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Dick Brooks is a
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
magician and entertainer. He began his career in show business at the age of 10, and since that time has worked in TV commercials, stand-up comedy, writing, children's entertainment, and army shows, and performed in night clubs, casinos, and magic venues. ''Focus Magazine'' described Brooks as a " magician of renown".


Early years

As a teenager Brooks joined a magic club headed by the official magician of New York City, Abe Hurwitz (Peter Pan the Magic Man). When Hurwitz left the Peter Pan Magic Club, the club changed its name to Future American Magical Entertainers (F.A.M.E.) on Brooks's suggestion. This laid the foundation for the
Society of American Magicians The Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) is the oldest fraternal magic organization in the world. Its purpose is "to advance, elevate, and preserve magic as a performing art, to promote harmonious fellowship throughout the world of magic, and ...
, who at first did not allow youngsters to join, but formed the
Society of Young Magicians The Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) is the oldest fraternal magic organization in the world. Its purpose is "to advance, elevate, and preserve magic as a performing art, to promote harmonious fellowship throughout the world of magic, and ...
(S.Y.M.) for youngsters in 1984. As a teenager, Brooks was booked by Skipper Dawes, who booked him as a regular performer doing commercials for
Tootsie Rolls Tootsie Roll () is a chocolate taffy candy that has been manufactured in the United States since 1907. The candy has qualities similar to both caramels and taffy without being exactly either confection. The manufacturer, Tootsie Roll Indust ...
on the
Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 193 ...
TV show ''Teen Club'' in Philadelphia. He traveled there alone at weekends, after getting the script by mail. He was eventually replaced by 23-year-old announcer
Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...
. In 1972 Brooks appeared on The
David Susskind David Howard Susskind (December 19, 1920 – February 22, 1987) was an American producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a TV talk show host. His talk shows were innovative in the genre and addressed timely, controversial topics beyond th ...
Show about young comedians looking for a break in show business. When drafted into the army he was placed in Special Service, the entertainment branch of the military. After leaving the military he became a songwriter, writing dozens of songs including the track "Power House".


The Magic Towne House

Brooks was the co-founder, with
Dorothy Dietrich Dorothy Dietrich (born April 1, 1948) is an American stage magician and escapologist, best known for performing the bullet catch in her mouth (although Adelaide Herrmann reputedly did this earlier) and the first woman to perform a straitjacket e ...
, of the
Magic Towne House The Magic Towne House was a magic show spot on three floors at 1026 Third Avenue, north of 60th Street, New York City, in the 1970s and 1980s. It was a venue for adults in the cabaret as well as having a children's theater for patrons of all ag ...
on the
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, which presented magic in New York City for over 15 years. Brooks and Dietrich resurrected
Brother Theodore Theodore Isidore Gottlieb (November 11, 1906 – April 5, 2001), mostly known as Brother Theodore, was a German-born American actor and comedian known for rambling, stream-of-consciousness monologues which he called "stand-up tragedy". His st ...
's career in the 1970s, booking him to do several seasons of midnight shows at The Magic Towne House, which led to a long series of TV and movie appearances. While at the Magic Towne House, Brooks established a 64-page magazine for magicians, ''Hocus Pocus Magazine'', which ran for three years.


Houdini-related projects

Wanting a larger facility and a place to house his collection of Houdini memorabilia, Brooks and Dietrich opened The
Houdini Museum The Houdini Museum is located at Scranton, Pennsylvania. Harry Houdini appeared in Scranton and did several special challenges there. His brother, Hardeen, also appeared in Scranton and in its sister city, Wilkes-Barre. The longest engagemen ...
in
Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...
. For many years Brooks and Dietrich maintained
Harry Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...
's abandoned grave. On September 27, 2011, along with escape artist Steve Moore, they restored the missing statuary bust at Houdini's grave site that was destroyed by vandals in 1975. The event was reported in ''
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'', who nicknamed them the Houdini Commandos. On September 13, 2014, David W. Bowers, president of the worldwide Society of American Magicians, issued Dick Brooks a Certificate of Appreciation for his work taking care of Houdini's grave. Brooks has worked as a Houdini consultant for various media outlets including The Travel Channel, The New York Times, The London Times, Inside Magic, and The New York Daily News. He appeared on the Travel Channel show ''Magic Road Trip'', which also aired on CBC. In 2014 Brooks and Dietrich created a board game based on the Houdini Museum, named HoudiniOpoly, which took two years to develop. The project was funded by a
Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
campaign from early 2017, which raised over $14,000, with investors including John Cox of WildaboutHoudini.com, Joe Notaro of HarryHoudiniCircumstantialEvidence.com, and Dean Carnegie of TheMagicDetective.com, as well as the game being sanctioned and supported by The Society of American Magicians.


Appearances

As well as a number of corporate and celebrity parties, Brooks has appeared on television on such shows as ''
Atlantic City Alive The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
'',
Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...
's ''Magic Road Trip'',
Biography Channel FYI (stylized as fyi,) is an American basic cable channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Entertainment subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications (each owns 50%). The network features lifestyle pro ...
's ''Dead Famous-Houdini'', ''
Evening Magazine ''Evening Magazine'' is the name of various news and entertainment-style local television shows in different markets in the United States. Concept On August 9, 1976, Westinghouse (Group W) Broadcasting-owned KPIX in San Francisco debuted a lo ...
'', ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
'', ''
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'', Canada's ''Deals From The Dark Side'', and twice as a special guest on
Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...
's ''Mysteries At The Museum''. He is currently starring in Psychic Theater's production "HAUNTED! Mind Mysteries & THE Beyond!". The Fall 2008 issue of the Pennsylvania Tourism Office's magazine, ''Pennsylvania Pursuits'', named Brooks' Psychic Theater as the 9th most haunted place in Pennsylvania. Brooks has also worked as a magic consultant for the New York Shakespeare Festival, Woody Allen's "The Magic Light Bulb" at New York's City Center, and Radio City Music Hall. He has also interviewed celebrities such as
Uri Geller Uri Geller ( ; ; born 20 December 1946) is an Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic. He is known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other illusions. Geller use ...
, has written several books, and invented a number of magical effects.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Dick American magicians Living people Mentalists Entertainers from New York City Year of birth missing (living people) Magic consultants