Clarence S. Miller

Clarence S. Miller
Born	Clarence Scott Miller August 20, 1929 Lebanon Junction, Kentucky
Died	May 27, 2018 (age 88) Irvine, Kentucky
Known for	The Impossible Penetration

Clarence S. Miller (b.1929-d.2018) emerged as a prolific magic builder for more than three decades. Clarence was legendary for his handmade wooden magic known throughout the magic world. He is most famous for one magic trick, The Impossible Penetration, and over 100 other magical treasures.

Biography

Clarence Scott Miller was born on August 20, 1929 in Lebanon Junction, Kentucky. His parents were Frank and Kettie Miller. Clarence had one brother, Francis Green Miller.

He graduated from Irvine High School in 1947. He lived in Irvine, Kentucky throughout his life and moved away briefly to serve in the Marines. Clarence served as a Marine sergeant in the Korean War from 1950-1954. After his service, Clarence attended the University of Dayton and studied electrical engineering before moving back to Irvine.

Clarence met the love of his life, Eva Faye McGee, and they became married on October 5th, 1950. They gave birth to their only child, Emily Beth, on January 18th, 1960. Emily resides with her husband Michael Feeback, in Maryville, Tennessee, and they have one son, Ian Feeback.

The Impossible Penetration

His family ran the Irvine Community Television system, a local high school favorite restaurant known as The Eagles Nest, and a coin-operated vending machine business named Miller’s Inc. Clarence also worked for the State of Kentucky as operations manager for the Mountain Parkway. He continued the vending machine business in Irvine and the surrounding area until his retirement in 1992.

He became captivated and bitten by the magic bug at an early age after seeing several great magicians perform. This inspired a lifelong passion to invent, entertain, and build his own magic. He became a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians in 1948.

Clarence enjoyed showing magic to children and used to perform shows at the local library. Clarence did this out of the goodness of his heart and for the love of magic. Clarence also provided books, magic effects, and magazines to young magicians to inspire them along their magical journey. He donated several handcrafted effects for raffles, door prizes, and contests at the local magic club meetings. He also enjoyed sending get-well cards to magicians across the country.

His love for art is shown in several spiritual pieces he has painted in oil. These art pieces still hang in the Miller household and are stunning to see in person.

Awards and Honors

In June 1989, Clarence was elected to hold the office of President for The International Brotherhood of Magicians, Ring 198, in Lexington, Kentucky.

Clarence’s spirit and compassion for magic was recognized by his colleagues in November 2003. On behalf of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, Clarence was presented with a beautifully crafted wooden wand and case for his dedication and hard work.

In 2009, the Order of Merlin award was presented to Clarence from The International Brotherhood of Magicians.

Bibliography

A collective recognition of his contributions to magic was long overdue and well deserved. After many years of building magic, a book about Clarence was written by Donald Croucher. Magic by Miller, was published in November 2015 and contains 276 pages that detail the life and magic of Clarence. The book was overwhelmingly recognized by his colleagues, including world famous magician and Kentucky native, Lance Burton, who wrote the foreword for the book.

References

• The Linking Ring magazine, Vol. 28, No. 8, October 1948, page 134, International Brotherhood of Magicians new membership.
• The Linking Ring magazine, Vol. 66, No. 2, February 1986, page 105, Hocus in Focus by Rick Johnsson. Review of The Impossible Penetration.
• The Linking Ring magazine, Vol. 66, No. 4, April 1986, page 151, ad for The Impossible Penetration.
• The Linking Ring magazine, Vol. 95, No. 12, December 2015, page 18, Magic by Miller.
• MAGIC magazine, Vol. 25, No. 6, February 2016, page 72-74, FirstLook Magic by Miller article.
• MAGIC magazine, Vol. 25, No. 7, March 2016, page 79, Magic by Miller review by Michael Claxton.
• MAGIC magazine, Vol. 25, No. 8, April 2016, page 87, Magic by Miller.
• The Linking Ring magazine, Vol. 96, No 7, July 2016, page 114-115, Magic by Miller review by Rolando Santos.
• Vanish International Magic Magazine, Edition 26, June/July 2016, page 44, Magic by Miller.
• Vanish International Magic Magazine, Edition 26, June/July 2016, page 177-181, article by Brad Henderson.
• The Linking Ring magazine, Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2016, page 19, Magic by Miller.
• The Linking Ring magazine, Vol. 97, No. 11, November 2017, page 94-95, article “The Woofle Dust Box”.
• The Linking Ring magazine, Vol. 98, No. 1, January 2018, "Sick and Convalescent" through Vol. 98, No. 5, May 2018.
• The Linking Ring magazine, Vol. 98, No. 7, July 2018, page 105, “Broken Wand”.
• The Linking Ring magazine, Vol. 98, No. 8, August 2018, page 117-118, “Broken Wand”.
• The Linking Ring magazine, Vol. 103, No. 8, August 2023, page 39-40, article “Ring 194 (Huntsville, Alabama) – Jack Baldwin: A footnote in Magic".

Books

• Magic by Miller (November 2015)

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