Li Ho Chang

This is going to be a very easy post. Primarily because the subject - Panamanian-born Li- Ho Chang - was covered wonderfully by another Panamanian magician and dear friend – Lupe Nielsen – in the Nov. 2009 Nielsen Gallery in M-U-M.  With that in mind then, here is more about Chang from Lupe.

Juan Jose Pablo Jesorum was born in Panama City, Panama on December 2, 1889. His father was from China and his mother Panamanian. At a young age, Juan Pablo showed a
talent towards entertaining, and he even learned a few magic tricks. In 1907, The Great Raymond Show came to Panama and Raymond was in need of an interpreter. Being fluent in English and Spanish, Juan Pablo joined Raymond’s show at age seventeen. He had such a talent that he soon became the chief assistant and stage manager for the whole show, which traveled around the world.

After four years of working for Raymond, Juan decided to become a professional magician. Initially, he adopted the name of “The Great Pablo,” and worked as an Arab. Eventually, he adopted a Chinese persona and in 1913, performed in full Chinese garb using the name “Li Ho Chang.”

He had a full evening show in the early days and performed in the principal towns of South America. He visited Thayer in California in 1921, where he spent $2,000 and purchased the Noah’s Ark, the Boxes of Buddha, Sawing a Woman in Tow and the Instantaneous Appearance. After 1921, he did a world tour and by 1928 he amassed such a fortune that he decided to retire.

Chang from Bill Rauscher's book The Great Raymond

He went to New York to live and enjoy his retirement, but within six months he spent his entire fortune! He spent his money in the failed venture of trying to bring Spanish “talkies” to South America. At the time, there was no infrastructure in South America for such a project. To recuperate his lost fortune he decided to perform again in 1929. His first shows were in New York City and Jacksonville, Florida, but he soon realized he was more popular in South America. He performed magic throughout the early `30s, and by 1936 recouped his fortune. In 1936-37 he set the record at Teatro Avenida in Buenos Aires with 610 consecutive performances. Also, later in that decade he changed his name from Li Ho Chang, to just “Chang.”

Chang's poster from the Nielsen Gallery 

(Note from Tom) The throwing card featured in this post is from the early 1920s or 30s when he still used his full stage name. It carries his photo on the front and on the back, a fan double fan design that reads in Spanish, “Li-Ho-Chang the Poet of Magic” and on the other fan, “Leave your children at the matinee on Saturday.”

In May 1938, David Bamberg (Fu Manchu) wrote: “I dare say without fear of contradiction that Chang has made more money than any magician who has ever lived, including Houdini and Thurston, who in their time made big cleanups. It is not my business to divulge Chang’s financial affairs, but I have played most of the cities he has, and have seen his receipts, which are fabulous.”

In 1938 and 1939 he toured Australia and New Zealand. By 1942 he had toured parts of Africa (Victoria Falls, Nairobi), India, the Malay Peninsula, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, among other locations. In the mid `40s he was again in South America. In 1947 he played Spain (Barcelona and Madrid), and in 1949 he played Caracas, Venezuela. He worked in Mexico City in 1950 and his touring continued on to Brazil (Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo).

His huge company consisted of thirty persons, including a chorus of ballet dancers. There were fourteen tons of equipment. During the show he made twenty-five Chinese costume changes, and he carried forty-five changes of wardrobes at all times. He also insisted that his assistants change their costumes with every scene change. The show had lavish backdrops and complex stage settings. He was also the first performer to use black light effects in a magic show.

Although the show featured great spectacle, what set Chang apart were his showmanship and personality. He was very likable and very “simpatico.” He purposely and delightfully misused the Spanish language to great advantage. Audiences roared when this Chinese magician spoke in broken Spanish. He was also quite humble on an off stage which endeared him to all.

By the yearly 1950s the size and scope of his show began to diminish. He performed at the TAOM convention in 1950, but due to problems at the border, a huge part of his show could not make it to the States. Instead of seventeen scene changes, there were only six. Despite the technical problems, his show was the highlight. He also appeared at the Abbott’s Get-Together in 1953, again with a shortened version of his show.

In late January 1954, Chang left the United States for Spain. Business in Spain was slow, and so he moved to Portugal. For some reason we do not know, and just from a small mention in The Linking Ring, he abandoned the show in Spain in 1955. We can’t find more corroboration for this, except that it seems that the shows he presented in the late `50s and up to the end of his life were considerably smaller.

In the late 1950s he still toured extensively, performing in places like Buenos Aires and Puerto Rico. On October 20, 1962 he performed at the Seventh Annual It’s Magic show at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. Chang was seventy-three years old.

In the 1960s, he was still busy performing at conventions, private events, and smaller theaters. He worked in Argentina, Japan, Caracas, Surinam, Trinidad, and various cities in the United States. During 1971, he worked cruise ships – twenty-seven straight weeks on the S.S. Ariadne, which sailed out of Fort Lauderdale. He loved to attend magicians’ meetings and attended Assembly 76 in Miami. Chang died of cancer on April 27, 1972 in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.

Lupe Nielsen 

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