There's No Escaping Dennis Loomis

Here's a blog on a great entertainer, creative thinker, columnist, and all around nice guy. Loomis was born August 31, 1943 and his first brush with entertainment came when he learned to play piano at age five. It was after receiving a magic set that the bug bit. His card features a blue Bicycle back and features a cascading run of cards, his contant info and the words "Magical Artistry."

I always associated him with escapes since that was the image that I most frequently came across but he was much more. He was inspired in his magic by Neil Foster and Karrell Fox who both suggested he become a generalist magician rather than a specialty act. He also became close friends with Doug Henning, Gene Anderson, Abb Dixon, Ormand McGill and David Copperfield.

His skills and abilities ranged from performing excellent close-up magic, illusions, fire eating and escapes to name just a few. Loomis wrote a monthly column in M-U-M "A Magician Prepares" than ran from January 2009 to January 2013. He also wrote a column about Doug Henning titled, "The Skinny Kid With the Overbite."

He traveled extensively doing school assembly shows and his first performance came in 1959 while still in high school himself. He continued to perform all types of magic and escapes while attending college and graduated with a double major in English Literature and Psychology. Loomis also appeared with Foster, Monk Watson and Wayne Wissner at the Ramsdell Theater in Manistee, Michigan in a show called "Cavalcade of Magic. Not fond of the Vietnam War, Loomis graduated and spent time working in a medical center to avoid the draft.

He became a full time magician in 1970 and offered his own show, appearing mostly in the Michigan area. Eventually he moved west and ended up working with Stan Karmien and his Magic Capades show. Later he bought the show from Kramien and toured it himself from 1977 to 1979. Apparently he also had a lucrative side business running concession stands for fairs and festivals. He published a book on Cups and Balls and also sold illusion plans.

Loomis passed away April 26, 2013 at the age of sixty-nine. Dale Lorzo, then the California Deputy for the the S.A.M. conducted the broken wand.

The previous January he appeared on the cover of M-U-M with an accompanying profile which credited him for his contributions to magic. Content for this posting comes from his obituary written by Dale Lorzo, Mike Close, former editor of M-U-M,  and Monk Watson in TOPS.