Nate Leipzig (born Nathan Leipziger; May 31, 1873 – October 13, 1939) was an American

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic compositio ...

magician who performed in Europe and USA. In May 1938, Leipzig was elected president of the SAM (Society of American Magicians). Previous presidents of SAM include

Howard Thurston Howard Thurston (July 20, 1869 – April 13, 1936) was a stage magician from Columbus, Ohio, United States. His childhood was unhappy, and he ran away to join the circus, where his future partner Harry Kellar also performed. Thurston was deepl ...

and

Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

. His innovations of

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

, particularly with

card trick Card manipulation is the branch of magic that deals with creating effects using sleight of hand techniques involving playing cards. Card manipulation is often used in magical performances, especially in close-up, parlor, and street magic. Some ...

s and

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 pres ...

, garnered him respect among fellow magicians. Leipzig was the first magician to perform a stage act using playing cards and thimbles, and is credited with inventing the Side Steal, a.k.a. the Side Slip—a technique for secretly removing a playing card from the middle of a deck of cards.

Early years

Leipzig was born the third youngest of eight children—seven boys and one girl—in Stockholm, Sweden. He grew up in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, Michigan and at 12 years old started work as a lens-maker for L. Black & Co. He then joined Max Rudelsheimer's optical business, and worked there 17 years, but continued to accept performance engagements.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leipzig, Nate 1873 births 1939 deaths American magicians