Jay Marshall (magician)

Jay Marshall (magician)

Jay Marshall (James Ward Marshall) (August 29, 1919 – May 10, 2005) was an American magician and ventriloquist. Over a 60 year career he appeared on the "Ed Sullivan Show" 14 times together with his glove puppet rabbit dummy, "Lefty". He also was the opening act for performers like Frank Sinatra, Milton Berle and Liberace. In fact, he was the first act to open for Sinatra in Las Vegas. In Marshall's later years, he was honored with the title of "Dean of American Magicians" by the Society of American Magicians.

According to the Chicago Tribune, his interest in magic started when he was six. As a youngster, he saw performances by Thurston and Houdini. In later years, he admitted to dozing off in the midst of Houdini's show. Marshall failed to graduate from Bluefield College in West Virginia and went on to be a professional entertainer instead, initially working out of Boston. He later moved to New York City where he met Naomi Baker, daughter of Al Baker, then Dean of American Magicians. Naomi married Marshall and they had two sons, James and Alexander.

During World War II, Marshall was "island hopping" in the Pacific to entertain military personnel in USO shows. He became tired of taking his elaborate ventriloquist's dummy called Henry with him, so he decided to use a white glove and some bunny ears to turn his left hand into his dummy, "Lefty".

In the 1950s, Marshall moved to Chicago and married fellow magician and magic dealer Frances Ireland. Together they operated the Ireland Magic Company at 109 North Dearborn St. in the Chicago Loop. In 1963, the firm was relocated to the North side of Chicago at 5082 North Lincoln Ave., and renamed Magic Inc.. Marshall's reputation as an all-knowing historian of stage magic, vaudeville and entertainment grew through the years, as did his lengendary collection of books, posters and assorted ephemera on a wide range of subjects.

He died at the Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago after a series of heart attacks.

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11017966&pt=Jay%20Marshall Find-A-Grave profile for Jay Marshall (magician)]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Jay Marshall — may refer to:*Jay Marshall (magician) (1919 ndash;2005), magician and ventriloquist *Jay Marshall (baseball), Major League Baseball pitcher …   Wikipedia

  • Dick Williams (magician) — For other people named Richard Williams, see Richard Williams. Dick Williams is a former television and radio presenter and magician who holds the record for hosting the longest running television magic show in the world. Under the name Mr Magic… …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Caldwell (magician) — Mike Caldwell (deceased August 17, 1995) was an accomplished comedy magician.[1] Much of Caldwell s comedy stemmed from his large size. At more than 400 pounds, Caldwell became famous for being able to do a complete backflip from a standing… …   Wikipedia

  • David Nixon (magician) — David Nixon Born David Porter Nixon 29 December 1919(1919 12 29) Muswell Hill, London, UK Died 1 December 1978(1978 12 01) (aged 58) Surrey, England …   Wikipedia

  • Аристократы (фильм) — Аристократы The Aristocrats Жанр …   Википедия

  • Merlin Award — is a recognition instituted by the International Magicians Society. It is regarded as the highest level prize in the field of Magic/Illusion and the top recognition a magician can achieve. Contents 1 History Norms 1.1 Design 2 List of Merlin… …   Wikipedia

  • David Ben — in Tricks 2004 Born March 5, 1961 (1961 03 05) (age 50) Toronto, Canada Nationality …   Wikipedia

  • Magicana — Name Magicana Formed May 2000 Location(s) Toronto Artistic director(s) David Ben …   Wikipedia

  • Secret Cabaret — infobox television show name = Secret Cabaret format = Magic show runtime = 30 minutes creator = Simon Drake Open Media executive producer = Sebastian Cody producer = Frankie Glass Jim Steinmeyer host = Simon Drake country = United Kingdom… …   Wikipedia

  • Micromagic — or close up magic or table magic is magic performed in an intimate setting usually no more than ten feet (three metres) from one s audience and is usually performed while sitting at a table.[1] The vast majority of magicians around the world are… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”