Jerry Andrus (January 28, 1918 – August 26, 2007) was an American magician and writer known internationally for his original

close-up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, s ...

sleight of hand Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' () comprises fine motor skills used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card fl ...

tricks, such as the famous "Linking Pins", and

optical illusion In visual perception, an optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is an illusion caused by the visual system and characterized by a visual perception, percept that arguably appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide varie ...

Early life

Andrus was born January 28, 1918, in

Sheridan, Wyoming Sheridan is a city in the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Sheridan County, Wyoming, Sheridan County. The city is located halfway between Yellowstone National Park, Yellowstone Park and Mount Rushmore by U.S. Route 14 in Wyoming, U.S. ...

. At the age of 10, he moved to

Albany, Oregon Albany ( ) is the county seat of Linn County, Oregon, and is the 11th most populous city in the state. Albany is located in the Willamette Valley at the confluence of the Calapooia River and the Willamette River in both Linn and Benton count ...

, where he lived until his death in 2007. At 12, Andrus became interested in the art of illusion when he saw a performance of a reformed " spiritual medium". He joined the International Society of Junior Magicians when he was 16 and soon became known as a "magician’s magician".

Career

Magic

A self-taught magician, Andrus preferred to develop his own style rather than learn the craft as traditionally handed down from other magicians, eventually becoming world renowned as one of the "best and most-influential 'close-up magic' performers ever." He was known to many accomplished contemporary magicians, such as Lance Burton, Doug Henning, and

Penn & Teller Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette and Teller, are American magicians, entertainers, and scientific skeptics who have performed together since 1975. They are noted for their ongoing act that combines elements of comedy with magic. The duo has bee ...

, for this unique brand of close-up, sleight-of-hand magic. International card magicians knew Andrus for his "Master Move", a sleight-of-hand classic " pass" without "necessary false movement". An early member of The Magic Castle in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

, Andrus performed there semi-annually until shortly before his death.

Illusions

Andrus created his illusions in his Oregon home, which he nicknamed "The Castle of Chaos" in reference to the numerous items he collected over the years with the hope of using them to "make something spectacular". In 1954, Andrus created the famous "Linking Pins", a close-up illusion in which closed safety pins are rapidly linked together in twos, threes and chains.

Skepticism

Andrus was committed to the promotion of science and warned of the dangers of

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...

, psychics, cons, and other deceptions. An avowed

scientific skeptic Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

and

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

, Andrus often lectured at scientific and skeptic conferences, using his optical illusions and magic tricks to demonstrate the ease with which the mind can be fooled by the eye. He discussed a form of

cognitive science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...

that attempted to explain that because the mind is working on an unconscious level, it can be fooled into misperceiving apparently normal sensory experiences.

List of works

Books and lecture notes

*''Andrus Deals You in'' (1956) *''Sleightly Miraculous'' (1961) *''Special Magic'' (lecture notes for 1974 Japan Tour) (1974) *''More Sleightly Slanted'' (lecture notes) (1977) *''Andrus Card Control'' (with

Ray Hyman Ray Hyman (born June 23, 1928) is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, and a noted critic of parapsychology. Hyman, along with James Randi, Martin Gardner and Paul Kurtz, is one of the founders of the ...

) (2000) *''Kurious Kards and $5 Trix'' (2001) *''Safety Pin-Trix''

Videos/DVDs

*''Jerry Andrus: A Lifetime of Magic – Volume 1'' (2001) *''Jerry Andrus: A Lifetime of Magic – Volume 2'' (2001) *''Jerry Andrus: A Lifetime of Magic – Volume 3'' (2001)

Media

Documentaries

*''A Thing of Wonder: The Mind & Matter of Jerry Andrus'' (2002) *''Andrus: The Man, The Mind and the Magic'' (2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrus, Jerry 1918 births 2007 deaths American magicians American skeptics American inventors American male non-fiction writers American agnostics People from Albany, Oregon People from Sheridan, Wyoming