1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Hey everyone, Hey everybody, and happy birthday Diana. Thanks babe, 2 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:10,520 Speaker 1: you know you're welcome. It's an exciting day and we're 3 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:12,960 Speaker 1: doing a little work. But who doesn't work on their 4 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: thirty something's birthday? Yeah, best not to say. Yeah, it's 5 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: all right, we're all adults here. We don't get any 6 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:25,400 Speaker 1: special days off. It's March tenth, is my birthday, yeah, 7 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: which was you know, of course, right before lockdown. So 8 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: it's been a few years since we got to really 9 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: celebrate it proper birthday. So this year, borg Ranger, we're 10 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:39,960 Speaker 1: drinking Borgs and we're gone nuts. Just learned about the bogs. 11 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:43,559 Speaker 1: Borgs are, like I guess, the current TikTok thing. And 12 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:46,159 Speaker 1: it's so funny because first I saw, you know, University 13 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 1: of Massachusetts says, students stop drinking borgs, it's not safe 14 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: for you. And then I saw the students push back 15 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: and say, this is actually not so bad. You know, 16 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 1: we mix alcohol with electrolytes and water so that we 17 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: don't get as d hydrated and hungover. It's actually safe. 18 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: By the way, BORG stands for blackout rage gallon. So 19 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,680 Speaker 1: I was laughing my ass off at people saying, actually, 20 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:14,000 Speaker 1: the blackout rage gallon is a safe way to drink. 21 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 1: Come on, guys, you got to come up. You need 22 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:19,680 Speaker 1: some better branding on this. Okay, I get a marketer 23 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:23,400 Speaker 1: in here. Oh man, it's better than your watery beer 24 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: kegstand right, it may be. I mean, you know, it 25 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: sounds logical. I think the idea is just like, maybe 26 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: your goal shouldn't be how can I figure out how 27 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: to safely drink half a gallon of vodka in a day? 28 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 1: Maybe your goal should be how could I drink less 29 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: than half a gallon of vodka in a day? Right? Right? Right? Right? 30 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: How about a fifth? Let's start there. Well, maybe people 31 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: are trying to drink to change their reality a little bit. 32 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: But if you want to talk about people who can 33 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: change reality, it's magicians. It's that fair transition. Boom. Do 34 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,760 Speaker 1: you like magic? I grew up loving magic shows? What 35 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: about you? I enjoy them, but I'm not like I 36 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: don't seek it out. Okay, yeah, and I you know 37 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 1: I love theater magic. So um. When we watched In 38 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: and of Itself, Oh my God special on Hulu Derek DelGaudio, 39 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 1: it blew my mind's and he did so many cool 40 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,680 Speaker 1: theater magic things that I was just like one delighted. 41 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: You know, I guess I don't like David Blaine or 42 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,239 Speaker 1: like any of that type of shit. No, my favorite 43 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: growing up when I was a kid was well, I 44 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,520 Speaker 1: liked Penn and Teller. I liked the amazing Jonathan who 45 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: was more of a stand up comedian who did magic 46 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: in his act. He was insane, but I really liked 47 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: I think his name was Lance Burton, and he did 48 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,080 Speaker 1: a lot of parrot magic. He'd be like holding a 49 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,800 Speaker 1: parrot and then boom, he's holding two parrots. Crazy stuff 50 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,120 Speaker 1: like that, but I love that if they were double 51 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 1: the birds, Oh my god, there's two birds. Amazing. Well, 52 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: you know, a huge time for magic was the late 53 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: nineteenth and early twentieth century. Just people pulling rabbits out 54 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: of every hat they saw. Super exciting, and two of 55 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: the biggest names in magic back then were the fantastic 56 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: illusions of Alexander Harmon the Great and his amazing wife 57 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: and assistant Adelaide. These two seriously the most well known 58 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: magicians of the late eighteen hundreds, and they were performing 59 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 1: acts that blew the tops right off of people's hats 60 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: around the world. They wowed people on huge stages and 61 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:35,920 Speaker 1: in public streets. You know, from disappearing doves to levitating ladies. 62 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: These tricksters amazed audiences and defied death from fire, glass 63 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: and even bullets. All the while, these two had a 64 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: deep and powerful love between them, which helped Adelaide rise 65 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: above the traditional assistant role and become known as the 66 00:03:54,760 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: Queen of magic herself. So pay attention, listened closely and 67 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: hear the magical story of Alexander and Adelaide Herman appear 68 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: right before your very ears. Habricadabra, let's go heyla French. 69 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: Come listen well, Elia and Diana got some stories to tell. 70 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: There's no matchmaking, all romantic tips. It's just about ridiculous relationships. 71 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:24,599 Speaker 1: A lover might be any type of person at all, 72 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: and abstract concert or a concrete wall. But if there's 73 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:32,920 Speaker 1: a story where the second clans ridiculous from mass a 74 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio. So today we start with Samuel Herman. 75 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,720 Speaker 1: And he was a Jewish German physician, and he occasionally 76 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: toured through Europe in the early eighteen hundreds as a 77 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:52,679 Speaker 1: magician and a conjurer. So just again, rabbits hats, pulling 78 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 1: away a cloth and there's a lady under there that 79 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:58,599 Speaker 1: you didn't expect. If only that could happen for me 80 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:02,840 Speaker 1: more often. Oh, just polish sheet away and that's a 81 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,720 Speaker 1: beautiful assistant there, instead of you staring at me and 82 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: calling give me that covers bag. It's called what are 83 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:13,720 Speaker 1: you doing? All right? Well, this guy's Samuel Herman was 84 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 1: so impressive that rulers across the world would bring him 85 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:19,799 Speaker 1: to their palaces to perform for them in their courts. 86 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: But you know, as as happens with many artists, he 87 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:27,719 Speaker 1: started to his family. He got married, he started having kids, 88 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 1: and they moved to Paris, and he more settled into 89 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:34,280 Speaker 1: his day job of being a doctor. Great day job, right, no, right, 90 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: I'm pretty good name. Now. His first son, Carl, took 91 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:40,280 Speaker 1: a real interest in magic and he started learning from 92 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:44,280 Speaker 1: his father. But Samuel later performed at the Grande des 93 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,719 Speaker 1: col near Versailles, and that got his son, Carl admittance 94 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,920 Speaker 1: at the school free of tuition. And I'm just trying 95 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 1: to imagine today, like my dad going to my college 96 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: and saying, will you accept my son for this magic show? 97 00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:03,040 Speaker 1: That would be a real trick, right, that's pretty dope. 98 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 1: Oh you want tuition? Money to you. Well, maybe I 99 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: could find a quarter behind your ear. They're like, cool, 100 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:14,360 Speaker 1: it'll take thirty eight million more of those quarters place. 101 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:20,040 Speaker 1: It's a different time. But Carl, despite his free ride 102 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:23,279 Speaker 1: to this school, did end up dropping out of medical school. 103 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 1: He totally abandoned the idea of being a doctor like 104 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:29,960 Speaker 1: his father and decided instead to pursue a career as 105 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: a magician like his father. Oh that's kind of cute. Yeah, 106 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:37,279 Speaker 1: it's like, Dad, it's not that I don't respect you, 107 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: it's that I respect a totally different part of your life. Yeah. 108 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:43,159 Speaker 1: Maybe he was like, don't be like me, son, right, 109 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: continue your art. Yeah. But even as his son surpassed 110 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:50,839 Speaker 1: him as a magician and his own career as a 111 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: physician took off. Magician physician, a physician, magician, Samuel kept 112 00:06:57,240 --> 00:06:59,839 Speaker 1: doing magic in local shows. Oh that's good. So he 113 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:02,360 Speaker 1: was still out there at the county fairs, you know, right, 114 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 1: cutting it up. Yeah, And between pulling rabbits out of 115 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:08,359 Speaker 1: hats and pulling stitches out of patience, he was also 116 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:13,800 Speaker 1: constantly pulling babies out of his wife because I know, right, 117 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 1: I mean hurt and that sounds like hurt trick. Yeah, 118 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 1: I mean let's be real now, his sixteenth and final child. Fortunately, 119 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:24,800 Speaker 1: she's like, I ain't doing seventeen all right, I have 120 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 1: to draw the line somewhere, Samuel. Do you think her 121 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 1: sixteenth kid came out with a bunch of like multicolored 122 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 1: handkerchiefs tied to it? Anyway, Their sixteenth and final child 123 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 1: was Alexander, born in eighteen forty four, eighteen years younger 124 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: than his oldest brother, Carl. Wow, this woman spent two 125 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:50,280 Speaker 1: decades having babies. Are you okay, girl? What do you need? 126 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 1: But what can iver you? So? Anyway? You know, his 127 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 1: brother's eighteen years older than him. They were not close necessarily, 128 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:00,040 Speaker 1: They didn't really know each other very well. But and 129 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: Carl came home to visit his parents in eighteen fifty three, 130 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 1: he found out that little eight year old Alexander was 131 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: already obsessed with magic. He was super into it. So 132 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 1: they bonded really quickly over that, and without asking his parents, 133 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: Carl kidnapped his little brother and took him with him 134 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 1: to Saint Petersburg, Russia to study the art of magic. Now, 135 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 1: of course, their parents insisted that Carl send little Alexander 136 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 1: home right away. And can't kidnap your little brother. He's 137 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 1: eight years old. He can't bring him to Russia to 138 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:34,080 Speaker 1: teach him magic. But they negotiated and ultimately his parents 139 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:39,520 Speaker 1: agreed to let the kid finish one tour as Carl's assistant. Now, 140 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:42,720 Speaker 1: after the tour, when Alexander went back to his parents 141 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 1: in France, his father, Samuel was so impressed by what 142 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: he'd learned from Carl and what he could do as 143 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: this little child, that he agreed to let him continue 144 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:57,840 Speaker 1: performing and pursuing his young dream of being a magician. Wow, 145 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: and at only eleven years old, little baby Alexander started 146 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:06,280 Speaker 1: touring with his older brother Carl as his assistant. They 147 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:10,400 Speaker 1: did this for years pretty successfully, and in eighteen sixty, 148 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:13,440 Speaker 1: when Alexander was seventeen years old, which would have made 149 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: Carl what thirty five, they arrived in the United States 150 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 1: and they did this whole tour up and down the 151 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:23,560 Speaker 1: East Coast. As Alexander's skills grew, he became more of 152 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:27,199 Speaker 1: a performing partner in their shows rather than just Carl's assistant. 153 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: And there was a little bit of jealousy there, but 154 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:31,960 Speaker 1: it never really became an issue between them. They were 155 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 1: still brothers. Now, at first they performed tricks with these 156 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:40,840 Speaker 1: like elaborate apparatuses. But a famous magician named Robert Houdin 157 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,760 Speaker 1: claimed those were his devices, and he even had his 158 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:49,319 Speaker 1: mechanic arrested for selling duplicates of his illusions. So it's 159 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:54,440 Speaker 1: basically like copyright infringement. Yeah, he was saying, that's my ip. Yeah, 160 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:57,439 Speaker 1: he like hired this mechanic to build a certain device 161 00:09:57,520 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: for him, and then the mechanic is off on the 162 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 1: side selling it to other magicians, right, and he's like, no, 163 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:05,880 Speaker 1: that's my trick. Right. So the Herman boys, you know, 164 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 1: they're ethical guys, so they ditched those devices. They were like, 165 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: that's somebody else's work. Yeah, and they moved more into 166 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:14,559 Speaker 1: sleight of hand magic because as far as they were concerned, 167 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:16,560 Speaker 1: they just bought a cool magic trick from a mechanic. 168 00:10:16,679 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 1: They didn't know it like already belonged to somebody sure, right, 169 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:23,520 Speaker 1: and they were like, no magician's code. Yeah, we can't 170 00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:26,640 Speaker 1: take this guy's trick. But their shows used this as 171 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:30,080 Speaker 1: an advertising point, you know, their posters said stuff like quote, 172 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:35,599 Speaker 1: the Herman's distinguishing feature is the entire absence of any apparatics, 173 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:42,720 Speaker 1: all effects being slowly produced by extraordinary menual skill. Alexander's 174 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:48,319 Speaker 1: standout skill was card scaling, or throwing playing cards. Alexander 175 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:51,280 Speaker 1: was so good at card scaling that he would have 176 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:53,760 Speaker 1: an audience member raise their hand and he would whip 177 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 1: a card right into their lap. And he developed a 178 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 1: technique where he could actually bounce cards off the back 179 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:02,199 Speaker 1: wall of a theater, which let people in the cheap 180 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:04,200 Speaker 1: seats feel like they were also part of the show. 181 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:06,200 Speaker 1: I mean, that's how you spread your name through the public, 182 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,160 Speaker 1: right like you want the common man to be talking 183 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 1: about you as much as the rich folk. True, and 184 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:16,400 Speaker 1: plus they paid for their seat, Give them a wave. 185 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 1: According to magic tricks dot Com, his technique is still 186 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:24,080 Speaker 1: in use today. Amazing. I mean that the precision. I mean, 187 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:27,040 Speaker 1: I couldn't throw a baseball to one person in a crowd, 188 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:29,360 Speaker 1: you know, something that's meant to be thrown, let alone 189 00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 1: a playing card. It would be a funny. It would 190 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:33,000 Speaker 1: be a good comedy show, but it would be a 191 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 1: terrible magic show. Funny once funny, one time, have to 192 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:45,199 Speaker 1: count down the hook comes out. So after five weeks 193 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:48,000 Speaker 1: of full houses up and down the East coast, the 194 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:52,040 Speaker 1: Hermans had brought in thirty five thousand dollars, which I'll 195 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:57,040 Speaker 1: go ahead and tell you in today's money is one 196 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:03,760 Speaker 1: point two million bucks in five weeks. Yeah. Then, of course, 197 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:07,480 Speaker 1: you know, they're touring the US in eighteen sixties, so 198 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 1: the Civil War broke out and they decided that they 199 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:12,960 Speaker 1: would get out of the States while the getting was good. 200 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: Thanks for the money, so long, everybody, you'll figure this 201 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: out on your own. They're like, I ain't from here, 202 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 1: this is not mine battle. Yeah. Then they started kind 203 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:25,080 Speaker 1: of performing separately for a few years, just taking their 204 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 1: own individual shows on the road, before doing a reunion 205 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:31,800 Speaker 1: tour in America in eighteen sixty seven. Once everything had 206 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:35,959 Speaker 1: been kind of settled. At that point, they quote implanted 207 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:40,080 Speaker 1: the name Herman quite firmly, according to Walter B. Gibson's 208 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:42,839 Speaker 1: book The Magic Masters. And this was more than twenty 209 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:45,880 Speaker 1: years before Houdini came on the scene, and you could 210 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 1: not talk about magic in the US or most of 211 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:53,680 Speaker 1: Europe without talking about the Hermans. After this, they did 212 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,320 Speaker 1: more or less separate and pretty much performed independently, and 213 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:01,120 Speaker 1: they had different approaches in their performance styles because Carl 214 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:05,440 Speaker 1: was more about dry humor and also being real mysterious 215 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:08,319 Speaker 1: in his presentation, so he probably would have done like 216 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:11,560 Speaker 1: a fog machine. He'd have like real low lights, you know, 217 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:13,360 Speaker 1: and then he'd come out in like a spotlight and 218 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 1: everybody like gasping a little more. David Copperfield, Yeah, totally, totally. 219 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:22,720 Speaker 1: But Alexander loved comedy and he liked to weave it 220 00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:24,599 Speaker 1: into his acts. This would probably make I think I 221 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:29,199 Speaker 1: would prefer Alexander a magician. According to David Price's Magic, 222 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:33,720 Speaker 1: a Pictorial History of Conjurors in the Theater, Alexander was 223 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:37,520 Speaker 1: quote a humorist who aimed to make his performances a 224 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:42,480 Speaker 1: joyous occasion. Sounds delightful. Yeah, Alexander wrote in his own book, 225 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 1: The Art of Magic that quote, the magician depends for 226 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: the success of his art upon the credulity of the people. 227 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:56,520 Speaker 1: Whatever mystifies excites curiosity, whatever in turn baffles this curiosity 228 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:01,080 Speaker 1: works the marvelous love of that. That's kind of like 229 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 1: Claude Cahun. Oh sure, Marcel Moore. They also said how 230 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: important the audience was right in terms of collaborating on 231 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:11,480 Speaker 1: this art together. Yeah, I love that. That's interesting too, 232 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:15,200 Speaker 1: because there's was about visual art and his about performance, 233 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:17,440 Speaker 1: but both of them came to the conclusion that the 234 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:20,080 Speaker 1: spectator is a part of this, yes, and if they 235 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:23,600 Speaker 1: don't feel engaged with it, then you know, then you're 236 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:26,480 Speaker 1: just it's kind of masturbatory, right, Thing's missing, Yeah, yeah, 237 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,320 Speaker 1: something's missing. And he kind of had the look of 238 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:32,280 Speaker 1: the classic magician too that you would think of today. 239 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:37,280 Speaker 1: He had the big mustache and goatee. Yeah. Mephistopheles is 240 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 1: a name that comes up a lot when people describe him. 241 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:44,440 Speaker 1: A little devilish, that's cute. Yeah. Now. One of his contemporaries, H. J. 242 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 1: Burlingame wrote in his book Magician's Handbook, Tricks and Secrets 243 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:53,240 Speaker 1: of the World's Greatest Magician, Herman the Great, that Alexander 244 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:56,560 Speaker 1: was one of the kindest and gentlest people that he'd 245 00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 1: ever known, and he had no problem making friends everywhere 246 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: he went. Everybody thought he was kind and funny and sociable. 247 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: And the ladies they loved him. Oh yeah, he was 248 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:13,880 Speaker 1: ll l Alexander Herrman. He's a guy whose image was 249 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:17,080 Speaker 1: a little bit of a contrast to his personality because 250 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:19,520 Speaker 1: he had this kind of like spooky, scary again, the 251 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:23,000 Speaker 1: big goatee and the curly hair, and like he looked 252 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:25,840 Speaker 1: kind of intimidating, and he was just a sweetheart who 253 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:28,160 Speaker 1: wanted everybody be having fun. I love that, love it, 254 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:31,400 Speaker 1: love it. But he also learned while he was touring 255 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:34,720 Speaker 1: the US that staying in the press was one of 256 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:38,920 Speaker 1: the most important things to succeeding and staying relevant. During 257 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:41,800 Speaker 1: a three year stint in London, he was out on 258 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:44,440 Speaker 1: the out in the street and he gathered this crowd 259 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:47,640 Speaker 1: around him, and then he sort of just walked casually 260 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:51,800 Speaker 1: behind these two fancy gentlemen and he pickpocketed one of 261 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:55,120 Speaker 1: their handkerchiefs. He did it real like deliberate and clumsy, 262 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:57,960 Speaker 1: so that these two nearby policemen would notice what he 263 00:15:58,000 --> 00:15:59,840 Speaker 1: was doing. Was the copflict up and they're like, what 264 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:02,760 Speaker 1: is this guy stealing from people? And they start following 265 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:10,960 Speaker 1: him right well this then, so as they got closer 266 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:16,040 Speaker 1: to him, he very deliberately pickpocketed the other fancy gentleman's 267 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 1: pocket watch. So the cops at this point they're like, 268 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:22,680 Speaker 1: oh you sir, stop now, that's just what in my face. 269 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:25,280 Speaker 1: The cops, of course, you know, stopped him and they 270 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:28,440 Speaker 1: alerted the two fancy gentlemen that this this man just 271 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:32,160 Speaker 1: stole items, right off your persons, and those two guys 272 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:35,240 Speaker 1: were pissed off. Of course, they're this this common street 273 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:40,960 Speaker 1: magician have stolen from them. Oh this handkerchief is worth 274 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:45,600 Speaker 1: more than your life, sir. Damn. Yeah, it's very nice. 275 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:50,080 Speaker 1: So the cops are like, oh, old on, so let's 276 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 1: give those things back. Alexander herman opens his arms, lets 277 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:58,760 Speaker 1: them search him, and they find nothing on him, and 278 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:02,480 Speaker 1: he turns to the police and says, uh, my good sirs, 279 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:07,040 Speaker 1: why do not you search yourselves? And the police did, 280 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:10,639 Speaker 1: and lo and behold, one of the cops had the 281 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:14,440 Speaker 1: fancy man's handkerchief on him, and the other cop had 282 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:18,200 Speaker 1: the pocket watch. What what what? Then one of these 283 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:23,120 Speaker 1: bobbies realizes, oh, my police badge is missing. That's why. 284 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:27,719 Speaker 1: That's what proves I'm a policeman. Alexander looks over at 285 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,840 Speaker 1: the fancy gentleman and he says, well, maybe you should 286 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:34,360 Speaker 1: check those guys, and they too, and they find the 287 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 1: police badge on one of the fancy gentleman's person. Oh 288 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:41,520 Speaker 1: my god. Alexander smiles looks around and said, quote, it 289 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:47,440 Speaker 1: seems I am the only honest person here. Oh my god. 290 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:50,199 Speaker 1: The crowd that had gathered around them was laughing their 291 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 1: asses off. The cops are real embarrassed and angry. Ode 292 00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:59,520 Speaker 1: a fool of, and he tries to explain to them 293 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:01,800 Speaker 1: that just a prank. I'm a magician, I'm doing a 294 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:04,760 Speaker 1: show here. But everyone was like pointing and laughing at 295 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:08,520 Speaker 1: the policeman and they said, quote, we will not be 296 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:16,160 Speaker 1: deceived in that way in otherwise, and so they arrest him. 297 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:18,239 Speaker 1: They haul him off to jail, where as soon as 298 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:21,560 Speaker 1: he gets there, their superiors immediately recognize him because he's 299 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:23,679 Speaker 1: very famous at this point, and they let him go 300 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:29,159 Speaker 1: with no problems. So these two cops so they only well, 301 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:31,080 Speaker 1: they're what patrol the street all day, they didn't have 302 00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:33,320 Speaker 1: time to read the papers. Oh God, time for a 303 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:38,840 Speaker 1: magic show. Well this is exactly what Alexander wanted when 304 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:41,600 Speaker 1: he started this whole stunt, because the next day the 305 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 1: story was all over the papers. Alexander was an absolute 306 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:49,919 Speaker 1: sensation and the entire city of London was laughing at 307 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 1: his prank on the cops. You can't buy better publicity 308 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:55,960 Speaker 1: than that. I love that. But his venue in London 309 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:00,439 Speaker 1: for his three years stay was Egyptian Hall, which was 310 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:03,880 Speaker 1: one of the first buildings in England to be influenced 311 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:07,160 Speaker 1: in an Egyptian style. He decorated an Egyptian style right, 312 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 1: And while he was performing there, a young woman came 313 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:14,399 Speaker 1: to see his show named Adelaide Scar says. She was 314 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:17,440 Speaker 1: a twenty two year old dancer and acrobat, and when 315 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:21,080 Speaker 1: Alexander asked for a volunteer, she raised her hand and 316 00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:25,280 Speaker 1: changed his life. And we'll hear about that magical moment 317 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 1: right after this. Welcome back everyone to part two of 318 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:39,399 Speaker 1: The Magic Trick, The Turn. Oh, anybody remembered The Prestige. 319 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,040 Speaker 1: That's one of my favorite movies. That is a very 320 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:45,280 Speaker 1: good It's so good. So yeah, okay, yeah, I guess 321 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:48,399 Speaker 1: this is the Turn. This is the Turn. Adelaide Scar 322 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:52,280 Speaker 1: says was born in eighteen fifty three in London, and 323 00:19:52,359 --> 00:19:54,639 Speaker 1: she was out there making a name for herself at 324 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,240 Speaker 1: an early age. According to Alison C. Mayer in Hidden 325 00:19:58,359 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 1: History for Narratively Dark, Adelaide was doing acrobatics and dance 326 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:05,240 Speaker 1: when she was just a kid, and by the time 327 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:08,080 Speaker 1: she was a teenager, she was doing stunt writing on 328 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:11,840 Speaker 1: the velocipede, which are those like old timey bicycles with 329 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:16,600 Speaker 1: the huge wheels. So she was out there stunt writing 330 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:20,800 Speaker 1: the most illogical form of transportation that we've maybe ever 331 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:24,560 Speaker 1: come up with. I'm those things confuse me. I've only 332 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:26,679 Speaker 1: ever seen the sketches right in the idea of actually 333 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,119 Speaker 1: peddling one. I don't understand how they work. What I 334 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:31,160 Speaker 1: really don't get is how you get on it right. 335 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:32,680 Speaker 1: I'm like, how do you get on it? I guess 336 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:34,639 Speaker 1: you got to be an acrobat? I don't get it, Like, 337 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 1: do you have to like lay it on its side 338 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: and like kick up springboard. You got any Penny Farthing 339 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:46,359 Speaker 1: writers out there, let us know you do. Please write 340 00:20:46,359 --> 00:20:49,919 Speaker 1: in and explain yourself, send a video. So she's a 341 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:53,960 Speaker 1: cool stunt acrobat, dancer person and at twenty two she 342 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:58,200 Speaker 1: got to go see Alexander Herman perform at Egyptian Hall 343 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:02,560 Speaker 1: with her fiance, an American actor whose name we do 344 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:08,800 Speaker 1: not know. In Speculation Station it was John Wilkes Booth. 345 00:21:09,119 --> 00:21:14,000 Speaker 1: Oh my god, which I mean it couldn't because this 346 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,000 Speaker 1: would have been eighteen seventy five, so I think he 347 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:20,600 Speaker 1: was not around. Maybe it was John Willis's shoulder more 348 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:24,159 Speaker 1: famous brother, oh, because he was like, didn't have an 349 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:27,280 Speaker 1: older more famous Yeah, John Wilkes Booth was like the 350 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:30,720 Speaker 1: Liam Hemsworth of his day right and his brother Chris 351 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:34,960 Speaker 1: Wilkes Booth. I don't know what his name was, probably 352 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 1: even have the same middle name either. So Alexander is 353 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,520 Speaker 1: in his show doing his amazing sleight of hand tricks 354 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:45,320 Speaker 1: and whipping cards at people, and then he asked for 355 00:21:45,359 --> 00:21:48,359 Speaker 1: a volunteer from the crowd. Of course, dozens of hands 356 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:51,439 Speaker 1: shoot up in the air. But Alexander was drawn to 357 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:55,480 Speaker 1: the beautiful young woman near the front, Adelaide, and he 358 00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:58,600 Speaker 1: asked if she had a ring he could use, and 359 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:04,080 Speaker 1: she handed him her engagement ring. Alexander waved his hands around, 360 00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:08,919 Speaker 1: snapped his fingers, and the ring disappeared in a burst 361 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:13,639 Speaker 1: of flames, and with another alexasam he produced a white 362 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:18,280 Speaker 1: dove from thin air, which flew to Adelaide, carrying her 363 00:22:18,359 --> 00:22:23,920 Speaker 1: ring on a ribbon around its neck. Although that's crazy behavior. 364 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:27,359 Speaker 1: I know if you handed over your engagement ring to 365 00:22:27,359 --> 00:22:29,600 Speaker 1: a magician, I would be very nervous. She's like, what 366 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:32,600 Speaker 1: if they were not legits. He's like, you know those magicians, 367 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:37,040 Speaker 1: I'll have sticky fingers. So they get home from this show, 368 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:39,680 Speaker 1: and we can assume that Adelaide had a better time 369 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:43,879 Speaker 1: than her American actor fiance did, and she cried and 370 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:48,080 Speaker 1: stopped talking about it all night long. And her fiance's like, oh, yeah, 371 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:50,919 Speaker 1: well it was really good, cool magic. Wow. What a 372 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:55,760 Speaker 1: very cool and not dorky guy that was. But sometime later, 373 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:59,160 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy four, Alexander's three year stint at Egyptian 374 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,440 Speaker 1: Hall came to an end, and now, at thirty years old, 375 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:06,200 Speaker 1: he decided to return to America and do another tour there. So, 376 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:09,400 Speaker 1: you know, he stuffed his suitcase full of playing cards, 377 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:12,159 Speaker 1: he shoved a bunch of rabbits and doves into a sack, 378 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:16,159 Speaker 1: and he hopped on a steamship for New York City. 379 00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:19,639 Speaker 1: And while walking the deck of the steamship one day, 380 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: he saw this beautiful woman, probably you know, staring wistfully 381 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,760 Speaker 1: out to see twirling a big fat engagement ring on 382 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:32,760 Speaker 1: her finger. And Alexander looked and he said, I recognize 383 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:36,880 Speaker 1: that ring from somewhere. She turned her head and it 384 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,720 Speaker 1: was Adelaide. What a coincidence, What a coincidence. It's almost 385 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 1: like magic. So of course he had to approach her. 386 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:48,240 Speaker 1: You know, I imagine he was like, hello there, mademoiselle, 387 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:51,919 Speaker 1: I believe I made your engagement ring disappear once before, 388 00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:57,840 Speaker 1: perhaps I can do it again, hey, And sure enough. Yeah. 389 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:00,280 Speaker 1: She was on her way to America to arm in 390 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:04,359 Speaker 1: a dance show and to marry her actor fiance. But 391 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:07,960 Speaker 1: according to the Illustrated History of Magic by Melbourne Christopher, 392 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:10,600 Speaker 1: by the time the ship arrived in New York City 393 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:14,080 Speaker 1: after a two week voyage, she had changed her mind 394 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:18,280 Speaker 1: and decided that she wanted to marry Alexander Herman instead. 395 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:28,040 Speaker 1: Oh damn, sorry, mister Wilkes or unnamed actor. He was smooth. Yeah, right, Look, 396 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 1: everybody said he's the nicest guy. He's very charming, he's funny, 397 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:36,440 Speaker 1: and he's like, you know, yeah, probably pulling roses out 398 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:40,120 Speaker 1: of her butt to a surprise. Here you go. She's like, oh, 399 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,960 Speaker 1: thank goodness, out of my butt. Well not actually, but 400 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:51,639 Speaker 1: like from behind literally out of her But I don't know. 401 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,320 Speaker 1: Maybe she was into out of his button. Yes, you 402 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:59,880 Speaker 1: get me. So, yes, she decided I'm gonna get married 403 00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:03,200 Speaker 1: to him, and their wedding was presided over by New 404 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:08,119 Speaker 1: York City Mayor William H. Wickham. Now we know Alexander's 405 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:10,320 Speaker 1: kind of a goofball. He loves a show, he loves 406 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:13,920 Speaker 1: to entertain the crowd, and he loves little pranks. So 407 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:16,080 Speaker 1: at the end of the ceremony, he turned to the 408 00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:19,600 Speaker 1: crowd and he said, oh, I am so sorry, Mayor, 409 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:23,119 Speaker 1: but I actually don't have the money to pay for 410 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:29,240 Speaker 1: this ceremony. And the Mayor's like, uh, kind of a problem. 411 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 1: And Alexander says, maybe the city will pay for it, 412 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:37,520 Speaker 1: and he reached into the mayor's big bushy beard and 413 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:41,560 Speaker 1: pulled out a huge wad of cash, and then he 414 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:45,360 Speaker 1: threw the bills up into the air and they disappeared. 415 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:48,040 Speaker 1: The mayor probably was like, I was in the middle 416 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:51,440 Speaker 1: of breathing a sigh of relief and it turned into 417 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:55,720 Speaker 1: a gasp of shock. Now Alison Mayor the author, She 418 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,879 Speaker 1: points out that the newspaper accounts do confirm that he 419 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:03,119 Speaker 1: did pay the wedding fees. Okay, so the cash reappeared 420 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,960 Speaker 1: later in the city accounts or whatever. And Alexander and 421 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:11,000 Speaker 1: Adelaide adored each other. This is one of those true 422 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:14,080 Speaker 1: love stories that we love so much, and Adelaide soon 423 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:17,840 Speaker 1: joined his show as his primary assistant. And a website 424 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:21,119 Speaker 1: called cooper tunes dot Com points out that the convention 425 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:23,960 Speaker 1: at the time, of course, was still you know, the 426 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:27,920 Speaker 1: man is the star of the show, but Adelaide did 427 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:32,119 Speaker 1: get an unusual amount of positive recognition. Now, in the 428 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:36,840 Speaker 1: early days of their cooperative act together, Alice and Meyer writes, 429 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,959 Speaker 1: Adelaide's gimmick was to dress in men's clothes and go 430 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:45,359 Speaker 1: by the character name mister Alexander. Now, her role was 431 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,040 Speaker 1: mostly to just hand her husband his props during the 432 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:50,840 Speaker 1: show before his tricks. But then in the middle of 433 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:53,920 Speaker 1: the show, Alexander, herman would go gather up a bunch 434 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:56,440 Speaker 1: of handkerchiefs from the crowd and he would tie them 435 00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:59,760 Speaker 1: together at these big knots, and then he would call 436 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:03,560 Speaker 1: over his assistant, mister Alexander and tell the audience quote, 437 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:07,840 Speaker 1: mister Alexander is going to perform this trick. And then 438 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:12,040 Speaker 1: Adelaide would feign this nervousness and oh, oh no, I'm 439 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:13,720 Speaker 1: not ready, I can't do it, and she would run 440 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:16,640 Speaker 1: off stage all terrified, and then he would coax her 441 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:19,800 Speaker 1: back out and she would, you know, fake that she 442 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:21,880 Speaker 1: was really scared to do it, but she would come out, 443 00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:26,040 Speaker 1: close her eyes and blow on the handkerchiefs and made 444 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:30,800 Speaker 1: the knots disappear one by one. She executed the trick perfectly, 445 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:33,719 Speaker 1: and the crowd loved that. That became kind of her 446 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:37,040 Speaker 1: main stick for a while, but later she started taking 447 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:40,160 Speaker 1: on other characters. There was one where she would wear 448 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,159 Speaker 1: a white robe and come out and stand on a 449 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:46,840 Speaker 1: stool and then sort of drift off into this slumber, 450 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:50,680 Speaker 1: and Alexander would come out and sort of rotate her 451 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:54,560 Speaker 1: body in these like seemingly impossible ways, almost like she 452 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:58,720 Speaker 1: was floating, until eventually she was she was laying horizontal, 453 00:27:59,119 --> 00:28:03,320 Speaker 1: hovering in air. Oh well, that's awesome, because she was 454 00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:05,919 Speaker 1: a dancer in acrobats. Yeah, surely she could do all 455 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:08,240 Speaker 1: kinds of crazy shit. Oh yeah with her body that 456 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:12,639 Speaker 1: most people can't do. Now. Alexander wrote in his book 457 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:17,840 Speaker 1: Herman's Wizard's Manual nine rules for students of magic to follow, 458 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:20,439 Speaker 1: And we won't read them all today, but some of 459 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:24,640 Speaker 1: the important points are things like never tell your audience 460 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:28,760 Speaker 1: what you're about to do, learn to quote, use the 461 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:32,959 Speaker 1: eyes and the hands independently of each other. We'll forget it. 462 00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:35,159 Speaker 1: That's the part I can't do. He also says that 463 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,800 Speaker 1: acting the part is equally important to your technical skill. 464 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:43,080 Speaker 1: Alexander Herman also says that if you ever mess up 465 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:47,080 Speaker 1: a trick, don't admit it. Quote, either finish the trick 466 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:50,680 Speaker 1: in a less brilliant manner, or make it look like 467 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:53,080 Speaker 1: the mistake was part of the trick and turn it 468 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 1: into something else. He says, quote a poor trick is 469 00:28:56,680 --> 00:29:00,880 Speaker 1: better than to acknowledge failure, right, all right, yeah, I 470 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:03,760 Speaker 1: guess that makes sense. Well, you know, if people if like, 471 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:05,840 Speaker 1: you do a trick that's not that impressive and then 472 00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:08,040 Speaker 1: you move on to another one, people aren't going to 473 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:10,840 Speaker 1: remember the unimpressive trick. But if you if you screw 474 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,440 Speaker 1: up and are like, oh camp, oh man, that wasn't 475 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:15,720 Speaker 1: supposed to happen, and then you move on to another trick, 476 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:18,360 Speaker 1: they're still going to be thinking about when you said 477 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 1: that's not supposed to happen. That's so true, right, And 478 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:24,160 Speaker 1: that's probably what they'll remember from the show more than anything. Now. 479 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:28,040 Speaker 1: One night, Alexander Herman and the theater manager had accidentally 480 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:33,760 Speaker 1: gotten their coats switched Luke overcoats, so Alexander was missing 481 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:36,840 Speaker 1: all his tricks when he went on stage, and he 482 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:40,680 Speaker 1: stalled with card scaling with his card throwing until they 483 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:43,640 Speaker 1: found the theater manager and they were able to switch 484 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:46,800 Speaker 1: their coats out, and he was so impressive like slinging 485 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:48,520 Speaker 1: cards all the way to the back of the house 486 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:50,800 Speaker 1: to land to people's laps. That he had the audience 487 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:55,080 Speaker 1: cheering on their feet before he even got to start 488 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:58,520 Speaker 1: his actual acts. Incredible, and that's a freaking magician. The 489 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:00,880 Speaker 1: story's so great. He's you know, he's like running out 490 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:04,080 Speaker 1: of cards and looking off stage like yeah, they're like, 491 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:07,400 Speaker 1: we're still looking. He's like, bring me more cards, right, 492 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:10,320 Speaker 1: fucking as fast as I and you know, he's worried 493 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:13,320 Speaker 1: about losing their attention, but people are like hooting and 494 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:16,560 Speaker 1: hollering because he's throwing these cards so perfectly. That is 495 00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:21,840 Speaker 1: pretty cool. Now. Adelaide herself was also incredibly skilled and 496 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:26,840 Speaker 1: pretty fearless. During their tour in South America, their team 497 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:31,200 Speaker 1: of trapeze artists quit and at the time, their big 498 00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:34,600 Speaker 1: show stopping number was to fire an acrobat out of 499 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:37,520 Speaker 1: a cannon, right, which is almost more of a circus 500 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:40,800 Speaker 1: stunt than a magic trick. Right, But people loved it, 501 00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:44,680 Speaker 1: and Adelaide stepped up and said, all right, put me 502 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:47,480 Speaker 1: in that cannon. Show must go on. Let's do it. 503 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:51,600 Speaker 1: But in her journals, she wrote that before her first 504 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:54,880 Speaker 1: time doing the stunt, she felt quote as a condemned 505 00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:59,120 Speaker 1: man must feel as the fatal hour approaches. Oh my god. 506 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:03,120 Speaker 1: She was loaded into the cannon and she showed no 507 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:06,720 Speaker 1: fear to the crowd, and a few seconds later Alexander 508 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:10,360 Speaker 1: lit the fuse. There was a bang and a flash, 509 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:15,360 Speaker 1: and Adelaide flew fifty feet into the air and landed 510 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:20,600 Speaker 1: safely in the net below. Audience went nuts, and she 511 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:24,760 Speaker 1: continued doing that trick for years back in their US tour. Wow, 512 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:27,560 Speaker 1: that really is so scary. I don't think you could 513 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:30,400 Speaker 1: ever I could ever do that. But I'm not a 514 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:33,960 Speaker 1: stunt gal. That's me. That's fair. Now. Sometimes their tricks 515 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,800 Speaker 1: got a little dramatic. Yeah, sure. One was called cremation, 516 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:40,880 Speaker 1: and the stage was set up to look like a catacomb, 517 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:45,800 Speaker 1: and some men dressed like guards dragged Adelaide on stage, screaming, 518 00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:47,920 Speaker 1: she's like really given it her all. They put her 519 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:50,360 Speaker 1: into a coffin and they cover it with a sheet, 520 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,840 Speaker 1: and Alexander would walk in with a torch and set 521 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:57,080 Speaker 1: the coffin ablaze and it burned away to nothing but 522 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:02,160 Speaker 1: a skeleton. Audience, of course, horror find. But then Adelaide 523 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:06,080 Speaker 1: re emerged as a ghost and she would hunt and 524 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:10,840 Speaker 1: torture Alexander before a bunch of extras dressed like demons 525 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:15,520 Speaker 1: dragged him into a pit to his death. Wow. Wow, 526 00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:18,200 Speaker 1: this is a show. I mean it just goes to show. 527 00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:21,760 Speaker 1: Like the trick is we burned a person and then 528 00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:24,040 Speaker 1: they reappeared just fine, right, And they were like, well 529 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:26,920 Speaker 1: that's just a trick. Let's turn it into this, you 530 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:30,360 Speaker 1: know this whole scene in the story. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, yeah, 531 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:34,040 Speaker 1: I got to spin this out into fifteen. Yeah. They 532 00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:36,600 Speaker 1: had a real flair for the dramatic, and Adelaide would 533 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:39,160 Speaker 1: put her other skills on display too. She rode around 534 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:42,640 Speaker 1: her velocipede with another girl doing stunts on her shoulders. 535 00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:45,720 Speaker 1: So you're balancing a person while you're balancing on this 536 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:50,200 Speaker 1: insane contraption. That's crazy. She also performed as a dancer 537 00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:52,960 Speaker 1: in dresses that were straight out of the Hunger Games. 538 00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:56,600 Speaker 1: There were dresses that like enhanced new lighting techniques that 539 00:32:56,640 --> 00:32:59,400 Speaker 1: were being invented, and so one was a dress that 540 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:04,240 Speaker 1: broke light into prisms in what was called the Serpentine Dance, 541 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:09,000 Speaker 1: and another one, La Dance did Vesuvious had her in 542 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:11,959 Speaker 1: a costume made of strips of yellow and red silk 543 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:14,200 Speaker 1: and she would spin so fast that she looked like 544 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:18,040 Speaker 1: a pillar of fire. And that sounds awesome. Yes, I 545 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:20,520 Speaker 1: would love to say, I need to see this prism thing. 546 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:24,960 Speaker 1: I know? Rightam dress. Well. With this fame and fortune, 547 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:28,959 Speaker 1: they were able to tour the world, eventually making their 548 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:32,400 Speaker 1: way to Saint Petersburg, back where he's got his original training, 549 00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:36,480 Speaker 1: and he performed for the newly crowned Tsar Alexander the 550 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:42,520 Speaker 1: Third of Russia, and the Tsar absolutely loved Herman, and 551 00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:47,320 Speaker 1: he told him, quote from this moment fourth, you will 552 00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:53,520 Speaker 1: be known as Herman the Great? Who Herman the Great? Yes? Oh, 553 00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:58,240 Speaker 1: where'd you get your nickname? Just the Tzar of Russia? Deal? 554 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:01,320 Speaker 1: You know when a when the Tzar Russia gives you 555 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:04,120 Speaker 1: a nickname, it tends to stay right. But then he 556 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,080 Speaker 1: got caught in kind of an awkward situation because after 557 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:10,720 Speaker 1: a very impressive performance, he went with the whole royal 558 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:13,960 Speaker 1: court to a nearby saloon where everyone was playing billiards. 559 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:19,120 Speaker 1: Alexander lined up a shot, but he totally biffed it 560 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:23,360 Speaker 1: and sent the cue ball flying across the room straight 561 00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:28,960 Speaker 1: into this huge Florida ceiling mirror, which shattered into a 562 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:34,160 Speaker 1: hundred pieces. Damn he was totally freaked out. He starts 563 00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:37,640 Speaker 1: apologizing to the tzar. Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry 564 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:40,960 Speaker 1: I didn't I'm usually pretty good at pool, Like, oh 565 00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:45,360 Speaker 1: my god. Character everybody in the room is silent, wide eyed, 566 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:49,760 Speaker 1: jaw dropped and staring straight at him. But the tzar 567 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:53,200 Speaker 1: looks up and says, yo, hey, man, the school. He's 568 00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:55,719 Speaker 1: just the mirror, you know. Don't even worry about this. 569 00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:59,600 Speaker 1: Let's just get back through the game. Yes, So Alexander 570 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:02,040 Speaker 1: still freaked out, He's like, oh my god, Okay, we 571 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:03,799 Speaker 1: can play the game, but can I pay for this? 572 00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:06,080 Speaker 1: Do you have like a mirror repair guy that I 573 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:08,719 Speaker 1: can talk to? And the tsar just laughs at him 574 00:35:08,719 --> 00:35:11,960 Speaker 1: and says, well, jeez, if you are a such wizard, 575 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:17,799 Speaker 1: why don't you fix it yourself? And Alexander cocked his 576 00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:21,040 Speaker 1: head to the side, gave a wry little smile and said, 577 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:26,400 Speaker 1: fix it to myself. You say, well, I guess I 578 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:29,520 Speaker 1: can give it a shot, and he brings in this 579 00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:34,080 Speaker 1: huge cloth covers the broken mirror, and a few minutes 580 00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:40,279 Speaker 1: later he whips it away to reveal a completely untouched 581 00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:44,399 Speaker 1: whole mirror without so much as a scratch on it. 582 00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:48,080 Speaker 1: So he'd set this whole thing up. There's your there's 583 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:51,239 Speaker 1: your prestige. There it is surprise. He meant for the 584 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:53,560 Speaker 1: entire thing to happen. He's a great billiards player. Of 585 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:56,120 Speaker 1: course he knew how to make that shot, smash that mirror. 586 00:35:56,480 --> 00:35:59,160 Speaker 1: But how did he do it well? He later told 587 00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:02,120 Speaker 1: The North American View that it was quote up to 588 00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:06,640 Speaker 1: the reader's imagination as to how he pulled it off, like, Oh, 589 00:36:06,719 --> 00:36:09,839 Speaker 1: these damn magicians never revealing their secrets. But I want 590 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:13,040 Speaker 1: to know how your dada no, because should I find 591 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:16,160 Speaker 1: myself in the Czar's court, I'd love to gain his 592 00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:18,120 Speaker 1: favor with it. You know, I'm just going to smash 593 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:20,200 Speaker 1: one of his mirrors and be like, hang on, let 594 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:23,279 Speaker 1: me cover it with a sheet real quick. This is 595 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:28,560 Speaker 1: supposed to work in the story. That's all he did. Well. 596 00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:31,560 Speaker 1: All of this, all the tours and all the amazing 597 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:33,759 Speaker 1: pranks and all the cool shit they were doing, made 598 00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:38,400 Speaker 1: the Herman's rich as yeah, and theater manager Michael b. 599 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:42,359 Speaker 1: Levitt said, quote, whenever I open a new theater, I 600 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:47,439 Speaker 1: will have Herman the Great play. The date Alexander got 601 00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:51,000 Speaker 1: fifty percent of the gross he was pulling in seventy 602 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:54,040 Speaker 1: five thousand dollars a year, which is over two million 603 00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:57,800 Speaker 1: dollars today. Now, over the years, he and Adelaide became 604 00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:00,680 Speaker 1: not only one of the world's most famo miss acts, 605 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:04,759 Speaker 1: but also among the wealthiest performers in the world. They 606 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:08,160 Speaker 1: had a huge estate on Long Island, their own steam 607 00:37:08,239 --> 00:37:11,759 Speaker 1: powered yacht, They opened their own theaters in New York 608 00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:15,040 Speaker 1: City and San Francisco, and they had their own personal 609 00:37:15,239 --> 00:37:20,480 Speaker 1: private railroad car, along with additional cars for his equipment, animals, 610 00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:23,560 Speaker 1: and the traveling cast of their show. So, I mean, 611 00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:27,160 Speaker 1: really balling out of control. But it wasn't all flashy 612 00:37:27,239 --> 00:37:30,839 Speaker 1: stunts and broken mirrors and hucking cards at people. There 613 00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:35,239 Speaker 1: was some real danger in their act as well. Alexander 614 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:39,440 Speaker 1: Hermann had become famous for his bullet catch, a trick 615 00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:43,200 Speaker 1: so real that even Adelaide didn't want anything to do 616 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:46,560 Speaker 1: with it. And we'll be back with this death defying 617 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:55,720 Speaker 1: feat right after this. Welcome back everyone for the prestige 618 00:37:55,880 --> 00:38:02,239 Speaker 1: of the episode. The prestige the bullet catch. It's one 619 00:38:02,239 --> 00:38:06,160 Speaker 1: of the most dangerous tricks in magic, and one of 620 00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:09,399 Speaker 1: the earliest descriptions of this happening came from a non 621 00:38:09,480 --> 00:38:14,320 Speaker 1: fiction French book written in fifteen eighty six, called The 622 00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:19,719 Speaker 1: Theater of God's Judgments by Jean Cassignon, as describes a 623 00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:23,800 Speaker 1: man catching a bullet in his hand using a particular 624 00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:28,880 Speaker 1: sleight of hand technique. But after performing the trick for years, 625 00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:34,000 Speaker 1: this magician was killed by an angry assistant who actually 626 00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:37,520 Speaker 1: didn't shoot him, but clubbed him to death with the 627 00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:41,600 Speaker 1: trick gun. Oh my god, so many magicians have been 628 00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:44,520 Speaker 1: killed by their trick guns, but usually out of being shot. 629 00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:47,160 Speaker 1: This guy somehow, I don't know what he did to 630 00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:51,000 Speaker 1: piss this guy, say he must have done something real. Now, 631 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:54,440 Speaker 1: the bullet catch trick was performed by dozens of magicians 632 00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:58,919 Speaker 1: through the centuries, and eventually Alexander Herman developed a whole 633 00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:02,920 Speaker 1: new version of this act with his assistant Billy Robinson 634 00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:06,239 Speaker 1: and future episode Alert, Billy Robinson would go on to 635 00:39:06,239 --> 00:39:11,359 Speaker 1: perform his own act as a character called Chung Ling Sue, which, yes, 636 00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:15,240 Speaker 1: as you guessed, is a very racist stereotype of an 637 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:18,640 Speaker 1: a parallel of a real Chinese magician from his time, 638 00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:22,520 Speaker 1: and Billy Robinson also at the time had kind of 639 00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:25,880 Speaker 1: a scandalous canceled marriage with one of his assistants before 640 00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:29,480 Speaker 1: fake marrying another so definitely a ridiculous romance in there 641 00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:33,600 Speaker 1: to talk about. Yeah. Sure, So this is how Herman's 642 00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:37,200 Speaker 1: bullet catch trick would go. An audience member would come 643 00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:40,880 Speaker 1: up and make a mark on all five of these 644 00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:43,399 Speaker 1: bullets that would be sitting on a tray, and then 645 00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:47,520 Speaker 1: those bullets would be loaded into the muzzles of five riflemen, 646 00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:50,880 Speaker 1: and then Herman the Great would hold up a china 647 00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:54,200 Speaker 1: plate in front of him like a target. He stood 648 00:39:54,239 --> 00:39:58,960 Speaker 1: nervously as the drum rolled, The rifleman aimed, and on 649 00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:03,720 Speaker 1: Herman's order, fired in a flash of light and smoke. 650 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:08,319 Speaker 1: Herman moved the plate to catch all five bullets. The 651 00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:11,480 Speaker 1: audience shocked as he revealed himself to be fine and 652 00:40:11,560 --> 00:40:15,040 Speaker 1: not shot, and asked the volunteer to examine the bullets 653 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:17,880 Speaker 1: and they were the very same ones that had been marked. 654 00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:22,320 Speaker 1: The crowd went wild. Now this wasn't like a regular 655 00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:24,880 Speaker 1: part of his act. He only did it on special occasions, 656 00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:28,400 Speaker 1: and his seventh and final time performing the trick was 657 00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:31,520 Speaker 1: in eighteen ninety six at the Olympia Theater at a 658 00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:38,319 Speaker 1: benefit for the Sick Babies Fundy. But you know, there's 659 00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:40,640 Speaker 1: no one to name it after. I guess it's no 660 00:40:40,760 --> 00:40:44,319 Speaker 1: specific disease, nope. Just if the baby's sick, we gotta 661 00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:48,800 Speaker 1: have a fund. Generally sick babies, any kind of sick baby, 662 00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:52,560 Speaker 1: we got a fund. I mean, but it's very straightforward. 663 00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:56,319 Speaker 1: I kind of like it now. An interviewer asked the 664 00:40:56,400 --> 00:41:00,440 Speaker 1: couple about the trick, and Adelaide said it terrified her. 665 00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:03,279 Speaker 1: She said, quote, I lock myself in the dressing room 666 00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:06,759 Speaker 1: whenever Alexander faces a firing squad. She's like, I can't 667 00:41:06,760 --> 00:41:10,000 Speaker 1: even be there to watch it. No, but Alexander said 668 00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:14,280 Speaker 1: in response, quote I've already caught bullets six times seven, 669 00:41:14,360 --> 00:41:17,440 Speaker 1: you know is a lucky number. And then he goes 670 00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:20,320 Speaker 1: on to tell the reporter that he never mentioned the 671 00:41:20,360 --> 00:41:23,520 Speaker 1: bullet catch trick when he applied for his life insurance plan, 672 00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:28,680 Speaker 1: so if he died during this trick, he wouldn't be covered, which, 673 00:41:28,719 --> 00:41:31,759 Speaker 1: you know, Adelaide's probably rolling her eyes. Ad thanks, He's 674 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:35,840 Speaker 1: just kind of yucking around. He was always lighthearted about 675 00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:38,759 Speaker 1: doing the trick in his interviews, but in doing it, 676 00:41:38,800 --> 00:41:42,680 Speaker 1: he took things incredibly seriously. Herman the Great knew that 677 00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:45,280 Speaker 1: even though his version of the trick was the safest 678 00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:48,760 Speaker 1: that had ever been developed, guns and bullets are never 679 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:55,359 Speaker 1: ever ever safe. In fact, his assistant Billy Robinson, who 680 00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:58,759 Speaker 1: helped him develop it, would later be killed doing the 681 00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:03,000 Speaker 1: same trick. Dang. Yeah. Another thing that they would do 682 00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:06,080 Speaker 1: in their shows, Alexander and Adelaide was also take a 683 00:42:06,120 --> 00:42:10,520 Speaker 1: few opportunities to go after fake mediums. They're trying to 684 00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:15,560 Speaker 1: blow the tops off some scams out here, because spiritualism 685 00:42:15,680 --> 00:42:18,279 Speaker 1: was really big around this time. There's all these people 686 00:42:18,400 --> 00:42:21,279 Speaker 1: running around saying they were spirit mediums and could communicate 687 00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:23,879 Speaker 1: with the dead and the other side and all this stuff. Well, 688 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:25,840 Speaker 1: not just people doing it, but like all the public 689 00:42:26,200 --> 00:42:30,319 Speaker 1: was very into it, right no, I mean yeah, but 690 00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:35,879 Speaker 1: magicians were always honest about their magic being tricks and illusions, 691 00:42:35,960 --> 00:42:38,080 Speaker 1: you know, they were very clear about what was going on. 692 00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:41,319 Speaker 1: They had no patience for these con artists who were 693 00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:46,040 Speaker 1: preying on people's belief in the supernatural. So one time 694 00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:52,440 Speaker 1: Adelaide and Alexander even debunked a con by Anne Odelia Disdabar, 695 00:42:53,160 --> 00:42:56,240 Speaker 1: who Harry Hudini once called, quote one of the most 696 00:42:56,400 --> 00:43:02,120 Speaker 1: extraordinary fake mediums and mystery swindlers the world has ever known. Wow. 697 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:04,919 Speaker 1: In The New York Times in eighteen eighty eight, wrote 698 00:43:04,920 --> 00:43:08,560 Speaker 1: that the Herman's recreated one of Debar's tricks, and then 699 00:43:08,640 --> 00:43:12,239 Speaker 1: they accidentally gave away how they did it all at 700 00:43:12,239 --> 00:43:15,040 Speaker 1: the end, before announcing to the crowd that they were 701 00:43:15,120 --> 00:43:19,120 Speaker 1: deliberately quote exposing the trickery of certain people who were 702 00:43:19,200 --> 00:43:22,880 Speaker 1: deceiving innocent people. Wow, the audience was also full of 703 00:43:22,960 --> 00:43:25,359 Speaker 1: journalists at that show. Well, that's probably why they chose 704 00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:31,359 Speaker 1: very deliberate. But Alexander had fallen into bad health due 705 00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:36,000 Speaker 1: mostly to his excessive chain smoking. He was having regular 706 00:43:36,040 --> 00:43:39,240 Speaker 1: asthma attacks, and a doctor wrote, according to Adelaide's journal, 707 00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:42,600 Speaker 1: that he had quote the worst kind of tobacco heart 708 00:43:42,880 --> 00:43:46,360 Speaker 1: and unless he stopped his excessive cigarette smoking, he could 709 00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:50,359 Speaker 1: not live more than two years. And she begged him 710 00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:52,640 Speaker 1: to quit, but she wrote in her journal that he 711 00:43:52,760 --> 00:43:57,920 Speaker 1: quote would not or could not. But still, despite Alexander's wealth, 712 00:43:58,440 --> 00:44:03,200 Speaker 1: his devilish and his total disdain for phonies out there, 713 00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:08,920 Speaker 1: Alexander was also an incredibly generous guy. In eighteen ninety six, 714 00:44:09,120 --> 00:44:12,000 Speaker 1: he was touring through Rochester, New York, when this other 715 00:44:12,080 --> 00:44:15,640 Speaker 1: touring theater troupe who was performing our American cousin, speaking 716 00:44:15,640 --> 00:44:18,600 Speaker 1: of John Willis Booth, had run out of money, and 717 00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:22,120 Speaker 1: they were stuck and they couldn't perform anymore. Well, Alexander 718 00:44:22,200 --> 00:44:24,920 Speaker 1: caught wind at this, and he just, out of the 719 00:44:25,040 --> 00:44:28,879 Speaker 1: goodness of his heart, paid their hotel bills, bought their 720 00:44:28,920 --> 00:44:31,759 Speaker 1: train tickets home back to New York City, and gave 721 00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:35,680 Speaker 1: them free tickets to his show that night. Oh wow, man, 722 00:44:35,880 --> 00:44:37,879 Speaker 1: you know, a touring theater. That was the best thing 723 00:44:37,880 --> 00:44:41,360 Speaker 1: you could have done. That And maybe a dinner would 724 00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:47,040 Speaker 1: really make this perfect, right if you got any more generosity? Right. Well, 725 00:44:47,040 --> 00:44:49,319 Speaker 1: after the show that night, he was the guest of 726 00:44:49,360 --> 00:44:51,799 Speaker 1: honor at a local banquet, and he did invite that 727 00:44:51,880 --> 00:44:54,480 Speaker 1: theater troup belong with him. Oh there's the dinner. Yeah. 728 00:44:54,520 --> 00:44:57,880 Speaker 1: And after that he invited them and a handful of 729 00:44:57,880 --> 00:45:01,160 Speaker 1: local dignitaries from the banquet back to his train car 730 00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:05,799 Speaker 1: to celebrate, and he was just regaling them with stories 731 00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:08,440 Speaker 1: from all of his travels. He was wowing them with 732 00:45:08,520 --> 00:45:10,880 Speaker 1: little like close magic, like sleight of hand, stuff that's 733 00:45:10,960 --> 00:45:14,319 Speaker 1: right in your face. Adelaide wrote in her journal that 734 00:45:14,360 --> 00:45:16,680 Speaker 1: he was having such a good time that night that 735 00:45:16,760 --> 00:45:21,320 Speaker 1: he was dancing around like a big kid. After they left, 736 00:45:21,880 --> 00:45:25,839 Speaker 1: he quieted down and he told Adelaide, quote, we ought 737 00:45:25,840 --> 00:45:29,120 Speaker 1: to enjoy these things while we are living, because after 738 00:45:29,160 --> 00:45:33,560 Speaker 1: we die, we are soon forgotten. The next morning, as 739 00:45:33,560 --> 00:45:37,920 Speaker 1: the train was traveling to its next performance, Alexander stumbled 740 00:45:37,920 --> 00:45:41,560 Speaker 1: into Adelaide's car. It's pale. He was gasping for breath. 741 00:45:42,120 --> 00:45:44,839 Speaker 1: He was having a heart attack. She tried to give 742 00:45:44,920 --> 00:45:48,000 Speaker 1: him water, but he couldn't drink. The train stopped in 743 00:45:48,040 --> 00:45:52,520 Speaker 1: the next town, and Alexander whispered to Adelaide, quote, make 744 00:45:52,560 --> 00:45:55,479 Speaker 1: sure all in the theater company get back to New York. 745 00:45:56,400 --> 00:45:59,319 Speaker 1: And when the doctor arrived a few minutes later, it 746 00:45:59,360 --> 00:46:03,359 Speaker 1: was too late. Herman the Great died on December seventeenth, 747 00:46:03,480 --> 00:46:07,680 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety six, at fifty two years old. His funeral 748 00:46:07,800 --> 00:46:11,719 Speaker 1: was held on December twentieth on twenty third Street in Manhattan, 749 00:46:12,200 --> 00:46:17,120 Speaker 1: and was so crowded that the streets were blocked. Unfortunately, 750 00:46:17,200 --> 00:46:20,920 Speaker 1: Adelaide was not only now alone, she had a massive 751 00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:25,320 Speaker 1: responsibility on her plate. She wrote, quote it is among 752 00:46:25,320 --> 00:46:28,680 Speaker 1: the most pathetic aspects of the stage of which the 753 00:46:28,840 --> 00:46:32,520 Speaker 1: general public knows little or nothing, that it allows no 754 00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:37,719 Speaker 1: time for the indulgence of private sorrows. As Alison C. 755 00:46:38,120 --> 00:46:41,640 Speaker 1: Mayor writes in her article for Hidden History, quote, even 756 00:46:41,680 --> 00:46:45,200 Speaker 1: in her immediate morning, a crew of sixteen people, a 757 00:46:45,320 --> 00:46:49,719 Speaker 1: show with expensive contraptions, and a menagerie of animals were 758 00:46:49,760 --> 00:46:54,480 Speaker 1: all waiting for her to decide their fate, so she 759 00:46:54,560 --> 00:47:00,480 Speaker 1: really didn't have time to be sad. Yeah. Now someone 760 00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:04,239 Speaker 1: offered to buy the whole show from her. Just here, 761 00:47:04,320 --> 00:47:06,200 Speaker 1: take the money, and I'll take it all off your 762 00:47:06,239 --> 00:47:10,120 Speaker 1: hands right now. But she said, quote to accept it 763 00:47:10,200 --> 00:47:12,960 Speaker 1: was to throw away all that we had so long 764 00:47:13,040 --> 00:47:17,240 Speaker 1: worked for. Yeah, because I mean you'd think their names 765 00:47:17,239 --> 00:47:19,319 Speaker 1: would go with it, you know it just now that 766 00:47:19,360 --> 00:47:23,160 Speaker 1: whole thing would be somebody else's name attached to it now, Yeah, 767 00:47:23,200 --> 00:47:25,359 Speaker 1: and it'd be like, not only did my husband die, 768 00:47:25,400 --> 00:47:27,759 Speaker 1: but now my whole career is dead. Yeah, and what 769 00:47:27,840 --> 00:47:30,279 Speaker 1: legacy are we leaving legacy? And now what do I 770 00:47:30,320 --> 00:47:33,160 Speaker 1: have to do? And I mean yeah, and maybe because 771 00:47:33,160 --> 00:47:37,359 Speaker 1: of all that, Adelaide ultimately decided the show needed to continue, 772 00:47:38,040 --> 00:47:42,920 Speaker 1: she contacted Alexander's nephew Leon in Paris. Now, Leon was 773 00:47:43,040 --> 00:47:46,760 Speaker 1: the son of one of his and Carl's other fourteen siblings, 774 00:47:47,360 --> 00:47:50,680 Speaker 1: and both Alexander and Carl had considered Leon to be 775 00:47:50,719 --> 00:47:54,759 Speaker 1: their logical heir once either of them retired, so he 776 00:47:54,880 --> 00:47:57,560 Speaker 1: came to New York to join Adelaide as the new 777 00:47:57,680 --> 00:48:00,920 Speaker 1: star of the Herman the Great Show. And of course 778 00:48:01,040 --> 00:48:03,200 Speaker 1: he was just the poster boy. He was a fairly 779 00:48:03,239 --> 00:48:07,000 Speaker 1: talented magician, but Adelaide was running the show. She knew 780 00:48:07,040 --> 00:48:11,000 Speaker 1: it inside and out, and she knew that she needed 781 00:48:11,000 --> 00:48:15,640 Speaker 1: to get everyone's attention as the show was changing as 782 00:48:15,680 --> 00:48:18,879 Speaker 1: well as honor her late husband, and there was only 783 00:48:18,920 --> 00:48:22,680 Speaker 1: one trick that would do it. Adelaide Herman was going 784 00:48:22,760 --> 00:48:28,440 Speaker 1: to perform the Bullet Catch. In eighteen ninety seven, she 785 00:48:28,600 --> 00:48:32,279 Speaker 1: performed as Leon's assistant, and then for the finale, she 786 00:48:32,360 --> 00:48:36,640 Speaker 1: returned to the stage dressed in the traditional magician's uniform 787 00:48:37,120 --> 00:48:41,880 Speaker 1: in slacks and the tailcoat. She wrote, quote, poignant memories 788 00:48:41,880 --> 00:48:44,920 Speaker 1: assailed me. As the curtain rose to the familiar strains 789 00:48:44,920 --> 00:48:47,640 Speaker 1: of the Strauss Waltz, which my husband was accustomed to 790 00:48:47,719 --> 00:48:51,040 Speaker 1: use for his opening accompaniment, I began to feel faint. 791 00:48:51,600 --> 00:48:54,759 Speaker 1: My emotion was almost too much for me. The crowd 792 00:48:54,840 --> 00:48:58,920 Speaker 1: marked and inspected the bullets. The firing squad took aim, 793 00:48:59,480 --> 00:49:05,640 Speaker 1: and on her command fired. The smoke cleared and Adelaide 794 00:49:05,680 --> 00:49:09,920 Speaker 1: was holding five bullets in her hands. The crowd was 795 00:49:09,960 --> 00:49:13,840 Speaker 1: on their feet, roaring and Meyer says that Adelaide revealed 796 00:49:13,840 --> 00:49:17,280 Speaker 1: the trick in her memoirs. A trick serving tray allowed 797 00:49:17,280 --> 00:49:20,400 Speaker 1: them to switch out the bullets for blanks, okay, and 798 00:49:20,480 --> 00:49:23,759 Speaker 1: the real bullets were scorched backstage and then slipped in 799 00:49:23,800 --> 00:49:25,839 Speaker 1: her hands so they bed Maide to look like they 800 00:49:25,840 --> 00:49:30,160 Speaker 1: had been fired. Okay, But she actually, hopefully was never 801 00:49:30,200 --> 00:49:32,480 Speaker 1: in any real danger because it was only blanks in 802 00:49:32,520 --> 00:49:36,200 Speaker 1: the gun. Right, But when Billy Robinson was killed, a 803 00:49:36,360 --> 00:49:39,880 Speaker 1: real bullet had accidentally gotten mixed into the blank, so 804 00:49:40,080 --> 00:49:42,560 Speaker 1: the risk was still very real. Yeah, it's a lot 805 00:49:42,600 --> 00:49:46,960 Speaker 1: like the Rust shooting right recent or I believe that's 806 00:49:46,960 --> 00:49:49,080 Speaker 1: what happened with Brandon Lee as well. Right, it was 807 00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:52,560 Speaker 1: just like carelessness with the ammunition. And again, just to 808 00:49:53,040 --> 00:49:56,000 Speaker 1: go back into my prop stays on a TV set, 809 00:49:56,840 --> 00:49:59,719 Speaker 1: I can't tell you the number of steps that was 810 00:49:59,760 --> 00:50:03,000 Speaker 1: in our safety protocol when working with blanks. First off, 811 00:50:03,160 --> 00:50:07,400 Speaker 1: there were no real bullets in the building anywhere allowed, 812 00:50:07,440 --> 00:50:10,040 Speaker 1: but there could be, so you had to check every 813 00:50:10,080 --> 00:50:12,000 Speaker 1: single one every time before you got there. I mean, 814 00:50:12,080 --> 00:50:14,520 Speaker 1: and it doesn't matter. You do all those steps, and 815 00:50:14,560 --> 00:50:18,520 Speaker 1: you still have to assume that the worst is possible, right, Yeah, 816 00:50:18,560 --> 00:50:23,160 Speaker 1: and does happen. Yeah, but Adelaide definitely had the world's 817 00:50:23,160 --> 00:50:27,000 Speaker 1: attention now she had done the damn thing, and they 818 00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:29,319 Speaker 1: were like, this show is going to be amazing. And 819 00:50:29,880 --> 00:50:35,719 Speaker 1: after less than two years, she and Leon had creative differences, or, 820 00:50:35,840 --> 00:50:37,880 Speaker 1: as Leon put it, quote, she wanted to be the 821 00:50:37,880 --> 00:50:41,880 Speaker 1: whole thing, you can call it, manager, stage, carpenter, everything. 822 00:50:42,320 --> 00:50:46,239 Speaker 1: I naturally object. Ah. So he wanted to be in charge, right, 823 00:50:46,320 --> 00:50:48,080 Speaker 1: and she wanted to be in charge. I wonder what 824 00:50:48,239 --> 00:50:52,719 Speaker 1: made him feel superior to her, despite the fact that 825 00:50:52,800 --> 00:50:55,640 Speaker 1: she had been doing this show for decades and knew 826 00:50:55,680 --> 00:50:57,879 Speaker 1: it like the back of her hand and probably helped 827 00:50:57,920 --> 00:51:01,560 Speaker 1: conceive of a lot of it. And yet he walked 828 00:51:01,600 --> 00:51:06,600 Speaker 1: in something almost almost uh what's the word entitled, almost 829 00:51:06,640 --> 00:51:08,319 Speaker 1: to the point where he felt like he should just 830 00:51:08,360 --> 00:51:11,680 Speaker 1: be in charge by default. I don't know what that is. 831 00:51:11,920 --> 00:51:15,240 Speaker 1: I don't know. I can't tell the difference between him 832 00:51:15,280 --> 00:51:20,560 Speaker 1: and her that might have fled to that difference of opinion. Well, 833 00:51:20,640 --> 00:51:23,839 Speaker 1: Leon went on to perform with his wife Marie, but 834 00:51:24,080 --> 00:51:28,360 Speaker 1: he could not keep the fame going for himself. Within 835 00:51:28,400 --> 00:51:30,720 Speaker 1: a year, he announced that he would do his first 836 00:51:30,719 --> 00:51:35,920 Speaker 1: appearance in vaudeville, which, according to Cooper tunes is a 837 00:51:35,960 --> 00:51:38,840 Speaker 1: big step down. It'd be like if we started seeing, 838 00:51:40,560 --> 00:51:45,720 Speaker 1: you know, Oscar winner Viola Davis appearing in your local 839 00:51:45,760 --> 00:51:51,800 Speaker 1: community theaters production of the twenty fifth annual Putnam County 840 00:51:51,840 --> 00:51:58,880 Speaker 1: spelling me. Yeah, yeah, kind of a shift, a big shift. Yeah. Well, 841 00:51:58,960 --> 00:52:01,160 Speaker 1: maybe he should have stayed and listened to Adelaide a 842 00:52:01,200 --> 00:52:03,640 Speaker 1: little bit. Look what happened when you took charge. She 843 00:52:03,719 --> 00:52:08,840 Speaker 1: immediately got her whole crowd back. Yeah, oh yeah, I mean. Adelaide, meanwhile, 844 00:52:08,960 --> 00:52:12,360 Speaker 1: was only growing in fame. In an interview for Broadway 845 00:52:12,440 --> 00:52:16,560 Speaker 1: Magazine in eighteen ninety nine, she said, quote, I shall 846 00:52:16,640 --> 00:52:19,840 Speaker 1: not be content until I am recognized by the public 847 00:52:20,120 --> 00:52:24,440 Speaker 1: as a leader in my profession and entirely irrespective of 848 00:52:24,480 --> 00:52:28,000 Speaker 1: the question of sex. Yes, ma'am. Yeah, She's like, I 849 00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:29,919 Speaker 1: don't even you know, it's not even like, oh wow 850 00:52:29,960 --> 00:52:32,120 Speaker 1: for a woman, you're doing really well. She's like, no, 851 00:52:32,320 --> 00:52:35,080 Speaker 1: I am one of the top magicians. End of story 852 00:52:35,280 --> 00:52:39,319 Speaker 1: boom for anyone. I'm doing very well, right, And she 853 00:52:39,560 --> 00:52:43,680 Speaker 1: dodged challenges that Leon couldn't, because even as cheap vaudeville 854 00:52:43,719 --> 00:52:46,680 Speaker 1: shows were growing in popularity and ended up taking up 855 00:52:46,680 --> 00:52:48,759 Speaker 1: a lot of the space that big budget shows had 856 00:52:48,760 --> 00:52:52,640 Speaker 1: been performing in in major venues. Adelaide adapted and she 857 00:52:52,760 --> 00:52:55,759 Speaker 1: was still wowing crowds enough to sell enough tickets to 858 00:52:55,760 --> 00:52:59,400 Speaker 1: book these shows. One of her biggest acts was called 859 00:52:59,520 --> 00:53:03,719 Speaker 1: Noah's Arc and she rolled out this huge wooden ship 860 00:53:03,719 --> 00:53:06,520 Speaker 1: on the stage. She would rotate it around where you 861 00:53:06,560 --> 00:53:09,520 Speaker 1: could see inside and see that it was empty. Then 862 00:53:09,560 --> 00:53:12,520 Speaker 1: she turned it back around again and buckets of water 863 00:53:12,600 --> 00:53:14,880 Speaker 1: would be poured into the top of the ship, like 864 00:53:15,040 --> 00:53:18,759 Speaker 1: filling it up, and as it did, cats would come 865 00:53:18,800 --> 00:53:22,760 Speaker 1: crawling out of the ship's chimney. And suddenly a gang 866 00:53:22,800 --> 00:53:28,359 Speaker 1: plank rolled out and birds, leopards, lions, elephants, and zebras 867 00:53:28,800 --> 00:53:33,040 Speaker 1: came flooding out of this boat. That's awesome, incredible. That 868 00:53:33,120 --> 00:53:37,319 Speaker 1: also makes me think of a sort of small coming 869 00:53:37,320 --> 00:53:40,600 Speaker 1: out and slow moo. Now she became known as the 870 00:53:40,640 --> 00:53:45,720 Speaker 1: only woman magician in the world. There was one other 871 00:53:45,800 --> 00:53:49,600 Speaker 1: who was well known, miss Udina, who was a female 872 00:53:49,600 --> 00:53:54,680 Speaker 1: imitator of Harry Houdini, and he hated that. He sure did. 873 00:53:54,800 --> 00:53:57,360 Speaker 1: He really did not care for that. But people started 874 00:53:57,360 --> 00:54:02,440 Speaker 1: calling Adelaide the Queen of Magic, and she performed with 875 00:54:02,640 --> 00:54:07,760 Speaker 1: massive success for almost thirty years. But Sadly, in nineteen 876 00:54:07,800 --> 00:54:11,480 Speaker 1: twenty eight, when Adelaide was in her seventies, the warehouse 877 00:54:11,600 --> 00:54:15,040 Speaker 1: where she stored her equipment and most of her animals 878 00:54:15,400 --> 00:54:18,960 Speaker 1: caught fire. She was woken up and rushed to the 879 00:54:19,000 --> 00:54:22,040 Speaker 1: scene where they were just finishing putting out the fire, 880 00:54:22,200 --> 00:54:25,040 Speaker 1: putting out the flames, and she was told that all 881 00:54:25,120 --> 00:54:28,279 Speaker 1: of her animals had died. But she looked up to 882 00:54:28,360 --> 00:54:31,440 Speaker 1: the fourth floor window and she saw her white cat Magic, 883 00:54:31,800 --> 00:54:34,719 Speaker 1: and she called to Magic. The cat scaled the side 884 00:54:34,719 --> 00:54:37,600 Speaker 1: of the building down to her arms and then searching 885 00:54:37,600 --> 00:54:40,440 Speaker 1: the wreckage, she also found her white poodle Mami and 886 00:54:40,600 --> 00:54:44,759 Speaker 1: her fox carrier Nellie alive. So she found a couple 887 00:54:44,800 --> 00:54:49,560 Speaker 1: of them. Yeah, But aside from these three, over sixty animals, 888 00:54:50,040 --> 00:54:54,040 Speaker 1: many rare and exotic and whom Adelaide had called quote 889 00:54:54,560 --> 00:55:00,160 Speaker 1: the best talents among animal thespians, had died. They also 890 00:55:00,200 --> 00:55:03,120 Speaker 1: found the body of one of her performing partners named 891 00:55:03,200 --> 00:55:07,840 Speaker 1: Thomas Collins. He was found quote locked in the embrace 892 00:55:08,080 --> 00:55:11,840 Speaker 1: of his famous boxing kangaroo. Oh do you think he 893 00:55:11,880 --> 00:55:15,040 Speaker 1: was trying to save him? Either save him or just 894 00:55:15,280 --> 00:55:18,359 Speaker 1: hold him. It's hard, but that's the saddest thing I've 895 00:55:18,360 --> 00:55:25,359 Speaker 1: ever heard. Meyer writes that quote, two hundred crates of costumes, illusions, 896 00:55:25,400 --> 00:55:29,520 Speaker 1: and fifty years of life from wedding silver to ephemera 897 00:55:29,680 --> 00:55:34,120 Speaker 1: from her journey with Alexander were gone, and The New 898 00:55:34,200 --> 00:55:38,000 Speaker 1: York Times reported that it is likely that a bootlegger 899 00:55:38,080 --> 00:55:42,680 Speaker 1: liquor still had exploded and caused the fire. Damn prohibition, 900 00:55:43,160 --> 00:55:46,839 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, and that's I'm so mad at 901 00:55:46,880 --> 00:55:52,040 Speaker 1: cigarettes for killing Alexander, and I'm so mad at prohibition 902 00:55:52,800 --> 00:55:57,560 Speaker 1: for destroying all of their history. Adelaide wrote in her journals, quote, 903 00:55:58,320 --> 00:56:02,120 Speaker 1: summoning all my remaining urge to my aid, I clung 904 00:56:02,239 --> 00:56:06,840 Speaker 1: persistently to the thought that I should again arise phoenix 905 00:56:06,920 --> 00:56:11,480 Speaker 1: like from these ashes to face another future. And this 906 00:56:11,560 --> 00:56:14,799 Speaker 1: is in her seventies. Wow, she's like seventy three years 907 00:56:14,840 --> 00:56:17,520 Speaker 1: old at this point. I hope I can get a 908 00:56:17,520 --> 00:56:20,840 Speaker 1: little Adelaide in my life was to keep that energy, 909 00:56:20,920 --> 00:56:24,560 Speaker 1: because if all of my stuff and things and whole 910 00:56:24,560 --> 00:56:26,560 Speaker 1: show and all my life and a fema of my 911 00:56:26,600 --> 00:56:29,000 Speaker 1: life was gone in an instant, it would just be 912 00:56:29,080 --> 00:56:31,719 Speaker 1: so hard to get over. And that happens with like 913 00:56:31,800 --> 00:56:35,600 Speaker 1: natural disasters. Yeah, you know, I know that happens to people. 914 00:56:35,719 --> 00:56:38,799 Speaker 1: But fortunately, knock on what has not yet happened to me? 915 00:56:39,000 --> 00:56:41,719 Speaker 1: I hope it doesn't because that sounds so upsetting and 916 00:56:41,800 --> 00:56:47,319 Speaker 1: I am far too sentimental about stuff. But despite this 917 00:56:47,520 --> 00:56:51,719 Speaker 1: devastating loss, she did rebuild. She did build a new 918 00:56:51,760 --> 00:56:54,880 Speaker 1: life for herself and everything. This is Adelaide we're talking about. 919 00:56:55,239 --> 00:56:57,239 Speaker 1: She's going to get right back up on that philosophy 920 00:56:57,280 --> 00:57:00,480 Speaker 1: and do what she has to do. And she had 921 00:57:00,480 --> 00:57:03,960 Speaker 1: a new show that had been significantly pared down from 922 00:57:04,000 --> 00:57:06,880 Speaker 1: the spectacle of herman the Great Show. Right. It was 923 00:57:06,920 --> 00:57:11,240 Speaker 1: called magic, Grace, and music, which were the three things 924 00:57:11,280 --> 00:57:14,319 Speaker 1: that she was already so naturally skilled at. It makes 925 00:57:14,320 --> 00:57:16,480 Speaker 1: sense because you know, she didn't have any of the stuff. 926 00:57:16,520 --> 00:57:18,680 Speaker 1: So it was just like, what do I bring? Right? 927 00:57:18,760 --> 00:57:21,840 Speaker 1: What do I are? No animals, no tricks. Yeah, this 928 00:57:22,200 --> 00:57:24,800 Speaker 1: can't be burned away. This is in me personally. And 929 00:57:24,840 --> 00:57:27,240 Speaker 1: I also remember she's in her seventies. Yeah, so let 930 00:57:27,360 --> 00:57:32,560 Speaker 1: us yeah, not gloss over that. So she performed this 931 00:57:32,600 --> 00:57:37,840 Speaker 1: show for a year before finally retiring, and on February nineteenth, 932 00:57:37,960 --> 00:57:42,000 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty two, she passed away from pneumonia at seventy 933 00:57:42,040 --> 00:57:47,160 Speaker 1: nine years old. Mayor writes that Adelaide's memoirs were published 934 00:57:47,200 --> 00:57:51,200 Speaker 1: in twenty eleven as Queen of Magic by magician Margaret Steele, 935 00:57:51,600 --> 00:57:54,400 Speaker 1: and this restored some of Adelaide's fame, you know she 936 00:57:54,480 --> 00:57:57,000 Speaker 1: had kind of I guess I didn't ned never heard 937 00:57:57,000 --> 00:58:00,600 Speaker 1: of her the Herman's at all, So I'm glad that 938 00:58:00,600 --> 00:58:03,400 Speaker 1: people are bringing them back out. Yeah. There's also a 939 00:58:03,480 --> 00:58:06,480 Speaker 1: children's author, Maura Rockcliffe, that was trying to find a 940 00:58:06,480 --> 00:58:08,760 Speaker 1: book about a woman magician for her daughter, but she 941 00:58:08,800 --> 00:58:11,959 Speaker 1: could not find a single one, and she read Queen 942 00:58:12,000 --> 00:58:16,240 Speaker 1: of Magic and was inspired to write Anything but Ordinary Addie, 943 00:58:16,400 --> 00:58:19,680 Speaker 1: The True Story of Adelaide Herman, Queen of Magic, a 944 00:58:19,800 --> 00:58:22,960 Speaker 1: children's book. So she kind of was the change she 945 00:58:23,040 --> 00:58:27,600 Speaker 1: wanted to see in them. And Mayor quote magician Angela 946 00:58:27,720 --> 00:58:33,000 Speaker 1: Sanchez as saying, quote, Adelaide's legacy demonstrates that women, even 947 00:58:33,120 --> 00:58:37,640 Speaker 1: in the incredibly socially restrictive environments of early twentieth century America, 948 00:58:38,040 --> 00:58:42,840 Speaker 1: can be standalone, single billing magicians who command their own 949 00:58:42,960 --> 00:58:48,200 Speaker 1: shows and audiences. Right, damn right, where's my Ja Tanna show? 950 00:58:48,200 --> 00:58:50,200 Speaker 1: Because I would definitely watch, Oh for real, can we 951 00:58:50,200 --> 00:58:53,880 Speaker 1: get as a Tanna show? Yeaht me as a Tanna show? No, 952 00:58:54,040 --> 00:58:58,560 Speaker 1: it's so no, she's so amazing. I mean, both of them. 953 00:58:59,200 --> 00:59:00,680 Speaker 1: This is one of those stories or I'm just like, oh, 954 00:59:00,720 --> 00:59:05,920 Speaker 1: y'all are each such incredible people. Yeah, and I love that. 955 00:59:07,320 --> 00:59:10,800 Speaker 1: I hope that we're you know, helping restore her fame 956 00:59:10,840 --> 00:59:14,160 Speaker 1: a little bit too, because it's amazing to me. It 957 00:59:14,200 --> 00:59:16,160 Speaker 1: just goes to show. I don't know what it is 958 00:59:16,200 --> 00:59:20,000 Speaker 1: that sticks you in history, because obviously we're still talking 959 00:59:20,040 --> 00:59:22,640 Speaker 1: about Harry Houdini today, and he was cool, he did 960 00:59:22,680 --> 00:59:24,280 Speaker 1: a bunch of neat stuff. Well, we might do an 961 00:59:24,280 --> 00:59:28,960 Speaker 1: episode on him at some point, But why why is 962 00:59:29,000 --> 00:59:31,480 Speaker 1: the Great Herman and why is the Queen of Magic 963 00:59:31,840 --> 00:59:35,280 Speaker 1: not just as popular? Right? I can only assume maybe 964 00:59:35,320 --> 00:59:38,480 Speaker 1: because the fire a lot of records were lost, you know, 965 00:59:38,640 --> 00:59:42,280 Speaker 1: there was no preservation museum that went into their story afterwards. 966 00:59:42,320 --> 00:59:46,000 Speaker 1: But it's like Alexander said the night before he died. 967 00:59:46,040 --> 00:59:49,000 Speaker 1: He said that we ought to enjoy these things while 968 00:59:49,040 --> 00:59:51,960 Speaker 1: we're living, because after we die, we're soon forgotten. A 969 00:59:52,080 --> 00:59:55,600 Speaker 1: little prophetic, I guess, I guess. So. Yeah, although it 970 00:59:56,040 --> 00:59:58,120 Speaker 1: might be one of those industry things, you know, we're 971 00:59:58,240 --> 01:00:02,440 Speaker 1: like within an industry, you're still so famous, but like 972 01:00:02,560 --> 01:00:07,240 Speaker 1: without outside your industry, nobody knows. It's true. Yeah, but 973 01:00:07,280 --> 01:00:10,000 Speaker 1: I just think it's you know, it's it's also an 974 01:00:10,040 --> 01:00:11,880 Speaker 1: important thing. I think we get so caught up in 975 01:00:12,520 --> 01:00:15,760 Speaker 1: the idea of the legacy we leave behind sometimes that 976 01:00:15,840 --> 01:00:22,080 Speaker 1: we don't enjoy ourselves as much because you know, I 977 01:00:22,160 --> 01:00:24,880 Speaker 1: don't know, humans are always very focused on what happens 978 01:00:24,880 --> 01:00:26,520 Speaker 1: after their death as opposed to what they're doing all 979 01:00:26,520 --> 01:00:31,680 Speaker 1: their alive. But they didn't. They did incredible things. I 980 01:00:31,720 --> 01:00:35,640 Speaker 1: thought it was really interesting too. You know, Adelaide did 981 01:00:35,720 --> 01:00:40,240 Speaker 1: all this without really as much money as they had 982 01:00:40,280 --> 01:00:44,880 Speaker 1: at the height of their fame, because when Alexander died, 983 01:00:45,480 --> 01:00:48,720 Speaker 1: she said she went down and like claimed the value 984 01:00:48,720 --> 01:00:51,000 Speaker 1: of their assets and it was like two thousand dollars. 985 01:00:51,480 --> 01:00:57,000 Speaker 1: Because you buy all these elaborate, expensive contraptions and animals 986 01:00:57,000 --> 01:01:00,240 Speaker 1: and magic tricks and stuff, and to anyone who's not 987 01:01:00,280 --> 01:01:04,560 Speaker 1: a magician, they're useless. They're they're totally valueless. That's that's 988 01:01:04,640 --> 01:01:07,400 Speaker 1: theater ship right there, and true, because you're like, I 989 01:01:07,440 --> 01:01:10,280 Speaker 1: have so much stuff that costs me a mint, you know, 990 01:01:10,480 --> 01:01:13,400 Speaker 1: and then but it's worth it's like literally worth nothing. 991 01:01:13,440 --> 01:01:17,880 Speaker 1: It is trash to you. Yeah, it's worth nothing. No, 992 01:01:18,040 --> 01:01:21,240 Speaker 1: it's true. Uh, you know, well, the sentimental value is 993 01:01:21,240 --> 01:01:24,360 Speaker 1: through the roof, and the Banker's like, I don't care, 994 01:01:24,680 --> 01:01:30,040 Speaker 1: I have no sentiment. I'm a bank And also just 995 01:01:30,080 --> 01:01:33,959 Speaker 1: like one of these wholesome marriages. Yes, that's always so nice, 996 01:01:34,040 --> 01:01:35,960 Speaker 1: where nobody is like trying to hurt the other one. 997 01:01:36,000 --> 01:01:41,320 Speaker 1: And then that way, thickers, we're recording a microphone. Go ahead, 998 01:01:41,320 --> 01:01:43,520 Speaker 1: send it again. Where no one is trying to like 999 01:01:43,600 --> 01:01:46,880 Speaker 1: hurt the other one or they're cheat on them or 1000 01:01:46,920 --> 01:01:51,040 Speaker 1: do you sound crazy? Oh my god, hey, you never 1001 01:01:51,080 --> 01:01:53,480 Speaker 1: barked when there's noise outside. Well, you know, I'll heard 1002 01:01:53,480 --> 01:01:56,040 Speaker 1: we're fostering a dog, snickers. Who. I don't know if 1003 01:01:56,040 --> 01:01:57,960 Speaker 1: you can hear barking in the background. But he's decided 1004 01:01:58,000 --> 01:01:59,440 Speaker 1: that we need to wrap it up. I guess so, 1005 01:02:00,680 --> 01:02:04,720 Speaker 1: I guess so the press d is over. Yeah, he's 1006 01:02:04,840 --> 01:02:12,439 Speaker 1: ruin the trick. It's like just whatever, all right, Well thanks, Well, 1007 01:02:12,480 --> 01:02:15,680 Speaker 1: if you all want to adopt a labradoodle, then please 1008 01:02:16,440 --> 01:02:19,960 Speaker 1: shoot us an email Dick Romance at gmail dot com. 1009 01:02:19,960 --> 01:02:22,160 Speaker 1: We can't wait for him to find us forever home. 1010 01:02:22,240 --> 01:02:25,560 Speaker 1: The sweet boy. He really is such a doll. Yeah, 1011 01:02:25,560 --> 01:02:27,520 Speaker 1: but no, we do love hearing from you. We hope 1012 01:02:27,520 --> 01:02:29,760 Speaker 1: you love this episode. We really enjoyed telling it to 1013 01:02:29,800 --> 01:02:32,280 Speaker 1: you and we love spending time with you, so yes, 1014 01:02:32,360 --> 01:02:35,000 Speaker 1: reach out to us email or We're also on social media, 1015 01:02:35,080 --> 01:02:37,680 Speaker 1: Twitter and Instagram. I'm at Saya my Boom and I'm 1016 01:02:37,720 --> 01:02:40,439 Speaker 1: at Oh Great, It's Eli. The show is at Rick 1017 01:02:40,560 --> 01:02:43,120 Speaker 1: Romance as well. You can find us on TikTok at 1018 01:02:43,200 --> 01:02:46,280 Speaker 1: Ridiculous Romance. That's right, and we will be back next 1019 01:02:46,280 --> 01:02:49,919 Speaker 1: week with more amazing story for you. Love you buy 1020 01:02:50,880 --> 01:02:54,760 Speaker 1: so long. Friends, it's time to go. Thanks for listening 1021 01:02:54,840 --> 01:02:58,200 Speaker 1: to our show. Tell your friend's names, Uncle's and this 1022 01:02:58,680 --> 01:03:01,120 Speaker 1: to listen to our Iculous roll Dance