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[[File: WillGoldston1.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Will Goldston]]]]
[[File: RichiardJr1.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Richiardi Jr.]]]]


'''Will Goldston''' (b.1877-d.1948), was originally a stage magician then became a magic dealer, publisher, agent and author.
'''Aldo Richiardi Jr.''' (b.1923-d.1985), also billed under just the family name [[Richiardi]], was born Aldo Izquierdo Colosi in Peru.  


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
After years of conjecture about Goldston's place and time of birth, research by [[Fergus Roy]] found Goldston's birth certificate, showing that he was born in Liverpool, England.


Goldston became interested in the subject of magic at the age of eleven. Originally employed as a dental technician this did not last long and at the age of sixteen he made his professional debut as a magician. Using the stage name of [[Carl Devo]]. At the age of twenty-one he was topping the bill at provincial theatres with his [[Black art]] act.
He came from a line of magicians. His father was the magician [[Ricardo Richiardi]] and his grandfather was a magician who toured South America and was the first to use the "Richiardi" name.
Richiardi began performing as an assistant to his father, but had no intention of becoming the third generation magician. He wanted to become a doctor instead. After his father's death in the United States, he saved up enough money to move back home to Argentina (where most of his father's illusions were stored). He attended military school and studied singing and dancing. He was also an amateur bullfighter.  


In 1900 Goldston and his younger brother, [[James Mayer Goldston]] a.k.a. Mayer James Goldston, ran the [["Mahatma" Magical Co.]] in Liverpool. Goldston sold the business, as well as his magazine, [[Magician Monthly]] to [[A.W. Gamage]] at the end of 1904. Mayer James, also a magician, professionally known as [[Mokana]], died a year later in the January of 1905, aged 23 years, of malarial fever in Calcutta while touring India with the Coronation Circus. [[Mokana]] is attributed to inventing the hollowed out shoe heel that swivels to reveal a secret space.
By 1943, wanting to carry on the family tradition, he began performing as "Richiardi Jr." in Argentina, later billing himself as "the youngest illusionist in the world".


In 1902 he married Leah Halter, who performed as Leah Laurie and later as [[La Devo]].
He was a frequent performer on the [[Ed Sullivan Show]] and appeared in a number of TV variety shows including "Witness the Impossible" and  NBC's "Magic of the Stars." In 1980, he taped a cable TV special "Richiardi's Chamber of Horrors," hosted by Vincent Price.


[[Will Goldston|Read more about Will Goldston...]]
Some of his signature routines were actually his takes on much older effects. The Rice & Water was always the opener to his show. It was the first trick he ever performed for a LIVE audience at the age of 4 in his father's show. It was his good luck charm. His presentation for the Broom Suspension is still one of the greatest routines in illusion magic. His breathtaking handling during his Aga Levitation is another triumph. One of his most often talked about routines, The Buzz Saw in which he cut his daughter in half with a large circular saw was actually an adaptation of the routine used by his father's former employer Richardine Sr.
 
[[Richiardi Jr.|Read more about Richiardi Jr....]]

Revision as of 15:40, 18 May 2025

Previous featured articles are located in Category:Featured Article Proposed candidates are listed in Category:Featured Article Candidate


Aldo Richiardi Jr. (b.1923-d.1985), also billed under just the family name Richiardi, was born Aldo Izquierdo Colosi in Peru.

Biography

He came from a line of magicians. His father was the magician Ricardo Richiardi and his grandfather was a magician who toured South America and was the first to use the "Richiardi" name. Richiardi began performing as an assistant to his father, but had no intention of becoming the third generation magician. He wanted to become a doctor instead. After his father's death in the United States, he saved up enough money to move back home to Argentina (where most of his father's illusions were stored). He attended military school and studied singing and dancing. He was also an amateur bullfighter.

By 1943, wanting to carry on the family tradition, he began performing as "Richiardi Jr." in Argentina, later billing himself as "the youngest illusionist in the world".

He was a frequent performer on the Ed Sullivan Show and appeared in a number of TV variety shows including "Witness the Impossible" and NBC's "Magic of the Stars." In 1980, he taped a cable TV special "Richiardi's Chamber of Horrors," hosted by Vincent Price.

Some of his signature routines were actually his takes on much older effects. The Rice & Water was always the opener to his show. It was the first trick he ever performed for a LIVE audience at the age of 4 in his father's show. It was his good luck charm. His presentation for the Broom Suspension is still one of the greatest routines in illusion magic. His breathtaking handling during his Aga Levitation is another triumph. One of his most often talked about routines, The Buzz Saw in which he cut his daughter in half with a large circular saw was actually an adaptation of the routine used by his father's former employer Richardine Sr.

Read more about Richiardi Jr....