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Jackie Flosso
| Jackie Flosso | |
| Born | Jack Levinson February 11, 1926 Brooklyn, NY |
|---|---|
| Died | September 26, 2003 (age 77) Manhattan |
Jackie Flosso (February 11, 1926 - September 26, 2003) was born Jack Levinson to legendary magician Al Flosso.
Biography
His maternal grandfather was Louis Krieger, known as Pops, a magician known for his mastery of the Cups and Balls.
Jack grew up surrounded by sideshow personalities like Bud Abbott, and wealthy figures like the Rolls Royce chairman John McManus.
Jack started out as as a comedy magician in nightclubs and on U.S.O. tours. He featured a money act billed as "Mr. Billionaire", which included the production of bills, a Miser's Dream, and the vanish of a small safe where the money was placed. And, in the 1950's, Jack performed in Las Vegas.
In 1939, his father Al bought the Martinka Magic from the magician Frank Ducrot, renaming it Flosso-Hornmann Magic. Jack took over the shop in 1976, after his father passed away, and ran it until he sold it to Ted Bogusta in 2000.[1][2]
Jackie loved the shop, and always said he grew up right there in the store. It has been described as having been in those days "a messy Aladdin's cave of magical marvels, from trick cards and ropes, to a live lion that one owner, the magician Carter the Great, kept in the back room.[1] Jackie learned to live by the store's motto: "Mundus Vult Deipi Decipiatur" ("The world wants to be deceived, let it be deceived") but would follow it only to a point: Like his father, he always made sure every young customer left with at least enough money to take the subway home.[1]
Jack died in 2003 at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan. He was 77.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Jackie Flosso, 77, Magic Shop Maven, Dies" - New York Times, Douglas Martin, Oct. 1, 2003. Accessed 2015-07-16
- ↑ Obit - Genii, Nov. 2003.