Larry Grey

Lawrence Grey (23 March 1895 – 5 May 1951) was an English magician known for his card tricks. He also worked as an occasional actor and is known for voicing Bill the Lizard in Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland.

Biography

Larry Grey was born on March 23, 1895, in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. In his youth, he emigrated to the United States, where he began practising magic. One of his earliest tricks included Jumbo Cards, which inspired many of his later card tricks.

Around 1918, Grey met Dai Vernon on Coney Island. At the time, Grey had just begun his career in magic but with little success and was only just managing to make a living. Grey and Vernon decided to work together, initially setting up a booth along Kengsington Walk, in which Grey would sell small packs of cards and magic props while Vernon would cut silhouettes. During this time, Vernon and Grey lived together in a room on Coney Island. on the boardwalk at Santa Cruz, California, and did a comedy magic act with his wife. He also made his most famous film appearance in Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland in 1951 as the voice of Bill the Lizard. He died the same year.

Death and legacy On May 5, 1951, three hours before he was due to perform a magic show in San Francisco, and shortly after appearing in Alice in Wonderland, Grey died, aged 56, after shooting himself in the head with a .38 caliber revolver three doors down from his home in Oakland, California. He left a series of suicide notes found in a suitcase near his body which explained that he "couldn't go on any longer". According to his wife Carlotta, Grey had been depressed because his career had declined and he felt "washed up" in show business.

His death was greatly mourned, especially by his good friend Dai Vernon, who said he was, "One of the greatest card performers who ever lived". Grey is mentioned frequently in columns written for the Genii magazine by Vernon.

Filmography Mr. Celebrity (1941) - Larry 'Cardo the Great' Grey Alice in Wonderland (1951) - Bill The Lizard (voice) (Released posthumously; final role)