Ellen E. Armstrong

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Ellen E. Armstrong
Born(1914-01-27)January 27, 1914
Died1979 (aged 6465)
Nationality American
Occupationstage magician
Years active1920–1970

Ellen E. Armstrong (January 27, 1914 1979) was an American stage magician. She was the only African American woman of the early- to mid-twentieth century to run an independent touring magic show. Armstrong followed in the steps of her father J. Hartford Armstrong, known as the "King of the Colored Conjurers," taking over his act when he died in 1939. She continued the act for an additional thirty years after his death, performing in venues such as churches and schools.

Contents

Early life and education

Ellen E. Armstrong was born January 27, 1914. [1] Her parents were John Hartford Armstrong, an African American man, and Mabel White, a white woman who acted as the assistant in John's magic act. [1] Mabel died shortly after giving birth to Ellen. [1] John remarried, and his new wife Lille Belle (also spelled Lily or Lillie) Mills joined him in his magic act. [1] Ellen's father and stepmother formed the core of the magic and illusion show; they were sometimes joined by his brother and members of the Jordan family. [2] The Armstrong family performed at schools, churches, opera houses, auditoriums, and other venues, focusing on humor in their act. [2] They also performed along the eastern seaboard of the United States, from Key West to Philadelphia, and newspaper ads claimed that they had toured in Cuba and Europe. [2]

Ellen joined her family's act when she was just six years old. [3] As a young performer, she developed a number of her own tricks, including a mind-reading act where she would touch people's heads and describe what they were thinking about the person sitting next to them. [3] Ellen also developed her own segment of the show called "Chalk Talk," where she would draw cartoons from doodles. [1]

In addition to learning show business from her father, she graduated from Barber–Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina. [1]

Solo career

In 1939, when Ellen was twenty-five, her father died of a heart attack. [1] She inherited the show and $8,500 worth of props, and decided to continue touring as The Armstrong Magic Show. [1] Armstrong continued to use her father's motto, "Going Fine Since 1889." [1]

Armstrong adopted the nickname the "Mistress of Modern Magic". [4] She continued her father's tradition of incorporating African American cultural icons in her show, including an image of revered boxer Joe Louis in "The Sand Frame" illusion. [1] Armstrong knew traditional magic tricks such as "Miser's Dream," "The Puzzling Parasol," and "Hippity-Hop Rabbits." [1] Other tricks in her repertoire include: "The Birth of Roses" and "The Mysterious Jars of Egypt." [1] She later revised her "Chalk Talk" act to use a large sketchpad and colorful markers, giving away the finished cartoons as souvenirs for children in the audience. [1] After her father's death, Armstrong performed for another thirty-one years, retiring in 1970. [5]

Personal life and death

Armstrong married a minister from North Carolina in the 1940s and they made their home in Spartanburg, South Carolina. [1] In 1970, she stopped performing and retired to South Carolina. [5] Armstrong died in Spartanburg in 1979. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P. T. Selbit</span> English magician, inventor and writer (1881–1938)

P. T. Selbit (1881–1938) was an English magician, inventor and writer who is credited with being the first person to perform the illusion of sawing a woman in half. Among magicians he was known for his inventiveness and entrepreneurial instinct and he is credited with creating a long list of successful stage illusions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chung Ling Soo</span> American magician

William Ellsworth Robinson was an American magician who went by the stage name Chung Ling Soo. He is mostly remembered today for his extensive use of yellowface in his act to falsely represent himself to be a Chinese man who spoke little English, as well as for his accidental death due to a failed bullet catch trick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Blackstone Jr.</span> American magician (1934–1997)

Harry Bouton Blackstone Jr. was an American stage magician, author, and television performer. He is estimated to have pulled 80,000 rabbits from his sleeves and hats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sawing a woman in half</span> Stage magic trick

Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of stage magic tricks in which a person is apparently cut or divided into two or more pieces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Thurston</span> American magician

Howard Thurston was a stage magician from Columbus, Ohio, United States. As a child, 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. Thurston's traveling magic show was the biggest one of all; it was so large that it needed eight train cars to transport his road show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bullet catch</span> Stage magic illusion

The bullet catch is a stage magic illusion in which a magician appears to catch a bullet fired directly at them ⁠— often in the mouth, sometimes in the hand or sometimes caught with other items such as a dinner plate. The bullet catch may also be referred to as the bullet trick, defying the bullets or occasionally the gun trick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Henry Anderson</span> Scottish magician

John Henry Anderson (1814–1874) was a Scottish professional magician. Anderson is credited with helping bring the art of magic from street performances into theatres and presenting magic performances to entertain and delight the audience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Herrmann</span> French magician

Alexander Herrmann was a French magician, better known as Herrmann the Great. He was married to magician Adelaide Herrmann, known as the Queen of Magic.

Tenko Hikita II, best known under the stage name of Princess Tenko and formerly Mari Asakaze, is a Japanese pop singer turned magician specialising in grand illusions.

The Zig-Zag Girl illusion is a stage illusion akin to the more famous sawing a woman in half illusion. In the Zig-Zag illusion, a magician divides an assistant into thirds, only to have them emerge from the illusion at the end of the performance completely unharmed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Herman</span> American stage magician

Benjamin Rucker was an American stage magician, better known by his stage name Black Herman. He was the most prominent African-American magician of his time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magician's assistant</span> Performer in a magic act who is not billed as the magician

A magician's assistant is a performer in a magic act who is not billed as the magician or principal name in the act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adelaide Herrmann</span>

Adelaide Herrmann (1853–1932) was an English magician and vaudeville performer billed as "the Queen of Magic." She was married to Alexander Herrmann, another magician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Hertz</span> American stage magician, 1859–1924

Carl Hertz was an American magician.

Dell O'Dell was the stage name of Odella Newton an American magician regarded in her profession as a pioneer who provided a role model for modern female performers. She was noted for being one of the first magicians to appear on television, on her own show, The Dell O'Dell Show, on ABC's local station in Los Angeles in 1951. She was also one of few American women to have her own circus, the Della O'Dell Society Circus, which toured the Midwest in 1925 and 1926. Before becoming one of the most popular female magicians on the night club circuit during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, Dell O'Dell also performed in vaudeville and burlesque. Her skills included juggling furniture and lecturing on physical culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Bamberg</span>

David Tobias "Theodore" Bamberg was an itinerant magician who traveled with his full evening magic show from the early to mid part of the 20th century. In Bamberg's autobiography, Robert Parrish wrote in the introduction that no other great illusionist could match Bamberg's skill. The Fu Manchu show was known for its comedy, drama, and color.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawn Farquhar</span> Canadian magician

Shawn Farquhar is a Canadian magician and illusionist notable for his title as the "Grand Prix World Champion of Magic" from the International Federation of Magic Societies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magic (illusion)</span> Performing art involving the use of illusion

Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close-up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It is to be distinguished from paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Pendragons</span> Team of American illusionists

Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon were a husband-and-wife team of American illusionists who called their work "physical grand illusion". They are widely known due to numerous national and international television appearances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Levitation (illusion)</span> Illusion is one in which a person appears to float in the air

A levitation illusion is one in which a magician appears to defy gravity by making an object or person float in the air. The subject may appear to levitate unassisted, or it may be performed with the aid of another object in which case it is termed a "suspension".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Sobanski, Julie (January 2008). "Ellen: Mistress of Modern Magic". M-U-M. Society of American Magicians. 97 (8): 52–54. ISSN   0047-5300.
  2. 1 2 3 "Armstrong Family Papers, 1900-1930 – Digital Collections". University of South Carolina Libraries. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 Charlton, Lauretta (2 April 2021). "Hanif Abdurraqib Celebrates Black Performance". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  4. "The Importance of Black Magicians". The Magic Compass. The Society of American Magicians. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  5. 1 2 Abdurraqib, Hanif (2021). A little devil in America : notes in praise of Black performance (First ed.). New York: Random House. pp. 62–65. ISBN   9781984801210.
  6. Haskins, James; Benson, Kathleen (2001). Conjure times : Black magicians in America. New York: Walker & Company. pp. 67–72. ISBN   9780802787620.