Dantini

Dantini
Born	Vincent Cierkes 1906 Fells Point, Maryland
Died	March 14, 1979 Baltimore, Maryland

Dantini (1906-1979), the stage name of Vincent Cierkes, was a showman for more than fifty years performing in night clubs, vaudeville, carnivals, private parties and as an extra in movies.

Biography

He became interested in magic by the age of nine and six years later would journey to Pittsburgh to begin his entertainment career at the Eagle Theatre. He would later work summers at Coney Island as "Dr. Zanger, Jr., the Astrologist", and performed in vaudeville and night clubs during the winter months.

Cierkes got his stage name by combining the names of his two idols, Dante and Harry Houdini.

In 1946, he did magic in the Broadway production of "Around the World in 80 Days." He also starred in a documentary film about Baltimore in the 1970s and produced his own film called "Our Baltimore".

He collapsed following a midnight performance at the Peabody Book Shop and Beer Stube where he had been engaged for the past 12 years. He was rushed to the hospital where he died.