Lou Lancaster (October 31, 1936 – July 5, 2008), born Louis Lancaster McClung, was an American magician and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

. His 1984 book ''Tricks Of The Trade: A Professional Looks at Commercial Closeup Magic'' OCLC 12995877 dited by Phyllis Guggenheim; photos by Lancaster & Guggenheimexplained many techniques of

close-up magic Close-up magic (also known as table magic or micromagic) is magic performed in an intimate setting usually no more than 3 meters (10 feet) from one's audience and is usually performed while sitting at a table. Sleight-of-hand, also known as pr ...

, and he appeared in several instructional videos produced by the

International Magicians Society The International Magicians Society (IMS) is a magic society created by Tony Hassini to "help promote and preserve the art of magic and provide a format where magicians could share their secrets and ideas." The society gives its own "Merlin Award" ...

. The August 2005 issue of ''

The Linking Ring ''The Linking Ring'' is a monthly print magic magazine published by the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) for its members since 1922. It is based in Bluffton, Ohio. In 2007, Samuel Patrick Smith, a magician, author and publisher ba ...

'' featured a cover story on Lancaster and his innovations. Lancaster performed at the

Magic Castle The Magic Castle is a performance venue, restaurant, and clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts for magicians and magic enthusiasts in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, United States. The Academy was started in 1952 by ...

eighteen times, with multiple engagements throughout Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Sacramento, and the Catskills. When in New York he worked at the famous Magic Towne House headed up by

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 ...

and

Dick Brooks Richard Harold Brooks (April 14, 1942 – February 1, 2006) was an American NASCAR driver. Born in Porterville, California, he was the 1969 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, and went on to win the 1973 Talladega 500. Brooks held off veteran Buddy ...

. He helped assemble Dietrich's straitjacket escape for the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

Special ''The World's Greatest Escapes'', in which she appeared as special guest star. She holds the record for the highest stationary escape by a woman from a straitjacket while hanging from a burning rope. She has been quoted as saying, "I trusted my life to Lou Lancaster!" She also says he invented the famous Twister illusion for Mark Wilson when he worked on his TV show. He was the resident magician at Magic Island in Newport for two years. After Lancaster's death, Jeff McBride - who credits Lancaster with giving him his first professional engagement - participated in Lancaster's memorial Broken Wand Ceremony.

References

*'' Genii'', September 2008 *''

Magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

'', September 2008 *''

'', August 2005

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lancaster, Lou 1936 births 2008 deaths American magicians