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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: JonRacherbaumer1.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Jon Racherbaumer]]]]
+[[File: RichardPotter.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Richard Potter]]]]
-'''Jon Racherbaumer''' (b.1940) spent his early years in Elmhurst, Illinois (Harlan Tarbell’s hometown), a western suburb of Chicago. His interest in magic was sparked by seeing Dr. Tarbell perform in 1950. Tarbell’s daughter, Marian, was involved in community theater with Jon’s mother at the time. Soon thereafter, he received his first magic book, [[Tarbell Course in Magic]] – Volume 1, on his eleventh birthday. After discovering that Dr. Tarbell had donated his entire course to the local library, Jon spent many hours diligently studied each volume along with other magic books in the library.
+'''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.
-Jon joined the Mazda Mystics Club (Juniors) in 1953, a club started by Russell Shaw and his wife in Oak Park, Illinois. Meetings were held in the basement of the Mazda Magic Shop. He maintained his interest throughout his schooling and thereafter when he moved to New Orleans in 1963. The Big Easy, home of the Mardi Gras, jazz music, and voodoo, is often called the Dream State, an ideal place for all things magical to ferment. From 1957 to 1965, Jon attended four universities and worked at various jobs: radio programmer, disk-jockey, promotion man, salesman, restaurant manager, male model, tree-trimmer, blackjack dealer, construction worker, warehouseman, program consultant (voluntary health agency), institutional house-father, social worker, gym instructor, bartender, ambulance driver (at a race track), and finally he went to work for Eastern Airlines from 1965-1990 as an airlines business person.
+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."
-[[Jon Racherbaumer|Read more about Jon Racherbaumer…]]
+[[Richard Potter|Read more about Richard Potter…]]

Magicpedia:Today's featured article: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:27, 1 November 2024

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