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Princess Mysteria: Difference between revisions
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'''Princess Mysteria''' (1888-1930) | '''Princess Mysteria''' (1888-1930) was the most famous African American mentalist of her time. | ||
== Biography == | == Biography == | ||
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[[Category:African American magicians]] | |||
Latest revision as of 18:59, 3 November 2014
| Princess Mysteria | |
| Born | Vauleda Hill 1888 |
|---|---|
| Died | March 14 1930 Chicago, IL |
| Resting place | Lincoln Cemetery, Chicago, IL |
| Flourished | 1910s-1920s |
Princess Mysteria (1888-1930) was the most famous African American mentalist of her time.
Biography
According to the official story, Princess Mysteria was born in India and that by the age of six was able to answer questions before they were asked. At the age of fourteen, so the story goes, she was bestowed with the title of Princess by the Rajah of Bengal.
The Princess actually spent her childhood in the Kansas City, Missouri area. Claiming to be Hindu, Vauleda Hill took the name Princess Mysteria and along with her husband, Al Strodder, Prince Mysteria, they toured the country with their two person telepathy act playing before packed houses and to rave reviews. They were known for their ability of drawing crowds to such an extent that they would play two or even three successive weeks in the same theater. The Princess, dressed in Hindu garb, would sit on the stage, while the Prince, in formal evening clothes, would walk among the crowd. Questions that were whispered to the Prince by an audience member would then be instantly answered by the Princess.
Said to be the equal of Anna Eva Fay, Princess Mysteria was so popular among the African American community that she was given her own column, "Advice to the Wise and Otherwise" in The Chicago Defender, a nationally distributed black weekly newspaper.[1] The column ran for ten years until the Princess' death in 1930.[2][3]