George McAthy – “Mandroop the Magician”

How many times have you heard the phrase, “It’s a small world”? Well, it really is true. Recently my wife was walking with her friend Kay, and Kay was talking about a lunch with some longtime friends of hers. She related that she had just found out for the first time that the husband’s father had been a magician and ventriloquist. There are so many magicians, that the chances of my having ever heard of him were very slim. However, the fact he was also a ventriloquist told me he was much more than just a dabbler in the hobby as a ventriloquial figure is an expensive investment. I asked my wife to find out his name. When I read the email and saw the name “McAthy”, I thought to myself, “Mandroop”!

George "Mandroop" McAthy's Throw-Out Card

From the time I got involved in magic at the age of twelve, I had seen the name George McAthy mentioned in the magic magazines and in magic shop catalogs. I told Kay that he was very well known during his years in magic. How well known? Well, when I typed in the name McAthy on the Ask Alexander search engine, I got 1,119 matches in 521 documents! That’s well known.

George “Mandroop” McAthy was born on May 24, 1910 in Oswego, New York. His interest in magic started after witnessing a magic show of Howard Thurston, America’s most famous magician. Edgar Bergen was the inspiration for his interest in ventriloquism. McAthy lived in several towns growing up in New York, and had several mentors such as Gene Gordon, and Elmer Eckam who helped him and encouraged his interest in the art.

His first big break was working as an assistant on the show of Cliff Lesta. Lesta let McAthy have a spot in the show doing a ventriloquist act. George relocated to Pennsylvania and while attending an I.B.M. convention in Beaver Falls, he met a girl whose parents had an interest in magic, Harry and Zola Pavey. Her name was Mary Lou, and a short time later, Mary Lou became Mrs. George McAthy. After a few years, the McAthy’s moved to California. George and Mary Lou had two sons, Gary and Greg.

While George McAthy worked outside of magic for a time, he went on to become very active as a magician and ventriloquist in many different aspects of those arts; he wrote numerous books on magic and ventriloquism, as well as developing many magic effects. George also constructed, refurbished, and repaired ventriloquial figures. His main figure that he used was named “Corny”. Corny went on to some measure of fame as a movie star according to this article from The Linking Ring for September 1957.

George also worked for several magic shops in California including Thayer’s Studio, Abbott’s in Hollywood, and Merv Taylor’s store. This ad ran in The Linking Ring for December of 1945.

McAthy formed a partnership with Tommy Windsor in the 1940’s. Tommy marketed the tricks, tips, and ideas that George came up with. George had great ideas for doing comedy magic. (Did I also mention he performed as Hokey the Clown?) The great TV comedy and gag-writer Robert Orben said “It was McAthy’s early books on magic patter that persuaded him to take up a writing career”. George McAthy was the founder of “The Deceptive Order of Prestidigitatorial Entertainers Society", or "The D.O.P.E.S.". George and Tommy published a magazine called the Dope Sheet.

McAthy as "Hokey the Clown" and an issue of the Dope Sheet.

George McAthy was considered by his peers as one of the nicest people in magic. While everyone who met him expected to meet a man full of jokes and wise-cracks, on the contrary, George was a quiet and retiring individual. The late Eric Lewis, in writing about McAthy said, “My original mental image had been of a man who might be difficult to make friends with; the truth was a man who it was impossible NOT to be friendly with”. The Linking Ring for September 1947 had great things to say about George.

When I sent Kay some images and information that I had on George McAthy, she sent them on to her friend, George’s son Gary. He was really interested and amazed that anyone would remember his father. George McAthy had passed away on September 7, 1971. It had been a long time. Gary and Kay made arrangements for him and his wife Sally to come to my home to see my collection and to talk more about his father.

Ventriloquists including George McAthy and his son Gary from The Linking Ring for October, 1949.

We spent several enjoyable hours going over the items I had on his dad, and he talked about his memories of his father.  We talked about his dad’s connection with Tommy Windsor, and I showed him my magic collection devoted to Tommy, as I had seen him perform when I was a kid.

From the left: Sally and Gary McAthy, Jay Hunter, and Kay Chave.

One final thing I would like to mention. Kay had said Gary looked a lot like his father after she had seen pictures of George that I had shown her.  Boy, was that an understatement!

George McAthy in the left photo, and his son Gary McAthy standing next to the guy in the Hawaiian shirt.

My wife Susan and I would like to thank Gary and Sally McAthy for coming to our home and making it such a memorable day. Also, a REALLY big thank you to our friend and neighbor Kay Chave for making that day possible.

Richards the Wizard – He Truly Deceived

The art of magic is all about mystery and deception. The life of Ralph Richards is somewhat of a mystery, and he took the deception part a little too far. He did have a great looking throw-out card however, as can be seen in the two variant examples below. The cards were glued into a scrapbook and as such, I do not know if they are identical on the back of each card, or if one might have been blank. I am going to assume they were the same.

Richard’s life and career has fascinated more than a couple of magic historians, probably due to the fact that so little can be found on him. His real name was either Ralph Alanson Ennes/Ennis or Ralph Bruce Ennes/Ennis. I have found references to both names. I don’t know when he was born, but it looks like maybe he was from Detroit, Michigan from the following clippings from M-U-M for membership in the S.A.M.

From M-U-M magazine for June 1919



From M-U-M for May 1921

In The Sphinx for October, 1914, T. J. Crawford states: “Recently I had the pleasure of meeting and witnessing the performance of “Richards the Wizard”. He has the largest exclusive magic show that has been through the South since Thurston’s tour two years ago.” J. P. Ornson of Buffalo N. Y.  writing in The Sphinx for June, 1922 had this to say: “Richards the Wizard was here and is gone, but he left a wonderful impression. His advance agents plastered the entire East side with devils, ghosts, question marks, and flashy paper announcing the coming of Richards”. “When he made his first bow to a Buffalo audience at 8:15 that evening every seat and available standing room was occupied.” Ornson also stated: “His Crystal Gazing completely mystified his audience”.

Window Cards and a "Pitch" Book for Richards

Richards enjoyed a period of success with his two hour show composed of Magic and Crystal Gazing. The late Tommy Windsor from Marietta, Ohio wrote an article on Richards in the Linking Ring for March of 1969. Tommy stated: “I thought then (and still do) that he was one of the great magicians of the world”. According to Tommy, when Richards appeared in Marietta in 1929, Richards was having health issues, and his show was attached for back salaries for his assistants. “Richards bid them a fond adieu and walked out leaving his show on stage”.

From the Linking Ring for March 1969

Richards evidently retired from touring his show, but he was not done. This is where he decided to take the art of deception to a new level. Marquis the Magician writing in the Linking Ring in December of 1934 mentions that “Richards retired from the road to broadcast his mental act over the Mexican Station XER”. The book Border Radio written by Gene Fowler and Bill Crawford states that it was actually XEPN out of Piedras Negras, Mexico. Richards did what a lot of other fortune tellers did in those days. By broadcasting from Mexico, out of reach from U.S. law, he could have a mail-order business and listeners would send in money to have him answer their questions. He added a Dr. to the front of his name, and Ms.D., Ps.D. after it, and persuaded people to invest in numerous money-making schemes.  George Marquis added another story in the Linking Ring for August of 1936.

By now Ralph Richards was doing nothing more than running various confidence games, the promoting of the oil land above being one of them.  He tried to stay one step ahead of the law in the U.S., but of course in this case justice won out in the end. After the feds caught up with him, he did two stretches in federal prison. After Richards was released, he did one last trick worthy of his status as a great magician. He just vanished. No one seems to know what happened to him, where he ended up, or when he died.

I am going to leave you with these final words written by Tommy Windsor in that article from the Linking Ring way back in March of 1969: “Of course, Richards flourished before magic clubs really got started, but still, it seems to me that there should be more literature… or more information available on this man who had such a big show.”

Tommy Windsor

Tommy Windsor was born Thomas Lowry in July 1906 in Marietta, Ohio. He once said that a good solid stage name would take him to the road to success and he was right. He performed on showboats, in tent shows, and also in mud shows. He was seen throughout Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan on the Chautauqua Circuits as an actor and magician. Windsor would entertain his audiences with his cartoon drawing and chalk act titled “Brush Talks”. In between the creations he would add a little song to keep the audience amused. He would promote his show as “A Whole Week’s Entertainment in one Big Show.” 

While performing on the road, he met Jeanne Anders, whom he married. Jeanne was added to the billing of the show as “World’s Greatest Girl Ventriloquist”.  They toured their combined act from Zanesville, Ohio to Drexel, North Carolina. Audiences enjoyed watching Windsor perform his “Magical Street Faker” act and then be entertained, as Jeanne would converse with her ventriloquial friend, Jane Jones. 

Windsor wasn’t the run-of-the-mill performer who stuck to one type of act. He was able to present a full evening show by including rag pictures, hypnotism, dancing, magic, cartoon drawing, and he too had his own ventriloquist act. 






           The card, seen above, featured a green-and-black "Ace of Clubs" with ad copy, along with a handsome portrait of the performer on the back.  The same card also was produced with an aviator-style Fox Lake back. 

In his hometown of Marietta, Windsor was known as “The First Entertainer of the First City in the Northwest Territory”. His published works include How to Make Money at Trade Shows and Fairs with a One Man Show, Tommy Windsor’s Dye Box Book, Sixty-four Ways to Make Magic Pay, and Tommy Windsor's Pitch Act Book. Among his magic products he is best known for the creation of the Popcorn Dye Box. Magicians all over the world are still using this effect and many others of his creations today.

 

        When asked what he remembered most about his longtime friend, publisher Lee Jacobs mentioned, "Practically everything good I learned about selling magic I learned from Tommy Windsor.”