Harry Monti

Harry Monti
Born	Harry L. Monteith August 17, 1935 St. Louis, Missouri
Nationality	American
Known for	Close-Up Magic, Stage Magic, Escapes
National President, Society of American Magicians 1999-2000

Harry Monti (b. 1935) is a past National President of the Society of American Magicians (1999-2000).

Biography

• Co-Founder of Rings-N-Things
• Owner of Monti's Magic Shop, Union Station, St. Louis
• Co-Founder, Magic for Special Education

Family

• Mary Gertrude (Trudy) Thomas Monteith (wife, married November 20, 1971)

Awards and Honors

• Member of the Inner Magic Circle, London
• 50 Year Continuous Performer, Magic Castle
• Magic Castle Nomination, Best Visiting Magician of the Year 1971-1972
• Magic Castle Nomination, Best Close-Up Performer of the Year 1972-1973
• S.A.M. National President 1999-2000
• S.A.M. Life Member
• S.A.M. Assembly 8 Gold Medal
• S.A.M. Assembly 8 President 1970-1971
• I.B.M. Order of Merlin
• I.B.M. Ring One Harold Theper Award
• First Place, Close-Up Magic, 1967 Midwest Magic Jubilee, St. Louis
• First Place, Close-Up Magic, 1968 Midwest Magic Jubilee, Kansas City
• St. Louis Magic Heritage Award, 1998
• Honorary Member Los Angeles S.A.M. Assembly
• Honorary Member Merlin and the Court Jesters
• Honorary Kentucky Colonel

Quotes

• Harry always included this quote on his magic business cards: Good Magic with an Occasional Miracle
• For 53 years, Harry ended every close-up performance at the Magic Castle with the following: People often ask: 'Harry, how do you do magic?' May I suggest you try a smile. You'd be amazed at the magic in a smile!

Television and Movies

• 1973, Regis Philbin Show, (television) performing the Houdini Milk Can Escape and the Straitjacket Escape
• 1993, King of the Hill, (movie) Magic Consultant
• Magic Palace, (television - 3 episodes) performing close-up and stand-up magic

Bibliography

• The History of S.A.M. Assembly No. 8 1921-1996 by Monti, Trudy; Monti, Harry, eds. (1996)

Tricks

• Harry Monti’s Block-Off-Rope (M-U-M, Vol. 89, No. 2, July 1999, pp. 24-25)
• Monti’s Hopping Half – A Coin Quickie (M-U-M, Vol. 89, No. 2, July 1999, pp. 25-26)
• Monti’s Copper-Silver Transposition (M-U-M, Vol. 89, No. 2, July 1999, p. 26)
• Monti’s Move with the Okito Coin Box (M-U-M, Vol. 89, No. 2, July 1999, p. 27)

References

• Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about Our Everyday..., by Stephen L. Macknik, Susana Martinez-Conde, Sandra Blakeslee
• Riverfront Times, July 22, 2015, A Controversial Religion Claiming Supernatural Powers? St. Louis Magicians Cry Fraud
• West Newsmagazine, March 4, 2014, Mature Focus: Harry Monti, master of magic
• MAGIC Magazine, January 2014, HARRY MONTI, Conjuring, Cups, and Castle (Randy Kalin and Alan Howard), pp. 50-55
• Riverfront Times, October 8, 2008, Abracadabra: St. Louis has become a flourishing place for magicians
• M-U-M, Vol. 89, No. 2, July 1999, Cover, Monti's Meanderings (Harry Monti, pp. 9-10); A Life in Magic (Peter Rexford, pp. 17-21); Bravo to Harry and Trudy Monti and to Tom Stone (Bob Steiner, p. 21); Seabrooke on Harry Monti (Terry Seabrooke, p. 27); Comment (David Goodsell, p. 26); Harry Monti: Pro-to-the Bone, Friend to All (Jon Racherbaumer, p. 28);
• Genii, November, 1977, The Vernon Touch
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 28, 1993, Expert to Give Youngsters Glimpse of the Fun and Mystery of Magic, p. 92
• Legerdemain, A Magazine of Magic, CD Vol. 1

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