May 2, 2023, By A decade later, Henning was awarded a star on Canadas Walk of Fame a touching epilogue from a country that gave him so much, says McNally. Sign up for reopening news, announcements, and exclusive discounts on tickets to your favorite shows! The space is shrine to the history and craft of stage magic. As well, Debby starred in several summer theater musicals (including Fiddler on the Roof and Applause) and studied mime, jazz dance and singing. 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. Only when Steinmeyer finishes speaking do I realize weve barely moved from my starting point. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 3 May. I realize Steinmeyer has been trying to lead me to this point all along. Henning The result was The Magic Show, which lured mesmerized audiences to Broadway for 4 1/2 years and earned the young illusionist the first in a string of annual NBC television specials. 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. Thats what this has become, he says, lifting Albert into his lap. Magic is something that happens that appears to be impossible, he said in an interview with The Times. Theres the script where you ostensibly say whats happening, which is often a lie. Steinmeyer and I eventually wile away almost an hour analyzing the early-1900s illusion with the thief and the safe. 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. There are two walls of reference materials: books about magic, of course, but also books about furniture, graphic design, screenplays, and antique apparatus. 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. In the 80s Henning also created illusions for others, including Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire and the Toronto rock band Lighthouse. | My last day hanging around with him, I ask Steinmeyer straight up: How does the sawing-in-half trick work? Share the best GIFs now >>> The secret of magic is not knowledge, its feeling. WebThe ever-magical Doug Henning My wife refused to let me bring this poster home. If it didnt, it wouldnt be a trick, it would be reality.. WebHis real name: Birth name of Doug Henning is Douglas James Henning Is Doug Henning still alive? Coincidentally, Id seen that exact trick at the Magic Castle the night before. Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. Its a mind-reading trick, but instead of the magician playing the part of the clairvoyant, its the third-party burglar. He admires a trick well done. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. His wife, Deborah, was at his side, Reuters reported. He was 52 years old when he died. It still coaxes grasps from a crowd. 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. Davis' Death of a Salesman co-star Wendell Pierce hosted a screening and talkback for the new film. Doug was a guest and entertainer and Debby was a volunteer worker. Doug Henning was born on May 3, 1947 in Fort Garry, Manitoba, Canada as Douglas James Henning. Which Celebrities Still Have Twitter Checkmarks? He was a writer and actor, known for. Mr. Henning was one of the supporters of a $1 billion theme park, Veda Land, proposed for the Niagara Falls area. Henning left the magic business in 1986. My heart was racing. Witnesses offer conflicting accounts, Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. In fact, the script sucked and the characters were mostly uninteresting. At the height of his popularity in 1987, Henning dropped out. from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Art and Science in New York where she majored in painting, graphics and video art. Ive spent my time learning new card tricks and entertaining all the kids in the mountains. The people are so pure. If I produce a 450-pound Bengal tiger, its going to create a lot more wonder than if I produce a rabbit.. Steinmeyer went and saw a performance by George Goebel, a veteran magician with a grand-scale stage act. In 1975, Mr. Henning broke through to an even larger audience when he performed Houdini's ''Water Torture Escape'' on a live television special. Henning eventually bought a piece called Modern Art, an illusion in which the magician stands inside a frame and, when the frame is moves, is subsequently split in halftheir legs stay in place while their torso and head slide with the frame. See the article in its original context from. When their mother was diagnosed with cancer, he spent several months caring for her in Toronto. It made me think about magic in a different way, Ramon says, I was just a performer. 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. It usually involves revision upon revision, sometimes over several years. Doug Henning . DOUG Henning the hippie magician who wowed the world with his amazing illusions on TV and on Broadway has died at the age of 52. Two pages depict a giant industrial fanclearly an illusion in which the performer passes unharmed through the spinning bladesbut many of the others are impenetrable. Also, what I, After Falling Under the Spell of Wife Debby, Doug Henning Hopes to Charm Broadway Again (Part.3) He stuck with magic. But after some back and forth, he had agreed to let me inside his world under an ill-defined agreement to stick to the basic principles of building magic tricks. Henning, the man who performed Harry Houdinis legendary water torture escape on national television before a live audience and later became a spokesman for the spiritual leader Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, died of liver cancer Monday in Los Angeles. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. To prepare for his career, Henning studied psychology in college, to learn more about the human mind and perception. He was previously married to Debby Douillard and Barbara De Angelis. I nod. "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." "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.". He is survived by his wife and former assistant, Debby. He abandoned his illusion magic for what he saw as real magic--the transcendental meditation and levitation ability of his friend and guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, with whom he began to study in the early 1970s. 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 Resting along an opposite wall is a pair of tables used in the iconic sawing-the-assistant-in-half illusion, as well as a locked chest for mind-reading tricks, a cylindrical phantom tube used for optical illusions, and a foam-core model of the magic table he created for Disneys latest stage rendition of Mary Poppins. Harry taught Jim it was about more than propsyou had to engage the audience with a storyand between this tutelage and the television and Chicagos booming local magic scene, a fascination took hold. I ask where his ideas come from. Real magic uses laws that havent yet been discovered.. Some of these tell-alls have existed for generations. 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. Every trick has a flaw, he says. 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. Every magician thats out there working today owes Doug Henning a great debt.. ), 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? ), He got his first professional job at 14, performing at a family friend's house. Theyve just saw the world together again and seem comfortable in their relationship. During the early days, he practised at home for hours, says his sister, Nancy Henning. 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. Debby Henning was the wife, assistant, business partner and muse to illusionist Doug Henning. For years and years, I avoidedI just thought it was presumptuous to say, Heres how you create things, he says. They havent been touched by cynicism. He also tried to help the maharishi develop a series of theme parks to be known as Vedaland with pavilions devoted to enlightenment and transcendental meditation--first in India, then in Orlando, Fla., then in Niagara Falls, Canada. Discover Doug Henning's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. The cause was liver cancer, according to The Associated Press. Steinmeyer helped Ramon create what has become a signature part of his act. Known for his curly locks and crooked smile, Mr. Henning was a familiar face on TV in the 1970s and early 1980s, and was the star of Broadway's The Magic Show (with a score by Stephen Schwartz), Merlin with Chita Rivera (and a score by Elmer Bernstein) and Doug Henning's World of Magic. '', After his success with ''The Magic Show'' and on television, Mr. Henning returned to Broadway twice, in the 1983 musical ''Merlin,'' and in a 1984 solo show, ''Doug Henning and His World of Magic.''. presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution In the Close-Up Gallery, Tom Craven peppers his card, rope, and metal-ring tricks with a stream of old-world patter. Had he lived, Henning would have surely become an elder statesman of magic, McNally says, one who would have consulted for other performers, possibly work on effects for movies and TV shows (or) lectured., Like the world of illusion, Hennings life had been full of possibility. I asked one of his crew after the show if I might meet Doug and get his autograph. entertainment in the 1970s and popularizing it on television. As happened with ''The Magic Show,'' the musical portion of the show received poor marks while Mr. Henning's ingenuity was hailed. But heres a list of everything inside.. Steinmeyer has invented card tricks and box tricks and levitation tricks and ESP tricks and every other imaginable kind of theatrical deception, then some you couldnt imagine, and all this for the biggest names in entertainment, including Orson Welles, Siegfried & Roy, Doug Henning, and Ricky Jay. Though the assistants silhouette appears at first to be human, it turns out to be Ramons dog. I always hate reading that stuff.. (December 6, 1981 - February 7, 2000) (his death), View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro. 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. 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. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Neil McNally and The Doug Henning Project with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. We've received your submission. He was married to Debby Douillard and Barbara De Angelis. Magic was Dougs passion and his life., Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. Born May 3, 1947 You need to know the mechanisms of these tricks to avoid being taken in. The family moved to Oakville when Henning was in his early teens, and in 1969, he lived in a third-floor apartment at 94 Winchester St. in Cabbagetown, where a plaque now commemorates his life as a magician, teacher and politician. When I was working in Walt Disney World EPCOT ( good friend Bev Bergeron invited Wife and self to come to WDW)- in the 80'90's my Mgr. Doug Henning was previously married to Barbara DeAngelis, a self-help author. To order copies of Because Zig Zag was so fresh in the 70s, things that felt like that were attractive.. View popular celebrities life details, birth signs and real ages. He vanished and gradually restored on stagefrom veins, to nervous system, to skinthe titular character of The Invisible Man. 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. WebThe magician Doug Henning died at the age of 52. Reworked and retitled The Magic Show, it opened in 1974 at the Cort Theatre and enjoyed a four-year-run. He reveled in the intricacies of itthe different historical accounts, Charles Morritts possible motives, all the potential explanations. 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. 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 relies on both meticulous design and well-suited performers to construct tricks. Of course, Im still hoping hell decide to lift the lid on his more guarded secrets, and Im alive to the fact that Im sitting in the room where much of his classified material is hiding in plain sight. Then we cross their yard to his studio followed by Albert, their doddering but ebullient 13-year-old dachshund. If a magician cant conceal this secret, the trick is worthless. From the mid-70s to the early 80s, Toronto-raised master illusionist and escape artist Doug Henning was inescapable. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? After this, there was no looking back for Doug, says McNally. What Shows Have Been Renewed or Canceled? I mention this to Steinmeyer on the drive backhed been in his meeting for the durationand he nods. Doug Henning (1981 - 2000) his death. Its also, The date was October 9th, 1985. I remember thinking that was a really good idea, but I had no use for it at the time, Steinmeyer says. A writer and Jims bounty: a P&L Change Bag (turn one item into another, or pull something from an empty bag), an Ireland set of cup and balls, and a collection of mystifying instruction books. But the boy was more interested in sports and then began premed studies and earned a psychology degree at Canadas McMaster University. Doug Henning (Douglas James Henning) was born on 3 May, 1947 in Fort Garry, Manitoba, Canada, is a Writer, Actor, Soundtrack. 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. Lets deconstruct it.. Logan Culwell-Block He later put an advertisement in a local newspaper reading: ''Magician: Have Rabbit, Will Travel. Andrew Gans Some days Steinmeyer is a mechanical engineer, building scale models with foam core, mirrors, and toothpicks; others, hes a historian and detective, reconstructing old tricks; still others, hes a graphic designer drawing up informal blueprints, or a playwright developing scripts to go with his illusions. Where was it taken you ask? Something bigger is happening, Steinmeyer says. A lot of people lose that. Tony-Nominated Magician Doug Henning is Dead at 52, Magician Doug Henning, who popularized magic and illusion on Broadway in such shows as, Glenn Davis and Chris Perfetti Star in Rajiv Joseph's, 2023 Tony Awards Nominations Announced May 2, Olivia Valli and Celia Hottenstein Are New Leads in National Tour of, Joy Woods Returns to Skid Row as Audrey May 2 in Off-Broadway's, Broadway Eatery Glass House Tavern Targeted With Negative Reviews Following Dispute With Pedicab Drivers. 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 illusions, died on Monday in Los Angeles. Henning liked the way it spun off a trick called The Zig Zag Girl, in which the performer divides an assistant into thirds. Henning said his goal was to help audiences recapture a childlike sense of wonder. This was after a show they did at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, Texas, outside the stage door. Doug Henning was born on 3 May 1947 in Fort Garry, Manitoba, Canada. WebMini Bio (1) Doug Henning was born on May 3, 1947 in Fort Garry, Manitoba, Canada. Shackled hand and foot and encased underwater in a steel canister, he broke free in under a minute, emerging wet and beaming. He felt he had achieved his goals in performing and he wanted to move along to other challenges, says Nancy. Before long, he developed what was known as a medicine pitch act, in which he played an old-timey snake-oil salesman and incorporated tricks into demonstrating his various cures. TV magician and escape artist who brought Merlin to Broadway and became known for his groovy mustache and rainbow-colored clothes. We say hello to Steinmeyers wife, television producer Frankie Glass, whose many documentary credits include Ancient Aliens and a series called History vs. Hollywood. 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.. Actor: The Magic Show. Each illusion involves close collaboration with the builder and the performerSteinmeyers client. No, he died on 02/07/2000, 23 years ago. May 2, 2023, By Thanks for contacting us. Some of the more recent ones Steinmeyer wrote himself. 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. Encouraged students of magic to make their own props and equipment, and not rely on ready-made magic kits. The escape literally made him the worlds most famous magician (overnight). He walked through a brick wall, made an elephant disappear and switched places with a person who was locked inside a trunk. He was the face of magic, McNally says. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. While attending elementary school in suburban Chicago, he went home every day for lunch, flipped on the TV, and watched Bozos Circus, a variety show sometimes featuring touring magicians. The energy ramps up once the doors open, the dressed-up crowd rolls in, and the performances start. | He is credited with reviving the magic show as a form of mass These positions had their rewards, he says, but he struggled with the compromises that come with corporate productions. 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. During the evening on my second day in Hollywood, Steinmeyer drives me to the Magic Castle. As we walk through his home, posters of great magicians past stand guard along the walls. People call out to performers, laugh, slap shoulders, and scream with surprise and wonder. The standing-room-only shows caught the attention of NBC, which signed him up to do a special, The World of Magic, in which he recreated Harry Houdinis breathtaking Water Torture Escape trick. I cannot imagine why.Sideshow Gathering 2010 Debby also married Mexican artist Jose Carcamo, whom she divorced in 1980. The thing about the Magic Castle and places like it, when youre there in the right size theater, the intimacy is just completely amazing. Superstar magician Doug Henning led a wild life | The Star Major General Dany Fortin, military officer acquitted of sexual assault, sues government, PM for $6M 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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