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Mac McDonald
| Mac McDonald | |
| Born | 1907 Mississippi |
|---|---|
| Died | circa 1982 |
John W. "Mac" McDonald (1907-c.1982) was a pitchman and society's entertainer around the 1930s. McDonald had only one hand, having lost his right one as a small boy. It was severed by a sawmill when he was only ten years old while working in Alabama.
Biography
Arriving in California as a young business man, he soared to the top of his profession as a diamond broker. He operated "McDonald's Diamond Exchange" in Los Angeles dated in the 1920's.
When The Depression hit the United States, he started working as a magician. He billed himself at times as the "Champagne Magician", the "One-armed Magician" and the "Society Magician". He developed a reputation during a 12-year career as a man who entertained royalty and played to discriminating audiences. He entertained Franklin Delano Roosevelt twice.
In 1929, he was joined by Louis Tannen in the "Traveling Magic Store" which they operated. For seven years they toured the country, pitching their magic.[1]
He is most remembered for his MacDonald's Aces card routine.
He retired from magic around 1952 and moved to Boulder city, Nevada, spending his days trying to invent a perpetual machine.[2][3]
References
- ↑ LOUIS TANNEN A Brief Sketch of His Magic Life By Ralph Read in Linking Ring, April 1951
- ↑ Henderson Home News-Henderson, Nevada, July 2, 1964
- ↑ Vernon Touch in Genii 1973 October, Genii 1973 December, Genii 1979 March and Genii 1985 November
- Genii, Vol. 8, No. 10, June 1944, ODD MAGICAL FACTS by FRANK FEWINS, page 348
- The Linking Ring, Vol. 31, No. 2, April 1951, LOUIS TANNEN, A Brief Sketch of His Magic Life by Ralph Read, page 76