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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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 </noinclude>
-[[File: AmazingJohnathan1.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Amazing Johnathan]]]]
+[[File: RichardPotter.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Richard Potter]]]]
-'''John Edward Szeles''' (b.1958-d.2022), better known by the stage name '''The Amazing Johnathan''', was an American stand-up comedian/magician.
+'''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.
-His act was mostly composed of hijinks, interaction with one specific audience member and a few legitimate magic tricks which often failed for comic effect. From 2001, he was a year-round headliner in Las Vegas. Self-described as the "Freddy Krueger of Comedy", Szeles usually performed wearing his ever present headband and his shows frequently used gore, such as pretending to suck on his own hanging eyeball, cutting his wrists, and skewering his own tongue. He was also good friends with fellow performer [[Criss Angel]], and had helped Angel perform a variety of illusions, most notably during his three guest appearances on [[Mindfreak]].
+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."
-Szeles, who began his career performing in the streets of San Francisco, first appeared on television in ''The 8th Annual Young Comedians Show'' in 1983 and later went on to become the host of the short-lived 1991 syndicated variety/game show ''Ruckus''. He appeared on various talk and variety shows from the mid-80s to mid 2000s. His only credited performance as an actor was The Obligatory Holiday Episode of ''The Weird Al Show'' (playing the part of Uncle Johnathan). He had made several appearances on Late Night with David Lettermen, a record 24 appearances on Fox's Comic Strip Live, and had several specials on Comedy Central including Comedy Central Presents, Lounge Lizards and his own one hour special entitled "Wrong on Every Level."  (November 18, 2006),  He dedicated the special to his Uncle Eugene, who showed him his first card trick which "started this whole mess". His only film appearance was the 2005 documentary ''The Aristocrats''
+[[Richard Potter|Read more about Richard Potter…]]
-[[Amazing Johnathan|Read more about Amazing Johnathan…]]

Magicpedia:Today's featured article: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:27, 1 November 2024

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