Jean Hugard
Encyclopedia
History
Hugard was born John Gerard Rodney Boyce in Toowoomba, QueenslandQueensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. He was a masterful performer and one of the twentieth century's most gifted writers on magic. Through his writing he brought the literature of magic up to a new, professional level.
Over the course of his life he performed as Oscar Kellmann, Chin Sun Loo, Ching Ling Foo, and Jean Hugarde. He was inspired in 1880 seeing a Haselmayer show. He eventually began his professional career in 1896.
One of his full evening shows presented on tour in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
was a silent Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
act. He also was known for his bullet catch
Bullet catch
The bullet catch is a conjuring illusion in which a magician appears to catch a bullet fired directly at him—often in his mouth, sometimes in his hand or caught with other items such as a dinner plate...
routine he called "The Great Rifle Feat". He was the first to present it with modern day guns at the time.
In 1915, he moved to USA and worked in vaudeville from 1916 until 1918. One of his feature attractions then was "Birth of the Sea Nymph."
He owned and performed in a magic theater in Luna Park
Luna Park, Coney Island
Luna Park was an amusement park at Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City from 1903 to 1944. A second Luna Park was opened on the former site of the nearby Astroland amusement park...
(at Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
) from 1919-1929. He also appeared in a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
Show in 1928 at the Forrest Theater called "The Squealer."
When he retired from performing, he moved to Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
to write and edit magic publications. He wrote more than 30 books on magic. The death of John Northern Hilliard
John Northern Hilliard
John Northern Hilliard was the author of a best-selling book on magic, Greater Magic....
, who had written only the first chapter of his Greater Magic, a lot of manuscript was left to be completed. Carl Waring Jones, who had contracted for its publication, hired Jean Hugard in 1938 to complete and enlarge the text to over 1,000 pages. The book went on to become a standard textbook of magic, which author Henry Hay called "one of the best and largest books ever written about magic."
He was editor of Hugard's Magic Monthly starting in 1943. He was also named the fourth ever Society of American Magicians
Society of American Magicians
The Society of American Magicians is the oldest fraternal magic organization in the world. Its purpose is "to advance, elevate, and preserve magic as a performing art, to promote harmonious fellowship throughout the world of magic, and to maintain and improve ethical standards in the field of...
- Dean of Magicians in 1951. Near the end of his life, Hugard was blind, having lost the sight of both eyes following operations for the removal of cataracts. In spite of this handicap he continued to work in the magic field at his home in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, NY.
Published works
- Encyclopedia of Card Tricks (with J.J. Crimmins)
- Card Manipulations N° 1 & 2 (1933)
- Card Manipulations N° 3 (1934)
- Card Manipulations N° 4 (1935)
- Mental Magic with Cards (1935)
- Coin Magic (1935)
- Card Manipulations N° 5 (1936)
- Thimble Magic (1936)
- Encyclopedia of Card Tricks (1937)
- Money Magic (1937)
- Silken Sorcery (1937)
- Close-up Magic (1938)
- More Card Manipulations N° 1 (1938)
- More Card Manipulations N° 2 (1939)
- Modern Magic Manual (1939)
- More Card manipualtions N° 3 (1940)
- More Card manipulations N° 4 (1941)
- Sealed Mysteries of Pocket Magic (1943)
- Expert Card Technique (1940) (with Frederick BraueFrederick BraueFrederick Braue [pronounced BROW-ee] was an American journalist by profession and noted for his contribution to the field of card magic. He was a semi-professional magician, specialized in card magic of which he was a master....
) - The Stripper Deck - Miracle Methods No. 1 (1941) (with Frederick Braue)
- Miracle Shuffles and Tricks - Miracle Methods No. 2 (1942) (with Frederick Braue)
- Prepared Cards and Accessories - Miracle Methods No. 3 (1942) (with Frederick Braue)
- Tricks and Sleights - Miracle Methods No. 4 (1943) (with Frederick Braue)
- The Invisible Pass (1946) (with Frederick Braue)
- Show Stoppers with Cards (1948) (with Frederick Braue)
- Royal Road to Card Magic (1948) (with Frederick Braue)
- Houdini's Unmasking (1957)
Awards and honors
- Selected to the Society of American MagiciansSociety of American MagiciansThe Society of American Magicians is the oldest fraternal magic organization in the world. Its purpose is "to advance, elevate, and preserve magic as a performing art, to promote harmonious fellowship throughout the world of magic, and to maintain and improve ethical standards in the field of...
Hall of Fame. - Magic Circle's highest award, the Silver Wand
- "Milbourne Christopher Award," a plaque that Walt Rollins gave each year in the memory of his son Chipper, to the magician who has done most in the advancement of "brotherly love."
- International Brotherhood of MagiciansInternational Brotherhood of MagiciansInternational Brotherhood of Magicians is the world's largest organization for professional and amateur magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St...
Ring 136 (Brisbane, Australia) is named in his honor. - International Brotherhood of MagiciansInternational Brotherhood of MagiciansInternational Brotherhood of Magicians is the world's largest organization for professional and amateur magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St...
honorary life member