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Close-up Conjuror:
Dai Vernon
 Dai
Vernon (David Frederick Wingfield Verner) was born in Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada on June 11, 1894. He got the nickname of "Dai" when a
typo in a newspaper gave him Dai instead of David. His last name
"Vernon" came from the dancer, Vernon Castle, who with his
wife was a dancer in early part of the century. While in New York,
his name Vernon was carried over since most New Yorkers could not
pronounce it correctly. Vernon is, without doubt, the most influential
conjuror of the 20th century.
Magicians know him affectionately as
‘The Professor’ and as 'The Man Who Fooled Houdini.' Harry Houdini
boasted that no one could fool him if he saw a trick performed three
times in a row. In 1919, in Chicago, Vernon took up his challenge. He
performed an old version of 'The Ambitious Card' eight times in a row,
and Houdini had no idea how it was done. As a result in the 1920s and
30s, Vernon used the line "He Fooled Houdini" in his
advertisement. It was later that Vernon's friend Garrick Spencer gave
him the name 'The Professor'. Vernon didn't care for it, but it stuck
with him.
If you mention his name to any
conjuror, amateur or professional, and you will immediately have their
undivided attention. Vernon improved known tricks and created new ones
such as Twisting the Aces. He was a smart man, knew old magicians
like Max Malini and Harry Houdini. He had friendship with magicians like
T. Nelson Downs, Allan Shaw, Manuel, and Welch Miller to name a few.
In 1963, Dai Vernon came to see Jay Ose,
visiting the Magic Castle for the first time. Vernon is probably the
most notable resident magician of the Magic Castle. Magicians from all
over the world came to the Magic Castle to learn from the him. His
clinical mind was responsible for many modern classic routines adopted
by numerous magicians today. He set new standards, and elevated the art
of conjuring more than almost any predecessor. He is probably the
greatest contributor to the art of close-up magic. However, he was a
modest person blessed with indescribable charm. He was a true gentleman
and everyone loved him. It was very rare to hear Vernon say anything
unkind about anybody. Even if the person deserved it, he would always
find something positive to say about them. He had the rare ability to
fill anyone in his company with renewed enthusiasm for their art, magic.
There was only one conjuror that he spoke of negatively, and that was
Harry Houdini.
Many of today's great magicians
(Michael Ammar, Bruce Cervon, John Carney, Larry Jennings, Ricky Jay,
just to name a few) came to learn from Dai Vernon. In October 1965,
journalist, and amateur conjuror Richard Buffum recorded a series of
interviews with Vernon. This amounted to seven miles of tape. An edited
transcript of these interviews appeared in the book, The Vernon
Chronicles - Dai Vernon a Magical Life, published in 1992, and
edited by Bruce Cervon and Keith Burns, both very close friends of
Vernon. Sadly ‘The Professor’ passed over shortly after the
publication of the book. He died at the age of 98, in Hollywood,
California in 1992.
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Contributors:
- Bill
Coomer named his son "Dai Vernon Coomer" after the
professor.
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