The Pendragons
Encyclopedia
Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon were an award-winning husband-and-wife team of American
illusionists who called their work "physical grand illusion". They are widely known thanks to numerous national and international television appearances.
, where Jonathan was studying theatre and Charlotte was studying dance under choreographers Eugene Loring
and George Balanchine
. They married soon after. Charlotte (born Charlotte Ann Brown) is a dancer and former gymnast and body builder. Jonathan (born Claude Douglas Yarbrough) was a gymnast, spring board diver, martial arts expert and fencer. He used his athletic skills in a career as a Hollywood stuntman, performing the back hand springs for John Belushi down the church aisle in The Blues Brothers
. He became Belushi's stunt double and friend, coordinating stunts and second directing in the movie Continental Divide.
Jonathan and Charlotte's athletic skills allowed the pair to develop a distinctive and graceful take on classic illusions such as levitation. Their shows included a number of illusions with which they became particularly associated, including Interlude, in which a woman crawls through a man's chest. They were the first artists to perform this trick. They are noted for their version of Metamorphosis
. This illusion won them a place in the 50th edition of The Guinness Book of Records
, under the heading of the "Fastest Transformation Illusion". Another illusion was Clearly Impossible
, a sawing in half
trick designed by Jonathan. Its distinctive feature is a transparent box that allowed the audience to see Charlotte from head to toe throughout the trick.
In 1996, for the finale of the third of NBC's World's Greatest Magic
television specials, the duo made 25 show girls vanish and then re-appear in front of a live audience at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.
Until July 2009 the couple resided in San Luis Obispo County, California. On 8 July 2009 Jonathan/Claude was arrested for various alleged assault and firearms offences and placed in detention pending trial (see below). Charlotte has subsequently appeared as a solo magic act. She also has a new official website of her own (although, as of the time of writing, the couple's joint site was still live). Jonathan recently premiered his one-man show Metaphysics, an amalgam of mentalism and magic, at the Peller Theater in the Magic Castle, as well as theaters in Daytona and Orlando, Florida.
shows for NBC
, and Champions of Magic for ABC
. For PBS
television they performed with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
, presenting illusions to classical music. For Universal Studios
they wrote, directed and starred in a night-time magic spectacular, Cinemystique: Illusions of the Night which played to more than a million people. They were also frequently guests on programmes such as the Tonight Show with Jay Leno
and the Paul Daniels
Magic Show.
They performed at presidential galas for US presidents Bill Clinton
and George W Bush, including a performance for President Clinton at the Ford's Theater for an ABC TV Special. They were singled out for praise by President George W Bush at the end of a gala for him in June 2005.
In Britain they appeared at the Royal Variety Performance
. They also appeared in a televised Royal gala show in Monaco
, which included a collaboration with Princess Stéphanie
. Jonathan and Charlotte performed their Artist's Dream illusion, a vignette about an artist's wife dying and appearing as a ghost, which was accompanied by a song composed and sung by Princess Stephanie and dedicated to her late mother Princess Grace
. It was seen across the US as part of an ABC television special.
On 24 June 2008, the Pendragons appeared as contestants on NBC's
reality television
show, America's Got Talent
. They were sent on to the next stage in Las Vegas, Nevada
. However they were never selected nor seen to move on to the top 40
for creating their innovative show with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
.
Alongside director Norman Jewison
, Jonathan co-directed a segment for the movie Bogus starring Whoopi Goldberg
. He created and directed a levitation similar to the Pendragons' Midsummer's Night Dream levitation performed for Disney in Europe. He also directed second unit work for the movie Continental Divide.
(The Magic Castle) in the USA. Together The Pendragons have won the prestigious award twice, a feat that only four other living magicians have accomplished. In 1991, Charlotte Pendragon became the first woman to become a Member of the Inner Circle of the British conjuring society The Magic Circle
. Jonathan was chosen by Magic magazine, as one of ten living magicians whose work shaped magic in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Jonathan was honored by the Lab School
in Washington DC. Every year the school honors five distinguished individuals who have overcome a learning disability while growing up and gone on to accomplish great achievements in their fields. Other honorees include Cher and Tom Cruise.
Shortly after the accident, Charlotte Pendragon published and account of the event. She wrote, "Jonathan is in the hospital following an accident involving an arrow from his archery. He fell on the non-sharp broken end of the arrow while trying to hang a light fixture. The arrow pierced through his stomach, liver, an artery and several inches in his heart. It is through speed of hospitalization, modern surgical techniques and Jonathan's will to live that he continues with us today. His surgeon [...] said this injury is always fatal and it is a miracle Jonathan is alive. He is recovering well after several hours of surgery including open heart surgery."
Jonathan made a full recovery.
On 10 August 2009, TMZ reported that Pendragon was not able to attend his arraignment since he was confined in a medical facility on involuntary psychiatric hold
.
On 23 October 2009 at San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, Judge John Trice ruled that Claude Yarbrough must stand trial on felony charges of assault with a firearm, making criminal threats and other charges that could result in a decade in jail. On 9 March 2010, Jonathan Pendragon, pleaded no contest
to two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon as part of a plea bargain in which other charges were dropped. According to the District Attorney’s Office it was expected that he would be sentenced to a year in jail and face up to five-years of probation. At a sentencing hearing on 14 April 2010 he received five years probation but was released from custody having served 245 days in the county jail.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
illusionists who called their work "physical grand illusion". They are widely known thanks to numerous national and international television appearances.
Performing partnership
The couple met at the University of California, IrvineUniversity of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
, where Jonathan was studying theatre and Charlotte was studying dance under choreographers Eugene Loring
Eugene Loring
Eugene Loring American ballet and other dance-forms dancer, choreographer and teacher and administrator.-Biography:...
and George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
. They married soon after. Charlotte (born Charlotte Ann Brown) is a dancer and former gymnast and body builder. Jonathan (born Claude Douglas Yarbrough) was a gymnast, spring board diver, martial arts expert and fencer. He used his athletic skills in a career as a Hollywood stuntman, performing the back hand springs for John Belushi down the church aisle in The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers (film)
The Blues Brothers is a 1980 musical comedy film directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a musical sketch on the NBC variety series Saturday Night Live. It features musical numbers by R&B and soul singers James...
. He became Belushi's stunt double and friend, coordinating stunts and second directing in the movie Continental Divide.
Jonathan and Charlotte's athletic skills allowed the pair to develop a distinctive and graceful take on classic illusions such as levitation. Their shows included a number of illusions with which they became particularly associated, including Interlude, in which a woman crawls through a man's chest. They were the first artists to perform this trick. They are noted for their version of Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis (illusion)
Metamorphosis is the name of a stage illusion invented by John Nevil Maskelyne, but most often associated with famous escape artist Harry Houdini and performed to some renown by The Pendragons, among others...
. This illusion won them a place in the 50th edition of The Guinness Book of Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
, under the heading of the "Fastest Transformation Illusion". Another illusion was Clearly Impossible
Clearly Impossible
Clearly Impossible is a variation of the illusion sawing a woman in half devised by Jonathan Pendragon.-Description:The illusion is very similar in principle and performance to the older "Thin Model" versions of sawing a woman in half, with the exception that the boxes used to cover the assistant...
, a sawing in half
Sawing a woman in half
Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of different stage magic tricks in which a person is apparently sawn or divided into two or more pieces.-History:...
trick designed by Jonathan. Its distinctive feature is a transparent box that allowed the audience to see Charlotte from head to toe throughout the trick.
In 1996, for the finale of the third of NBC's World's Greatest Magic
The World's Greatest Magic
The World's Greatest Magic was a series of American television specials showcasing magic acts.The first of five shows was broadcast by NBC in 1994, and continued with annual editions through 1998. These shows were most often first telecast during the Thanksgiving holidays when special programming...
television specials, the duo made 25 show girls vanish and then re-appear in front of a live audience at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.
Until July 2009 the couple resided in San Luis Obispo County, California. On 8 July 2009 Jonathan/Claude was arrested for various alleged assault and firearms offences and placed in detention pending trial (see below). Charlotte has subsequently appeared as a solo magic act. She also has a new official website of her own (although, as of the time of writing, the couple's joint site was still live). Jonathan recently premiered his one-man show Metaphysics, an amalgam of mentalism and magic, at the Peller Theater in the Magic Castle, as well as theaters in Daytona and Orlando, Florida.
Notable appearances
The Pendragons appeared on television in more than 50 countries and starred in 14 primetime specials on US networks, including their own Night of Magic show for Disney, several World's Greatest MagicThe World's Greatest Magic
The World's Greatest Magic was a series of American television specials showcasing magic acts.The first of five shows was broadcast by NBC in 1994, and continued with annual editions through 1998. These shows were most often first telecast during the Thanksgiving holidays when special programming...
shows for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, and Champions of Magic for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. For PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
television they performed with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is a pops orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, founded in 1977 out of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Its members are also the members of the Cincinnati Symphony, and the Pops is managed by the same administration...
, presenting illusions to classical music. For Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
they wrote, directed and starred in a night-time magic spectacular, Cinemystique: Illusions of the Night which played to more than a million people. They were also frequently guests on programmes such as the Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
and the Paul Daniels
Paul Daniels
Paul Daniels, born Newton Edward Daniels on 6 April 1938, is a British magician and television performer. He achieved international fame through his television series The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which ran on the BBC from 1979 to 1994.-Early life:...
Magic Show.
They performed at presidential galas for US presidents Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and George W Bush, including a performance for President Clinton at the Ford's Theater for an ABC TV Special. They were singled out for praise by President George W Bush at the end of a gala for him in June 2005.
In Britain they appeared at the Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
. They also appeared in a televised Royal gala show in Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
, which included a collaboration with Princess Stéphanie
Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, Countess of Polignac is a member of the princely family of Monaco. She is the youngest child of Grace, Princess of Monaco and Rainier III of Monaco, and the sister of Albert II of Monaco and Princess Caroline...
. Jonathan and Charlotte performed their Artist's Dream illusion, a vignette about an artist's wife dying and appearing as a ghost, which was accompanied by a song composed and sung by Princess Stephanie and dedicated to her late mother Princess Grace
Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, Countess of Polignac is a member of the princely family of Monaco. She is the youngest child of Grace, Princess of Monaco and Rainier III of Monaco, and the sister of Albert II of Monaco and Princess Caroline...
. It was seen across the US as part of an ABC television special.
On 24 June 2008, the Pendragons appeared as contestants on NBC's
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show, America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
. They were sent on to the next stage in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. However they were never selected nor seen to move on to the top 40
Directing and production
Jonathan was involved at a production and direction level in many of the shows in which The Pendragons appeared and was jointly responsible with conductor Erich KunzelErich Kunzel
Erich Kunzel, Jr. was an American orchestra conductor. Called the "Prince of Pops" by the Chicago Tribune, he performed with a number of leading pops and symphony orchestras, especially the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra , which he led for over 44 years.-Early life and career:Kunzel was born to...
for creating their innovative show with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is a pops orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, founded in 1977 out of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Its members are also the members of the Cincinnati Symphony, and the Pops is managed by the same administration...
.
Alongside director Norman Jewison
Norman Jewison
Norman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...
, Jonathan co-directed a segment for the movie Bogus starring Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
. He created and directed a levitation similar to the Pendragons' Midsummer's Night Dream levitation performed for Disney in Europe. He also directed second unit work for the movie Continental Divide.
Awards and honours
Charlotte was the first woman to receive "The Magician of the Year Award" from the Academy of Magical ArtsAcademy of Magical Arts
The Academy of Magical Arts is a California non profit mutual benefit corporation organized and devoted to the promotion and development of the art of magic.Although begun in 1952 as a loose association of magicians by William Larsen, Sr...
(The Magic Castle) in the USA. Together The Pendragons have won the prestigious award twice, a feat that only four other living magicians have accomplished. In 1991, Charlotte Pendragon became the first woman to become a Member of the Inner Circle of the British conjuring society The Magic Circle
The Magic Circle
The Magic Circle is a British organisation, founded in London in 1905, dedicated to promoting and advancing the art of magic.- History :The Magic Circle was founded in 1905 after a meeting of 23 amateur and professional magicians at London's Pinoli's Restaurant...
. Jonathan was chosen by Magic magazine, as one of ten living magicians whose work shaped magic in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Jonathan was honored by the Lab School
Lab School of Washington
The Lab School of Washington is a school for students with learning difficulties, founded by Sally Lieberman Smith, an American educator who taught at American University, where she directed the since 1976 to 2007 after her death. Katherine Schantz, then directed the school from 2007–present...
in Washington DC. Every year the school honors five distinguished individuals who have overcome a learning disability while growing up and gone on to accomplish great achievements in their fields. Other honorees include Cher and Tom Cruise.
Accident
During a fall at his home in late September 2006, one of the arrows from Jonathan's archery collection pierced his liver, his stomach, and his heart. It happened while rehearsing a dangerous trick for his upcoming show involving a compound bow and arrow.Shortly after the accident, Charlotte Pendragon published and account of the event. She wrote, "Jonathan is in the hospital following an accident involving an arrow from his archery. He fell on the non-sharp broken end of the arrow while trying to hang a light fixture. The arrow pierced through his stomach, liver, an artery and several inches in his heart. It is through speed of hospitalization, modern surgical techniques and Jonathan's will to live that he continues with us today. His surgeon [...] said this injury is always fatal and it is a miracle Jonathan is alive. He is recovering well after several hours of surgery including open heart surgery."
Jonathan made a full recovery.
Arrest and conviction of Jonathan
On 8 July 2009 Claude Yarbrough/Jonathan Pendragon was arrested at gunpoint for allegedly firing a bullet into the floor of his home during a dispute with his wife, Charlotte. He was later charged with assault with a deadly weapon, spousal abuse, terrorist threats and firing a weapon in an inhabited dwelling.On 10 August 2009, TMZ reported that Pendragon was not able to attend his arraignment since he was confined in a medical facility on involuntary psychiatric hold
5150 (Involuntary psychiatric hold)
Section 5150 is a section of the California Welfare and Institutions Code which allows a qualified officer or clinician to involuntarily confine a person deemed to have a mental disorder that makes them a danger to him or her self, and/or others and/or gravely disabled...
.
On 23 October 2009 at San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, Judge John Trice ruled that Claude Yarbrough must stand trial on felony charges of assault with a firearm, making criminal threats and other charges that could result in a decade in jail. On 9 March 2010, Jonathan Pendragon, pleaded no contest
Nolo contendere
is a legal term that comes from the Latin for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of no contest.In criminal trials, and in some common law jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of...
to two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon as part of a plea bargain in which other charges were dropped. According to the District Attorney’s Office it was expected that he would be sentenced to a year in jail and face up to five-years of probation. At a sentencing hearing on 14 April 2010 he received five years probation but was released from custody having served 245 days in the county jail.