Help us get to over 8,748 articles in 2024.

If you know of a magician not listed in MagicPedia, start a New Biography for them. Contact us at magicpediahelp@gmail.com

John Benzais

From Magicpedia, the free online encyclopedia for magicians by magicians.
Revision as of 16:44, 20 June 2010 by Philippe billot (Talk | contribs) (Innovations)

Jump to: navigation, search

John Benzais (?-1968) was a close-up magician and one time clerk/demonstrator for Tannen. He left Tannen's employ no more than a year before he died of injuries sustained in an automobile accident in Pennsylvania. During his brief career John established a reputation as a magical innovator. and a past president of F.A.M.E. in New York City. He published only a small body of work, the bulk of which are contained in his book, The Best of Benzais (1967), which he wrote and illustrated himself. He was in his early thirties.[1]

Highlights

The Secret of Gorius, a rope routine in which a knot repeatedly appears and vanishes, that Richard Kaufman once referred to as "one of the best kept secrets in magic".

Innovations

  • Han Ping Benzais
  • Benzais Cop
  • Benzais Spinout Subtlety
  • Benzais Cut
  • Benzais Deal Steal
  • Benzais Spin
  • Benzais Friction Retention Pass[2]

Books

References

  1. Linking Ring, April 1968, Vol 48, No 4, page 51
  2. Ed Marlo, page 7 in Bullseye Coin Tricks in 1942