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Clarke Crandall

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Clarke Crandall

Cover Genii 1969 March
BornClarke Caryl Randal
April 23, 1907
on a farm in Iowa
DiedJune 01, 1975 (age 68)
Veteran's Hospital in Los Angeles

"Senator" Clarke Crandall (1907-1975) was an American comedy magician and magic dealer. He developed funny routines for such effects as the Card Duck and the Cups and Balls.

Biography

In 1957, Al Sharpe sold his "Studio of Magic" shop to Crandall, who ran it for two years before closing it.

He was a host at the Magic Castle, introducing the acts and fending off people who were improperly attired (there is a strict dress code). He was the original grumpy old man and his wit and sarcasm were accepted and expected by all. He would do a weekly X-rated show on Saturday nights at midnight.[1]

He wrote a column for The New Tops called "It's A Mystery To Me."

The Abbott's Get-Together presents the "Senator Crandall Award" for comedy excellence each year.

Columns & Newsletters

It's a Mystery to Me

"It's a Mystery to Me" was the name of a column Crandall did in The New Tops from 1963 to March 1974. A compilation of some of the columns, selected by Neil Foster, was published as Now You Can Get the Best of "Senator" Crandall in 1969, by Abbott's. Crandall also self-published his Little Pink Booklet in 1972, which was a reprint of more columns from "It's a Mystery to Me."

It's Only My Opinion But...

"It's Only My Opinion But..." was Crandall's column in Genii.

Vol. No. Date Page
36 11 November 1972 498
36 12 December 1972 546
37 1 January 1973 22
37 2 February 1973 68
37 3 March 1973 112
37 4 April 1973 154
37 5 May 1973 200
37 7 July 1973 288
37 8 August 1973 332
37 10 October 1973 422
37 11 November 1973 464
37 12 December 1973 512
38 1 January 1974 20
38 2 February 1974 64
38 3 March 1974 106
38 4 April 1974 148
38 5 May 1974 207
38 6 June 1974 247
38 7 July 1974 294
38 9 September 1974 380
38 10 October 1974 426
38 11 November 1974 474
39 3 March 1975 120
39 4 April 1975 189
39 5 May 1975 226

Crandall Comments

See Crandall Comments.

Little Pink Booklet

V. No. Date
1 1 Mar. 1972
1 2 May 1972
1 3 1972

Senator's Pink Sheet

When Clarke Crandall decided put out his Senator's Pink Sheet, he wanted to have a little fun with the magic collectors of the world. The story is recounted in Magic, Inc.'s Yearbook 1969-70, a Salute to Collectors:

Senator Crandall is one of those who enjoys baiting the collectors. Some years ago he issued a small paper called The Pink Sheet. He began it with Volume I, No. 2. When it ended, after not too many issues, Bob Lund waited as long as he thought fit to locate No. 1, and finally despaired, and had the group bound. No sooner did this news reach the Senator's ears than he wrote Bob and said he was sorry he had gone ahead with the binding, because he had just found a "No. 1." What he had done was to type out a single copy of "No. 1" which he then sent Bob. Paul Koch heard about this. and promptly wrote Crandall for a "No. 1" for his file. Crandall wrote back that he had sent the only copy he had to Bob Lund, and that Paul should write to Bob and tell him to send it to him.[2]

According to Alfredson and Daily, Lund's copy of Volume I, No. 1, was reprinted as a supplement to Periodical for Collecting Conjurors.[3]

V. No. Date
1 2 April 1957
1 3 May 1957
1 4 June 1957
1 5 Nov. 1958
1 6 June 1959

Note: A complete file consists of 6 issues. An issue with no volume, no number, no date was released... Note: This started on Vol. 1, No. 2.

Works

Meet the Senator

Meet the Senator came out circa 1959.

Contents:

  • Page 2 Meet the Senator
  • Page 3 Dear Friends
  • Page 4 "Double Confusion"
  • Page 7 "Everything Fair Poker Deal"
  • Page 12 "Palm Reading Routine"

The Senator Returns (1959)

The Senator Returns was published in 1959.

Contents:

  • "Twenty One Card Trick"
  • "Too Many Sevens"
  • "Lecture on Perseverance"
  • Newspaper Clippings
  • Optical Illusions

Gwendolyn and the Duck Deck Routine

See Card Duck#Senator Crandall and "Gwendolyn".

How to Stack Dice for Fun and No $! (1974)

How to Stack Dice for Fun and No Profit! was published in 1974.

Contents:

  • INDEX or where to find it
  • CASTLE washroom PASS
  • APPRECIATIONS or credits
  • INDEX that's this page
  • Page 1 history of the dice stack and other stuff
  • Page 2 more of the same and
  • Page 3 continues upward to
  • Page 4 which has still more
  • Page 5 if you're in a hurry pass up these first 5 pages
  • Page 6 this is it! the basic moves, cup and dice dimensions
  • Page 7 the pick up and stack illustrations
  • Page 8 the master move LEARN IT
  • Page 9 THE SWEEP you can't do it
  • Page 10 pick off-left to right
  • Page 11 special effects... how to load the cup for a finale
  • Page 12 more of the above stuff
  • Page 13 other loads & suggestions
  • Page 14 routine with small die
  • Page 15 patter suggestions
  • Page 16 my patter you won't use it
  • Page 17 APOLOGIA

How to Add More Magic to Your Comedy

This was the working title of a book of Crandall's magic that Bruce Cervon and Ron Bauer had planned to write. After Cervon died in 2007, Bauer stated:

Unfortunately, several years of procrastination followed by Bruce’s illness delayed our progress on the book. Now that Bruce has passed on, I doubt that I'll ever write and publish it, mostly because he was the connection to Clarke's family who should be part of the project.[4]

Other Works

  • Politicking Magic was published circa 1955, and was written by Jay Marshall and Crandall.
    • Page 1 How I Came to Do Politicking Magic by Jay Marshall
    • Page 2 The Political Speech
    • Page 4 Clarke "The Senator" Crandall's Political Thoughts
    • Page 5 The Clarke Crandall Style

Contributions to Books

Title Book Title Author Date Pages
"An Impossible Transposition" The Last Word on Cards W. F. Rufus Steele 1952 26-27
"The Sands of Time" Ireland Yearbook for 1953 L. L. Ireland 1953 32-33
"On the Linking Ropes" Ireland Yearbook for 1953 L. L. Ireland 1953 33
"Cup and Balls" The Tarbell Course in Magic, Vol. 6 Harlan Tarbell 1954 39-48
"One Hand Six Card Repeat" The Tarbell Course in Magic, Vol. 6 Harlan Tarbell 1954 78-83
"Crandall's Original Routine" (Sponge balls) The Sponge Book: How to Do Sponge Ball Tricks Frances Marshall 1960 35-41
"Around the Block" The Sponge Book: How to Do Sponge Ball Tricks Frances Marshall 1960 42-43
"The Senator Explains ESP" Comedy Mentalism, Vol. 2 Robert Nelson 1963 13
"Some Thoughts on Mentalism" Comedy Mentalism, Vol. 2 Robert Nelson 1963 26-27
"More Than Coincidence" Comedy Mentalism, Vol. 2 Robert Nelson 1963 55-57
"A Short Anatomy of Humor" Comedy Mentalism, Vol. 3 Robert Nelson 1964 13-16
"Magic Isn’t Funny" Ireland Yearbook 1967-8 Frances Marshall 1968 20-24
"Triad-a-Maze" Ireland Yearbook 1967-8 Frances Marshall 1968 99-101
"Open Force" Expert Card Conjuring Alton Sharpe 1968 77
"Crandall's Rainbow" Super Subtle Card Miracles Frank Garcia 1972 139-142
"A Backward Effect" The Rainbow Deck Randy Wakeman 1995 1-3

Contributions to Magazines

Title Magazine Title Vol. No. Date Pages
"The Joker Finds It" The Tops 20 9 Sept. 1955 7-8
"Jumbo Snake in Basket Routine" The Tops 13 8 Aug. 1948 8-9
"A Backward Effect" Abracadabra 6 140 Oct. 2, 1948 156-157
"Senator Crandall's Card" ("Notes on the I.B.M. Convention" by Martin Gardner) Hugard's Magic Monthly 7 1 June 1949 555
"Yakity-Yak Gag" ("Comedy Stunts" by Martin Gardner) Hugard's Magic Monthly 7 6 Nov. 1949 605
"Tear It Up" M-U-M 43 11 April 1954 470
"Rip 'Em Up" M-U-M 44 5 Oct. 1954 202
"A Backward Effect" The New Phoenix 328 Aug. 8, 1955 120-121
"The First Magic Convention" (article) Genii 23 10 June 1959 358-360
"A Letter to the Editor" (article) The New Tops 1 4 April 1961 38-39
"Jay Marshall" (article) The New Tops 1 6 June 1961 2
"Ricki Dunn: America's No. 1 Pickpocket" (article) The New Tops 3 12 Dec. 1963 4-5
"William Russell Walsh" (article) The New Tops 11 7 July 1971 27-28
"George McAthy: An Appreciation" (article) The New Tops 11 10 Oct. 1971 22-23
"Abbott's 35th Annual Get-Together" (article) Genii 36 9 Sept. 1972 412-416
"P.C.A.M. Convention Report" (article) Genii 37 6 June 1973 252-256
"Clarke The Senator Crandall A Sketchy Autobiography" (article) Genii 37 9 Sept. 1973 383-386
"On the Reputed Demise of Duke Stern" (article) The New Tops 13 10 Oct. 1973 45-46


References

  1. ↑ Cover Genii 1969 March
  2. ↑ Magic, Inc., Yearbook 1969-70, 1970, p. 7
  3. ↑ James B. Alfredson and George L. Daily, Jr., A Biliography of Conjuring Periodicals in English: 1791-1983, 1986, p. 316
  4. ↑ Ron Bauer, "Honest, Now You Can Cheat For Free!", Think Like a Conjurer, 2007
  • The New Tops, Vol. 1, No. 6, June 1961, Cover Portrait, page 22
  • Genii 1973 September, Vol. 37, No. 9, CLARKE “The Senator” Crandall, A Sketchy Autobiography, page 383
  • The New Tops, Vol. 15, No. 4, April 1975, page 43
  • Goodlife's Abracadabra, Vol. 60 No. 1536, Saturday, 5th JULY, 1975, obituary, page 23
  • The Linking Ring, Vol. 55, No. 8, August 1975, Clarke, The Senator, Crandall Dies, page 92
  • http://www.death-record.com/l/134553307/Clarke-Crandall
  • "Senator" Crandall Front Page Personality/cover Goodliffe Gen Vol 10 No 6 October 1954 p. 173
  • Genii Vol. 33, No. 7 by William W. Larsen, Jr. (March 1969) cover p. 273 WWL Jr.
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