In fact, the script sucked and the characters were mostly uninteresting. He honed his skills touring North America with veteran magicians, and with a bit of luck, he opened a magic-music show in a Toronto theater. Morritt had come up with a new twist on a familiar routine: Magician presses his fingers to his temples, closes his eyes, and sees the un-seeable. Twenty-two years after his death he would have turned 75 this May Henning is still regarded as one of the greats by his peers, having blazed a trail for the likes of Siegfried & Roy, David Copperfield and Penn & Teller. Though one critic hailed him, After Falling Under the Spell of Wife Debby, Doug Henning Hopes to Charm Broadway Again (Part.2) My friends said there was practically a flash of light, says Henning, 35. ), He got his first professional job at 14, performing at a family friend's house. Sign up for reopening news, announcements, and exclusive discounts on tickets to your favorite shows! TM devotees claim that the silent meditation technique promotes relaxed awareness, stress reduction, access to higher states of consciousness, and reduces heart disease and high blood pressure. Email Magician Doug Henning a favorite of TV, Broadway and arena audiences died Monday in Los Angeles after battling liver cancer for the past five months. Also sported long hair and a long bushy moustache. WebHe was living with his second wife, Debby Douillard, and he had no children. The secret of magic is not knowledge, its feeling. May 2, 2023, By Whats striking, besides the polished performances, is the feeling in the building. May 1, 2023. Hennings own sense of wonder fueled his professional success and personal appeal. Just like a real-life movie, the story of Buddy the Elf meeting his biological father has come to life, just in time for the holidays. Henning said his goal was to help audiences recapture a childlike sense of wonder. Steinmeyer holds that feeling himself. One shows an illustrated Harry Kellar, a sensation in the early twentieth century. ''It was like being a folk singer before Bob Dylan. Built in 1909, the building is a shambling maze, a classic chateau-themed manor with narrow passages, branching wings, antique banisters and Tiffany stained glass windows. Gone were the black capes and magic wands; Mr. Henning wore jeans, flashy jumpsuits, and tie-dye T-shirts onstage. He also created special effects for tours by his friend, Michael Jackson. United Archives via Getty Images / Getty Images Doug Henning is often credited with resurrecting magic as a theatrical art in the 1970s. Henning died Monday in Los Angeles, his business office in Toronto said. So whats the trick? He returned often to visit family and to do the occasional performance. May 1, 2023, By Natural Law Party. In college, he started pitching tricks to Doug Henning, arguably the worlds most famous illusionist during the 1970s. Magic renews that wonder.. December 20, 1982, pages 70-72. Steinmeyer heads to his board meeting and leaves me to roam the castle, still only occupied by staff hustling to prepare for the first dinner seating. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2022-2023. Doug was a guest and entertainer and Debby was a volunteer worker. He was determined to learn enough from the veterans to put magic in a play. WebWith Tenor, maker of GIF Keyboard, add popular Doug Henning Magic animated GIFs to your conversations. Andrew Gans I think Rich Hall played the Doug Henning part in that skit. The box incorporates design elements that make it appear narrower to the audience than it actually is. | "So I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around and we looked at each other. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. In a world of deepfakes and identity theft and warfare by invisible computer viruses, real-life deception has consequences. Copyright 1991-2023 Playbill Inc. All Rights Reserved. He is survived by his wife, Debbie. Its a time capsule, everything analog, and the audience arrives with a roiling, tipsy energy. "When I perform, I could love a million people, but I had trouble loving one person Debby's helped me overcome my fear of intimacy.". Magician Doug Henning, who popularized magic and illusion on Broadway in such shows as The Magic Show, which earned him a Tony Award nomination, died of liver cancer in Los Angeles Feb. 7. To take the stage, Kyle passes through a giant fan with spinning bladesthe very trick Id spotted in one of Steinmeyers notebooks. The two actors join the cast of the international hit musical in St. Louis, Missouri. Hes not going to let me flip over his mirrors or rifle through his drawers, and when I give him a straight-line question, he responds with misdirectionlabyrinthine tangents and looping alternate pathways. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Huh. Witnesses offer conflicting accounts, Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. Henning died Lloyds of London would soon insure his hands for $3 million, or $300,000 per finger. knew I did Magic as an Ad-Vocation and had me go over to the United Kingdom Unit to asst Doug the day he was there - Don't exactly remember what he did -though did remember Doug was like a Big Kid. But heres a list of everything inside.. For years and years, I avoidedI just thought it was presumptuous to say, Heres how you create things, he says. Anyone can read what you share. "I proposed to her four days later, Doug said, I made a diamond appear in a rose petal and it rolled out into her hand." He admires a trick well done. If a magician cant conceal this secret, the trick is worthless. Biography - A Short Wiki. Steinmeyer shows them to no one. Henning returned to Broadway in 1983 for the Tony-nominated musical Merlin, and the following year Doug Henning and His World of Magic toured across North America. By almost any estimation, Steinmeyer is the greatest creator of illusions in the history of magic and theater, but describing Morritts idiosyncratic piece of stagecraft still animates and energizes him. He sold off all his illusions props, sets and secrets at auction to devote his time to Transcendental Meditation. He never has, its possible he never will, and this doesnt bother him in the least. He was a writer and actor, known for The Magic Show (1983), So we went somewhere and talked a long, long time, and I remember having this powerful feeling of recognition. I definitely owe a big chunk of my career to Jim, he says. Its a mind-reading trick, but instead of the magician playing the part of the clairvoyant, its the third-party burglar. Winnipeg-born Henning fell in love with magic as a child. When you gasp or scream in response to a card trick, its a hotwire to that emotion, to that sense of being incredibly pleased and feeling a sense, not only of surprise, but of wonder.. So he traveled with two tractor-trailer loads of 15 sets, equipment for 30 illusions and a menagerie. His wife is Debby Douillard (6 December1981 - 7 February2000)( his death), Barbara De Angelis (20 December1977 - 1981)( divorced). Doug is unique in that he didnt copy anyone before or after him, he says. Despite his enormous success in the US, Henning always considered Canada his home and was proud to tell people that he was Canadian, Nancy says. This story has been shared 381,315 times. You want that thing where people go, Ohhh, theyre about to divide a person into three pieces, Steinmeyer says. WebHis real name: Birth name of Doug Henning is Douglas James Henning Is Doug Henning still alive? He later married Debby Douillard in 1981. As we walk through his home, posters of great magicians past stand guard along the walls. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. In the trick, which Mr. Henning performed in Broadway theaters, on television and even on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, his assistant was handcuffed and tied in a sack. He was previously married to Debby Douillard and Barbara De Angelis. But what Steinmeyer intends to unpack for me is uncertain. By Talaura Harms ), Matthew Lawrence says his agency dropped him after he refused to strip for director, Ed Sheeran blasts music expert for criminal testimony in Marvin Gaye copyright trial, Roman Polanski and the woman he pleaded guilty to raping pose together 45 years later, Paul Stanley of KISS dives into debate over transgender acceptance versus kids transitioning, Has the Justin Timberlake Its Gonna Be May meme passed its expiration date? Debby also married Mexican artist Jose Carcamo, whom she divorced in 1980. He was 52. Wonder, Henning always said, is necessary in life, and magic can reawaken the wonder that occurs naturally in children but is lost to cynicism as people grow up. Actor: The Magic Show. Andrew Gans It involves a burglar, a safe, and mind-reading, and it unfolds like this: A group of random audience members file on stage and each place a personal possession inside a sturdy, commercial-model safe, out of view of the magician, Charles Morritt. Neil McNally and The Doug Henning Project 2017-2022 Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this sites author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Its also, The date was October 9th, 1985. He was always pleasantly surprised by the reception, Nancy says. WebWife: Barbara DeAngelis (div. The mellow magic man famed for his trademark shaggy hair and tie-dyed shirts had suffered from liver cancer for five months. Well, thosehe points to a stack of notebooksare all that. He was 52. NEW YORK -- Doug Henning, the mustachioed hippie magician who helped repopularize the craft in the 1970s with TV specials and Broadway shows, has died at 52. I asked one of his crew after the show if I might meet Doug and get his autograph. There are no dead ends.. In each show, his illusions became increasingly complex. Some of the more recent ones Steinmeyer wrote himself. Despite his absence from the scene, the monthly Magic Magazine reported last July that Mr. Henning had been sighted at several magic stores around the country. Hed been polite, but wary. Magic is not about knowing how weve been deceived. Its important to me to create the largest wonder, Henning told The Times in 1984 before appearing at the Los Angeles Music Centers Ahmanson Theater. He was credited with updating an old-fashioned vaudevillian entertainment by modernizing its image with his long hair, tie-dyed T-shirts and jeans instead of the magicians traditional top hat and tails. WebDoug Henning seems unmarried yet he is married. Debby also married Mexican artist Jose Carcamo, whom she divorced in 1980. And then theres the script of how youre maneuvering the audience through the act., The story should be both familiar and impossible. "Those magic tricks you buy in stores are junk. His battles with the church arent over, How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! Steinmeyer demonstrates a version of the sawing-in-half illusion. At the height of his popularity in 1987, Henning dropped out. Its hard for people to comprehend this today, but he was like a rock star.. After I borrow a tie at reception to pair with my sport coat and meet the dress code, the manager greets us. Ive spent my time learning new card tricks and entertaining all the kids in the mountains. Steinmeyer went and saw a performance by George Goebel, a veteran magician with a grand-scale stage act. He is engaged, insightful, and animated, and he speaks about his life and biography with depth, but he deflects other questions that remind me of the conversational rope-a-dope magicians use, suggesting one thingSee these rings? Shackled hand and foot and encased underwater in a steel canister, he broke free in under a minute, emerging wet and beaming. He was a writer and actor, known for The Magic Show (1983), World of Magic (1977) and Doug Henning's World of Magic (1976). Hes a large man, around six feet tall, sturdily built. Theres the script where you ostensibly say whats happening, which is often a lie. Nobody else is working at this level. (His senior thesis was on hypnosis. When the safe is opened, the list matches up, item for item. Doug Henning & His World of Magic (Dec 11, 1984 - Jan 27, 1985) Performer: Debby Henning [Assistant] All of us wish them nothing but happiness and the joy that comes from a loving partnership. He is from Canada. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free), Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. For example, the Mary Poppins illusion originated as an unrelated, sudden jolt of inspiration: a table that employs angled mirrors to conceal items within its folds. He launches into a commentary about how people dont just receive entertainment anymorethey see it as a challenge. But even given Steinmeyers relative anonymity compared with the Cooperfields and Blaines of the world, magic as a whole exists now in the age of YouTube. A writer and In 1992, he announced that he and the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a spiritual adviser, would build a $1.5 billion theme park near Niagara Falls, Ontario. Debby was born Deborah Ann Douillard to Roger and Ann Douillard, who ran a contracting firm in a New York suburb. One of his most impressive acts was ''Metamorphosis,'' an illusion borrowed from Harry Houdini, his idol. | But with Wakelings box, you can still see her feet sticking out the bottom, and beyond that, the box looks too narrow for a knee lift. You want that thing to be very clear.. I had never felt anything like it in my whole life. The dazzler was Debby Douillard, 27, an abstract painter with bottomless blue eyes who was, In doing some online research I came across this fascinating article from the December 20, 1982 issue of People magazine. Steinmeyer immersed himself in Chicagos magic-shop subculture, popping in on Saturdays, hanging around, and talking to other magicians. All Rights Reserved. Steinmeyer relies on both meticulous design and well-suited performers to construct tricks. See the article in its original context from. Today, running his own business requires an astonishingly disparate set of skills. "I had never felt anything like it in my life. Henning was approached by Broadway producers Edgar Lansbury and Joseph Beruh about bringing a version of the show to New York. Each illusion involves close collaboration with the builder and the performerSteinmeyers client. In 1973, he borrowed $5,000 from his mother and, with a friend, launched a rock musical-cum-magic show called Spellbound in Toronto. From Magicpedia, the free online encyclopedia for magicians by magicians. Where was it taken you ask? to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about Rebecca Taylor Henning / AP. To prepare for his career, Henning studied psychology in college, to learn more about the human mind and perception. Only when Steinmeyer finishes speaking do I realize weve barely moved from my starting point. I always hate reading that stuff.. ", "After the show," she continued, "he came over and tapped me on the shoulder and asked if we could talk later. There are two walls of reference materials: books about magic, of course, but also books about furniture, graphic design, screenplays, and antique apparatus. So I press: But theres no room for her to., He smiles and shrugs as if to say, What more do you expect? Debby became Doug's assistant, appearing as a singer and dancer, as well as designing all of the costumes, for Merlin and on tour. Id approached Steinmeyer with this intent a few weeks earlier. Help us get to over 4,000 biographies in 2018. The reason I can give wonder, Henning told The Times in 1980, is that I feel wonder about the world: the stars, a tree, my body--everything.. Logan Culwell-Block Doug Henning was born on May 3, 1947 in Fort Garry, Manitoba, Canada as Douglas James Henning. Once magicians manipulate audience members toward certain expectations, those expectations can be subverted, and the audience can be dazzled, and fooled. He was 52. | My brain fizzes with unsated curiosity. I decide this is where Im going to make my stand and try to extract a secret. Doug Henning was stiff as a board, and as he didn't sing, the musical numbers were never really landed in the show. To order Between 1975 and 1982, he created and starred in several television specials, aired on NBC and CBS, under the title of "Doug Henning's World of Magic." He erased an elephant from the center ring for Ringling Bros. He knew that if he wanted to do what he loveddesign illusions from a molecule of an idea in his notebook and let it grow into something naturallyhe needed to be on his own. Among the judges are Olivier winner Amber Riley and Frozen star Samantha Barks. presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution Henning With Ivan Reitman, a university classmate, Henning conjured Spellbound, a musical magic show, written by David Cronenberg and with music by Howard Shore. Reworked and retitled The Magic Show, it opened in 1974 at the Cort Theatre and enjoyed a four-year-run. At 53 years old, Doug Henning height Canadas investment in the arts paid off. In the more traditional world of magic, he brought a painted portrait to life and back again (The Artists Dream, performed by husband-and-wife team the Pendragons, among others) and designed a whole series of illusions in which the performer walks through a mirror, a wall, and a number of other impenetrable objects. Will the greatest illusion designer in the world tell us his secrets? After Falling Under the Spell of Wife Debby, Doug Henning Hopes to Charm Broadway Again (Part.3) He stuck with magic. Ramon had never performed original tricks before, but in Steinmeyers studio he understood for the first time how they were birthed. Doug Henning, the ebullient, shaggy-headed magician who sparked a renewed interest in the craft and breathed new life into some of history's most famous There are careful sketches of rotating, hinging mechanisms, drawings of altered cabinets and wardrobes enveloping phantom figures and annotated with measurements and enigmatic notations. However, this married later ended in divorce. My heart was racing. He treasures the wonder that comes with being fooled in an artful way. Magician Doug Henning, who popularized magic and illusion on Broadway in such shows as The Magic Show, which earned him a Tony Award nomination, died of No one is sneaking a look at their phone, and no one resists the timeless astonishment that has come from magic audiences for decades, from Charles Morritt to today. Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com, Conversations are opinions of our readers and are subject to the, The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star His wife, Deborah, was at his side, Reuters reported. expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto In further support of the maharishi, Henning also ran (unsuccessfully) for political office in England and Canada as a member of the maharishis Natural Law Party. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us. When were little kids, were filled with wonder for the world its fascinating and miraculous, he once said. That led to his role in The Magic Show. It was a box-office success during its two-week run at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in 1973. There is a century-old magic trick that Jim Steinmeyer finds particularly fascinating. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. I didnt have that engineering mind. Today, he has a trick in which his blond assistant materializes in an empty chair covered by a cloth. Into a notebook it went, and years later he excavated it for the play. A native of Winnipeg, Canada, Mr. Henning made his American debut in ''The Magic Show,'' a rock musical that opened on Broadway in May 1974 and subsequently ran for more than four years. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Woman has 'loud, full body orgasm' in the middle of LA concert, All the red carpet highlights and star-studded fashionfrom the Karl Lagerfeld-themed Met Gala, Bride killed, groom seriously hurt by drunk driver just minutes after leaving reception, Bodies of two missing teen girls and a registered sex offender among seven people found dead on Oklahoma property, The best-dressed celebs at the 2023 Met Gala: Rihanna, Gisele Bndchen, more, Kim Kardashians Met Gala 2023 look sparks comparisons to Playboy cover, Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson reunite at Met Gala 9 months after breakup, Katy Perry will be temporarily replaced on 'American Idol' amid drama. Coincidentally, Id seen that exact trick at the Magic Castle the night before. He was 52 and lived in Los Angeles. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? (December 6, 1981 - February 7, 2000) (his death), View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro. With a curly mane of hair and a near-constant grin, Mr. Henning was one of the most famous illusionists in the world during the 1970's and early 80's, appearing in three Broadway shows and a dozen television specials. He is credited with reviving the magic show as a form of mass entertainment in the 1970s and popularizing it on television. Henning, the man who performed Harry Houdinis legendary water torture escape on national television before a live audience and later became a spokesman for His wife is Debby Douillard (6 December 1981 - 7 February 2000) ( his death), Barbara De Angelis (20 December 1977 - 1981) ( divorced) Doug | Its a great commercial in the sense that its most likely one of a few he used as he moved from town to town. Steinmeyer began as an audience member. Theyve just saw the world together again and seem comfortable in their relationship. permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com. Steinmeyer helped Ramon create what has become a signature part of his act. Doves became rabbits in Mr. Henning's hands, and horses took wing. I had never felt anything like it in my whole life. WebMini Bio (1) Doug Henning was born on May 3, 1947 in Fort Garry, Manitoba, Canada. He walked through a brick wall, made an elephant disappear and switched places with a person who was locked inside a trunk. He is credited with reviving the magic show as a form of mass Upon graduating with a psychology degree in McMaster University in 1971, Henning and then-girlfriend Marsden Barrick performed as Henning and Mars at Yorkville coffeehouses, a military base near the North Pole, LAs famed Magic Castle, and on a 1972 episode of the CBCs Telescope program. WebThe magician Doug Henning died at the age of 52. Share the best GIFs now >>> In the studio with us are two of the trick tables. Its from the master thief. I whispered, "I know you. His story about the burglar and the safe is as much about what he doesnt say as what he does. Id be remiss in not mentioning that yesterday, March 24th, was Harry Houdinis 147th birthday. Ran for the House of Commons in Canada as a candidate for the fringe ''He was a kind of Peter Pan,'' Mr. Willmarth told The Associated Press, ''who led magic away from the tuxedo approach.''. My secret, he says, is that I keep a messy notebook. It was supposed to last six months; Steinmeyer kept the gig seven years before moving on to Disney Imagineering. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. In each case, he stunned audiences with a seemingly impossible array of disappearing assistants and levitating ladies. I was a 13-year-old kid who just lost a father And it was like another door opening on an interest I already had, and opening in some bigger, grander way., In the following years, Steinmeyer dropped his own act; what he really loved, he realized, was conceiving ambitious illusionsthe flashbulb of an idea popping inside his head, the mental calisthenics of how it might work, the sketching and spitballing. What I call illusion magic uses laws of science and nature that are already known. We've received your submission. I nod. Doug and Debbie Houdini Plaza 1986 Performance, Close Encounters of the Doug Kind: Part Three, Nathan Lane Discussing "Merlin" on Playbill.com, Remodeled James Earl Jones (Cort) Theatre Interior, Follow THE DOUG HENNING PROJECT on WordPress.com. A full body orgasm at the L.A. Phil? Im sitting in Steinmeyers studio in Burbank, California. Steinmeyers older brother, Harry, nine years his senior, had a drawerful of abandoned magic props, and when Jim was about six, he says, I found that drawer..
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