John Calvert

Madren Elbern "John" Calvert (August 5, 1911 – September 27, 2013) was an American magician and film actor. He performed on stage (including Broadway) for eight decades both in the United States and worldwide. Siegfried & Roy cited him as an inspiration, and Bess Houdini said that he was second only to Harry Houdini in "play(ing) the part of a magician."

He was also an actor who appeared in numerous movies and was the subject of a biographical documentary entitled John Calvert – His Magic and Adventures. The Society of Young Magicians (S.Y.M.) Assembly #29 of the Boston area is named after John Calvert.

Early years Calvert was born in New Trenton, Indiana and became fascinated with magic at age eight when his father took him to see the magician Howard Thurston perform in Cincinnati, Ohio. Shortly afterward, he performed his first trick for his Sunday school class - he made an egg appear from under another boy's coat. He also played as himself in a Singaporean Malay movie in 1971, Mat Magic.

Fifties-onwards Calvert continued performing magic during his Hollywood days. In the mid-1940s, he transported his show's equipment and personnel worldwide in a Douglas DC-3 airliner, and in later years on yachts especially his own designed 120-foot yacht Sea Fox.

Sea Fox In July 1959, the Royal Australian Navy tugboat HMAS Emu rescued the badly-damaged Sea Fox off of Australia's Northern Territory. On board were Calvert, a chimpanzee named Jimmy the Chimp, and Filipina singer Pilita Corrales. Sea Fox was further damaged during repairs and abandoned on Elcho Island.

Awards and accolades In 2007, IBM Ring 257 named him Magician of the Year.

His biographer, William V. Rauscher, has called Calvert a "real-life Indiana Jones" because of his reputation for surviving dangerous circumstances in his travels. Even at age 100, Calvert traveled extensively, lecturing and performing magic.

Calvert was invited to perform his magic act both on Broadway in New York City and at the London Palladium Theatre on his 100th birthday.

Personal life Calvert married his wife Tammy in 1982. He died on September 27, 2013, aged 102, in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Filmography