The Birth of Modern Magic
A founding figure of modern entertainment magic was Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, originally a clockmaker, who opened a magic theatre in Paris in 1845. Known today as “The Father of Modern Magic,” Robert-Houdin transformed magic from something performed at fairs to a performance that the public paid to see at the theatre.
John Henry Anderson was pioneering the same transition in London. In 1840, he opened the New Strand Theatre, where he performed as The Great Wizard of the North. He became one of the earliest magicians to attain a high level of world renown.
Towards the end of the century, large magic shows permanently staged at big theatre venues became common. The British performer John Nevil Maskelyne and his partner Cooke were established at the Egyptian Hall in London’s Piccadilly in and continued there for 31 years.
Alexander Herrmann (1844 –1896), also known as Herrmann the Great, became the idealized model for how a magician would be perceived: a man with thick wavy hair, a top hat, a goatee, and a tailcoat. Herrmann was a French magician and part of the Herrmann family name that was often deemed the “first family of magic.”
The escapologist and magician Harry Houdini took his stage name from Robert-Houdin and developed a range of stage magic tricks, many of them based on what became known after his death as escapology. Houdini is still, to this day, the best-known name not only in magic, but perhaps in all of show business. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, magicians such as Maskelyne and Devant, Howard Thurston, Harry Kellar, and Harry Houdini achieved widespread commercial success during what has become known as “The Golden Age of Magic.”
Performance magic became a staple of Broadway theatre, vaudeville, and music halls. Magic easily moved from theatrical venues to television specials, which brought stage magic to huge audiences. Most television magicians perform before a live audience, who provide the remote viewer with a reassurance that the illusions are not obtained with visual effects.
Famous magicians of the 20th century included Okito, David Devant, Harry Blackstone Sr., Harry Blackstone Jr., Howard Thurston, Theodore Annemann, Cardini, Joseph Dunninger, Dai Vernon, Fred Culpitt, Tommy Wonder, Siegfried & Roy, and Doug Henning.Popular 20th- and 21st-century magicians include David Copperfield, Lance Burton, James Randi, Penn and Teller, David Blaine, Criss Angel, Hans Klok, and Derren Brown.
