Talk:Howard Thurston

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Infobox on burial place[edit]

The find-a-grave website reference in the articles shows the following: Burial: Green Lawn Abbey Mausoleum City: Columbus, Ohio County: Franklin County, Ohio USA GPS (lat/lon): 39.94, -83.0158

7&6=thirteen (talk) 14:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC) Stan[reply]

Debunker?[edit]

I read at William S. Sadler that Thurston was known for being a debunker. That would be very interesting to include, if true. Rschwieb (talk) 17:14, 12 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:Thurston the Great Magician - Strobridge Litho. Co..jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on February 24, 2016. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2016-02-24. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 04:36, 8 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Howard Thurston
Howard Thurston (1869–1936) was a stage magician from Columbus, Ohio. After an unhappy childhood, he ran away to join the circus, where his future partner Harry Kellar also performed. Thurston was deeply impressed after he attended magician Alexander Herrmann's magic show and was determined to equal his work. He eventually became the most famous magician of his time, with a show so large that eight train cars were required to transport it.Lithograph: Strobridge Litho. Co.; restoration: Adam Cuerden

Passing on the Mantle[edit]

The "He kept up the grind for about thirty-five years until..." he died bit does not sound very encyclopaedic. Does it mean the "Thurston show" continued to run for 35-ish years until his death, or just that he remained active as a magician until his death or even that he just did not die until 35-ish years after the retirement of Kellar and the start of the Thurston-only show? Biskitty (talk) 17:38, 24 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Thurston on Tahra Bey[edit]

Thurston exposed the tricks of the fakir Tahra Bey [1]. He was reported to be either an Armenian or Egyptian magician. He managed to fool a lot of western people into thinking he really had occult powers. Upon doing some research on Tahra Bey, I noticed there were two fakirs around the same time performing. Rahman Bey and Hamid Bey, both also claimed to be Egyptians. Rahman Bey entered a box and remained underwater for an hour, Harry Houdini would later replicate this feat and beat this time [2]. HealthyGirl (talk) 18:06, 21 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Turkish magician Zati Sungur used the name "Zati Bey" in his early career. It appears "Bey" was a common name for some stage magicians in the early 20th century. HealthyGirl (talk) 18:09, 21 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Sofie Lachapelle in her book Conjuring Science: A History of Scientific Entertainment and Stage Magic in Modern France, 2015 seems to cover Tahra Bey in depth. I will have to have a look and see if she covers Thurston as well. This looks like a fantastic book. HealthyGirl (talk) 18:13, 21 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

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