Joseph Dunninger
Encyclopedia
Joseph Dunninger known as "The Amazing Dunninger" was one of the most famous and proficient mentalists of all time. He was one of the pioneer performers of magic
on radio
and television
.
He appeared on radio starting in 1943, and on television frequently in the 50s and 60s.
Dunninger had a standing offer of $10,000 to anyone who could prove that he used confederates or "stooges." He often said he could raise that offer to $100,000. Through Scientific American magazine
and the Universal Council for Psychic Research, Dunninger made this offer to any medium who could produce by psychic or supernatural means any physical phenomena that he cannot reproduce by natural means or explain in convincing materialistic terms.
He headlined throughout the Keith-Orpheum Circuit, and was much in demand for private entertainment. At the age of seventeen he was invited to perform at the home of Theodore Roosevelt
in Oyster Bay
and at the home of the inventor Thomas A. Edison, both of whom were avid admirers of his mysticism.
Dunninger was a good friend to many notables in the magic community including Harry Houdini
, Francis Martinka
and The Shadow
author Walter B. Gibson
. He is said to have been a model for The Shadow. During the 1950s and 1960s, his name was used as the basis for two recurring comedic characters, "The Amazing Dillinger," played by Johnny Carson
on The Johnny Carson Show
in 1955; and "Gunninger the Mentalist", on a television
show hosted by the comedian
Soupy Sales
.
He died of Parkinson's Disease
at his home in Cliffside Park, New Jersey
.
"There is one primary rule in the fakery of spirit mediumship. That is to concentrate upon persons who have suffered a bereavement."
"For those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who do not believe, no explanation will suffice."
(Source: Memorable-Quotes.com)
. He also wrote articles in Science and Invention, Mechanix Illustrated
, Popular Mechanics
, Fate
, Atlantic Monthly
, and other magazines. Many of these articles were ghostwritten by Walter Gibson
.
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
He appeared on radio starting in 1943, and on television frequently in the 50s and 60s.
Dunninger had a standing offer of $10,000 to anyone who could prove that he used confederates or "stooges." He often said he could raise that offer to $100,000. Through Scientific American magazine
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
and the Universal Council for Psychic Research, Dunninger made this offer to any medium who could produce by psychic or supernatural means any physical phenomena that he cannot reproduce by natural means or explain in convincing materialistic terms.
He headlined throughout the Keith-Orpheum Circuit, and was much in demand for private entertainment. At the age of seventeen he was invited to perform at the home of Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
in Oyster Bay
Town of Oyster Bay, New York
Oyster Bay, New York can refer to:* Oyster Bay , New York* Oyster Bay , New York* Oyster Bay , New York, also Oyster Bay Harbor, an inlet on the north shore of Long Island, New York...
and at the home of the inventor Thomas A. Edison, both of whom were avid admirers of his mysticism.
Dunninger was a good friend to many notables in the magic community including Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts...
, Francis Martinka
Martinka
Martinka & Company is America's oldest magic company. Throughout the years the company has acquired and combined with over 30 other magic firms including Hornmann and Milton Chase and its roots date back to the early 19th century.-Beginnings:...
and The Shadow
The Shadow
The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in pulp magazines, then on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of the title character, a crime-fighting vigilante in the pulps, which carried over to the airwaves as a "wealthy, young man about town"...
author Walter B. Gibson
Walter B. Gibson
Walter Brown Gibson was an American author and professional magician, best known for his work on the pulp fiction character The Shadow...
. He is said to have been a model for The Shadow. During the 1950s and 1960s, his name was used as the basis for two recurring comedic characters, "The Amazing Dillinger," played by Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
on The Johnny Carson Show
The Johnny Carson Show
The Johnny Carson Show is a 1955-56 half hour prime time television variety show starring Johnny Carson.While working as a staff writer on The Red Skelton Show , local Los Angeles television comedian Johnny Carson filled in as host when Skelton was injured during a show rehearsal...
in 1955; and "Gunninger the Mentalist", on a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show hosted by the comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Soupy Sales
Soupy Sales
Soupy Sales was an American comedian, actor, radio-TV personality and host, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television show, Lunch with Soupy Sales; a series of comedy sketches frequently ending with Sales receiving a pie in the face, which became his...
.
He died of Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
at his home in Cliffside Park, New Jersey
Cliffside Park, New Jersey
Cliffside Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 23,594....
.
Quotes
- "My magical ability and digital dexterity, I mastered only after tireless practice and acute observation, finding that I have rather an uncanny mind for developing and solving mechanics of the craft. I have made the word 'originality' a foundation for my magical doings." (Dunninger— An Autobiography)
"There is one primary rule in the fakery of spirit mediumship. That is to concentrate upon persons who have suffered a bereavement."
"For those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who do not believe, no explanation will suffice."
(Source: Memorable-Quotes.com)
Works
Dunninger self published many of his works, and others were published by inventor Hugo GernsbackHugo Gernsback
Hugo Gernsback , born Hugo Gernsbacher, was a Luxembourgian American inventor, writer, editor, and magazine publisher, best remembered for publications that included the first science fiction magazine. His contributions to the genre as publisher were so significant that, along with H. G...
. He also wrote articles in Science and Invention, Mechanix Illustrated
Mechanix Illustrated
Mechanix Illustrated was an American magazine founded in the first half of the 20th century to compete against the older Popular Science and Popular Mechanics...
, Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics is an American magazine first published January 11, 1902 by H. H. Windsor, and has been owned since 1958 by the Hearst Corporation...
, Fate
Fate Magazine
Fate is a U.S. magazine about paranormal phenomena. Fate was co-founded in 1948 by Raymond A. Palmer and Curtis Fuller, suspended print publication in July 2009, and launched a new website in January 2010 featuring news, articles, and blogs written by experts and paranormal researchers.Promoted as...
, Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic is an American magazine founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. It quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets,...
, and other magazines. Many of these articles were ghostwritten by Walter Gibson
Walter B. Gibson
Walter Brown Gibson was an American author and professional magician, best known for his work on the pulp fiction character The Shadow...
.
- Dunninger's Tricks De Luxe (1918)
- Dunninger's Tricks Unique (1918)
- Dunninger's Master Methods of Hypnotism (1923)
- Popular Magic (1926)
- Universal Second Sight Mysteries (1927)
- Houdini's Spirit Exposes and Dunninger's Psychical Investigations (1928)
- Popular Magic Vol. II (1929)
- Popular Magic and Card Tricks (1929)
- Inside the Medium's Cabinet (1935)
- How to Make a Ghost Walk (1936)
- What's On Your Mind (1944)
- 100 Houdini Tricks You Can Do (1954)
- The Art of Thought Reading (1956)
- Magic and Mystery: The Incredible Psychic Investigations of Houdini and Dunninger (1967)
- Dunninger's Complete Encyclopedia of Magic (1967)
- Dunninger's Secrets as told to Walter Gibson (1974)
- Dunninger's Monument to Magic (1974)
- Dunninger's Book of Magic (1979)
Sources
- A biography DADDY WAS A MINDREADER -DUNNINGER -THE TRUTH AT LAST by Maxine Dunninger Hohneker is available at Create Space -Amazon. Title ID# 3529931, ISBN -13 978-1456467661