Conjuring up bygone Jewish magicians

The Skirball Cultural Center is drawing back the curtain on a mysterious and little known chapter in Jewish history: the professional magicians, many of them poor European immigrants seeking a better life as popular entertainers, who enlivened the circus, vaudeville and legitimate theatre circuit around the turn of the last century.

Sometimes adopting fanciful stage names—Harry Houdini, the celebrated escape artist featured in his own companion exhibit, was a Hungarian émigré born Erik Weisz—these performers often yearned to escape their impoverished upbringings and ethnic identities as completely as they would a sealed trunk or padlocked water tank.

The exhibits feature more than 150 evocative artifacts of the era such as playbills, costumes, props and conjuring equipment, along with audio and video clips showcasing the careers of luminaries like Houdini,  Albert “The Great Rameses” Marchinski  and many others.

Jewish Magicians of the Golden Age and Houdini: Art and Magic can be seen now through September 4. The Skirball Museum is located at 2701 Sepulveda Boulevard, just off the San Diego Freeway below Mulholland Drive. Plan your visit here, and call (310) 440-4500 for additional information.

Posted 4/28/11