Doug Henning

Douglas James Henning (born May 3, 1947 in Winnipeg , Manitoba , † February 7, 2000 in Los Angeles ) was a Canadian magician and great illusionist. He began to stylistically revolutionize stage magic in the 1970s.

Henning mastered his profession from manipulation with playing cards to grand illusions. Henning's repertoire comprised most of the grand illusions that are still modern today. His trademark, however, was his humorous, theatrical and fresh presentation style, which broke all conventions and was decades ahead of its time.

Spellbound

As a psychology student, Henning taught magic at the University, where he met Ivan Reitman ( Ghostbusters ), who later became the film director . Together they produced the brightly colored hippie magic show Spellbound in the style of a musical in Toronto , which was originally only intended as a stopgap for an unusual theater production. The music was contributed by the Lighthouse musician and later film composer Howard Shore ( The Lord of the Rings ). The rapid low budget production broke all box office records.

The Magic Show

Henning was hired on Broadway, where he perfected the show with a higher budget and professional theater logistics and, as "The Magic Show", ensured that the halls were sold out for four years. His story was a show-in-a-show about a young magician who didn't want to submit to the absurd show style with glamor girls etc. For the first time since the "golden era" stage magic was presented again with elaborate grand illusions in a theatrical style.

Merlin

Henning also realized the musical Merlin on Broadway with Reitman , which was honored with the Tony Award. The young Christian Slater played the young Merlin . In this show, a floating lady rotating around the longitudinal axis was presented for the first time, which Reitman also used in his film Ghostbusters - Die Geisterjäger with Sigourney Weaver . Despite brilliant reviews and sold-out houses, the show was canceled due to excessive costs.

TV wizard

Henning moved to Los Angeles. Starting in 1975, he designed the annual Christmas special for a TV station with eight months of preparation time. a. conjured with predators and elephants. The Houdini enthusiast emulated his idol with the legendary underwater release number, which was followed by 50 million TV viewers. Henning was a frequent guest on TV shows, including the Johnny Carson Show, Sesame Street and the Muppet Show . Henning was also interested in magic in the esoteric sense and took up spiritual and biblical topics in his later shows.

Consultations

Henning advised the Disney group on illusions in theme parks. He also contributed special effects for artists such as Earth, Wind and Fire and the Jacksons.

Exit and Transcendental Meditation

The most prominent TV magician of his time learned the Transcendental Meditation (TM) at the height of his career , sold his props and advisors to the young magician David Copperfield and moved to India to live with his guru. Copperfield realized the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty for a TV show - a project that Henning had rejected - and inherited Henning as the new TV magician. Henning also ran for the natural law party , which is closely related to the TM organization, and propagated yogic flying . He always hoped that one day he would actually be able to float in the lotus seat as he had shown it in his stage shows. For spiritual theme parks he constructed nature-related illusions that were not realized.

Return to the USA

Henning returned to the USA at the end of the 90s and was planning a comeback as a magician. In 2000 he died of liver cancer.

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personal data
SURNAME	Henning, Doug
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Henning, Douglas James (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Canadian magician and grand illusionist
DATE OF BIRTH	May 3, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH	Winnipeg , Manitoba
DATE OF DEATH	February 7, 2000
Place of death	los Angeles