Howard Thurston

Carrying a whole evening on magic alone, in theatres seating hundreds, across the United States, year after year. That was Thurston's job. In the period when magic was at its largest, he was the largest thing in it.

Key achievements

1. Publicly named successor by Harry Kellar and inherited America's largest touring show.
2. Toured the United States for years with a show requiring several railway cars of equipment.
3. Ranked alongside Houdini in his day; their rivalry is the subject of published scholarship.

A boy who ran away

Thurston was born on 20 July 1869 in Columbus, Ohio.

His starting point was not a comfortable one. As a child he ran away to join a circus — and Harry Kellar, who would later determine the course of his life, was performing in that same circus. Their paths had crossed once already, this early.

As a young man he is said to have been struck by a performance of Alexander Herrmann’s and to have resolved to become his equal. Herrmann was then the summit of the profession in America.

The King of Cards

What first made Thurston’s name was not large illusion but cards.

He came to prominence as a card manipulator and earned the billing “The King of Cards” — the smallest category of material there is, complete within a pair of hands.

This matters for understanding him. The man who would later run a show requiring eight railway cars began by competing on the surface of his own palm. Being able to move a large show does not imply an absence of fine technique.

A world tour, and a return

From 1904 to 1907, Thurston toured the world with a full-evening show. From a specialist in one discipline to a performer who could construct an entire evening — those three years are the transition.

Waiting for him on his return to America was Kellar’s nomination.

1908, inheriting the billing

In 1908, on retiring, Kellar publicly named Thurston as his successor. America’s largest touring show passed intact to the next performer.

Being named that way is also an obligation to keep meeting the expectation. Thurston met it for more than twenty years.

Eight railway cars

Thurston’s production required eight railway cars to move.

Scenery, costumes, animals and a substantial company of staff. When a town’s run finished, all of it was loaded up and taken to the next one. It was an art and a large moving enterprise at the same time, and half his working life was keeping that machine turning.

The figure records what magic looked like when it sat at the centre of the entertainment industry. It also explains why he was the only one operating at that size. Good material was not sufficient; it took the management to land it in a different town every night.

Alongside Houdini

Houdini was his contemporary — one man world-famous for a single specialism, the other commanding America with a full-evening show. Their relationship and rivalry have since become the subject of published books.

In colourful anecdote he may not match Houdini. But at the single task of building an entire evening, Thurston stood at the top. The template for today’s large-scale shows is his.

1936

Thurston died on 13 April 1936 in Miami, Florida. No touring show on the scale he ran has appeared since.

His home city of Columbus has since placed him in its municipal hall of fame. A boy who ran away to the circus became a name the city claims.

Notable works

• The card work that earned him the billing "The King of Cards"
• The American touring show that required eight railway cars

Chronology

Only years that could be verified are listed.

1. 1869 Born on 20 July in Columbus, Ohio
2. 1904 Sets out on a world tour with a full-evening show, continuing to 1907
3. 1908 Publicly named successor by Harry Kellar and takes over America's largest touring show
4. 1936 Dies on 13 April in Miami, Florida