Difference between revisions of "Karl Germain"

Revision as of 18:05, 27 November 2009

Karl Germain ( February 12, 1878 - August 9, 1959) was born Charles Mattmueller in Cleveland, Ohio. He began his magic career as a boy in Ohio and was touring professionally by the age of twenty. He toured the Great Britain and Ireland as "The American Wizard". He was nicknamed Karl by his school teachers, because there were too many Charles in the school.

He retired for the first time from performing when his sister Ida died (who was his second person in his two-person mentalism act) and went to study law. In 1914, after graduating, he opened a law practice. He still performed periodically, but started booking his one time assistant, Paul Fleming whom he taught to preform his repertoire.

In 1916, returned to performing, when Fleming went to pursue his own carer, but only for a short time as he soon started loosing his eyesight and eventually became blind.

David Ben's reproduces Germain's Egyptian Water Jars and Blooming Rose Bush in his act "The Conjuror".

Books

• Secrets of Karl Germain by Stuart Cramer (1962)
• Germain The Wizard and His Legerdermain by Stuart Cramer (1966)
• Germain the Wizard by Todd Karr

References

• Obit Genii 1959 September
• Genii 2002 May cover story.