David Alexander

David Alexander
Cover of Genii (1999)
Born	December 22, 1943 Long Beach, California
Died	December 14, 2010 (age 66) Aurora, Illinois

David Alexander (1943-2010) was a traveling stage magician for nearly 40 years, an author and silhouette artist.

Biography

As a child, Alexander was fascinated with magic and joined as an original member of the Long Beach Mystics in the mid-1950s in Southern California. He was a student of Jose Frakson's for seven years, learning several of Frakson’s exclusive tricks and routines. He was also friends with Charlie Miller, from whom which he received one of his signature tricks, the production of a glass of water from an examined bag.

Leaving college in the mid-1960s, David traveled to San Francisco where he became the Hotel Claremont’s first Resident Magician, performing in their restaurant for several months. During this time the Carter Collection of rare magic equipment and memorabilia was rediscovered in San Francisco and he became the its first curator.

Returning to Southern California, Alexander was hired by Princess Cruises as their first magician. He cruised for several years, both for Princess and later Sitmar, logging more than half a million miles at sea entertaining passengers.

Alexander toured Mexico and Central America, performing in Acapulco for nearly a year, as well as Mexico City, Veracruz, private parties in Cuernavaca, as well as El Salvador and Guatemala. David’s travels have taken him around the world, working his act in Spanish, French, and Japanese and on television in the United States, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Mexico and Central America.

He worked for the Trader Vic Organization and was a feature of their Señor Pico Restaurant for over two and one-half years. He also entertained Hollywood celebrities at private parties.

David’s last published project was an investigation into the identity of S.W. Erdnase, the mysterious author The Expert at the Card Table. He presented his findings at the Los Angeles Conference on Magic History, in Genii The Conjuror’s Magazine, in articles in various newspapers including The Wall Street Journal, and with an interview on the BBC.

He had a comprehensive collection of 20th Century silhouette artists’ work and was planning on publishing "The Illustrated History of 20th Century Silhouettes and Guide to Collectibles" at the time of his death.

Alexander moved to Aurora, Illinois from Southern California with his wife, an artist, in 2007 to join his longtime friend, Shawn Carlson,to become deputy director of Aurora’s SciTech Hands On Museum.

Awards

• The Society of American Magicians Manipulation Award.

Books

• The Complete Professional Pickpocket (1979)
• "Star Trek Creator", Gene Roddenberry's biography (1994)

References

• Cover, Genii Magazine, Vol. 63, Vol. 1, January 2000, The Magician As Detective, New Light On Erdnase, By David Alexander, page 16
• The Linking Ring, Vol. 91, No. 1, January 2011, Broken Wand, David Alexander, page 117
• Genii Magazine, Vol. 74, Vol. 2, February 2011, In Memoriam, David Alexander, December 22, 1943 – December 14, 2010, by Tom Baxter, page 16