Join us on Facebook
Magic Tricks For Kids
  • Home
  • Magic Lessons
    • Magic Lessons #1 – Paper Bag Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #2 – Change Bag Magic Prop
    • Magic Lessons #3 – Audience Magic Tricks
    • Magic Lessons #4 – Halloween Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #5 – Magic Paddle Move
    • Magic Lessons #6 – Knife Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #7 – Vanishing Coin Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #8 – Stage Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #9 – Magic Seeds Wand
    • Magic Lessons #10 – Rubber Band Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #11 – Water Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #12 – Food Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #13 – Jumping Carrot Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #14 – Match Box Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #15 – Newspaper Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #16 – Win a Coin Toss
    • Magic Lessons #17 – Money Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #18 – Penetrating Matches Trick
    • Magic Lessons #19 – Finger Illusion Trick
    • Magic Lessons #20 – Instant Star Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #21 – Torn and Restored Napkin
    • Magic Lessons #22 – Jumping Rubber Band Trick
    • Magic Lessons #23 – Cut and Restored Balloon Trick
    • Magic Lessons #24 – Balloon Penetration Trick
    • Magic Lessons #25 – Disappearing Sugar Trick
    • Magic Lessons #26 – Cups and Balls Trick
    • Magic Lessons #27 – Linking Shoelace Trick
    • Magic Lessons #28 – Age Prediction Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #29 – Clipped Card Trick
    • Magic Lessons #30 – Paper Rose Napkin Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #31 – Comedy Card Trick
    • Magic Lessons #32 – Jumping Flea Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #33 – Jingle Bell Monte
    • Magic Lessons #34 – Sneaky Card Sleight
    • Magic Lessons #35 – Frog Prince Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #36 – Hindu Force
    • Magic Lessons #37 – Bigger Smaller Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #38 – False Shuffle
    • Magic Lessons #39 – Fantastic Mr Plastic Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #40 – Magic Force Bag
    • Magic Lessons #41 – Quiz Show Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #42 – That Magician Is Me
    • Magic Lessons #43 – Appearing Wand Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #44 – Can I Call You?
    • Magic Lessons #45 – Towel Elephant
    • Magic Lessons #46 – Elephants Never Forget Trick
    • Magic Lessons #47 – Sheikh Mabooty
    • Magic Lessons #48 – Smart Feller
    • Magic Lessons #49 – CSI Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #50 – Coin Fold Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #51 – Crazy Matchbox Trick
    • Magic Lessons #52 – Mystery of the Missing Sock
    • Magic Lessons #53 – Pencil Magic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #54 – It’s Magic Time
    • Magic Lessons #55 – Glass Through Table Trick
    • Magic Lessons #56 – Magazine Prediction Trick
    • Magic Lessons #57 – Nut and Bolt Trick
    • Magic Lessons #58 – Lucky Coin Trick
    • Magic Lessons #59 – Sneaky Shoelace Trick
    • Magic Lessons #60 – Misdirection Lesson
    • Magic Lessons #61 – Jumping Bean Trick
    • Magic Lessons #62 – Secret Magic Code
    • Magic Lessons #63 – Grandma’s Bra Trick
    • Magic Lessons #64 – Magic Pen Trick
    • Magic Lessons #65 – Safety Pin Trick
    • Magic Lessons #66 – Floating Steel Ball
    • Magic Lessons #67 – String Trick
    • Magic Lessons #68 – Dice Trick
    • Magic Lessons #69 – Behind Back Card Force
    • Magic Lessons #70 – Long Card Trick
    • Magic Lessons #71 – Get Down Trick
    • Magic Lessons #72 – Easy Card Force
    • Magic Lessons #73 – Missing Card Hotline
    • Magic Lessons #74 – Magic String Trick
    • Magic Lessons #75 – Magic Mail Box
    • Magic Lessons #76 – Card-O-Matic Trick
    • Magic Lessons #77 – Need a Magic Hand?
    • Magic Lessons #78 – My Friend Has Three Eyes
  • All Tricks Index
  • Magicians Dictionary
  • About US
  • History of Magic
    • Fox Sisters
    • Kuda Bux
    • Al Goshman
    • Richard Potter
    • Shin Lim
    • Nate Leipzig
    • Max Malini
    • Dedi the Magician
    • Orson Welles
    • Fred Kaps
    • Cardini
    • Derren Brown
    • Charles Dickens
    • Ali Bongo
    • The Amazing Kreskin
    • Theodore Hardeen
    • David Blaine
    • Louis Haselmayer
    • Joseph Dunninger
    • Burling Hull
    • Penn and Teller
    • Haruo Shimada
    • Professor Louis Hoffmann
    • Hieronymus Scotto
    • Theodore Annemann
    • Zanzigs
    • Talma
    • Murray
    • Uri Geller
    • James Randi
    • Tommy Cooper
    • Stewart James
    • John Henry Anderson
    • Annie Abbott
    • Kalanag
    • Dante the Magician
    • Al Koran
    • Paul Daniels
    • Matthias Burchinger
    • Siegfried and Roy
    • Harry Blackstone Sr.
    • Robert Harbin
    • Dai Vernon
    • Criss Angel
    • Juliana Chen
    • Lance Burton
    • John Nevil Maskelyne
    • Mark Wilson
    • Dynamo
    • David Copperfield
    • Chung Ling Soo
    • Edgar Wilson Benyon
    • Doug Henning
    • Aldo Colombini
    • Jean Eugène Robert Houdin
    • Harry Houdini

Dante the Magician

September 15, 2013 by David O'Connor

The Magic of Dante the Magician

Dante the Magician - Magic Tricks for KidsFeatured in this week’s History of Magic is Harry August Jansen, who became better known as Dante the Magician. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1883. He moved to the United States 6 years later and eventually travelled the world as a highly successful magician illusionist. He became so influential that at his death in 1955 brought to an end what historians called the “Golden Age of Magic”. He became famous for his phrase ‘Sim Sala Bim’, nonsensical words taken from an old Danish children’s song. He was to become one of the most successful magicians of the era and was known as The King of Magic. His travelling illusion show toured as a musical revue with a troupe of 40 assistants, many tons of equipment and props, and large scale illusions.

Harry Jansen made his stage debut at age 16 and soon afterwards was ready to begin a 5 year long world tour under the banner of The Great Jansen. In 1922 Howard Thurston saw Jansen perform and recognised his talent and possible competition, so engaged him to build and co-produce Thurston’s 2nd show. Top illusionists often ran two separate shows at the same time when they had a captive market.

It was Thurston who gave the name Dante to Jansen who achieved almost the same fame. Their business partnership was very successful and beneficial to both men. Jansen now Dante had his own magic factory that facilitated the building of all their combined quality magic tricks and illusions. Once ready, Thurston took his show around the United States while Dante toured the world, beginning in Puerto Rico in 1927. At the outbreak of World War 2 in 1940 Dante returned to the USA to continue performing.

Dante not only performed as a stage magician, but appeared in variety theatre, vaudeville, burlesque, and always appeared as the elegant highly successful gentleman of means with his elaborate magic tricks and grand illusions. He made many movies and later went into television. His movie with legendary funny men of film, Laurel and Hardy titled, ‘A Haunting We Will Go’ was a huge box office success and is still available on DVD.  Dante the Magician appeared in nearly very large theatre across the United States and toured nearly every country in the world. Throughout his life he had a standing offer of $10,000 to any entertainer who had appeared in as many theatres and countries as Dante the Magician had. His theatre dates were long often extended seasons too and all financially successful.

He always dressed as the ultimate and successful gentleman with expensive clothes and accessories and the usual finery that accompanied those of wealthy people. Always immaculately attired in silk top hat, cane and cigar.  A lesson that perhaps some scruffy street performers could learn from.

His stage settings often featured originality themes like his “Un Sevilled Barber”, a quick change sequence set in a barber shop. His “Backstage” featured Dante performing with his back to the live audience playing to a painted backdrop screen. The real audience saw or thought they saw, how a girl was produced from a pair of empty boxes. At the last minute a boy instead of a girl made a surprise appearance. He performed the classic Sawing in Half illusion and made a spectacle of ‘Where Do the Ducks Go’. He also used a number of live pigeons and ducks.

Dante the Magician Poster - Magic Tricks for KidsMany celebrity performers often stopped celebrating their birthdays in their 30’s whereas Dante the Magician was different and enjoyed playing the part as a spry old time performer. After a particularly deft deception he would chuckle to his audience, “Not bad for an old bird of 70”.

He had a long season on Broadway at the renowned Morosco Theatre with his show Sim Sala Bim.  However with the advent of television becoming more of an attraction, theatres began to feel the effects of being unable to attract theatre patrons and vaudeville was in its dying throws. The great theatrical era of wonderful entertainment was coming to an end but magic had played a great part in keeping theatre alive.

Dante the Magician’s final bow was taken at a combined convention of the Society of American Magicians and the Pacific Coast Association of Magicians in Santa Barbara California a week before his death. He retired to his Rancho Danto in Northridge, California, a truly beautiful place. Fruit trees lined the long driveway and peacocks roamed the gardens. There were 14 large buildings on the property and a giant devils head adorned the entrance to his personal “Inferno”. One room housed his colourful lithographs, scrapbooks and publicity material. Another room housed small apparatus and magic tricks and the adjoining rooms housed his Oriental mementos and tons of crated illusions. On a stage he had an illusion in preparation for a television spot he never got to present. Dante the Magician passed away quietly on June 5th 1955. Dante had been credited as the number one magician in the world at the height of his career, thus following the traditional magical lineage. He passed this mantle onto Lee Grable who has subsequently passed on with the mantle now being held by Lance Burton. Like so many others, Dante the Magician will be revered in the history of magic for the part he played in keeping magic alive, vibrant and ever-changing.

Follow the Magic Tricks For Kids Team to Keep Up With New Posts!

YouTube

Twitter

Facebook

Do you want to read more about the history of magic? Click here!

Filed Under: History of Magic Tagged With: Dante The Magician, History of Magic, magic tricks for kids

Easy Card Tricks For Kids

Easy Card Tricks For Kids Card magic is … Click the picture to see more

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Youtube
  • Twitter

Welcome

  • All Tricks Index
  • Magic Lessons
  • Magician's Dictionary
  • History of Magic

Information

  • About Us
  • Info for Parents
  • Terms of Service
    Privacy Policy
© 2023 - The Magic Tricks For Kids.
All Rights Reserved
Design by Muse