Help us get to over 8,749 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
Richard Valentine Pitchford
Richard Valentine Pitchford | |
Cover of Genii (1924) | |
Born | Richard Valentine Thomas [1] November 24, 1895 St. Thomas, Wales |
---|---|
Died | November 13, 1973 (age 77) Gardiner, New York |
Richard Valentine Pitchford (1895–1973) was a master magician who performed under the name Cardini.
He was born in a coal-mining town in St. Thomas, Wales. He joined the British Army during World War I and passed time in the trenches by practicing card manipulations. After being injured in battle, he continued to hone his magic skills in the hospital.
Cardini performed in Australia and then in Canada where he entered the United States from British Columbia. While working his way across the U.S. he met his wife and lifelong assistant Swan Walker in Chicago.
He enhanced his performance by incorporating his magic tricks into a skit coordinated to music. One of the unusual features of a Cardini performance was that he did sleight of hand wearing white gloves.
He was president of the Society of American Magicians three times.
In 1957, he appeared on the Festival of Magic. This is believed to be the only known footage of Cardini performing his act.
Awards and honors
- "Master Fellowship" award from the Academy of Magical Arts (1970)
- In 1999, named one of Magic Magazine's Top Magicians of the 20th Century.
References
- ↑ The Linking Ring, Vol. 78, No. 1, January 1988, MEMOIRES OF A MAGICIAN'S GHOST, by John Booth, THE AMAZING STORY OF CARDIWS WELSH SHADOW, page 73
This page incorporated content from Richard Valentine Pitchford,
a page hosted on Wikipedia. Please consult the history of the original page to see a list of its authors. Therefor, this article is also available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License |
- Cover Genii 1942 April
- Obit M-U-M 1974 February, page 14.
- Obit Genii 1973 October
- Cardini: The Suave Deceiver By John Fisher (2007)
- Official Cardini Website, maintained by his decendants
- Richard Pitchford - Articles about Cardini
- http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40B16FA3C55137B93C1A8178AD95F478785F9
- It Takes All Kinds by Maurice Zolotow (1952) includes a chapter on Cardini
- "Festival of Magic" DVD by Miracle Factory contains a 1957 TV special which includes a performance by Cardini