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Val Andrews

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Revision as of 18:49, 26 May 2008 by Philippe billot (Talk | contribs) (Books)

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Val Andrews (Feb 15, 1926 - Oct 12 2006)

Born in Hove, England just a few hours after Valentine's Day, hence the name Val. He was the son of an architect and for many years of his life lived in Brighton, England.

He performed as The Great Valentine, Bronco, Val Vox the Magical Raconteur and The Mysterious Vanson.

In 1943, he moved to London and became friendly with Will Goldston, George Davenport, Bobby Bernard, Al Koran and Fergus Roy amongst other magic notables.

In 1957 he married Doreen and had a daughter Christie.

He was a prolific writer, having almost 1,000 books and booklets on magic and the allied arts published. He wrote many of Tommy Cooper's scripts. He also wrote biographies of famous magicians include: Dante, Murray, Will Goldston, Horace Goldin, Carmo, Kalanag and Chung Ling Soo. He frequently contributed to Abra., Magigram and other magic magazines. He wrote many new Sherlock Holmes stories, usually with a magic background to it.

In 2000, Val recieved, The John Nevil Maskelyne Prize, from the Magic Circle for his literary work and a Literary Fellowship by the Academy of Magical Arts.

Books

  • Commercial Comedy (1952)
  • Goodnight, Mr. Dante (1978)
  • Four Seasons in the Life of Val Andrews (1984)
  • Life, Dull It Ain't (1983) [about Horace Goldin](1983)
  • Houdini : The Last Word (1998)

Effects

  • Val Andrews' Unfaked Book Test