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Alonzo Moore
| Alonzo Moore | |
| Born | circa 1870 |
|---|---|
| Died | circa 1914 (age 43) |
Alonzo Moore (c.1870-c.1914), who was once billed as the Black Hermann (not to be confused with a more popular conjurer, Black Herman), served his magic apprenticeship during the 1890s as an assistant to Ed Maro and performed his own act starting in 1900.[1]
Biography
Maro's programs had listed his assistant as "Theosis" and was seen on numerous occasions at the Clark Street Museum in Chicago.[2]
Moore joined Billy Kersands' Minstrels in 1904. The act, during the five years he was with it, matured from a minstrel format into a vaudeville bill that played in the United States and to Queen Victoria in London.
When Moore played the Castle Square Theatre in Boston, he featured the Chinese Linking Rings and multiplying billiard balls.
His last tour was of the Orient with the Hugo Brothers Minstrels in 1913.[3]
The 1910 United States Census lists an "Alonzo Moore" with occupation "traveling magician" as a servant in the household of Allie M. Best and her mother Lucy L. Kaiser in Leland Township, Michigan. Moore is listed as black, age 34 and single, having been born in Missouri. [4]
His death is usually reported as 1914, but in the Sphinx for February, 1921 under the "WIZARD'S WANDERING FROM WHEELING, W. VA" column by Paul R. Semple it was reported that "Harvey's Minstrels was in Wheeling and carried with them Alonzo Moore, a colored magician." Other accounts of Moore touring can be found on into the 1920's. He was with Harvey's Minstrels[5] in the early part of the decade. He appeared with the Silas Green show as late as early 1929[6], but left them by the winter season of that year[7].
References
- ↑ A History of Blacks in Magic BY JIM MAGUS, Linking Ring,October, 1983
- ↑ Magic A Pictorial History History of Conjurers in the Theater by David Price (1985)
- ↑ Vaudeville, old and new By Frank Cullen, Florence Hackman, Donald McNeilly (2007)
- ↑ 1910 Census from Heritagequest.com
- ↑ "Next Week at the Globe," Cleveland Gazette, May 19, 1923 p. 2
- ↑ "Silas Green Show," Chicago Defender May 18, 1920 p. 6
- ↑ "Silas Green Show to Play Winter Season," Chicago Defender Dec 14, 1929 p. 7