Eugene Laurant

Eugene Laurant was born Eugene Greenleaf August 1875, in Denver, Colorado. He said his interest in magic came all out of a box of tricks in his youth. By fifteen, he billed himself as "Eugene the Boy Magician". He was a part of vaudeville act known as the Carl Nillson's Flying Ballet The Nillson troupe continued to tour and Eugene moved on and joined The Magnascope Company. 

He was one of four acts that performed in between each movie seen. His big break came in 1899 when he was contracted to play at Chutes Park in San Fran­cisco. The park had been opened for four years and their idea was to bring the entertainment to the throngs of attendees. In between taking a ride on the 350-foot Shoot the Chutes, the participants could ride the Scenic Railway roller Coaster, the multi-horse carousel, take aim and try their luck at the shooting gallery, play the games at the penny arcade, or be a part of the show at the park's three thousand seat theater.

                                           

From San Francisco, Eugene performed his first appearance on the Chautauqua circuit in Boulder, Colorado. He performed on stage at Lake Chautauqua, New York in 1904. He continued the circuit and also the Lyceum circuit until 1928. As a performer, there wasn't man or beast that didn't love him. His presence was an asset to anyone who ever contracted his performance. Off stage, he was a friend to every magician he ever met. Contemporaries spoke highly of Laurant, including Howard Thurston, T. Nelson Downs, Maurice Raymond, and scores of others. While preparing for a show, Eugene Laurant died suddenly from a heart attack on February 1944 at his home in Chicago, Illinois.

Eugene Laurant once added a personal thought of the art of magic he so lived and loved which still rings true today, "Magic, as a form of entertainment, will, I believe, always have a place in our busy world. The new generation is not different from the old. There is always a time when we love to be mystified. The rabbit from the hat will never die. While there are children to wonder at it."