Howard Thurston

And there were circuses.

Today it's hard to understand the effect in the late 19th and early 20th century when a circus came to town. The circus train pulling up to the station - with barred cars holding lions, tigers, and bears - not to mention the elephants - was a show in itself. Later there would be a formal parade down Main Street. Businesses would close and the schools would let out to let everyone see the circus.

The circuses only toured during the summer. They would "winter" in their home towns where the personnel would work on their acts for the next year and usually had more or less normal jobs (one owner of a circus that wintered in York, Pennsylvania, was also a geology professor). This was also a time when anyone who wanted to join up could write the owner and make a pitch on why they should be hired.

The fledgling performers often started out in auxiliary jobs, and Howard found work as a barker at the Sells Brothers Circus which operated out of his old home town of Columbus, Ohio. Naturally he hoped that he would eventually become the Sells Brothers' featured magician but when that didn't happen, he moved on.

With his conjuring skills not yet developed, his voice was his best asset. By 1893 Howard was working a pitchman at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. This was the now famous "World's Columbian Exposition".

The World's Fair was a celebration of Columbus discovering America - it actually opened in October, 1892. Centered in Jackson Park there were exhibits celebrating modern technology (with electric lights powered by Westinghouse alternating current generators from Niagara Falls), glimpses (now laughable) of The Future, and living tableaus of life in foreign countries. Howard was the hawker for the African Dahomey Village.

It was there in Chicago that Howard met a young man dressed in Hindu robes sitting outside the Algerian and Tunisian Village. He performed a trick where he seemingly swallowed a packet of sewing needles and put a length of thread in his mouth leaving a bit hanging over his lip. He then drank a glass of water and when he pulled the thread out, all the needles where threaded and equally spaced along its length.

The needle trick was impressive and Howard spoke to the young man who gave his stage name as Harry Houdini. They each boasted that their current job was just temporary and they had fantastic plans that would ensure they would hit the big time. All in all, each thought the other was a wiseacre.

Harry and Bess Houdini

Howard may have been an effective barker, but he still aspired to be a magician. To this end, he came upon a compromise to performing magic tricks that no one would pay to see and making enough to live on. He would purchase some household items cheaply - potatoes peelers and can openers were typical - and sell them at a mark-up on the street corners. To attract customers he combined a vocal sales pitch combined with his magic tricks. This business model barely gave him enough to get by, and he continued to look for a circus that would actually hire him as a magician and provide him room and board.

Howard finally hit pay dirt in Logan, Ohio about 40 miles southeast of Columbus. There he was able to join the Hurd and Berry Great London Sideshow, a rather grandiose name for what was essentially a circus without a main tent. But at least he was getting paid to do magic.

Performing multiple shows a day gave him experience, not just in magic but in showmanship. But as there was growing dissatisfaction with the Hurd and Berry management, in 1894 Howard and about half the group formed The Great Country Circus. Howard didn't just do magic but now he was manager, pitchman, ticket taker, and straight man for a comedy act. He soon sent word for his younger brother Harry to join him.

It was in New York in 1896 that Howard met Dr. James William Elliot, a top-notch card magician who was only twenty-two years old. The "Dr." was not honorary. James had a bonafide MD from Bellevue Medical College although he had taken a hiatus from his practice to tour as a magician. When he and Thurston met, James had already become legendary among magicians. One of his best moves was an impressive "back palm".

Back palming is holding a card with two corners held between the fingers while the card is held flat against the back of the hand. If the hand is held palm outward, it looks like the hand is empty. A skilled card magician can then turn the wrist so the card flips from the back of the hand to the palm while remaining hidden from the audience.

If done right, the effect is of the magician showing the audience both sides of an apparently empty hand. Then with another twist of the wrist, the card appears suddenly in his fingers. The trick can also be done in reverse so the card disappears. A good magician can do a back palm with more than one card and can seemingly produce multiple cards - or even a fan of cards - out of nowhere and then make them disappear.

For Thurston card tricks were the ticket. They required minimal props, were cheap, and if done well would impress an audience and even fellow magicians to boot.

By all accounts Thurston's card tricks were impressive. He would make hundreds of cards appear as if he was pulling them out of the air and he could even throw them long distances into the audience and have them land exactly where he wanted.

Howard realized that working for a circus had its limits. You were an employee and at the mercy of the owner. It would be best if he set up an independent sideshow with his brother Harry, who always seemed to know how to come up with some cash. That way he could still play at circuses but also at fairs, carnivals, and at the dime museums¹ that abounded in the larger cities like Chicago.

Magic was fine but it also helped to have, well, other attractions. So Howard and Harry would hire a bevy of young ladies with a maximum of beauty and a minimum of apparel. The belles would get on stage and perform gyrations that were ostensibly for educating the public on the culture of the Orient. While waiting for the dancers, Howard would step on stage and perform his card tricks. Generally his act was well received although the mostly masculine audience was really there to see the girls.

In the summer of 1897 Howard was on a train from Cincinnati to Chicago and he struck up a conversation with a young lady named Grace Butterworth. She told Howard that she was a dancer. A dancer? Why, he needed dancers for his act. Was she interested? Sure she was.

Howard began to introduce Grace as his sister. But it was clear his intentions were far from brotherly. Soon he wrote Grace's mother that he and Grace intended to get married. Then to make sure Mrs. Butterworth couldn't trace their whereabouts, he had the letter mailed from another town.

Mrs. Butterworth may have known that Grace and Howard were going to get married but Grace didn't. She had no inkling of what was going on. Yes, she thought Howard was a nice man and liked him a lot. But she was definitely surprised when they reached Sparta, Wisconsin, and Howard ushered her into a church where a service was in progress. Howard went up to the preacher and in mid-verse said they wanted to get married. Before Grace knew what happened, she and Howard were man and wife.

For the final few years leading to the fin de siècle Howard's, Grace's, and Harry's life was spent on the road going from one town to the next from one end of the country to the other. One particularly fertile, if non necessarily lucrative venue was in the western mining towns.

You'd think that a bunch of Old West miners - and remember Thurston was still a kid and young man during the last years of the Old West - would be the toughest audience for a grown man standing on a stage doing magic tricks. Not so.

The miners welcomed almost any form of entertainment. Oscar Wilde, while lecturing on art and poetry in America, found one of his most appreciative audiences was the silver minders in Leadville, Colorado. Howard and Grace found if the miners liked a trick, they'd throw silver dollars on stage.

Naturally the miners appreciated any man who was good with cards. And Thurston had become quite skilled. He could pluck cards out of nowhere, make selected cards show up in his and others pockets, and change one card to another. But his big trick was the "rising card" trick.

Howard would have some of the audience select some cards. He'd place them back in the deck and have the audience call out one of the cards. Then it would rise from the deck, hovering in mid-air where Thurston would grab it. He'd then toss it out to the audience so they could verify it hadn't been tampered with. Inevitably the crowd would give him standing ovations and shower him with silver dollars.

It was fine to entertain people in the small towns in the last days of the Old West. But Thurston certainly wasn't getting close to the top levels of his profession. Then in October 22 he and Grace had made it to Denver. There they saw that Leon Herrmann was in town. Leon was the nephew of Alexander ("The Great Herrmann") and had continued the show after his uncle died. Leon looked a lot like Alexander and Adelaide had invited Leon to take her husband's place on stage. While Leon was performing at Denver's Grand Opera House, Howard was touring Denver's saloons.

Among those working in Leon's show was William Ellsworth Robinson and his wife Dot. Billy, as he was called, was himself a skilled conjurer and had worked previously for Harry Kellar who was probably the #1 stage magician in America. Harry had been the main rival of Alexander Herrmann and was now in competition with Leon

Billy, though, caught one of Howard's shows and was impressed. The card tricks were especially well done. He suggested Thurston try the rising card trick on Leon at the Opera House.

Although there was some delay arranging the meeting, Howard finally managed to do the trick with Leon present. Leon admitted he was mystified, a comment overheard by one of Denver's local reporters. So he dutifully reported that The Great Herrmann - Leon had assumed the title - said he had been mystified by another magician.

Like Queen Victoria, Leon was not amused. He was in fact quite irritated to find that there was a news story how a young upstart had fooled The Great Herrmann. Well, once Leon realized that Billy had set him up, he told Billy to beat it. Unfortunately (for Leon) Billy and Adelaide had really been the ones who kept the show going. Not long afterwards The Great Herrmann - Leon, that is - fell apart and Adelaide continued with her own show.

Howard's brief association with Billy did not lead him to great heights. In a year he was back on he lowest rung of the entertainment ladder, just touring the small towns. And he was increasingly in need of funds. So for better or worse, in 1898 he rehooked with his brother Harry who was a bit more flush.

Harry Thurston is an omnipresent character in the life of Howard. Often off stage, he nevertheless provided much needed succor to his brother when times got tough.

During the last few years Harry had become something of an entrepreneur. He had worked briefly for Ringling Brothers Circus hanging up posters and then he moseyed on to Chicago where he began taking part ownership of various dime museums and other cheap entertainment venues. Living much of his time above a burlesque house, Harry was alway willing to give Harry a loan.

However, he did ask for collateral and some of Harry's stage props ended up in Harry's storage. But now with Harry's money in his pocket, Howard set up some more shows, and in later years, when times got tough Howard could always turn to Harry for some quick cash.

Pounding the pavement and looking for bookings, Howard soon found it was easier for Grace to market her dancing act than it was his magic. He really needed to meet with the foremost theatrical agents, but it was hard to see the top notch guys. In fact Walter Plimmer, who booked the best acts on vaudeville, was harder to see than the President of the United States.

But with Grace in tow, Howard simply walked into Walter's office, pushed past the receptionist, and began doing some tricks before Walter could throw him out. Walter was impressed but had no openings. But he wrote a note and told Howard to take it to another agent, Tony Pastor.

Tony had a reputation for being a tough hard-nosed and no-nonsense impresario. But Howard and Grace found him genial and easy going. He liked Howard's tricks and offered Howard $50 a week. Howard had finally moved to the big time.

Big time vaudeville, that is. And it wasn't easy. Although any given act might only take 15 to 20 minutes, the performers might put on 15 shows a day. Howard and Grace realized they couldn't handle the new demands on their own, so Howard put an ad in the newspapers for an assistant. He sat back and waited.

The only respondent was a twelve-year old African American named George White. Howard, to his credit, judged the kid on his willingness to work and his high intelligence. Both were needed to learn the tricks and to make them work. George was able to listen to the instructions and after a single hearing follow them perfectly. Hiring George turned out to be one of Howard's best decisions and George was to remain with Howard throughout his career.

Howard, Grace, and George's new act opened at Pastor's Theater at 143 East 14th Street, about half a mile walk from Washington Square Park. Although Howard's first performance got off to a rocky start, he quickly became the main attraction. The act was extended beyond the original run and when it was over, Howard was quickly booked on other top vaudeville circuits.

Although New York was fine, London was better. The English loved magic shows and even had theaters dedicated solely to conjuring acts. Soon Howard got a request for him to come over. Howard expected the gig would only last a few weeks and told Grace she should stay home.

Howard quickly found he wasn't the only American magician in town. Harry Houdini - the former Hindu mystic from the Chicago World's Fair - was performing his escapes in the best theaters to enthusiastic audiences. There was also a Chinese magician named Chung Ling Soo who was getting top billing with his assistant Suee Seen. It wasn't long before Howard found out that Chung Ling Soo was none other than his old acquaintance from Denver, Billy Robinson. Suee Seen was Billy's wife, Dot.

Howard was booked at the Palace Theater, and he realized that he would be in England longer than the month he anticipated. He cabled Grace that there was a ticket waiting for her to sail on the SS Minnehaha owned by the Atlantic Transport Line out of Belfast. Grace was a bit miffed because she had just arranged some dance performances in New York but she soon set sail.

As the new Millennium rolled in, Howard was planning for better things than being one act of many on a vaudeville stage. But if he wanted to be the star of his own show, he needed to beef up his act with bigger and better illusions. There were other magicians who thought the same way and like all good magicians, Howard kept his eyes open for what the other guys were doing.

One particularly impressive trick Howard saw was at the Egyptian Hall which was one of the theaters devoted exclusively to magic. One act was performed by was John Nevil Maskelyne who managed to have an Indian fakir float out of a coffin. The trick was far better than other levitation acts. It was carried out in center stage far from the walls or curtains that could disguise ropes or hoists. The magician even passed a solid hoop around the body to "prove" there were no means of support.

When Howard asked some fellow magicians how the trick was done, one of them said he knew the secret but was sworn to silence. Besides, his friend said, it was too complex for Howard to handle.

Howard couldn't turn down the implied challenge and he soon began creating new and more elaborate illusions. Soon word was out that Thurston was planning a really big show. Of course, big shows cost big money and Howard quickly went into debt. He began borrowing from anyone he could hit up. He even asked Harry Houdini for £5 which we hear Harry sent.

But as usual when Howard needed funds he turned to his brother. And as usual Harry responded and on December 15, 1902, Howard was ready to go on with his new extravaganza.

It was quite a show and had an exotic flair. George appeared in a green silk costume, and Howard strode on stage decked in full evening apparel, complete with top hat and cape.

Howard was in fine form. He made bowls of water appear from an assistant's shawl. Large inflated balloons appeared from an oversized top hat and he made gilded globes float in the air. He plucked eggs from George's mouth, his back, and finally a live chicken appeared to emerge from George's chest. A statue turned into a real woman.

Howard's big trick was "The Levitation of Princess Karnac". Grace would recline on a sofa and then float above the stage. Of course Howard would pass the hoop around her. It was one of the best illusions to date.

The key to the trick was that the main support was not vertical but horizontal and emerged from the back through the curtains. The support also had a "dog leg" so that Howard could pass the hoop around Grace and with the right moves made it appear the hoop passed the over her entire length.

Despite Grace's initial reluctance for the move to Europe, she found England quite congenial and she liked meeting the famous people who came to see the show. She and Howard would also be invited to the homes of the rich and famous - including the Royal Family - and would put on private shows.

Howard, though, became disgruntled because he thought Grace was too flirtatious with the young men (who included the Edward, the Prince of Wales and soon to be the Hefty King of England). Grace also had scheduled independent performances through the country which left Howard to stew and wonder what she did in her time off.

Things started getting rocky. When they were together, Howard and Grace would get into arguments that soon became physical. These confrontations were followed by Howard trying to mend the bridges only to be followed by more blowouts.

Grace, only twenty years old but married for four years, soon got a bellyful of it, and told Howard they were through. Howard acknowledged a split was inevitable. For her part Grace got a bit of payback when she wrote her memoirs although they didn't appear until years later.

In 1905 and following a world tour from Hawaii, Australia, Indonesia, China, and India, Harry heard that Harry Kellar was going to retire and was also going to dub his assistant, Paul Valadon, as his magical heir. Paul was particularly adept as sleight of hand, something that Harry, with his large hands and thick fingers, struggled with. However, recently Harry and Paul had some personal chaffing and finally after Harry's wife, Eva, saw Howard perform, she suggested that Harry select Howard as his successor.

In May 1907, Howard and Harry met and established an immediate rapport. Howard agreed to pay $7000 for Harry's equipment and the two men would tour together for the last season. Then at their final show in Baltimore in May, 1908 Harry formally announced that his successor was Howard Thurston.

It had been a long hard slog, but Howard was now the #1 magician in America and arguably in the world. Howard could now command top dollar from the theater impresarios.

Unfortunately, his show was massive in cost as well and required eight railroad cars to haul the 40,000 pounds of equipment. Howard had also been investing his money in a number of ventures, including dime museums, citrus groves, real estate, oil fields, a gold mine, and even an invention to prevent snoring.

Naturally such ventures often required new infusions of cash above and beyond the money needed to keep the show on the road. Howard began taking out loans with the show being put up as collateral. Then when he sold his farm in Connecticut so he could move closer to New York City, he lost money on the deal.

Contributing to the expenses was that Howard felt he had to keep coming up with new and bigger illusions. An audience member had his portrait magically painted with no one at the canvas, pianos vanished from the stage, and a donkey with a young girl and boy disappeared only to immediately appear at the back of the hall. We can see why expenses were so high as the latter trick required a total of six individuals: two donkeys and two pairs of twins.

But even though Howard sometimes teetered on the brink, he never fell off, and all in all the 20th Century was a time of prosperity. His personal life, though, was still rocky. In 1910 he had married Beatrice Foster. She joined the show and was billed as the "Queen of Magic".

Beatrice soon found life with Howard no easier than had Grace. She eventually quit traveling with the show and in 1914, she and Howard split for good. Then in November, Howard married Nina Fielding, a woman with considerable theatrical experience and who had appeared on Broadway. This marriage ran more smoothly than the previous two. Leotha - Nina went by her middle name - also had a five year old daughter Jane by a previous marriage and whom Howard legally adopted.

Shortly after the end of World War I, Howard finally made his first appearance on Broadway. He may have reached the pinnacle, but his success brought out plenty of competitors who hankered to displace the top magician in the country. A few years earlier Harry Houdini had decided to put on a full magic show rather than just do his escapes. Unfortunately for Harry but fortunately for Howard, the tour fell flat. Howard, though, was aware that Harry might become real competition in the future.

Harry Blackstone
The Young Upstart
(Click on the image to zoom in and out.)

There were the upstarts, of course, and one was a young man named Harry Blackstone who had been using tricks much like Howard's. He was also somewhat discomfited to learn that Harry Kellar had been heaping praise on the young Blackstone's performances. Howard immediately sent a rather curt note to Blackstone saying he shouldn't be copying his tricks. On the other hand, he hinted that if Harry was a good boy, perhaps The Great Thurston might make the Great Blackstone his official successor.

Howard had indeed become the Grand Old Man of Magic. It was to him who the other performers looked to. Even the best - Houdini and Blackstone included - kept their eyes on Howard's performances as a key to their own future directions.

But being the Grand OLD Man concerned Howard, particularly when he could hear comments from the audience that he didn't look anything like his posters. Now over fifty, Howard began to worry about his appearance and tried various changes in diet to restore his youthful looks. Since the new comestibles produced no rejuvenation, he took direct action.

Plastic surgery is by no means a modern phenomenon. Howard did in fact consult a surgeon who used a quick fix of injecting melted paraffin underneath the skin. Supposedly this smoothed out the wrinkles. Of course, under hot stage lights paraffin tends to soften and when Howard came on stage the audience could see his face visibly sag even more. Later Howard would turn to a more traditional surgeon who would remove the paraffin and do a proper job.

It may have been true that Harry Houdini kept his eye on Howard, but Howard certainly returned the favor. When Houdini began making movies in 1913, Howard's interest was piqued. Not so much for the special effects - which might cheapen a magic performance - but as a way to bring his name before an even wider audience. However, his first attempt at film making, Twisted Souls, featured Howard as a fake medium who comes up against real miracle makers from India. Mercifully, the film was never released.

Although from 1914 to 1918 there had been a war on (in America it was from 1917 to 1918), Howard divided his time from touring and his home in New York. In the first part of 1918 he was on the road and by July he was back home where among other things he was fined for speeding.

It was also in 1918 that Billy Robinson, Howard's old friend from their earliest performing days, was killed on stage when a magic trick went awry. Billy was still successfully appearing as the "Chinese" conjurer Chung Ling Soo. The name was a not too subtle borrowing from a real Chinese magician, Ching Ling Foo (金陵福), whose real name was Chee Ling Qua (朱連魁).

Billy's big trick was the "bullet catch" where the magician apparently catches a marked bullet fired from a gun. The trick has variants where the bullet is caught in the magician's mouth or on a plate. Billy did the plate catch.

The trick involves a combination of conjuring trickeries and there are a number of ways it can be done. Billy's method used a musket where the barrel was loaded from the muzzle but the trigger fired a blank powder charge in a second barrel disguised as the ramrod chamber. This left the live bullet in the barrel unfired.

The bullet catch was the final trick of the show on March 23, 1918 at the Wood Green Empire Theater in London. Immediately after the gun was fired, Billy, who as Chung Ling Soo pretended he knew no English, shouted, "Oh my God. Something’s happened. Lower the curtain."

Evidently wear in the gun had produced a breech between the chamber with the blank and that of the live bullet. Once the blank charge was fired, this ignited the powder behind the real bullet. Billy died the next day.

After Billy was killed, Harry Houdini was going to perform the Bullet Catch. But Harry Kellar, now in retirement, wrote asking him not to. Kellar was not afraid that Harry couldn't do the trick safely, but was concerned that someone might deliberately "job" the gun. Houdini's respect for Kellar was so great that he agreed to strike the trick from his show.

For many Americans, the 1920's brought prosperity and this was true for Howard. By now he was now a wealthy man and one of the world's most famous performers. For Christmas 1924, he was invited to the White House to perform for President Calvin Coolidge and his family.

Although Howard still continued to chaff when other magicians used his tricks, he would also borrow from others. One of his later tricks was where a woman became covered in flames and then appeared in a tank of water across the stage. This was essentially the same trick that had been performed earlier by the vaudeville magician Leon Levy. Leon though was a vaudeville performer and Howard figured that at his now lofty position in the world of magic, their paths would never meet.

So it came as a surprise when one night in 1925 when Howard finished the trick that Leon himself, who was sitting in the audience, stood up and shouted that Howard was a thief, a liar, and a pirate. That trick, Leon shouted, was his. Leon's appearance was too prominent to simply ignore, and Howard called on Harry Houdini, who was sitting in a private box as Howard's guest, to verify that he, Howard, had originated the trick. Harry, though, when he saw what was going on and knowing that Leon had indeed performed the trick first, slipped back into the shadows and kept out of sight, leaving the discomfited Howard to continue the show as best he could. Leon, having made his point, sat down and watched the rest of the show in silence.

But it was also in 1925 that a real competitor showed up. That was - yep - Harry Houdini. After years of performing escapes on the vaudeville circuits, Harry finally decided to launch his own independent tour, fulfilling his dream of performing a full evening magic show.

There have been some questions on how Harry and Howard regarded each other. Were they friends? Enemies? About all we can do is point out what Harry said to Dr Albert Wilson, the editor of the magicians magazine, The Sphinx. "We’re going to shove Thurston right off the boards."

Ed Sullivan
Reporter

But after his unsuccessful magic show that toured in 1914, even Harry admitted no one would come to see Houdini unless they saw his famous escapes. So the program was divided into three acts. The first would feature stage illusions and other magic tricks (Harry had detachable sleeves on his tuxedo to show he had nothing up his sleeve). The second act was the escapes, and the third was an exposés of fake spiritualists. The tour began at the end of August 1925 and toured for 36 weeks.²

Howard was not pleased, particularly when he learned that one member of Harry's show was one of his own former assistants. Still in general Howard and Harry did maintain a formal friendship and the Houdinis were even guests of the Thurston's in June 1925 at Howard and Leotha's home in New York. But the competition remained and Harry began to visit children's hospitals to perform tricks for the kids, which was something that Howard was famous for. Then when Harry showed how he could be placed in a metal coffin underwater for over an hour, Howard began to think of ways to incorporate that into his own show.

But Howard and Harry's competition finally ended in the last week of October. At some point Harry suffered a ruptured appendix which may have been aggravated by a blow to the stomach from a college student who had been visiting him backstage. He died on October 31, 1926.

Headlines blared the news and naturally Howard, playing in Syracuse, New York, was sought for some comments. Although by no means uncharitable there was a bit of an ambiguity in Howard's accolade. He stated that as a showman, Harry was in a class with W. T. Barnum, - a comment certainly open to interpretation - and added:

"He would have been an outstanding figure as a politician," Howard said. "Life was a serious proposition with Houdini - an indefatigable worker, insatiable ambition, an aggressive enemy, and a loyal friend. His love for his mother was his deepest emotion."

Nary a word about Harry's professional abilities.

Of course, Howard kept performing. His modus magiciandi was to come up with a new show each year. That way he could visit the same cities each year and concentrate on the cities where he was most successful.

Of course, then came 1929 with the stock market crash. Howard had never given up his penchant for investments that didn't work out that well, investments which fared no better during the worst economic depression in the history of the world. But his brother Harry had always been able to come up with funds - not to mention a lot of his brother's equipment that had been collecting over the years as collateral for the many loans. With times getting tough, now he, Harry, had a plan. There would be a massive Mysteries of India touring show that would be performed in its own tent. This saved costs as there would be no theaters to hire.

Things, though, did not bode well after the elephant they bought got sick and died. And what wasn't noticed by a lot of the public who turned up was that Thurston's Mysteries of India would star HARRY Thurston. And from the first it was clear Harry was no Howard.

Harry would come out and do a monologue which was so obnoxious it put everyone off. His stage presence as a magician wasn't an improvement. Sometimes he couldn't remember his lines and he might fumbled with the illusions. Worse, his personality was so fractious he couldn't keep his assistants. The show played only twenty-one days the first year. The next year it folded for good.

With the Great Depression in full swing, Howard's own show was struggling. But some help came from an unexpected quarter. That was radio. But just how was a magician supposed to work on radio?

Well, he didn't exactly. Instead Howard was asked to play the role of "Thurston the Magician" on some radio dramas. None of the broadcasts survive but some of the scripts have been found. In the shows, Howard uses his intellect and knowledge of magic to solve various mysteries. The program ran for two years in 1932 to 1933 and gave Howard both added income and also a lot of exposure to people who had never seen him perform.

Howard also began to cut back on the more extravagant parts of his shows and began to play in smaller cities and towns. But even though rural regions sometimes weathered the times better than the big cities, people were still strapped for cash. Even at a 25¢ admission fee, the houses were often far from packed.

Back in New York Howard tried to stage bookings at Radio City Music Hall. This could have been a big draw for the crowds. However, when the manager found out that he'd have to make substantial changes to the stage, he decided to turn the offer down.

In 1934, Leotha, who had been having health problems which were often exacerbated by the remedies which often consisted of barbiturates, died. Howard, too, wasn't in great health and at 65 was considered an old man. He may have had a heart attack in Baltimore and his doctor advised him to avoid alcohol except for beer, watch what he ate, and get more exercise. The good news was the doctor thought Howard was too light and could afford to put on some extra pounds.

The following year Howard married again, this time to a twenty-seven year old woman named Paula Mark. Then after playing in Charleston, West Virginia, he was about to get something to eat and drink with one of his assistants when he collapsed. He had suffered stroke and his left arm was paralyzed. Naturally the tour had to be canceled. Everyone hoped that he would recover but he suffered another stoke on March 30. It was clear Howard wouldn't perform again and on April 13, he died.

Naturally the accolades poured in. Among those who wrote highly about Howard's career was Ed Sullivan, who although later famous for his really big shew on television, was then a Broadway reporter. But probably the most meaningful tribute was written by George White, the assistant who had joined Howard as a young kid, and had stayed with him ever since. George had nothing but good to say about his old boss and said he always considered him as a pal. Although George did work briefly for another magician he returned to New York as an employee for a glass company. His boss remembered George as a hard worker but few knew he had once worked for one of the most famous men in the world.

References

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