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[[File: JohnnyAcePalmer.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Johnny Ace Palmer]]]]
[[File: Tampa1.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Tampa]]]]
'''Johnny Ace Palmer''' (b. 1960) is an award-winning American close-up magician.  
 
'''Tampa''' (b.1887-d.1939) was born Raymond Stanley Sugden in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania.


== Biography ==
== Biography ==


Palmer was born in Warren, Ohio, in the early 1960s and attended Kent State University in Ohio in the late 1970s and early '80s. He came to magic early in life, and as a teenager, performed a stage act with his sister. In college, he majored in both theater arts and psychology.
He became a professional magician at the age of 30, performing a Chinese act with magician Ray Hartman in the "Chau Tung Mysteries". When Hartman was drafted, Sugden started performing with his wife and two sons under the name "Sugden the Magician". In 1925, Sugden changed his billing to "Sugden England's Court Magician". He was friends with [[Harry Kellar]], [[Houdini]], and [[Howard Thurston]]. He assisted Thurston in the planning of illusions such as his "Ghost in the Blue Room", "Beauty", and "East Indian Rope Trick". He also built effects for Thurston including a version of the "Spirit Painting" effect.
 
Throughout the 1980s, Palmer entered and competed in a large number of American magic competitions, culminating in his first-place wins at the annual convention of the [[International Brotherhood of Magicians]] and the annual convention of the [[Society of American Magicians]].


Then he set his sights on international goals, entering [[FISM]], in 1988. He presented a 10-minute act that was one of the first competition acts to utilize stage techniques in a closeup setting. One routine for which he became known was a version of the [[Cups & Balls]] in which the final load is three live baby chicks.
Howard Thurston signed Sugden to a ten year contract on November 2, 1925. In 1926, he traveled with a full evening show under Howard Thurston as "Tampa England's Court Magician". In 1929, the stock market crashed and everything came to a halt for the world of entertainment. Thurston was barely keeping his company paid. He couldn't keep the Tampa show booked, so Ray started to find bookings on his own. Thurston only saw that Sugden was taking business away, not helping to keep the "Thurston" name in the public's mind. Sugden suggested that they part company and end the contract. Thurston kept delaying inevitable.  


[[Johnny Ace Palmer|Read more about Johnny Ace Palmer…]]
[[Tampa|Read more about Tampa…]]

Latest revision as of 18:11, 25 August 2024

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Tampa (b.1887-d.1939) was born Raymond Stanley Sugden in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania.

Biography

He became a professional magician at the age of 30, performing a Chinese act with magician Ray Hartman in the "Chau Tung Mysteries". When Hartman was drafted, Sugden started performing with his wife and two sons under the name "Sugden the Magician". In 1925, Sugden changed his billing to "Sugden England's Court Magician". He was friends with Harry Kellar, Houdini, and Howard Thurston. He assisted Thurston in the planning of illusions such as his "Ghost in the Blue Room", "Beauty", and "East Indian Rope Trick". He also built effects for Thurston including a version of the "Spirit Painting" effect.

Howard Thurston signed Sugden to a ten year contract on November 2, 1925. In 1926, he traveled with a full evening show under Howard Thurston as "Tampa England's Court Magician". In 1929, the stock market crashed and everything came to a halt for the world of entertainment. Thurston was barely keeping his company paid. He couldn't keep the Tampa show booked, so Ray started to find bookings on his own. Thurston only saw that Sugden was taking business away, not helping to keep the "Thurston" name in the public's mind. Sugden suggested that they part company and end the contract. Thurston kept delaying inevitable.

Read more about Tampa…