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Mark Raffles (born Albert Taylor, 22 January 1922 – 18 September 2022) was a British magician famous for his
pickpocket Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for Misdirection (magic ...
and disappearing dog acts.


Early life and career

Mark Raffles was born Albert Taylor on 22 January 1922 in Hulme, Manchester. He initially struggled with a speech defect and a
stammer Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder characterized externally by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses called blocks in which the person who ...
and was schooled in magic by an uncle. He started a silent magic act, under the
stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...
Ray St. Clair, at the Queen's Park Hippodrome at age 16. The severe stammer prevented him from joining the army at the start of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He worked for a time as a
bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsperson and tradesperson who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of maso ...
, building
air raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but ...
s. He joined the
Entertainments National Service Association The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was an organisation established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, ...
(ENSA) in 1941 and spent the next three years entertaining troops, developing his pickpocket act during this time. He received the
Veteran's Badge The Veteran's Badge is a badge awarded by the Ministry of Defence to any person who served in the British Army, Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Air Force, Volunteer or Regular Reserves of the British Armed Forces. History In 2004, the Veter ...
for his service.


Later life and death

He appeared in the movie
Cup-tie Honeymoon ''Cup-tie Honeymoon'' is a 1947 British film directed by John E. Blakeley and starring Sandy Powell (comedian), Sandy Powell. It was the first film to be made at the Dickenson Road Studios by the Mancunian Film Corporation in 1947 . Plot summar ...
along with Sandy Powell in 1948. He met the dancer Joan Cleare in
pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...
in
Bilston Bilston is a market town in the City of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. It is in the Black Country, south east of Wolverhampton city centre and close to the borders of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough, Sandwell ...
later that year and married her. He changed his stage name to Mark Raffles, after the
gentleman thief A gentleman thief, gentleman burglar, lady thief, or phantom thief is a stock character in fiction. A gentleman or lady thief is characterised by impeccable manners, charm, courtesy, and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to stea ...
character Arthur Raffles. He performed in various clubs, cruises, corporate events and also made television appearances, including one in 3-2-1. He briefly retired due to heart problems, but in the 1970s, he and Joan were persuaded by their friends Jack and Audrey Shaw to take over their dog act, called The Wychwoods. He was a member of the Inner Magic Circle and served as the president of the
International Brotherhood of Magicians International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) is an organization for both professional and amateur close-up and stage magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St. Charles, Missouri. There are over 300 l ...
in 2005. In 2019, he retired to the Queen Elizabeth Court, a care home in Llandudno. He died on 18 September 2022, at the age of 100.


References


Further reading

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External links


Raffles, Mark, Born 1922
at
University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...
.
Mark Raffles
at ''Genii''.
Magic all the way
by Showtown Blackpool at
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Raffles, Mark 1922 births 2022 deaths British magicians British men centenarians People from Hulme People with speech disorders Entertainments National Service Association personnel