Gone were the black capes and magic wands; Mr. Henning wore jeans, flashy jumpsuits, and tie-dye T-shirts onstage. That led to his role in The Magic Show. Doug Henning was previously married to Barbara DeAngelis, a self-help author. Debby became Doug's assistant, appearing as a singer and dancer, as well as designing all of the costumes, for Merlin and on tour. Shackled hand and foot and encased underwater in a steel canister, he broke free in under a minute, emerging wet and beaming. It says, in essence, Ive decided not to crack that safe and steal the contentsits not worth my time. Steinmeyer and I eventually wile away almost an hour analyzing the early-1900s illusion with the thief and the safe. Reworked and retitled The Magic Show, it opened in 1974 at the Cort Theatre and enjoyed a four-year-run. (Some of Dougs illusions are still being used by magicians, says McNally.) Once magicians manipulate audience members toward certain expectations, those expectations can be subverted, and the audience can be dazzled, and fooled. Once settled, I make an opening gambit: I ask Steinmeyer about the state of magic today. Wonder, Henning always said, is necessary in life, and magic can reawaken the wonder that occurs naturally in children but is lost to cynicism as people grow up. What Shows Have Been Renewed or Canceled? So as one of historys greatest conjurers of magic continues to explain and not explain the safe trick, I find myself wondering: If anyone can dig up the secrets behind many of Steinmeyers tricks, why is he so intent on hiding them? In that Ahmanson show, for example, he turned a woman into a black panther, sawed two women in half and reassembled them on each others legs, walked through a mirror, suspended his wife in midair before making her vanish and reappear in a box hanging over the stage, escaped from a chained trunk like Houdini and conjured up the Bengal tiger. Doves became rabbits in Mr. Henning's hands, and horses took wing. Cause of death: cancer. ), He got his first professional job at 14, performing at a family friend's house. 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. Doug Henning hippie magician television tv Published by travsd Writer and performer Trav S.D. 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. Which Celebrities Still Have Twitter Checkmarks? They don't teach you anything.". Magic was Dougs passion and his life., Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. Steinmeyer began as an audience member. All of us wish them nothing but happiness and the joy that comes from a loving partnership. The two actors join the cast of the international hit musical in St. Louis, Missouri. He was 52. He honed his skills touring North America with veteran magicians, and with a bit of luck, he opened a magic-music show in a Toronto theater. In the Magic Castles showcase room, the Palace of Mystery, Greg Otto performs a comedy-laden routine (When a heckler pipes up, Otto looks toward the crowd and replies, I thought I told you to stay in the truck.) before Kyle and Mistie Knight deliver a classic big-stage performance heavy on audience participation. | In the Close-Up Gallery, Tom Craven peppers his card, rope, and metal-ring tricks with a stream of old-world patter. WebWife: Barbara DeAngelis (div. WebDoug Henning was born on 3 May 1947 in Fort Garry, Manitoba, Canada. Henning was approached by Broadway producers Edgar Lansbury and Joseph Beruh about bringing a version of the show to New York. 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. Nobody else is working at this level. Doug Henning: The Unbearable Lightness of Unbearability We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 3 May. Taking its name from basketball star LeBron James, the work comes to New York after runs at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Center Theatre Group. Theyve just saw the world together again and seem comfortable in their relationship. He was a writer, known for The Magic Show (1983), World of Magic (1977) and Doug Henning's World of Magic (1976). Steinmeyer does it all. WebView the profiles of people named Doug Henning. Doug Henning - NNDB Canadas investment in the arts paid off. This clever prop allows the British nanny to pull gigantic items from her carpetbag, including a hat rack and full-length mirror. Coincidentally, Id seen that exact trick at the Magic Castle the night before. Everyone idolized him, and the age of modern television and stage magic began then. May 2, 2023, By This couple stayed married until Hennings death. He was 52. After this, there was no looking back for Doug, says McNally. May 2, 2023, By Doug was a guest and entertainer and Debby was a volunteer worker. 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 For one it was written as Merlin wasjust about toopen on Broadway, and the other being that it delves into Dougs new marriage to Debby Douillard (Henning) and the, I love this vintage 1986 commercial not only for its obvious camp value, but for the fact that it gives you a glimpse into Dougs touring productions and promotions. Its become like, lets talk about magic as a puzzle. 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. Ramon had never performed original tricks before, but in Steinmeyers studio he understood for the first time how they were birthed. Steinmeyer relies on both meticulous design and well-suited performers to construct tricks. Real magic uses laws that havent yet been discovered.. presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution The diminutive Doug Henning soon landed at Hollywoods Magic Castle, grant in pocket, for a three-month cram course. 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. ''It was like being a folk singer before Bob Dylan. Debby Henning Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB Doug Henning Between 1975 and 1982, he created and starred in several television specials, aired on NBC and CBS, under the title of "Doug Henning's World of Magic." "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.". Secrecy is the coin of the realm here, and Steinmeyer is an open secret himself: Most people who see magic shows assume the performers invent their own tricks, but its illusion designers like Steinmeyer who conjure most of the magic offstage. The Magic Castle rules call for people to stow their phones, and there are no TVs. He conquered Broadway with his smash rock musical, The Magic Show, which ran for more than four years at the Cort Theater. 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. Id be remiss in not mentioning that yesterday, March 24th, was Harry Houdinis 147th birthday. I remember thinking that was a really good idea, but I had no use for it at the time, Steinmeyer says. He begins a mesmerizing filibuster about the illusions evolution, citing his friend and mentor Alan Wakeling, who in the 1970s came up with an incredibly elegant design for the trick in which two audience members shackle the hands and feet of the woman, and instead of sawing the box in two, the magician stabs four blades through the sides. | Doug Henning There are careful sketches of rotating, hinging mechanisms, drawings of altered cabinets and wardrobes enveloping phantom figures and annotated with measurements and enigmatic notations. Only when I press does he finally relent. He also dabbled in politics. Andrew Gans 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 - IMDb (Houdini traded places with a prisoner in a trunk in 20 seconds; Henning did it in one-third of a second. In fact, theres just enough room for the woman to drop her knees to one side and avoid the blades. 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. Encouraged students of magic to make their own props and equipment, and not rely on ready-made magic kits. People like Jim come along once every two or three generations.. Doug Henning (1947-2000) - Find a Grave Memorial The parks is linked to Indian spiritual leader Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation. In each show, his illusions became increasingly complex. You want that thing to be very clear.. The SIX: The Musical star originated the role of Chiffon in the current revival at the Westside Theatre. His wife is Debby Douillard (6 December1981 - 7 February2000)( his death), Barbara De Angelis (20 December1977 - 1981)( divorced). Doug Henning | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us. Share the best GIFs now >>> There are no dead ends.. Magic plus theater equals art, the 20-year-old psychology major argued, convincing the government in his native Canada to give him a $4,000 study grant with the goal of reviving magic as a theatrical art. He was 52 years old when he died. Doug Henning Debby Douillard (6 December1981 - 7 February2000)( his death), Barbara De Angelis (20 December1977 - 1981)( divorced). In 1992, he announced that he and the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a spiritual adviser, would build a $1.5 billion theme park near Niagara Falls, Ontario. He was 52 and lived in Los Angeles. Steinmeyer uses the mind-reading trick as a launchpad into a disquisition on how magic tricks evolve, which is fascinating, but it temporarily walls me off from a question Im eager to ask about the trick, or, really, any trick: How does it work? Winnipeg-born Henning fell in love with magic as a child. People Magazine Interview: Part Two The interview is notable for two reasons. "", "My friends told me there was practically a flash of light," Doug told People magazine in the December 20, 1982 edition. Shut out of basketball by his size, Henning revived his interest in magic. In further support of the maharishi, Henning also ran (unsuccessfully) for political office in England and Canada as a member of the maharishis Natural Law Party. | It just swept over me. By almost any estimation, Steinmeyer is the greatest creator of illusions in the history of magic and theater, but describing Morritts idiosyncratic piece of stagecraft still animates and energizes him. Margaret Hall Debby Henning - Magicpedia - Genii Broadway. When he offered to help launch the solo career of Alex Ramona former magician for the Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey Circushe asked Ramon to write down his favorite tricks, architectural styles, pieces of art, color schemes, and so on to garner a sense of his aesthetic and his way of thinking. WebWith Tenor, maker of GIF Keyboard, add popular Doug Henning Magic animated GIFs to your conversations. In 1975, Mr. Henning broke through to an even larger audience when he performed Houdini's ''Water Torture Escape'' on a live television special. He returned often to visit family and to do the occasional performance. 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. According to new reports, Mr. Henning was diagnosed with liver cancer in 1999. Thats what this has become, he says, lifting Albert into his lap. Inspired by Federico Garca Lorcas The House of Bernarda Alba, the play takes on gentrification and social strife in New York. 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. Henning received a PhD in the Science of Creative Intelligence from the Maharishi University in the late 1980s, and along with TM founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, planned to build a $1.5 billion-dollar theme park near Niagara Falls. Neil McNally and The Doug Henning Project 2017-2022 Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this sites author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Doug Hennings income source is mostly from being a successful Writer. I always hate reading that stuff.. Aside from its ambition and quality, what stands out is the breadth of Steinmeyers work. Republication or distribution of this content is Its hard for people to comprehend this today, but he was like a rock star.. The lock-picking bandit looks at the closed safe with a pair of field glasses and disappears. A native of Fort Garry, Manitoba, he moved to the United States and became an international star. Anyone can read what you share. (His senior thesis was on hypnosis. Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com, Conversations are opinions of our readers and are subject to the, The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star 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. Sign up for reopening news, announcements, and exclusive discounts on tickets to your favorite shows! With his long, wavy locks, walrus moustache, colourful outfits, and perky new-age demeanour, he cut quite a contrast from the vaguely sinister tuxedo-clad, top-hatted magicians that previously ruled the field. Debby was born Deborah Ann Douillard to Roger and Ann Douillard, who ran a contracting firm in a New York suburb. 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. Its a great commercial in the sense that its most likely one of a few he used as he moved from town to town. He also created special effects for tours by his friend, Michael Jackson. He earned a Best Featured Actor (Musical) nomination for his work in the conceptual tuner, The Magic Show, in the 1974-75 season.
Onenote Fill Box With Color, How Many Kpop Fans Are There 2020, Who Is Donya Madani In Falcon And Winter Soldier, Similarities And Differences Of Elementary Secondary, And Tertiary Education, Articles D