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[[File: JNHilliard.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ John Northern Hilliard]]]]


[[File: WillGoldston1.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Will Goldston]]]]
'''John Northern Hilliard''' (1872 - 1935) was a Rochester newspaper man  and clever amateur magician.
 
'''Will Goldston''' (b.1877-d.1948), was originally a stage magician then became a magic dealer, publisher, agent and author.


== 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.
Hilliard was dramatic critic with The Chicago Herald and later on the staff of The Rochester (N. Y.) Post Express. After moving to New York, he met [[Howard Thurston]] while a reporter on The New York World and became interested in magic. John was credited with securing the master magician with his first engagement on the stage. Several years later Thurston induced Hilliard to give up his newspaper work and become his personal representative.
 
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.
 
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.


In 1902 he married Leah Halter, who performed as Leah Laurie and later as [[La Devo]].
With the urging of [[Floyd G. Thayer]], John starting writing for [[Thayer's Magical Bulletin]] magazine. In 1925, Hilliard became an advance man for The Thurston show. During this time he accumulated notes on what he was learning about magic. In 1932, Carl Waring Jones urged him to turn his notes into a book, offering to publish it. But Hilliard suddenly died of a heart attack in 1935 while in a hotel room in Indianapolis.


[[Will Goldston|Read more about Will Goldston...]]
[[John Northern Hilliard|Read more about John Northern Hilliard…]]

Latest revision as of 10:23, 20 February 2026

Previous featured articles are located in Category:Featured Article

Proposed candidates are listed in Category:Featured Article Candidate

John Northern Hilliard (1872 - 1935) was a Rochester newspaper man and clever amateur magician.

Biography

Hilliard was dramatic critic with The Chicago Herald and later on the staff of The Rochester (N. Y.) Post Express. After moving to New York, he met Howard Thurston while a reporter on The New York World and became interested in magic. John was credited with securing the master magician with his first engagement on the stage. Several years later Thurston induced Hilliard to give up his newspaper work and become his personal representative.

With the urging of Floyd G. Thayer, John starting writing for Thayer's Magical Bulletin magazine. In 1925, Hilliard became an advance man for The Thurston show. During this time he accumulated notes on what he was learning about magic. In 1932, Carl Waring Jones urged him to turn his notes into a book, offering to publish it. But Hilliard suddenly died of a heart attack in 1935 while in a hotel room in Indianapolis.

Read more about John Northern Hilliard…