Charles Thorton Jordan was an American magician.

Early life

Charles Jordan was born in Berkeley

Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 to Charles Renalt Jordan, a wholesale supply manager and chicken farmer, and Mary Louise (Thornton) Jordan; he had a younger sister, Margaret Louise (1891-1959). When he was 10 years old, he saw Harry Kellar

Harry Kellar

Harry Kellar was an American magician who presented large stage shows during the late 19th and early 20th centuries....

 perform, which inspired him to develop his own card tricks.

Career

He moved to Penngrove

Penngrove, California

Penngrove is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States, situated between the cities of Petaluma and Cotati, at the foot of Sonoma Mountain. It is part of the North Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area...

, and self-published

Self-publishing

Self-publishing is the publication of any book or other media by the author of the work, without the involvement of an established third-party publisher. The author is responsible and in control of entire process including design , formats, price, distribution, marketing & PR...

 Thirty Card Mysteries in 1919. In it, he described "The Jordan Count", and "The Gray Code", two methods of false counting. In 1920, he self-published the five-part Ten New Prepared Card Tricks series, with contributions from Thomas Nelson Downs

Thomas Nelson Downs

Thomas Nelson Downs, also T. Nelson Downs, was one of the most famous manipulative magicians renowned for his coin tricks. Downs was also known as "The King of Koins".-Biography:...

.

According to the United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, Jordan was living with his now-widowed mother in Vallejo

Vallejo, California

Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...

 by 1930. In 1935, he was contacted by Theodore Annemann

Theodore Annemann

Theodore 'Theo' Annemann born Theodore John Squires was an American professional magician who specialized in the field of mentalism...

, who wanted to publish a collection of his work. However, the series was abandoned. Many of Jordan’s tricks were later collected and published by Karl Fulves

Karl Fulves

Karl Fulves is a magician and author and editor of numerous publications on magic, including the Pallbearer's Review.Karl Fulves lives in Fairlawn, New Jersey, and is a private person who has repeatedly turned down all requests for interviews. There is not much known about him other than his...

.

Jordan never performed in public. He died in Vallejo after a long illness.