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Joe Berg

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Joe Berg

Cover of Genii (1953)
BornJoseph Bergman
December 13, 1902
Minsk, Russian Empire (currently Belarus)
DiedFebruary 19, 1984 (age 81)
Los Angeles
CategoriesBooks by Joe Berg

Joe Berg (1902-1984) was a magic dealer and inventor.[1]

Biography

Berg immigrated to the U.S. with his parents in 1914 and learned magic from Johnny Platt.

In the early 20s, with partners Sam Berland and Harry Faber, he spent over 25 years at the Princess Magic Shop in Chicago, Illinois. His customers and friends included Harry Houdini, Harry Blackstone, Howard Thurston, and Carl Rosini. Later, in 1953, he moved and opened his own shop in Hollywood, California.

Berg, along with Sam Berland, were among the founding members of the The Wizard's Club in Chicago, organized at the home of Sam Berman.

He invented many effects including the Ultra-Mental Deck in 1936. His silk magic effects can be found in Rice's Encyclopedia of Silk Magic.

Berg created a version of Henry Hardin's Princess Card Trick with special packets of cards where you could do it in front of the spectator (rather then going into your pocket). Later Nick Trost also made the packets as specially printed cards. [ need to verify this ]

Joe Berg died five days after he suffered a stroke while walking up a hill to the Magic Castle.[2] [3] [4][5][6]

Awards and honors

Marketed Tricks

  • Flash Appearance Card Frame (1939)

Mechanical Decks

Books

References

  1. Who's Who in Magic, Sphinx, October, 1933
  2. Cover Genii 1953 October
  3. Cover Genii 1974 October
  4. Obit Genii 1984 March
  5. Cover Genii 1983 April
  6. The Linking Ring Vol. 64, No. 4 April 1984, Joe Berg Dies Suddenly, by Frances Marshall, page 112
  • The Linking Ring, Vol. 57, No. 4, April 1977, Memoirs Of A Magician's Ghost, by John Booth, page 51
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