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Richard Potter (b.1783-d.1835) is credited as the first successful stage magician born in the United States and as the first black magician.

Biography

Reportedly, Potter was the son of an English baronet, Charles Henry Frankland, and an African American woman (some say "slave"). Frankland, however, died years before Potter was born. Church records from Hopkinton, MA, list his father as George Simpson. His mother's name was Dinah, who was a slave on the Frankland estate. Potter went to England around 1798. There is no record of his actual education. He returned to the United States around 1801, probably with John Rannie, a professional magician whom he started out working for as an assistant in 1802.

One of the earliest records of Potter advertising a show was in Boston, November 2nd, 1811 at the Columbian Museum. He advertised his show as, "An Evening's Brush to Sweep Away Care, or a Medley to Please."

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-[[File: LeGrandDavid1.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Le Grand David]]]]
-'''Marco the Magi''' was the character name of '''Cesareo Pelaez''', the founder, producer, director, designer and choreographer of [[Le Grand David and his own Spectacular Magic Company]] in Beverly Mass.
+[[File: RichardPotter.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Richard Potter]]]]
+'''Richard Potter''' (b.1783-d.1835) is credited as the first successful stage magician born in the United States and as the first black magician.
 == Biography ==
+Reportedly, Potter was the son of an English baronet, Charles Henry Frankland, and an African American woman (some say "slave"). Frankland, however, died years before Potter was born.  Church records from Hopkinton, MA, list his father as George Simpson.  His mother's name was Dinah, who was a slave on the Frankland estate.  Potter went to England around 1798.  There is no record of his actual education.  He returned to the United States around 1801, probably with [[John Rannie]], a professional magician whom he started out working for as an assistant in 1802.
-Cesareo’s interest in magic began as a young boy in Cuba when his father would take him to see all the traveling magic shows. In his youth he witnessed the shows of [[Chang]], [[Richiardi Sr.]] and [[Fu Manchu]] to name a few. He was also exposed to other shows and developed a fondness for all things theatrical.
+One of the earliest records of Potter advertising a show was in Boston, November 2nd, 1811 at the Columbian Museum.  He advertised his show as, "An Evening's Brush to Sweep Away Care, or a Medley to Please."
-Cesareo was a natural leader and, in his teens, gathered together his friends from the neighborhood and put together a miniature theatre group. They would build scenery, design costumes and put on shows. It was the precursor to what he would do years later in Beverly.
-As Castro took over Cuba things in the country got bad and Cesareo chose to leave his beloved country. He eventually ended up in America and chose to pursue psychology as his profession. The famous psychologist Abraham Maslow became a close friend and mentor to Cesareo. Eventually, Peleaz became a Professor of Psychology at Salem State University.
-[[Marco the Magi|Read more about Marco the Magi…]]
+[[Richard Potter|Read more about Richard Potter…]]

Magicpedia:Today's featured article: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:27, 1 November 2024

Biography

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