Charles Joseph Carter

Charles Joseph Carter
Cover of Genii (1974)
Born	June 14, 1874 New Castle, Pennsylvania
Died	February 13, 1936 (age 61) Bombay, Inda
Resting place	Calvary Cemetery in Queens New York

Charles Joseph Carter (1874–1936), who began his career as a journalist and lawyer, was an American stage magician who performed as "Carter the Great."

Biography

Due to stiff competition from the number of magic acts on the American stages at the time, Carter opted to pursue his career abroad, where he achieved his greatest fame.

Among the highlights of Carter's stage performances were the classic "sawing a woman in half" illusion (an elaborate surgical-themed version with "nurses" in attendance), making a live elephant disappear and "cheating the gallows", where a shrouded Carter would vanish, just as he dropped at the end of a hangman's noose.

Charles Carter first theatrical experience occurred at the Herzog's museum and Pat Harris' Masonic Temple in Baltimore at the age of 10, where he appeared as "Master Charles Carter the Original Boy Magician".

Carter purchased the famous Martinka Magic Palace in 1917, when he was unable to continue his world touring magic show. It's been told that he kept his lion, Monty in the back room of the shop which would often startle customers when it would roar. He sold the Martinka Magic Store to Houdini in 1919.

On April 9, 1918, Carter opened on Broadway to mixed reviews. Billboard said he was clever and witty, however, Variety found the acting in one of his skits "almost as atrocious as the lion seems ferocious." Carter's "indefinite" run only lasted a mere two weeks.

After becoming ill in early 1935, his son Larry Carter (1936-1995) took over the show with his final performance given in San Francisco the following year when The Depression started.

A fictionalized account of his life can be found in Carter Beats the Devil (ISBN 0-7868-8632-3) by Glen David Gold (2001).

Touring Dates

1906

• September 15-21  : Decatur, Illinois
• September 27 - Oct 3 : Cleveland, Ohio
• October 4 - ?  : Cincinnati, Ohio
• October 28 - ?  : Holland, Michigan
• November 8 - ?  : Chicago Heights, Illinois
• November 19 - ?  : Fairmount, Indiana
• November 30 - ?  : Tecumseh, Michigan

1912

• December 25  : Terre Haute, Indiana

References

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