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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…

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-[[File: LeonMandrake1.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Leon Mandrake]]]]
+[[File: JNHilliard.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ John Northern Hilliard]]]]
-'''Leon Mandrake''' (b.1911–d.1993) was an Italian-American magician, mentalist, illusionist, escapologist, ventriloquist and stunt performer known worldwide as "Mandrake the Magician".
+'''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.
-He began his magic career in 1922 performing a magic act in [[vaudeville]], in New Westminster, British Columbia. He later joined the [[Ralph Richards]] touring Magic show in 1927. In the late 1930s, he toured extensively in the U.S. with his full-evening show, with great success. He was conjurer, illusionist, mentalist, manipulator, ventriloquist and sometimes fire eater. The title character in the comic strip, [[Mandrake the Magician]], was said to be drawn to resemble him. Additionally the comic strip featured a character named Narda, the name of Leon's first wife. He toured Universities in his later career and received a Performing Fellowship from the [[Academy of Magical Arts]] in Hollywood in 1978, along with his wife and partner, Velvet.
+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.
-Born April 11, 1911 in Washington state, Mandrake was very young when his mother brought him to New Westminster, British Columbia on the West Coast of Canada to live with his aunt Mildred. As a child, he watched magicians at the local Edison Theatre and attended circus shows at the Pacific National Exhibition.
-He studied the great vaudeville magicians when they came to town. One year he was given the props and costumes of a magician who had left the show. He soon learned to perform magic acts from some of the greats of that time, such as [[Howard Thurston]], [[Alexander]] (The Man Who Knows), [[Chefalo]], [[Doc Verge]], [[Ralph Richards ]](The Wizard) and [[Bannister]].
-In 1922, at 11 years old, he began his magic career giving vaudeville performances in New Westminster, British Columbia. He took the stage as one of the vaudeville acts of the Edison Theater in New Westminster. In 1925, at 14 years old, he performed at the Moyer's Carnival for the Pacific National Exhibition. By this time, he learned fire-eating, mind-reading and ventriloquism. In 1927, at 16 years old, he joined the Ralph Richards touring magic show for 6 months, traveling across North America until the tour ended in Winnipeg, Manitoba. By the 1930s, he traveled with his own magic show.
-[[Leon Mandrake|Read more about Leon Mandrake....]]
+[[John Northern Hilliard|Read more about John Northern Hilliard…]]

Magicpedia:Today's featured article: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 10:23, 20 February 2026

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