Harry Kellar
Harry Kellar (actually Heinrich Keller ; born July 11, 1849 in Erie , Pennsylvania , † March 10, 1922 ) was the most famous American magician from 1896 to 1908 .
His German parents had emigrated to Erie, Pennsylvania. Heinrich experimented with chemical mixtures at the age of ten and blasted a hole in the floor of his teacher's drug store. Fearing his parents, he stole away and became a vagabond.
After seeing a performance by the Fakir of Ava ( Isaiah Harris Hughes ) in New York , he decided to become a magician himself, was hired as an assistant and traveled around with him between the ages of 12 and 18. He had great success with his first own performance.
From 1869 to 1873 he was stage master for the Davenport brothers . He then performed together with their former manager William Fay as Fay & Keller and toured with them through Cuba , Mexico , Central and South America. In 1875, when all his utensils were lost in a shipwreck while crossing to Europe, he returned to the USA and then traveled through Latin America for two years. He then performed with a new group in the Egyptian Hall , London. After another long trip, he was back in the western United States in 1876.
He stole the secret of the floating man from his English colleague John Nevil Maskelyne by wooing his stage helpers.
Honors
Kellar today has a seat in the Society of American Magicians Hall of Fame .
Harry Houdini was inspired by Kellar, so he borrowed his first name from him, while the last name referred to Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin .
Web links
- Harry Kellar (1849-1922) (Engl.)
- Harry Kellar (Eng.)
- Harry Kellar (1849-1922) (French)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kellar, Harry |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Keller, Heinrich |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American magician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 11, 1849 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Erie , Pennsylvania |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 10, 1922 |