Whit Haydn
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Whit "Pop" Haydn (born July 19, 1949 as Whitney Wesley Hadden in
Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is a city in Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tennessee, fifth-most populo ...
) is an American magician, and the winner of seven performing awards (for performances in showrooms at the Magic Castle) from the
Academy of Magical Arts 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 W ...
. He has been nominated by his fellow members for "Magician of the Year" in Close-Up, Parlor and Stage, Bar and Lecturer more than thirty times. In February 2006, he also became Vice-President of that organization, and served for four years in that capacity. He has opened for
Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version ...
, the
Smothers Brothers The Smothers Brothers were the American duo of brothers Tom Smothers, Tom and Dick Smothers, who performed folk singer, folk singing, music, and comedy. The brothers' trademark double act was performing folk songs (Tommy on Steel-string guitar, a ...
,
Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill (song), The P ...
and others, and performed on cruise ships of many different lines, including
Cunard Line The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...
's ''
Queen Elizabeth 2 ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' (''QE2'') is a retired British ocean liner. Built for the Cunard Line, the ship was operated as a transatlantic liner and cruise ship from 1969 to 2008. She was laid up until converted into a floating hotel, operating sin ...
'', and the '' Diamond Princess''. Haydn has worked hotels and casinos including Caesars Tahoe, and was one of the first acts chosen in 1996 to open Caesar's Magical Empire in
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. In recent years, he has adopted the persona of an "expatriate con man and medicine show huckster from the early 20th century," and he has headlined such venues as the World Steam Expo. In September 2012 he sat on a panel, at
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
's
Comikaze Expo L.A. Comic Con is a three-day multi-genre convention"Comic-Con ...
on the subject of the steampunk subculture and its relation to other subcultures.


Life

Whit Haydn was born to minister (
Disciples of Christ The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...
)
William J. Hadden William James Hadden Jr. (June 2, 1921 – June 14, 1995) was a Protestant minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and a priest of the Episcopal Church (United States) He was also at different times both a military chaplain (both ...
, Jr. and Margaret Shumate (daughter of
Whitney Shumate Whitney Shumate (July 16, 1896 - February 28, 1966) was a businessman and civic leader in Henry County, Virginia, and especially in Martinsville, Virginia. Early life Whitney Shumate was born in Rock Run, Virginia, near Bassett, Virginia in rura ...
and
Jessamine Shumate Ada Jessamine Shumate (born March 31, 1902, as Ada Jessamine White in Horsepasture, Virginia – died on December 16, 1990, in Greenville, North Carolina) was an American artist, historian and cartographer, winner of the "Award of Distinction" ...
), an elementary school librarian. At a summer camp at the age of 10, Haydn witnessed a magic show by a
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
minister who was an amateur magician, and Haydn reportedly stayed up all night trying to figure out what he had seen. This became the beginning of a lifelong fascination. Three local North Carolina magicians—Dick Snavely of Raleigh, Bill Tadlock of Rocky Mount, and Wallace Lee of Durham—became mentors for the young magician. At fourteen, he borrowed money for a bus ticket to one of the major American magic conventions,
Abbott's Get Together Abbott's Get Together is a long-running annual convention for magicians held in Colon, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1937 by Percy Abbott and his business partner, Recil Bordner. The Get Together is well known within the magicia ...
in
Colon, Michigan Colon is a village in St. Joseph County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,199 at the 2020 census. The village is located within Colon Township. It is known as "The Magic Capital of the World", as it is the home of the Abbott ...
, having convinced his parents to let him take the long bus ride alone. He graduated from JH Rose High School in
Greenville, North Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is the county seat of and the most populous city in Pitt County, North Carolina, United States. It is the principal city of the Greenville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 12t ...
, and attended college at
East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...
in the 1960s, where he also became heavily involved in the
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
and anti-war movements. He left college in 1969 to challenge the
draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...
, and became one of Pitt County's first
conscientious objectors A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or freedom of religion, religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for ...
. He did some alternative service at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
Hospital, but after being released from C.O. status, and the job, when he flunked the physical (due to poor eyesight), he started doing street magic in the
West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The West Village is bounded by the Hudson River to the west and 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to ...
. In 1970, he went back to school at
Lynchburg College The University of Lynchburg, formerly Lynchburg College, is a private university associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and located in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It has approximately 2,800 undergraduate and graduate ...
in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, receiving a B.A. degree in
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
and comparative religion in 1972, after which he attended
Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. It is the largest and second-oldest such accredited se ...
in
Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...
to become an
Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...
priest, though he continued performing magic to help support himself at the school. Reginald H. Fuller, a well-known New Testament scholar, saw one of Haydn's performances at a student/faculty party, and suggested that Haydn's passion might lie not in the ministry, but in magic. A few weeks later, Haydn dropped out of the seminary and turned to magic full-time. Working as an actor/juggler/magician with a touring political theater under the direction of Bob Leonard, The Road Company, Haydn continued to develop his magic performances. In the mid-1970s he performed at the prestigious
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 ...
, where the Master of Ceremonies, Billy McComb, stumbled over the name "Hadden", so he,
Dai Vernon David Frederick Wingfield Verner (June 11, 1894August 21, 1992), better known by his stage names Dai Vernon (pronounced alternatively as "DIE" or as "DAY" as in David) or The Professor, was a Canadian magician. Vernon's sleight of hand techn ...
,
Kuda Bux Kuda Bux (15 October 1905 – 5 February 1981, born Khudah Bukhsh) was an Indian magician and firewalker. Biography Khudah Bukhsh was born in Akhnur, Kashmir in 1905, to an ethnic Kashmiri family.When he was thirteen, he left home to lear ...
and some other well-known magicians encouraged Hadden to change his name to something easier to pronounce. They settled on "Haydn"—pronounced as "Hāden." McComb became a mentor and major influence on Haydn's career. Haydn is the co-founder (with Chef Anton) of the "School for Scoundrels". Since 1996, this program has held a four-week course once a year at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, to teach magicians, gambling experts and law enforcement officers the history, psychology and methods of street scams such as Three-Card Monte, Fast and Loose, and the
Shell Game The shell game (also known as thimblerig, three shells and a pea, the old army game) is a public gambling game that challenges players to follow the movement of a marker hidden under one of several covers (shells). In practice, the game is almo ...
. Haydn currently lives in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
with his wife, Nancy Magill. They work together on Pop Haydn in the 21st Century – a live theatrical variety show. In this steampunk-oriented reinvention of a 1910 medicine show, Pop sells his Amazing Miracle Oil, pitches Magnetized Water, demonstrates the ability of a Tesla Coil to bend the force of gravity with the help of Tesla Girl and reads people's past and future through the Sphere of Destiny. Whit is named for his grandfather, Whitney Shumate, and is the grandson of artist
Jessamine Shumate Ada Jessamine Shumate (born March 31, 1902, as Ada Jessamine White in Horsepasture, Virginia – died on December 16, 1990, in Greenville, North Carolina) was an American artist, historian and cartographer, winner of the "Award of Distinction" ...
. He has one grown daughter, Jessamine, and two grandchildren, Carmen and Jack.


Awards

* The
Academy of Magical Arts 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 W ...
Stage Magician of the Year (1979, 2014) * The Academy of Magical Arts Parlour Magician of the Year (1995, 2002) * The Academy of Magical Arts Close-Up Magician of the Year (2003, 2004) * The Academy of Magical Arts Bar Magician of the Year (2005)


Works

* ''Stories of a Street Performer'' published by Mikazuki Publishing House. Copyright 2012. Contents: Street magic—Street stories—ESP survey—Squash! -- The impromptu card code: a routine for the blind—The lessons of the street. and . and . Abstract: Whit "Pop" Haydn, six-time award winning magician and former Vice President of the world famous Magic Castle, shares his over 40 years of experiences performing magic all around the world. Stories of a street performer is a classic tale and a must read. This book is filled with vital lessons for the up-and-coming performer and life lessons that all can learn from. Whether you are an aspiring performer, a fan of magicians, or a seeker of exciting stories, this is one book you will not be able to put down. * ''The Chicago Surprise'' copyright 2000 * ''Street Magic'' copyright 2001 * ''The Intricate Web of Distraction'' copyright 2001, also VHS and DVD * ''The Mongolian Pop-Knot'', copyright 1982 also VHS * ''Comedy Four-Ring Routine'', copyright 1976 also VHS and DVD *
Trio in Gold
', East Carolina Poetry Forum Press, 1968 *
Tar River Poets
', East Carolina Poetry Forum Press, 1969


With Chef Anton

* ''School for Scoundrels Notes on Three-Card Monte'', also VHS and DVD * ''Introduction to the Shell Game'', DVD. Abstract: In November 2004, Bob Sheets, Whit Haydn and Chef Anton combined their original methods for the ancient swindle, the Shell Game, and taught this new system to the School for Scoundrels class at the Magic Castle. * ''Scoundrel's Touch'', DVD * ''School for Scoundrels Notes on Fast and Loose'', also VHS and DVD


References


Further reading

* "Whit Haydn", January 2003 profile in ''Magic'' magazine * "Passing Through – In Praise of Prestigitation", July 20, 2003, ''Los Angeles Times Magazine''


External links

* https://collectio.ecu.edu/heritagehall/People/Whitney-Wesley-Hadden *
Haydn's Youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haydn, Whit East Carolina University alumni Living people People from Clarksville, Tennessee 1949 births American magicians Academy of Magical Arts Bar Magician of the Year winners Academy of Magical Arts Close-Up Magician of the Year winners Academy of Magical Arts Parlour Magician of the Year winners Academy of Magical Arts Stage Magician of the Year winners