Signed drawing of Joseph Dunninger by Manuel Rosenberg for the Cincinnati Post 1926

Signed drawing by Joseph Dunninger for Manuel Rosenberg for the Cincinnati Post 1926

Joseph Dunninger (April 28, 1892 – March 9, 1975), known as "The Amazing Dunninger", was one of the most famous and proficient

mentalists Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Mentalists perform a theatrical act that includes special effects that may appear to employ ps ...

of all time. He was one of the pioneer performers of magic on

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. A debunker of fraudulent mediums, Dunninger claimed to replicate through trickery all spiritualist phenomena. Drury, Nevill. (2004). ''The Dictionary of the Esoteric: Over 3000 Entries on the Mystical and Occult''. Watkins Publishing. p. 81.

Biography

Dunninger was born in New York City. He headlined throughout the Keith-Orpheum Circuit, and was much in demand for private entertainment. At the age of seventeen he was invited to perform at the home of

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

in Oyster Bay and at the home of the inventor

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

, both of whom were avid admirers of Dunninger. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

invited Dunninger to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

on a number of occasions to demonstrate his mentalist skills.Samuel, Lawrence R. (2011). ''Supernatural America: A Cultural History''. ABC-CLIO. pp. 48–51. Dunninger was a debunker of fraudulent mediums. He claimed to replicate through trickery all spiritualist phenomena. He wrote the book ''Inside the Medium's Cabinet'' (1935) which exposed the tricks of mediumship. He also exposed how the indian rope trick could be performed by camera trickery. In 1935, Dunninger attended a

séance A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French language, French word for "session", from the Old French , "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general and mundane: one ma ...

of the fraudulent medium Emerson Gilbert. His testimony was used in court against the medium. Dunninger had a standing offer of $10,000 to anyone who could prove that he used confederates or "stooges." Through ''Scientific American'' magazine and his own organization the Universal Council for Psychic Research he also made an offer to any medium who could produce by

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use powers rooted in parapsychology, such as extrasensory perception (ESP), to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance; or who performs acts that a ...

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

means any physical phenomena that he could not duplicate or explain by natural means. No medium ever won the reward. According to Dunninger "through all these long years, I have sought good honest ghosts, phantoms, spirits, astral beings, banshees, fays, wee folk, apparitions, fetches—the whole pack and passel of the unsubstantial world—and I have always been able to prove them frauds." However he admitted the possibility of precognition in private correspondence with Dr. Berthold Schwarz. In Schwarz’s book ‘Psychic Nexus’ Dunninger claims that his father dreamed of the Slocum ship disaster before it happened. He was in fact so disturbed by the “vivid, grim reality” of the dream that he warned people not to take the ship. Unfortunately most people did not listen to him, and they perished. He was a good friend to many notables in the magic community including

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 ...

, Francis

Martinka A Martenitsa (, ; ; ; ; ; ) is a small piece of adornment, made of white and red yarn and usually in the form of two dolls, a white male and a red female. Martenitsi are worn from Baba Marta Day (March 1) until the wearer first sees a stork, s ...

and Tony Slydini. He maintained a lifelong friendship with author of ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...

'', Walter B. Gibson, who guest wrote or cowrote a number of books for Dunninger on magic, psychic phenomena and spiritualism. In 1937, Max Holden considered "Dunninger the foremost magician and showman of the present day". He acted as technical adviser as just "Dunninger" in the 1953

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

film ''

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 ...

'' starring

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor with a career that spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles co ...

in the title role. Dunninger appeared on radio starting in the 1920s, and had his own weekly show on the Blue Network in 1943. In 1948, Dunninger and

Paul Winchell Paul Winchell (''Birth name, né'' Wilchinsky; December 21, 1922 – June 24, 2005) was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, humanitarian, and inventor whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950 to 1954, he hosted ''The Pa ...

were featured on ''Floor Show'' on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

TV. Recorded via

kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940s ...

and replayed on WNBQ-TV in Chicago, Illinois, the 8:30–9 pm Central Time show on Thursdays was the station's first mid-week program. He was featured on television frequently in the 1950s and 1960s. During the ‘50s and ‘60s his name was used as the basis for two recurring comedic characters, "The Amazing Dillinger" played by

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

on '' The Johnny Carson Show'' in 1955; and "Gunninger the Mentalist" on a

show hosted by the

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

Soupy Sales Milton Supman (January 8, 1926 – October 22, 2009), known professionally as Soupy Sales, was an American comedian, actor, radio-television personality, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television ser ...

. On the ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

'' episode "Ricky's European Booking" (Season 5, episode 10) after Fred Mertz accurately predicts Lucy's excited reaction to Ricky's new booking, he gets a big laugh when he brags to Ricky "Just call me Dunninger." In the ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

'' episode, "Now You See Him", a stage magician ( Jack Cassidy) refers to one of his illusions with, "It's an old stand by. Dunninger used it in his act." He died of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

at his home in Cliffside Park, New Jersey.Staff
"Dunninger Dies; Magician was 82; Billed Himself as 'Master Mind of Mental Mystery'"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', March 10, 1975. Accessed March 22, 2011. "Joseph Dunninger, who mystified millions as a magician and mind-reader for more than half a century, died yesterday of Parkinson's disease at his home in Cliffside Park, N.J."

Works

Dunninger self-published many of his works, and others were published by inventor

Hugo Gernsback Hugo Gernsback (; born Hugo Gernsbacher, August 16, 1884 – August 19, 1967) was a Luxembourgish American editor and magazine publisher whose publications included the first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Stories''. His contributions to ...

. He also wrote articles in '' Science and Invention'', ''

Mechanix Illustrated ''Mechanix Illustrated'' is an American printed magazine that was originally published by Fawcett Publications. Its title was founded in 1928 to compete against the older ''Popular Science Popular science (also called pop-science or pops ...

'', ''

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (often abbreviated as ''PM'' or ''PopMech'') is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do it yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation an ...

'', ''

Fate Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predeterminism, predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words wiktionary ...

'', ''

Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

'', and other magazines. Many of these articles were ghostwritten by Walter B. Gibson. Articles
''Popular Magic''
. '' Modern Mechanix'' (May, 1938)
''Spiritualism A Psychic Investigator Exposes Mediums Frauds''
''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' (June, 1941) Books * ''Dunninger's Tricks De Luxe'' (1918) * ''Dunninger's Tricks Unique'' (1918) * ''Dunninger's Master Methods of Hypnotism'' (1923) * ''Popular Magic'' (1926) * ''Universal Second Sight Mysteries'' (1927) * ''Houdini's Spirit Exposes and Dunninger's Psychical Investigations'' (1928) * ''Popular Magic Vol. II'' (1929) * ''Popular Magic and Card Tricks'' (1929) * ''Dunninger on Hypnotism'' (1930s)
''Inside the Medium's Cabinet''
(1935) * ''How to Make a Ghost Walk'' (1936) * ''Here's Fun for Young and Old: Dunninger’s Magic Tricks'' (1940) * ''What's On Your Mind'' (1944) * ''100 Houdini Tricks You Can Do'' (1954) * ''The Art of Thought Reading'' (1956) * ''Magic and Mystery: The Incredible Psychic Investigations of Houdini and Dunninger'' (1967) * ''Dunninger's Complete Encyclopedia of Magic'' (1967) * ''Dunninger's Secrets as told to Walter Gibson'' (1974) * ''Dunninger's Monument to Magic'' (1974) * ''Dunninger's Book of Magic'' (1979)

Gallery

Image:Joseph Dunninger young.png, A young Dunninger Image:Joseph Dunninger slate writing.png, Dunninger exposing slate writing trickery Image:Joseph Dunninger table trick.png, Dunninger demonstrating a

table-tilting Table-turning (also known as table-tapping, table-tipping or table-tilting) is a type of séance in which participants sit around a table, place their hands on it, and wait for rotations. The table was purportedly made to serve as a means of comm ...

trick Image:Joseph Dunninger the magician.png, Dunninger with equipment used to duplicate the tricks of spiritualist mediums. A portable wireless set is strapped to his back Image:Joseph Dunninger spirit molds.png, Dunninger making fake "spirit" hand molds Image:Joseph Dunninger 1956.png, Dunninger in 1956

References

External links

*
Digital Deli Too on 'The Dunninger the Mentalist Radio Programs'

Two audio streams, via noonco.com
*
itricks article
including (unsourced) list of surviving shows
How Magician Tricks The Fake Mediums

Joseph Dunninger posters
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunninger, Joseph 1892 births 1975 deaths American magicians American skeptics Critics of parapsychology Deaths from Parkinson's disease in New Jersey Mentalists People from Cliffside Park, New Jersey Entertainers from New York City Harry Houdini Critics of Spiritualism Academy of Magical Arts Masters Fellowship winners Academy of Magical Arts Special Fellowship winners