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| Home of the Dixie Magic Table (ephemeralnewyork.com) |
The time was about two bells - two p.m. in the loose parlance of Houdini's day - on a typical afternoon in what newspaper columnist Walter Winchell referred to as the Oh-So-Long-Ago.
The place was the Hotel Dixie, at Times Square, the undisputed spiritual hub of the world of magic. It was right where 42nd Street crossed Broadway, known to insiders as The Stem and to mooks as The Great White Way.
It was a typical afternoon at the Dixie Magic Table. Every day at lunch it was like this: lots of schmoozing and lots of magic going on. The identity of the schmoozers and magicians was what made it The Magic Table. Their ghosts still haunt us: Dean Carnegie, the Magic Detective, invoked them recently with this post about Kuda Bux, the man who could fly a jet plane blindfolded and land it on a narrow Himalayan mountain pass.
At the Dixie, Kuda Bux, a Magic Table regular, was doing his stunning face-up force at one end of the table, saying, in his charming Kashmiri accent, "Choose a card from the running pack..."
(Video link here.)
Harry Lorayne was at the other end, blowing minds, including mine, with his ambitious card routine. (Harry's still with us, thank God, the last link.)
Peter Pit, just in from a European tour, held court in the middle of the table, with an audience of sword swallowers, jugglers, and eager young illusionists.
Watching the action were Larry Arcuri, head of the Houdini Birth Research Team, and Joe Barnett, unofficial President of the Dixie Magic Table. Joe would rag newcomers mercilessly until they showed him a trick, then, with great ceremony, he would issue a Dixie Magic Table membership card. Mine was number 212, signed by Kuda Bux and Peter Pit.
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| (Flickr) |
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| (copyright Estate of Diane Arbus) |
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| Hubert's manager & performer Charlie Lucas, with his Sword Box (Copyright Estate of Diane Arbus) |
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| Backstage at Hubert's (Copyright Estate of Diane Arbus) |
"So here's to the Ghosts of Broadway, where the old bull fiddle snorts -
To the White-lipped Ghost, with her bad, sad smile, and both of her fellow sports.
When the music onesteps the hand to the purse and the carbonized grape-juice flies,
Let's drink to the health of the Broadway ghosts and the tomb where there history lies.''
NEXT: THE HOUDINI WHODUNIT, EPISODE 2
Wow, what a trip down memory lane. What ever happened to Presto, the magician?He worked Hubert's,right?
ReplyDeletePresto was, and I hear still is, a fine performer. Will try to track him down. Any of our faithful readers know where he is?
ReplyDeleteHe did a wonderful act at Hubert's, taking Slydini's Paper Balls routine and substituting sponge balls. Brought down the house every time -- and that was a tough room.
I am saddened to pass this on, from the "Broken Wands" column at magician.org:
ReplyDeletePRESTO
(EARL EVERETT JOHNSON)
Earl Everett "Presto" Johnson, of West Orange, New Jersey, died April 16, 2009.
In the 1940s, Mr. Johnson began performing at the legendary Hubert's Dime Museum on 42nd Street in New York City, where he gave eight to ten shows a day for more than a decade. There he met such colorful characters as Al Flosso and Congo the Jungle Creep, who shared their secrets of entertaining with him. In turn, Presto inspired countless budding magicians over the years. He later traveled with carnivals and sideshows, perfecting fire-eating, coin and cigarette manipulation, and his wonderful comic skills.
Johnson played club dates, resorts in the Catskill and Pocono Mountains, worked extensively in Alaska during the pipeline boom, and appeared on numerous television shows. He also lectured to many magic clubs and other groups over the years, always willing to share his knowledge.
Last October, members of Ring 26 found out that Presto was in a nursing home, and eight of them went to visit him there. They, along with Presto, performed for the home residents, much to their delight. The Ring presented him with a plaque commemorating his many years of contributions to magic. (See The Linking Ring, January 2009, page 38.) When members tried to contact Presto again, they were unable to locate him. Recently they learned that he had been hospitalized and passed away, with no known living relatives.
Great article about The Dixie Hotel. It is now called The Carter Hotel and was used for some scenes in the movie, "Midnight Cowboy." Houdini biographer, William Lindsay Gresham, often visited the Magic Table there. But in 1962, after he learned he had terminal cancer, he checked into a room at The Dixie and ended his life with an overdose of barbiturates. In his final note/letter to his wife, he asked that certain prized magic props of his, be given to his fellow author/magician friends, Clayton Rawson and John Dickson Carr.
DeleteDiego Domingo
Great article about The Dixie Hotel and the magicians table that many made a habit of going to. It is now called The Carter Hotel. It was the hotel that in the movie, "Midnight Cowboy", Joe Buck first checks in, before later locked out. Author and magician, William Lindsay Gresham was among those who often were at the magic table at The Dixie. Unfortunately in 1962, after receiving a diagnosis of terminal cancer, he checked into a room at The Dixie, and ended his life with an overdose of barbiturates. In his note/letter to his wife, among his instructions were for certain magic props to be given to fellow writer/magicians, Clayton Rawson and John Dickson Carr.
ReplyDelete