Servais Le Roy

Servais Le Roy (1865-1953) was a Belgian magician, illusion designer and businessman. He is known for the act "Le Roy, Talma and Bosco" and as the inventor of the classic levitation illusion "Asrah the Floating Princess".citation
last = Dawes
first = Edwin A
title = The Great Illusionists
publisher = Chartwell Books (New Jersey)
date = 1979
ISBN = 0-89009-240-0] citation
last = Roy & Andrews
title = Illusions: Secrets from the world of magic
publisher = Methuen
date = 1985
ISBN = 0-423-01300-9]

Le Roy began his career in Belgium but later moved to London, where he established a supply house for illusions and scenery. At one time he performed with German-born illusionist Imro Fox and Frederick Eugene Powell as "The Triple Alliance". However he is best known as a performer for the long-running act he developed with his wife Talma and Leon Bosco. Working as "Le Roy - Talma - Bosco" they were sometimes also billed as "The Comedians de Mephisto Co". Talma (whose real name was Mary Ford), specialised in sleight of hand and was known as a brilliant manipulator of coins.cite web
url = http://www.magicnook.com/forum/bioKLM.htm
title = Brief Biographies of Magican Inventors
publisher = MagicNook.com
accessdate = 2007-04-12] Bosco, who was a rotund man, played a buffoon character. Although the act was very much a partnership to which all three contributed as magicians, Servais Le Roy sometimes received additional headline billing.

Servais Le Roy and Talma first performed the Asrah levitation in London in 1914. In this trick, Talma would lie on a couch and Servais would cover her with a sheet. He would then appear to make her rise into the air, pass a large hoop over her floating body, and finally pull away the sheet to reveal that she had vanished. Le Roy is also credited with developing other respected illusions, including the "Modern Cabinet", the "Palanquin" and the "Costume Trunk".

Le Roy later put his own show into storage and accepted a contract from Horace Goldin to front one of several companies that were touring with Goldin's show, featuring the then sensational "Sawing a woman in half" illusion.cite web
first= Gary R
last = Brown
url = http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1994/3/1994_3_34.shtml
title = Sawing a Woman in Half
publisher = AmericanHeritage.com
accessdate = 2007-03-29]

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