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The Davenport Brothers were the American magicians Ira Erastus Davenport (1839-1911) and William Henry Harrison Davenport (1841-1877) who performed in the late 1800s. Sons of a Buffalo, New York policeman, Ira Davenport, Sr, and Virtue Honeysett, the brothers are famous for deceptively presenting illusions that were claimed to be of a supernatural origin.

Biography

The Davenports began performing in 1854, less than a decade after the Spiritualism movement had taken off in America. After stories of the Fox sisters began to receive public attention, the Davenports started reporting similar occurrences happening to them. Their father resigned from his police job and took up managing his sons and the group was joined by William Fay, a Buffalo resident with an interest in conjuring. Their shows were introduced by a former "Restoration Movement" minister, Jesse Babcock Ferguson, a longtime follower of Spiritualism, who falsely assured the audience that the brothers worked exclusively by spirit power rather than the deceptive trickery of commercial magicians. Ferguson was apparently sincere in his belief that the Davenports were possessed of real spiritual powers.

The Davenports' most famous effect was their box illusion. The brothers were tied up and closed inside a large box which contained a number of musical instruments. Once the box was closed, the instruments would be made to sound. Upon opening the box, the brothers were found tied in the same positions in which they had started the illusion. Those who witnessed the effect were made to believe that supernatural forces had caused the trick to work.

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-[[File: AmazingJohnathan1.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Amazing Johnathan]]]]
+[[File: DavenportBrothers1.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Davenport Brothers]]]]
-'''John Edward Szeles''' (b.1958-d.2022), better known by the stage name '''The Amazing Johnathan''', was an American stand-up comedian/magician.
+'''The Davenport Brothers''' were the American magicians [[Ira Erastus Davenport]] (1839-1911) and [[William Henry Harrison Davenport]] (1841-1877) who performed in the late 1800s.  Sons of a Buffalo, New York policeman, Ira Davenport, Sr, and Virtue Honeysett, the brothers are famous for deceptively presenting illusions that were claimed to be of a supernatural origin.
 == Biography ==
+The Davenports began performing in 1854, less than a decade after the [[Spiritualism]] movement had taken off in America. After stories of the [[Fox sisters]] began to receive public attention, the Davenports started reporting similar occurrences happening to them. Their father resigned from his police job and took up managing his sons and the group was joined by [[William Fay]], a Buffalo resident with an interest in conjuring. Their shows were introduced by a former "Restoration Movement" minister, Jesse Babcock Ferguson, a longtime follower of Spiritualism, who falsely assured the audience that the brothers worked exclusively by spirit power rather than the deceptive trickery of commercial magicians. Ferguson was apparently sincere in his belief that the Davenports were possessed of real spiritual powers.
-His act was mostly composed of hijinks, interaction with one specific audience member and a few legitimate magic tricks which often failed for comic effect. From 2001, he was a year-round headliner in Las Vegas. Self-described as the "Freddy Krueger of Comedy", Szeles usually performed wearing his ever present headband and his shows frequently used gore, such as pretending to suck on his own hanging eyeball, cutting his wrists, and skewering his own tongue. He was also good friends with fellow performer [[Criss Angel]], and had helped Angel perform a variety of illusions, most notably during his three guest appearances on [[Mindfreak]].
+The Davenports' most famous effect was their box illusion. The brothers were tied up and closed inside a large box which contained a number of musical instruments. Once the box was closed, the instruments would be made to sound. Upon opening the box, the brothers were found tied in the same positions in which they had started the illusion. Those who witnessed the effect were made to believe that supernatural forces had caused the trick to work.
-Szeles, who began his career performing in the streets of San Francisco, first appeared on television in ''The 8th Annual Young Comedians Show'' in 1983 and later went on to become the host of the short-lived 1991 syndicated variety/game show ''Ruckus''. He appeared on various talk and variety shows from the mid-80s to mid 2000s. His only credited performance as an actor was The Obligatory Holiday Episode of ''The Weird Al Show'' (playing the part of Uncle Johnathan). He had made several appearances on Late Night with David Lettermen, a record 24 appearances on Fox's Comic Strip Live, and had several specials on Comedy Central including Comedy Central Presents, Lounge Lizards and his own one hour special entitled "Wrong on Every Level."  (November 18, 2006),  He dedicated the special to his Uncle Eugene, who showed him his first card trick which "started this whole mess". His only film appearance was the 2005 documentary ''The Aristocrats''
+[[Davenport Brothers|Read more about Davenport Brothers…]]
-[[Amazing Johnathan|Read more about Amazing Johnathan…]]

Magicpedia:Today's featured article: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 16:11, 17 November 2024

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