Harry Thurston

Harry Thurston ( 1867 - March 7, 1941) was the older brother of the more famous Howard Thurston who also had a short career as a magician.

Harry started out in the world of carnivals and circuses and for a time was an advance man for Ringling Brothers.

With the success of his brother in magic, he was tempted him to try it too. Harry's wife, Rae, worked in the act as Princes Ranee. He toured for a couple of years, before returning to Chicago where for almost 20 year he lived on the forth floor of a burlesque house in the Levee District. He evenutlaly achieved finicial success in the underworld their.

In Percy Abbott's biography, "A Lifeime in Magic', he describe his unhappy experience with working for Harry, who would fire and hire assistants on a daily basis. George Boston also later worked as stage manager for Harry described his better experience in his book "Inside Magic".

When Harry Thurston died in Miami, Florida newspapers only reported that the brother of the late Howard Thurston was dead. The Associated Press obituary only contained in a single line: "He was formerly a vaudeville actor."

References

• A Lifetime in Magic by Percy Abbott (1960)
• Inside Magic by George Boston (with Robert Parrish) (1947)
• The Other Thurston by Gerald A. Schiller in Genii 2009 May