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Clarke Crandall
| Clarke Crandall | |
 Cover Genii 1969 March | |
| Born | Clarke Caryl Crandal April 23, 1907 Iowa |
|---|---|
| Died | June 19, 1975 (age 68) Veteran's Hospital in Los Angeles |
Clarke "The Senator" Crandall (b.1907-d.1975) was an American comedy magician and magic dealer. He developed funny routines for such effects as the Card Duck and the Cups and Balls.
Biography
Born on a farm in Iowa. Around 1954, Crandall was doing magic at George Banning's Magic Lounge in Cicero, one of the many bars featuring magic around Chicago. Then, he bought the "Studio of Magic" shop from Al Sharpe in 1957, and ran it for two years before closing.[1]
He became a host at the Magic Castle, introducing the acts and fending off people who were improperly attired (there is a strict dress code). He was the original grumpy old man and his wit and sarcasm were accepted and expected by all. He would do a weekly X-rated show on Saturday nights at midnight.[2]
The Abbott's Get-Together presents the "Senator Crandall Award" for comedy excellence each year.
Columns & Newsletters
Senator's Pink Sheet
Senator's Pink Sheet ran from April 1957 to June 1959.
"It's a Mystery to Me"
"It's a Mystery to Me" was the name of a long-running column The Senator wrote for The New Tops, from 1963 to March 1974. A compilation of some of the columns, selected by Neil Foster, was published as Now You Can Get the Best of "Senator" Crandall in 1969, by Abbott's. Crandall also self-published his Little Pink Booklet in 1972, which was a reprint of more columns from "It's a Mystery to Me."
Little Pink Booklet
Senator Crandall's Little Pink Booklet was published "irregularly" for a brief period in 1972.
"It's Only My Opinion But..."
"It's Only My Opinion But..." was Crandall's column in Genii, from November 1972 to May 1975.
| Vol. | No. | Date | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 11 | November 1972 | 498 |
| 36 | 12 | December 1972 | 546 |
| 37 | 1 | January 1973 | 22 |
| 37 | 2 | February 1973 | 68 |
| 37 | 3 | March 1973 | 112 |
| 37 | 4 | April 1973 | 154 |
| 37 | 5 | May 1973 | 200 |
| 37 | 7 | July 1973 | 288 |
| 37 | 8 | August 1973 | 332 |
| 37 | 10 | October 1973 | 422 |
| 37 | 11 | November 1973 | 464 |
| 37 | 12 | December 1973 | 512 |
| 38 | 1 | January 1974 | 20 |
| 38 | 2 | February 1974 | 64 |
| 38 | 3 | March 1974 | 106 |
| 38 | 4 | April 1974 | 148 |
| 38 | 5 | May 1974 | 207 |
| 38 | 6 | June 1974 | 247 |
| 38 | 7 | July 1974 | 294 |
| 38 | 9 | September 1974 | 380 |
| 38 | 10 | October 1974 | 426 |
| 38 | 11 | November 1974 | 474 |
| 39 | 3 | March 1975 | 120 |
| 39 | 4 | April 1975 | 189 |
| 39 | 5 | May 1975 | 226 |
Crandall Comments
Clarke The Senator Crandall Comments was published in Hollywood "at 50¢ a copy once a month sometimes" in 1974 and 75.
Bibliography
Meet the Senator
Meet the Senator came out circa 1950.
Contents:
- Page 2 Meet the Senator
- Page 3 Dear Friends
- Page 4 "Double Confusion"
- Page 7 "Everything Fair Poker Deal"
- Page 12 "Palm Reading Routine"
Entertaining With Magic (1952)
The Senator Returns (1959)
The Senator Returns was published in 1959.
Contents:
- "Twenty One Card Trick"
- "Too Many Sevens"
- "Lecture on Perseverance"
- Newspaper Clippings
- Optical Illusions
Gwendolyn and the Duck Deck Routine
See Senator Crandall and "Gwendolyn".
How to Stack Dice for Fun and No $! (1974)
See How to Stack Dice for Fun and No $!.
How to Add More Magic to Your Comedy
This was the working title of a book of Crandall's magic that Bruce Cervon and Ron Bauer had planned to write. After Cervon died in 2007, Bauer stated:
Unfortunately, several years of procrastination followed by Bruce’s illness delayed our progress on the book. Now that Bruce has passed on, I doubt that I'll ever write and publish it, mostly because he was the connection to Clarke's family who should be part of the project.[3]
Other Works
- Politicking Magic was published circa 1955, and was written by Jay Marshall and Crandall.
- Page 1 How I Came to Do Politicking Magic by Jay Marshall
- Page 2 The Political Speech
- Page 4 Clarke "The Senator" Crandall's Political Thoughts
- Page 5 The Clarke Crandall Style
- Senator Crandall's Cut-Up Card Trick was released by Ron Bauer in 2003 as No. 13 in the Ron Bauer Private Studies Series.
- Senator Crandall's Everything Fair Poker Deal was released in 2007 as a free ebook. ThinkLikeaConjurer.com
Contributions to Books
| Title | Book Title | Author | Date | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Triple Divincation" | 50 Tricks You Can Do, You Will Do, Easy to Do | W. F. Rufus Steele | 1946 | 22 |
| Some gags (as given to Don Alan) | Ireland Yearbook 1950 | L. L. Ireland | 1950 | 31-32 |
| "An Impossible Transposition" | The Last Word on Cards | W. F. Rufus Steele | 1952 | 26-27 |
| Cards in pocket anecdote | With Frances In Magicland | Frances Ireland | 1952 | 117 |
| "The Sands of Time" | Ireland Yearbook for 1953 | L. L. Ireland | 1953 | 32-33 |
| "On the Linking Ropes" | Ireland Yearbook for 1953 | L. L. Ireland | 1953 | 33 |
| "Cup and Balls" | The Tarbell Course in Magic, Vol. 6 | Harlan Tarbell | 1954 | 39-48 |
| "One Hand Six Card Repeat" | The Tarbell Course in Magic, Vol. 6 | Harlan Tarbell | 1954 | 78-83 |
| "Crandall on Kids" | Kid Stuff, Vol. 2 | Frances Ireland Marshall | 1959 | 72 |
| "Crandall's Original Routine" (Sponge balls) | The Sponge Book: How to Do Sponge Ball Tricks | Frances Ireland Marshall | 1960 | 35-41 |
| "Around the Block" | The Sponge Book: How to Do Sponge Ball Tricks | Frances Ireland Marshall | 1960 | 42-43 |
| Multiple table shift (with Ed Marlo) | Revolutionary Card Technique, Chapter 11: The Multiple Shift | Ed Marlo | 1960 | 21-23 |
| "The Senator Explains ESP" | Comedy Mentalism, Vol. 2 | Robert Nelson | 1963 | 13 |
| "Some Thoughts on Mentalism" | Comedy Mentalism, Vol. 2 | Robert Nelson | 1963 | 26-27 |
| "More Than Coincidence" | Comedy Mentalism, Vol. 2 | Robert Nelson | 1963 | 55-57 |
| "A Short Anatomy of Humor" | Comedy Mentalism, Vol. 3 | Robert Nelson | 1964 | 13-16 |
| Comedy card in the egg | Ireland Yearbook 1967-8 | Frances Marshall | 1968 | 17 |
| "Magic Isn’t Funny" | Ireland Yearbook 1967-8 | Frances Marshall | 1968 | 20-24 |
| "Triad-a-Maze" | Ireland Yearbook 1967-8 | Frances Marshall | 1968 | 99-101 |
| "Open Force" | Expert Card Conjuring | Alton Sharpe | 1968 | 77 |
| "30th Century Clip Board" | The New Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mentalism | Burling "Volta" Hull | 1972 | 119-122 |
| "Crandall's Rainbow" | Super Subtle Card Miracles | Frank Garcia | 1972 | 139-142 |
| "The Joker Finds It" | Miniature Mysteries With Cards | Barbara Walker | 1980 | 55-6 |
| "Gamblers' Nightmare" | The Bobo Magic Show | J. B. Bobo | 1984 | 48 |
| Remarks (from lecture in New York, March 1952) | Magic For Bartenders - Encore! | Leo Behnke | 1992 | 9-13 |
| Beer bottle gag | Magic For Bartenders - Encore! | Leo Behnke | 1992 | 38 |
| "My Business Cards" | Magic For Bartenders - Encore! | Leo Behnke | 1992 | 65-67 |
| "Crandall's Mexican Turnover" | Find The Ace: A Book About Three Card Monte | Leo Behnke | 1993 | 30-31 |
| "A Backward Effect" | The Rainbow Deck | Randy Wakeman | 1995 | 1-3 |
| "Crandall-Marlo Strip-Out Multiple Shift" | Ron Bauer Private Studies Series, No. 17: Second Finger Top Deal | Ron Bauer | 2004 | 26-30 |
Contributions to Magazines
| Title | Magazine Title | Vol. | No. | Date | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Joker Finds It" | The Tops | 20 | 9 | Sept. 1955 | 7-8 |
| "Jumbo Snake in Basket Routine" | The Tops | 13 | 8 | Aug. 1948 | 8-9 |
| "A Backward Effect" | Abracadabra | 6 | 140 | Oct. 2, 1948 | 156-157 |
| "Nothing At All" | The Phoenix | 163 | Nov. 6, 1948 | 657 | |
| "Four Pips" | The Phoenix | 166 | Dec. 17, 1948 | 667 | |
| "Senator Crandall's Card" ("Notes on the I.B.M. Convention" by Martin Gardner) | Hugard's Magic Monthly | 7 | 1 | June 1949 | 555 |
| "Yakity-Yak Gag" ("Comedy Stunts" by Martin Gardner) | Hugard's Magic Monthly | 7 | 6 | Nov. 1949 | 605 |
| "Tear It Up" | M-U-M | 43 | 11 | April 1954 | 470 |
| "Rip 'Em Up" | M-U-M | 44 | 5 | Oct. 1954 | 202 |
| "A Backward Effect" | The New Phoenix | 328 | Aug. 8, 1955 | 120-121 | |
| "The First Magic Convention" (article) | Genii | 23 | 10 | June 1959 | 358-360 |
| "A Letter to the Editor" (article) | The New Tops | 1 | 4 | April 1961 | 38-39 |
| "Jay Marshall" (article) | The New Tops | 1 | 6 | June 1961 | 2 |
| "Ricki Dunn: America's No. 1 Pickpocket" (article) | The New Tops | 3 | 12 | Dec. 1963 | 4-5 |
| "William Russell Walsh" (article) | The New Tops | 11 | 7 | July 1971 | 27-28 |
| "George McAthy: An Appreciation" (article) | The New Tops | 11 | 10 | Oct. 1971 | 22-23 |
| "Abbott's 35th Annual Get-Together" (article) | Genii | 36 | 9 | Sept. 1972 | 412-416 |
| "P.C.A.M. Convention Report" (article) | Genii | 37 | 6 | June 1973 | 252-256 |
| "Clarke The Senator Crandall A Sketchy Autobiography" (article) | Genii | 37 | 9 | Sept. 1973 | 383-386 |
| "On the Reputed Demise of Duke Stern" (article) | The New Tops | 13 | 10 | Oct. 1973 | 45-46 |
References
- ↑ MAGIC Magazine, January 2005
- ↑ Cover Genii 1969 March
- ↑ Ron Bauer, "Honest, Now You Can Cheat For Free!", Think Like a Conjurer, 2007
- The New Tops, Vol. 1, No. 6, June 1961, Cover Portrait, page 22
- Cover, Genii Magazine, Vol. 37, No. 9, September 1973, CLARKE “The Senator” Crandall, A Sketchy Autobiography, page 383
- The New Tops, Vol. 15, No. 4, April 1975, page 43
- Goodlife's Abracadabra, Vol. 60 No. 1536, Saturday, 5th JULY, 1975, obituary, page 23
- Cover, The Linking Ring, Vol. 55, No. 8, August 1975, Clarke, The Senator, Crandall Dies, page 92
- http://www.death-record.com/l/134553307/Clarke-Crandall
- "Senator" Crandall Front Page Personality/cover Goodliffe Gen Vol 10 No 6 October 1954 p. 173
- Genii Vol. 33, No. 7 by William W. Larsen, Jr. (March 1969) cover p. 273 WWL Jr.