Joseph Dunninger | |
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| Born | (1892-04-28)April 28, 1892 |
| Died | March 9, 1975(1975-03-09) (aged 82) |
| Occupation(s) | Magician,escapologist,mentalist. |
Joseph Dunninger (April 28, 1892 – March 9, 1975), known as "The Amazing Dunninger", was one of the most famous and proficientmentalists of all time. He was one of the pioneer performers ofmagic onradio andtelevision.[1] A debunker of fraudulentmediums,[2] Dunninger claimed to replicate through trickery allspiritualist phenomena.[3]
Dunninger was born in New York City. He headlined throughout theKeith-Orpheum Circuit, and was much in demand for private entertainment. At the age of seventeen he was invited to perform at the home ofTheodore Roosevelt inOyster Bay and at the home of the inventorThomas Edison, both of whom were avid admirers of Dunninger. PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt invited Dunninger to theWhite House on a number of occasions to demonstrate his mentalist skills.[2]
Dunninger was a debunker of fraudulentmediums.[2] He claimed to replicate through trickery allspiritualist phenomena.[3] He wrote the bookInside the Medium's Cabinet (1935) which exposed the tricks of mediumship. He also exposed how theindian rope trick could be performed by camera trickery.[4] In 1935, Dunninger attended aséance of the fraudulent medium Emerson Gilbert. His testimony was used in court against the medium.[2]
Dunninger had a standing offer of $10,000 to anyone who could prove that he used confederates or "stooges."[2] ThroughScientific American magazine and his own organization the Universal Council for Psychic Research he also made an offer to any medium who could produce bypsychic orsupernatural means any physical phenomena that he could not duplicate or explain by natural means. No medium ever won the reward.[2][5][6] According to Dunninger "through all these long years, I have sought good honest ghosts, phantoms, spirits, astral beings, banshees, fays, wee folk, apparitions, fetches—the whole pack and passel of the unsubstantial world—and I have always been able to prove them frauds."[2]
He was a good friend to many notables in the magic community includingHarry Houdini, FrancisMartinka andTony Slydini.[7] He maintained a lifelong friendship with author ofThe Shadow,Walter B. Gibson, who guest wrote or cowrote a number of books for Dunninger on magic, psychic phenomena and spiritualism.[8] In 1937,Max Holden considered "Dunninger the foremost magician and showman of the present day".[9] He acted as technical adviser as just "Dunninger" in the 1953biopic filmHoudini starringTony Curtis in the title role.
Dunninger appeared on radio starting in the 1920s,[citation needed] and had his own weekly show on the Blue Network in 1943.[10] In 1948, Dunninger andPaul Winchell were featured onFloor Show onNBC TV. Recorded viakinescope and replayed onWNBQ-TV in Chicago, Illinois, the 8:30–9 pm Central Time show on Thursdays was the station's first mid-week program.[11] He was featured on television frequently in the 1950s and 1960s. During the ‘50s and ‘60s his name was used as the basis for two recurring comedic characters, "The Amazing Dillinger" played byJohnny Carson onThe Johnny Carson Show in 1955; and "Gunninger the Mentalist" on atelevision show hosted by thecomedianSoupy Sales. On theI Love Lucy episode "Ricky's European Booking" (Season 5, episode 10) after Fred Mertz accurately predicts Lucy's excited reaction to Ricky's new booking, he gets a big laugh when he brags to Ricky "Just call me Dunninger." In theColumbo episode, "Now You See Him", a stage magician (Jack Cassidy) refers to one of his illusions with, "It's an old stand by. Dunninger used it in his act."
He died ofParkinson's disease at his home inCliffside Park, New Jersey.[12][13]
Dunninger self-published many of his works, and others were published by inventorHugo Gernsback. He also wrote articles inScience and Invention,Mechanix Illustrated,Popular Mechanics,Fate,Atlantic Monthly, and other magazines. Many of these articles were ghostwritten byWalter B. Gibson.
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