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| Enjoy the facts here, but please don't copy this information and post it on your own web site without getting our permission first. It took many hours of research to compile. If you are doing a paper or project for school, we will be happy to give you permission to use this material if you contact us first. |
| Kajar
(?-?) Magician who appeared on the 5/24/53 broadcast of the TV program Toast of the Town, the early version of the Ed Sullivan Show. |
| Kalanag
(1903-1963)
(birthday January 23) German-born magician (real name Helmut Schreiber) seemed to suddenly come on the scene after World War II with an impressive and elaborate illusion show. Kalanag (Kaalaa Naag in Punjabi means "black cobra") had been a successful German film producer with connections high in the Nazi regime. Rumors flew that Kalanag had used political pressure to steal the illusion show from Alois Kassner, the "Thurston of Germany" who disappeared from magic for a number of years after WWII. While on tour in America in 1956, Kalanag was plagued by the distribution of leaflets calling for a boycott of his show because of his alleged Nazi background. However, he also helped release magician Jac Olten from a German POW camp in 1940, giving him props and bookings as well as his freedom. See the information on the Kalanag museum here and photos of his show here. A very young Siegfried Fischbacher saw the Kalanag show in the early 1940's. |
| Kaps,
Fred (1926-1980)
(birthday June 8) official
website Holland-born stage magician (real name Abraham Pieter Adrianus Bongers) who was the only magician to win magic's FISM International Grand Prix three times (in 1950, 1955 and 1961). Performed first as "Valdini", then as "Mystica", changing to "Fred Kaps" in 1950. |
| Kater,
James
(?-?) American magician on the Lyceum and Chautauqua circuits. |
| Keating,
Fred
(1897-1961) (birthday March 27) American magician who found success at the tail end of true vaudeville, and went on to success in nightclubs and in movies (with the sponsorship of Tallullah Bankhead, an amateur magician herself). Known for his version of the Vanishing Birdcage and his smooth, witty (and often imitated) stage persona. One of his imitators who later had a successful career of his own was Roy Benson. He once said "There are three kinds of magicians, those who do tricks, those who shoot at 'em and those who talk about 'em." His birdcage routine became so well-known and an audience favorite that Ziegfeld once had his entire Follies chorus line perform the trick simultaneously with Keating; the performance drew raves from the public, but harsh criticism from other magicians who berated Keating for revealing the secret of the trick to the girls. He had roles in 14 movies between 1934 and 1940. He died of a heart attack in New York City, the city of his birth. See one of his publicity pamphlets in entirety here. |
| Keene
(?-?) American magician (real name John P. Culbertson, who starred on the Redpath Chautauqua circuit in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Started out with The Baldwins, then launched his own large stage show, performing until retiring in 1913 as The Great Keene and Company. Close friend of Harry Kellar. See one of his publicity pamphlets in entirety here. |
| Kellar, Harry (1849-1922)
(birthday July 11) American-born Heinrich Keller. Known as the Dean of American Magicians, Harry Kellar enjoyed both unqualified public recognition and financial success. His was by far the largest and most elaborate stage illusion show touring during the late 1800s and early 1900s. He is best known for his stunning version of the Levitation, in which a girl mysteriously rises up from a couch, floats across the stage to the audience, then disappears into thin air. On May 16, 1908, Kellar retired and in a grand onstage ceremony, removed his cape and placed it on the shoulders of his chosen successor, Howard Thurston. First Dean of the Society of American Magicians, from 1910 to 1922. |
| Koran,
Al (1914-1972) British mentalist (real name Edward Doe), author and magic inventor of Ring Flite. For more information, see Al Koran's Legacy (1973) by Hugh Miller and The Magic of Al Koran (1984) by Martin Breese. |
| Kovari,
George Hungarian-born magician (real name Gyuri Kovari) |
| Kreskin
(b. 1935)
(birthday June 26)
American mentalist (birth name George Kresge) who has elevated the field of mindreading to an art form. His enthusiastic style has made him a most popular entertainer; he appeared on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show more times than any other performer. |
| Krieger,
Louis
(?-?) American magician on the Lyceum and Chautauqua circuits. |
| Kringsberg,
Carold (?-?) American mentalist and performer on the Redpath Chautauqua circuit in the 1920s with his wife, billed as "Miss Esmeralda Martin, the Girl With the Radio Mind". Their show was mainly an exposure of spirit mediums and their methods. See one of his publicity pamphlets in entirety here. |
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