Great LaFollette

Great LaFollette
Born	George Phillip Reuschling December 08, 1886 Baltimore, Maryland
Died	November 08, 1960 (age 73) St. Petersburg, Florida
Resting place	Loudon Park Cemetery Baltimore, Maryland

The Great LaFollette and Rush Ling Toy were the stage names of George P. Reuschling (b.1886-d.1960) from Baltimore, Maryland who performed both a successful Chinese and traditional magic act (frequently with both acts on the same bill letting audiences believe they were different people). Another of his specialties was a Quick-Change act.

Biography

At one time was partnered with Jean Hugard in a Luna Park theatre of magic.

Beginning in 1908, he was performing as The Mysterious Reuschling in the D.C./Baltimore area. By 1912, he was performing his Chinese act as Rush Ling Toy in Vaudeville. Later he developed The Great LaFollette, "International Transformist", in which he would change and perform as Herrmann the Great, Harry Kellar, Buatier de Kolta, Servais Le Roy and his Chinese alter ego Rush Ling Toy.

LaFallette toured Cuba with Carl Rosini, South America with Carl Herrmann, played in The Main Street Follies in New York. He did a magic show in New York in 1931 and performed the Production of bowls of water, Three Card Monte, the Jam Illusion and ended with the Cremation Illusion and Vanish from Cabinet.

After Vaudeville, he settled in the Boston area, where he performed until retiring and moving to Florida. There, he opened and ran a magic shop in St. Petersburg. Among his inventions were The La Follette Rice Combination, Wooden Soldier Illusion, Flight of the Mandarin, The Russian Anarchist, The Spinning Girl, The Phantom Studio and The Spirit Bungalow.

He was a member of the S.A.M., I.B.M., and the I.M.C..

Books

• Lightning Changes and Illusion Transformations (1936)

References

• Cover The Sphinx, Vol. 30, No. 10, December 1931
• The Sphinx, Vol. 33, No. 1, March 1934, Who's Who in Magic, page 14
• The Linking Ring, Vol. 26, No. 1, March 1946, MAGIC IN MARYLAND, HOCUS POCUS PARADE, by "Hen" Fetsch - La Follette, page 58
• The Conjurors’ Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 9, November 1947, “The Man With Many Faces”, by M. M. Gregg, page 11
• Cover The Linking Ring, Vol. 29, No. 9, November 1949, Lafollette “Changeling”, by Eddie Clever, page 15
• Cover M-U-M, Vol. 42, No. 6, November 1952, George La Follette, magician-of-the-month, by Leslie P. Guest, page 151
• The Linking Ring, Vol. 35, No. 4, June 1955, Award Winner Parade, by Bill Weldon – George LaFollette, page 66
• Goodliffe's Abracadabra, Vol. 30, No. 774, November 1960, The Great LaFollette died, page 313
• The Linking Ring, Vol. 40, No. 10, December 1960, La Follette died, by Milbourne Christopher, page 42
• M-U-M, Vol. 50, No. 7, December 1960, BROKEN WANDS, George La Follette, page 406
• Bio-bibliographisches Lexikon der Zauberkünstler Edition Volker Huber, April 2002, Reuschling, Georg P. = The Great LaFollette; Rush Ling Toy, USA Zauberkünstler; Verwandlungskünstler (*08.12.1886 Baltimore, Maryland; †08.11.1960), page 275
• The Illustrated History of Magic by Milbourne Christopher (1973)
• Programmes of Famous Magicians, 1937.