Ron Wilson

Ron Wilson
Cover of Genii (1972)
Born	October 1, 1926 Dundee, Scotland
Died	December 17, 2010 (age 84) Los Angeles, California

Ron Wilson (1926-2010) was a professional magician for over forty years.

Biography

Wilson's interest in magic was strengthened after watching Dante when he came to Dundee to perform. By the age of nine, he had given his first show at a hotel in Ireland during a family vacation trip.

At nineteen, after army service, he joined the Dundee Magic Circle where he became a close friend of Harry Carnegie and Johnny Geddis. Wilson played small towns one night stands and tried working in his father's business but finally decided to seek his fortune in Canada around 1952. He went to Windsor, Ontario, across a river from the Detroit where he became acquainted with Karrell Fox and Milt Kort. Wilson did a CBC-TV shot in Toronto and played club dates in the surrounding area of Detroit and Toledo.

He left the cold Canadian winters to move to sunnier California where The Magic Castle became a cornerstone of his career. This led him into performing at celebrity parties in Beverly Hills homes. He also started working cruise ships.

He estimates that he has played roles or done inserts, in television shows including "Fantasy Island", "Rhoda" and "Ironside." Sometimes he would be a technical consultant or do the hands for actors as a gambler dealing poker hands and executing false cuts and push-throughs.

Wilson performed all over the world including Russia, China, Africa, Japan, India, Sweden, Hong Kong, and Las Vegas.

Bibliography

• The Uncanny Scot: Ron Wilson by Richard Kaufman (1987)

References

• Genii 1972 July (cover)