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Rhadolph Marcelliee

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Rhadolph Marcelliee
BornMarcellus R. Clark
April 14, 1895
Cambridge, Massachusetts
DiedJune 21, 1971 (age 76)
Philadelphia, Pennsylviania

Rhadolph Marcelliee (1895-1971) was a successful black performer who pass himself off as an Indian magician.

Biography

He became interested in magic after meeting Henry S. Percival in 1907 and interesting in performing as a career after seeing Alonzo Moore performing with Harvey's Minstrels in Boston.

It was after catching Professor Maharajah (Wilmont Barclay) who masqueraded as a Hindu hypnotist and escape artist that Clark became decided pass himself off as an Indian magician.

Billing himself as "The Magician That Is Somewhat Different", he created a fictitious biography for press releases for his performances as a Hindu mentalist and escape artist.

He married Alma in New York in the 1920s, who assisted him and was billed as Princess Almasjid Marcelliee.

In the 1930s, he and his wife developed a faith-healing program, as Doctor and Madame Marcelliee, doing mind-reading and Bible lectures.

At some point, Alma retired from the entertainment business, and Marcellus Clark continued as a solo act.

Clark was the possibly the first black magician to perform at an International Brotherhood of Magicians convention in Philadelphia in 1952. He later joined the IBM in 1953 as member No. 14190.

Clark was still performing in the late 1960s and promoting himself in brochures which embellished his career.[1]

He married again in 1966 to Forestyne Armstrong.[2]

References

  1. Conjure Times : Black Magicians in America by Jim Haskins, Kathleen Benson (2001)
  2. Broken Wand, Linking Ring, September, 1971