 Dies at Home Dante, master of illusions and billed for years as King of Magicians, died at his Northridge ranch yesterday of a heart attack. The 71 year old magician was a show business fixture. He and his troupe of 25 to 40 performers made several global trips and appeared in nearly every large theater in this country at one time or another. A native of Denmark, Dante's real name was Harry A. Jansen. He came to the United States at the age of 6 with his parents. Through the years Dante performed in every form of the theatrical business under canvas, touring the Chautauqua circuit, vaudeville, burlesque, movies, radio and in later years television. Dante the magician was my Great Uncle. I met him only once, I swam in his pool at his ranch, Northridge, San Fernando Valley, near L. A. - Jeffery R. Burnett, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 USA
This spoken by Howard Thurston then the Master Magician, threw a blanket of dampness over the entire assembly, for almost each and every member of the assembly had secret aspirations to wear the crown of the Master, and the Great Jansen as he had been known professionally for 20 years was the dark horse. Even the late Harry HOUDINI who was then President and presiding became noticeably nervous when he heard that there was a man present who knew more about practical magic than any other man in the world; so much so that he interrupted with a sudden sound of the gavel and introduced the next speaker, the late Mr. Donaldson of the Billboard. But the words had been spoken. The Great Jansen's success had already reached the stage where there were no less than 3 Jansens falsely using the name of Jansen, as well as his printing, and exploiting themselves to Managers with their wares of inferior quality. Mr. Thurston had knowledge of this and within the next few days, when negotiations were completed, pointed out this fact and expressed his liking for the name DANTE, and further said that he himself would have adopted it in 1906 if it had not been almost simultaneous with the death of Oscar Eliason who was accidentally shot in New South Wales, Australia, after having gained a reputation under the name of DANTE the Magician. However more than fifteen years had now elapsed and no one had perpetuated or adopted the name of Dante as a Magician, so Mr. Thurston as well as the Great Jansen thought this the opportune time and the logical title for the coming Master of Magic to be. Hence Dante the Magician Inc. came into being with Howard Thurston as the owner of the title. The DANTE show was built and produced by the Great Jansen, and an artistic success was registered with the first curtain.
Three years later at the Astor House, New York City, Mr. Thurston in appreciation of Jansen's efforts, presented him with the title, that has since been made famous by its owner Harry A. Jansen, in every civilized part of the World; so where Magic is popular, DANTE is known, and where Dante is known, Magic is popular. Now as we go to press to tell the World of DANTE'S triumphs it is well to point out that unscrupulous copyists are still at work. There are at the moment no less than three would-be Dantes. One especially by the name of Angus in Sydney, Australia, who has been retarded through two judgments in favor of H. A. Jansen, was stopped on the grounds of impersonating, and a second judgment against him was for the display of printing and lithographs produced by Dante. DANTE takes this opportunity of thanking Howard Thurston for the cooperation, inspiration, and encouragement extended, and for a very pleasant association, lasting almost ten years. Dante is now sole owner, producer and Manager of the greatest Mystery Show the World has ever seen. Here is copy of a letter dated 14th March 1991, my mother ( DANTE was her Uncle ) received from DAVID PRICE, Egyptian Hall Museum, Brentwood, Tennessee who has the greatest collection of Dante material existent. Dante's trademark was SimSalaBim, he originally used as his magic words, now copied by many other illusionists.
Additional Photo GalleriesLinks open in a new window or tab. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
My son and I at the Bush Plane museum and Spruce Haven Zoo in Sault Sainte Marie, Canada
My Son in 2010... He bench presses 350lbs
My Granddaughter
My Grandson
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
When I used to drive a truck....
north American Van Lines, Ft. Wayne, Ind |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
.jpg)
