Brother John Charles Hamman S.M. (September 3, 1927–December 5, 2000) was a Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 Marianist Brother and professional close-up magician. The tricks he invented are still an integral part of many close-up magician's repertoire.

Br. Hamman was world renowned in the magic community. His initial interest in the art started as a child. As he recuperated from polio, he spent hours learning, practicing and inventing card tricks and other magic involving sleight-of-hand. In many cases, he accidentally "reinvented" classic maneuvers or streamlined them. He was a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians

International Brotherhood of Magicians

International 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...

, the Catholic Magicians' Guild and the 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...

.

His Magic

Br. Hamman created more than 100 card magic tricks throughout his career. Among the many tricks he invented, Br. Hamman is most known for the Hamman Count, a sleight-of-hand in which cards are falsely counted to give the impression that the magician holds more, or less, than he actually does.

He authored many books and videos on magic and was invited to many local, national and international level (including FISM) magician gatherings to display his prowess and ability with cards.

In 1995, Br. Hamman was the first living magician to be honored during the first St. Louis Magical Heritage Awards, the "Hall of Fame" for local magicians. Professional magicians referred to Br. Hamman as the "Magical Marianist". In his acceptance speech, he explained the key to a successful magic performance:
His first major publication was "The Card Magic of Bro. John Hamman, S.M.," published by Paul LePaul

Paul LePaul

Paul LePaul was born Paul Shields Braden in Olney, Illinois. He grew up in St. Louis, Mo.He started his professional career around 1920, doing a manipulative act entirely with playing cards. He adopted the name LePaul around 1927. LePaul made his New York vaudeville appearance in July 1928 at the...

 in 1958. In his foreword, LePaul wrote,

Among magicians, Br. Hamman is still known as a Magician's Magician. The highest honor the magic community can bestow on one of its own, it refers to one's ability to amaze even fellow conjurers. Despite this, his first love was doing magic for his students.

Br. Hamman was also a skilled Gospel Magic

Gospel Magic

Gospel magic is the use of otherwise standard stage magic tricks and illusions to promote Christian messages. Gospel Magic does not claim to invoke spirits or paranormal powers....

ian. He frequently used his magic to teach some important aspect of Catholic catechism

Catechism

A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...

 to his students.

Personal life

Br. Hamman was born in St. Louis, Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, to Godfrey and Olivia (née Ruoff) Hamman. He was one of two boys and a girl. The Loretto Sisters and St. Joseph Sisters taught him at St. Luke and St. Rose grade schools before he entered McBride High School in September, 1941. Influenced by Fr. John G. Leies and by his older brother Donald, who was already a Marianist candidate, the young John became a postulant

Postulant

A postulant was originally one who makes a request or demand; hence, a candidate. The use of the term is now generally restricted to those asking for admission into a monastery or a convent, both before actual admission and for the length of time preceding their admission into the novitiate...

 at Maryhurst in 1942. He pronounced first vows at Marynook in Galesville, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, on August 15, 1945, and final vows on July 10, 1951. In 1995 he celebrated the 50th anniversary of his religious profession as a Marianist.

Br. Hamman earned a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Dayton

University of Dayton

The University of Dayton is a private Roman Catholic university operated by the Society of Mary located in Dayton, Ohio...

 in 1948 and an M.A. in English from St. Louis University in 1963. In the fall of 1948 he began his teaching career at Central Catholic Marianist High School

Central Catholic Marianist High School

Central Catholic High School, is a Catholic, all-male, non-boarding college preparatory school located in downtown San Antonio, Texas, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio.-History:...

 in San Antonio where he taught English. A year later he was assigned to St. Michael's High School

St. Michael's High School

St. Michael's High School is a private Catholic junior/senior high school located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the state capital of New Mexico. It is privately run under the auspices of the international Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, better known as the De La Salle Christian...

 in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 where he stayed for two and a half years. In January, 1952 he was assigned to DeAndreis High School in St. Louis for the spring semester. Following this brief assignment, Brother John went to Coyle High School in August, 1952. Shortly thereafter, in October of the same year, he was diagnosed with a severe case of polio. He spent two years at Maryhurst recuperating.

Due to his illness, Br. Hamman was only able to teach on a limited schedule. He was assigned to St. Mary's High School in 1954. After seven years, he returned to Central Catholic High School for a year before going to St. John Vianney High School

St. John Vianney High School (Kirkwood, Missouri)

St. John Vianney High School is a private, all male, Catholic college preparatory high school located in Kirkwood, Missouri. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis. The school was founded by the Society of Mary , a religious order of priests and brothers who continue to...

 in 1965. He was able to continue teaching there until he retired in 1986. Due to declining health and congestive heart failure

Congestive heart failure

Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...

, he was assigned to the Marianist Residence in San Antonio in 1995.

As a child and young man, Br. Hamman had always been a good athlete. His spirit, his faith in Christ, his determination and his dedication to children and teaching inspired him to persevere. In addition to being a world-class magician, a scholar and an athlete, he was also a talented artist and used his skills in his schools' yearbooks.

Death

Br. John Hamman died on December 5, 2000 at the St. Joseph Healthcare Center in San Antonio, Texas. He was 73 years old. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Saturday, December 9, 2000. He is interred in the Marianist Cemetery on the campus of St. Mary's University

St. Mary's University, Texas

St. Mary's University is a Catholic and Marianist liberal arts institution located on northwest of downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. St. Mary’s is a nationally recognized master’s level school ranked among the top colleges in the west for best value and academic reputation by U.S. News...

 in San Antonio.

Videography

• The Lost Works of Bro. John Hamman; this six-DVD set covers 97 Hamman effects. They were not shot, nor were designed, as demonstrations per se. Rather, the video was shot as a kind of video notebook for Richard Kaufman. Many of the effects shown on the DVDs were written up in Kaufman's book, "The Secrets of Brother John Hamman." The DVDs are still commercially available from Houdini's Magic in Las Vegas.

Famous Quotes

• "Magic happens not in the hands of the performer, but in the minds of the spectators." - From the Introduction, The Secrets of Brother John Hamman

Original Magic Tricks

• 1-2-3-4 Ascanio
• 1-2-3-4 Mates
• 12345 Peek Thought
• Acey-Deucy
• Adventures of the Spotted
• Alternative triplet
• Amorphous Ace, The
• Axes and Jaxes, The
• Billy the Kid
• Blind Chance
• Blushing Joker
• Chameleon Blues
• Chinese Shuffle
• Computer Deck
• Cream Rises to the Top
• Deck in Parvo
• Devilish Miracle Retold
• Diminishing Card to Dollar
• Disobedient Cards, The
• Do as I Do Aces
• Double Take
• Double-Deal Aces
• Double-Deal Vanish
• Eight Ball Queens
• Fabulous Expanding Card
• False Witness, The
• Fan-to-See
• Final Aces
• Five Kings Royal
• Flash Poker
• Flight of Four
• Flip Flop Aces
• Four Pocket Mirror
• Four-tunate Choice
• Go Fish
• Hal-Deuce-Ination
• Hamman Count
• Hippity-Hop Kings
• Homing Card, The
• Homing Card to Ter-ick-ific
• Houdini Escapes
• Interplay
• Invisible Card, The
• Jacks Come Back, The
• Kings Through The Table
• Knavish Deuces, The
• Ladies Man, The
• Liar's Lie
• Lie Detector Case, The
• Lolopolooza Hand, The
• Magic Box
• Magic Cards, The
• Magician Matches Spectator
• Magician Over Gambler
• Marx Brothers, The
• Micro-Macro
• Multiplying Kings, The
• My Lucky Day
• Mystic Nine, The
• Old Classic, The
• Opposite Pockets
• Out of Print
• Peek Look Think
• Pesky Card, The
• Phoenix Four
• Pickpocket
• Pinochle Trick, The
• Poker Palm Shift
• Queens and Nines
• Revenge on the Pink Panthers
• Rook's Tour
• Routines with Queens and Nines
• Royal Gambol
• Runic Nines
• Sealed-Room Mystery
• Second Deal
• Seeing with the Fingertips
• Seven O'clock Trick
• Seven, The
• Signed Card, The
• Skipping Jacks
• Spectator Outdeals
• Magician…Almost
• Stun-sational
• Tell-Tale Tongue
• Thought Card in Case
• Thought Cards Across
• Three Guesses
• Thunderstruck
• Transparent Cards
• Triple Cross
• Triple Match
• Twins, The
• Twisting Revisited
• Two-Card Trick, The
• Two-Shuffles Harry
• Underground Transposition
• Universal Card
• Up the Down Sleeve
• Vanishing Cream
• Watch me like a Hawk
• What and Where Test
• Wild all the Way
• Wild Card
• Zarrow shuffle
  Zarrow shuffle
  Zarrow shuffle is a sleight of hand technique that gives the appearance of being a normal riffle shuffle, but in fact leaves the cards in exactly the same order. This is an example of a false shuffle. It was invented by magician Herb Zarrow circa 1940....
  
  (Hamman's Version)