired orator, and the world’s premier magicians. In many ways, forming, Vernon was still active magicians marveled at his stamina and he combines the best of MAGIC magazine’s and the center of late-night ses- grace. Each lecture was a marathon that nominees as the two most influential magi- sions with performers who trav- exhausted the spectators, not The Professor. cians of the 20th century. Blaine supplements The Professor preaching his dictum, eled the world to meet him. In 1986 a book that he wrote in the late the sensationalism of Houdini’s stunts with and loving every minute of it. Vernon extended his reach further 1950s — Revelations, Vernon’s meditation on the insouciance and confident swagger Vernon

with a column, “The Vernon Erdnase — was released by Persi Diaconis and demonstrated in his prime. Blaine’s repertoire PHOTO: CHARLES REYNOLDS Touch,” in Genii magazine. The published by Mike Caveney. The Professor’s also is built on material taken from their oeu- column ran monthly from 1968 work had come full circle. At the age of 98, vre. He augments Houdini’s tests of endurance to 1990. Vernon shared his phi- on August 21, 1992, Vernon died in the home with Vernonesque “think of a card” tricks, losophy about performing and of his son, Edward, in Ramona, California. improvised stunts and feats, like the self-levi-

PCAM 1983 PHOTO: COURTESY BILL BOWERS PCAM 1983 PHOTO: COURTESY teaching magic, as well as his His ashes were placed in an urn on display at tation, that Vernon and his Inner Circle cham- opinion on the evolution of the the Magic Castle. pioned between the 1920s and 1960s. Blaine, entertainment industry through its After his passing, products, books, and like Henning before him, marked a path pages. He also undertook a travel videos related to Vernon and his legend that others would follow. schedule that would punish a appeared anew. His silhouettes, apparatus, The journey and Vernon’s influence will Other students of Vernon’s,Ed Marlo, on Roger the heels Klause, Charlielesser man,Miller, touring Dai Vernon. the world to attend confer- and notebooks became coveted collectibles. continue. ◆ of Henning’s success, also drew public praise. ences and gatherings of magicians. He was A feature motion picture called Shade, the A New Yorker, Ricky Jay, had also moved feted year after year at events in Europe, Asia, term gamblers use to describe techniques David is both a performer and the Executive to Los Angeles to be close to Vernon. Under North and South America, and Australia. used to conceal their technique, starring Director of Magicana, a not-for-profit orga- Vernon’s tutelage Jay grew into a world-class, At the age of 83, feeling both a bit of Sylvester Stallone, Gabriel Byrne, Melanie nization dedicated to promoting magic as a sleight-of-hand performer, going on to star in remorse for not providing more for his fam- Griffith, and Hal Holbrook as Vernon, was performing art. a variety of feature films and successful one- ily, and wanting to provide financial assis- released. The film was inspired by Vernon, man stage shows directed by David Mamet in tance to another friend, Joe Cossari, Vernon his relationship with Dad Stevens, and his Dai Vernon: A Legacy of Magic, the first of two New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, embarked on a Farewell Lecture Tour, lifelong pursuit of advantage players. volumes, will be released next month by Squash and Washington. speaking in 50 cities at a fee of $1,000 per David Blaine is now regarded as one of Publishing, www.squashpublishing.com.

“Circa 1915” by Dai Vernon Described by David Ben

Vernon performed this trick for other magicians upon arrival in New York of estimation for this particular trick improve as you increase, within reason, a wide body of techniques. Published accounts of some of Vernon’s in 1915. It was one of the pieces that helped establish his reputation. The only of the pack. I then hand the deck to the participant and inform him that if he the distance between you and the deck. approaches to a multi-option card revelation can be found in both Out of one who came close to reconstructing it at the time was Dunninger. thinks of his card and taps the deck once, the selection will vanish completely. Now, with your back to the spectator, ask whether he has finished mixing Sight, Out of Mind and The Trick That Cannot Be Explained. He does so. I instruct him to deal the cards face up one at a time to look for his the cards. Do not turn around. Once he has said, “Yes,” tell him to place the Here are four approaches that I have adopted, all inspired by revelations card. He will be too busy looking for his card to notice the deck is missing two deck on the table in front of him. Still with your back to him and standing 15 Vernon employed at one time or another. All begin by spreading the pack HERE’S THE EFFECT:With the magician standing 20 feet away and with his others as well. Sometimes I leave it at that. Other times, I then ask him for the to 20 feet away, extend your right hand from your side as if reaching over to between your hands (with the faces toward you) in order to note the cards at back to the audience, the spectator shuffles his own deck of cards, looks at a name of his card and remove it from my pocket. Obviously, I remember the cut an imaginary deck of cards, and ask the spectator to lift off a portion of MENTAL DIVINATIONthe top and bottom of the pack. I usually spread the cards as I state, “There is card in the pack, and squares up the deck. The magician turns around, takes order of the three cards that I palmed from the pack and reproduce the appro- the pack. Keep your right arm extended. Spread the pack betweenno way your I can hands, know notethe identity the variants of your at card.”top and bottom, the pack and discovers the spectator’s card in a startling manner. priate one from my pocket. Ask the spectator whether he has cut off a portion of the deck. Once he and then perform a classic pump/fish/binary sort based on the principle of I titled this “Circa 1915” because it relies on estimation. Estimation is the has, ask him to look at the card at the bottom of the packet held in his hand. It majorities. “Think of your card. It is a red card… it is a principle of determining the location of a spectator’s selection by determining As you can see, there are an infinite number of possibilities. is at this point, and this point only, that you turn around and glimpse the size high/low/Diamond/Heart card.” You get the idea. its general position in the pack and then using a series of procedures to nar- Here are a couple of variations that enhance the impossibility of the of the block of cards on the table. Do not try to estimate the specific number of row the field and produce or reveal the chosen card, using the best option at control. I keep a deck of cards on my desk so that when a visitor, sitting cards, just the mass of the block. This glimpse takes but a fraction of a second hand. The principle was rarely used in 1915 and would remain buried in the SPECTATOR DISCOVERS CARD IN OWN HANDS across from me, reaches over to cut the cards, I am in perfect position to and must be done under the misdirection of turning around to gaze at the literature until magicians like Jim Steranko and Ed Marlo wrote about the tech- turn my back and estimate the size of the block on the table by looking at imaginary packet you are holding in your outstretched right hand. Your eyes You may be in the position to very quickly narrow the card down to two nique in more detail in the 1960s. its reflection in the glass on a photograph hanging on the wall. On other look at the imaginary packet and in your peripheral vision you note the mass possibilities. Position one on top, the other on the bottom. Place the deck in the Circa 1915 is also important because, in many ways, it is the precursor occasions, I have left he room while the spectator has shuffled, cut, and of the block on the table. Turn your gaze away as soon as you can. spectator’s hand. Ask him to tap the deck and name the card. Ask him to turn of Vernon’s Out of Sight, Out of Mind. Both tricks are, in essence, card con- noted the card. I speak to him from the hallway, stick my arm in the door- With your right arm extended as if you are still holding the packet, ask the over either the top card or the entire deck, depending on the situation. trols rather than effects — in the traditional sense that an “effect” has a pre- way to demonstrate how he should pick up the pack, and obtain the neces- participant whether he has noted a card. When he says, “Yes,” tell him to Note that if you are wrong, and you know now that his card is actually determined outcome. Vernon improvised the revelation of the chosen card. sary glimpse as my head pops momentarily around the doorway ostensibly replace the packet on top of the deck and make sure that the cards are second from the top or bottom of the pack, you can top change or second deal By 1927, however, Vernon rarely improvised in the wild manner of his to look at the imaginary card in my extended hand. I ask permission to re- absolutely square. Ask whether he has done this. Once he says, “Yes,” turn the appropriate card to the table to conclude successfully. youth. He explored other types of material and approaches to magic. Out enter the room moments later. around and walk back to the table, pick up the deck and, as you ask, “Did of Sight, Out of Mind, as a control, represents a step forward from Circa Finally, here is how I used to practice the trick. I would set up a table some you give the deck a shuffle?,” knowing, of course, that he has not, then give 1915 because the spectator merely “thinks of a card” rather than physically distance from a mirror and then stand so that the table was between me and the deck a false shuffle. Give the pack a simple cut at the end of the shuffle, NUMERICAL COUNT DOWN cutting to one. the mirror. I would then turn my back to the mirror. I would place the shuffled separating it into two blocks, the bottom one being the approximate size of the Sometimes when I have narrowed it down to one of three, I position them Vernon used a combination of skill in manipulation and the psychology of cards on the table behind me, cut the pack, and hold the upper packet so that one you peeked at moments before, and complete the cut. This cut sequence through a series of simple culls or shuffles so that they rest in their relative misdirection to lead the spectator’s mind step by step to defeat its own logic. it faced the mirror. Turning around quickly, I would then note both the card should form the punctuation mark — a period — to your shuffle sequence. numerical positions in the deck. For example, if the cards are a Five, Seven, Circa 1915 illustrates the power of that combination. reflected in the mirror and the size of the block on the table, then turn back. With practice, you will be able to cut the selection to within three cards of the and Nine, they are secretly maneuvered to the fifth, seventh, and ninth posi- Reassembling the pack, I would false shuffle and cut. I would then note top or bottom of the pack. You now have, in essence, a six-card margin of tions from the top. I ask the spectator to think of the numerical value of his whether I was able to cut the selection near the top or bottom of the deck, and error. With more practice, this slight margin can be reduced. card. I then deal cards one at a time from the top of the pack and ask the then study my options for concluding the trick. It is also worth pointing out that Vernon and others — Malini, for example — spectator to say, “Stop,” when I have dealt the card that corresponds with the As one can imagine, Vernon flabbergasted magicians with this when he realized that few people square the cards completely when asked. The cards will numerical value of the one he has in mind. first arrived in New York. Estimating the position of the card is easy. Setting the often break at the point where the spectator cut for the selection. This natural break TO PERFORM:Ask a spectator if he has a deck of cards. You can provide appropriate scene so that the spectator is defeated by his own logic and con- point is also often maintained during the course of an overhand false shuffle. one, but it is better if the participant uses his own deck. Tell the spectator to cluding the trick in a mysterious manner is much more difficult. Both take men- You must now use the right tool from your stock of techniques to conclude give the deck a good shuffle. Walk away from him as he does this and VANISH FROM PACK tal agility. With practice, however, it will become second nature and you will the trick in a mysterious manner. This is obviously easier if you have mastered emphasize that you will be as fair as possible. Counter-intuitively, your powers Sometimes, I narrow the field down to three variables and palm them out experience the thrill of performing Dai Vernon’s brand◆ of jazz magic.

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