Carl Ballantine
Ballantine in 1968
Born	Meyer Kessler (1917-09-27)September 27, 1917 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	November 3, 2009(2009-11-03) (aged 92) Hollywood Hills, California, U.S.
Occupations	Magician comedian actor
Years active	1936–2009
Spouse	Ceil Cabot ​ ​ (m. 1955; died 2000)​
Children	2

Carl Ballantine (bornMeyer Kessler; September 27, 1917 – November 3, 2009) was an Americanmagician,comedian andactor. Billing himself as "The Great Ballantine", "The Amazing Ballantine" or "Ballantine: The World's Greatest Magician", hisvaudeville-style comedy routine involved transparent or incompetentstage magic tricks, which tended to flop and go "hilariously awry" to the wisecracking Ballantine's mock chagrin. He has been credited with creating comedy magic and has influenced comedians and magicians alike.^[1]

Ballantine was born Meyer Kessler inChicago,Illinois, the son of Israel Kessler (1883–1930) and Rose Cohen (1890–1973), both Jewish immigrants fromBorshchiv,Ukraine, andRussian Poland (then part of theAustrian Empire andSecond Polish Republic).^[2][3][4][5] Nicknamed the "Jipper", he was inspired at age 9 by his barber who would do magic tricks with thimbles while cutting his hair. His first job was working as a printer.

In the 1930s, Kessler was doing professional straight magic as "Count Marakoff", "Carlton Sharpe", and "Carl Sharp" in Chicago, helping support his family, and later moved toNew York City, where he performed in nightclubs and on television variety shows. In the early 1940s, he gave up "real magic" when he realized he could not be as good as some of his peers. According to his daughter, "one night, one of his tricks got screwed up, he said something to cover, and the audience laughed. So he started adding more."^[6]

He switched to comedy magic and changed his name to "Carl Ballantine", after he noticed a bottle ofBallantine whisky in an advertisement and decided it sounded "show-businessy and classy", and called the magic act "Ballantine, the World's Greatest Magician". He entertained troops during World War II. He was billed as "The Amazing Mr. Ballantine" when he played the New York Capitol in 1950, and "The Great Ballantine" inThe Ed Sullivan Show andThe Steve Allen Show on television in the 1950s and 1960s.^[7]

He was the first magician to play Las Vegas, appearing on a bill withHarry James,Betty Grable, andSammy Davis Jr. atEl Rancho Vegas in 1956.^[8]

Ballantine was cast in several films, includingMcHale's Navy (1964),Penelope (1966),Speedway (1968),The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968),The World's Greatest Lover (1977),Just You and Me, Kid (1979), Disney'sThe North Avenue Irregulars (1979) andBilly Crystal’s directorial debut,Mr. Saturday Night (1992), and in numerous television series, including theABCsitcomMcHale's Navy (1962–1966), in which he played Lester Gruber, one of thePT boat sailors known for his hucksterism and wild schemes. He was a supporting player on the show, working with starsErnest Borgnine,Joe Flynn, andTim Conway.

An early television role cast him as magician Al Henderson, working the 53rd precinct Christmas party for brother-in-law Officer Toody in episode 15 of the first season ofCar 54, Where Are You?, originally airing December 24, 1961. He also guest-starred onThe Partridge Family,I Dream of Jeannie as a used car salesman, and onThe Monkees episode "The Audition" which aired on January 23, 1967. In 1971, he appeared as Matty Ryan on "The Men From Shiloh" (rebranded name for the TV westernThe Virginian) in the episode titled "The Politician." He appeared onCHiPs as magician "The Great Marvello", in the episode "Rustling", which aired January 28, 1978. In 1973, he appeared as Dr. Hankim inThe Girl Most Likely to.... His last feature film appearance was inAimee Semple McPherson, a 2006biopic about thefemale evangelist.

Ballantine made his only appearance onBroadway as Lycus the slave merchant in the 1972 revival ofA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum starringPhil Silvers.^[9] He was also a frequent panelist/judge onThe Gong Show, even appearing on the series finale of the NBC daytime version.

In later years, he was a recurring voice artist onGarfield and Friends, primarily as Al J. Swindler, a purveyor of shoddy merchandise.^[10][7]

Ballantine's first marriage ended in divorce. In 1955, he married actress Ceil Cabot (bornCelia Cabrera; March 8, 1927 – January 24, 2000),^[11] to whom he remained married until her death. Their two daughters, Saratoga, an actress,^[12] and Molly, an advertising sales executive, are both named after racetracks.^[13]

Ballantine died on November 3, 2009, at age 92 at his home inHollywood, California.^[14] His remains were cremated.

He won theAcademy of Magical Arts' (AMA)Special Fellowship in 1973,Performing Fellowship in 1984,^[15] and the "Louie" Award fromTannen's Magic in 1985.^[16] In 2007, he received the 2006Lifetime Achievement Fellowship from the Academy of Magical Arts. The award was presented bySteve Martin, who calls Ballantine "the king of bungling magicians" in his memoirBorn Standing Up,^[17] and said in an interview: "Carl Ballantine influenced not only myself but a generation of magicians and comedians. His was also the most copied act by a host of amateurs and professionals." According toDavid Copperfield, "Carl Ballantine created comedy magic. The combination of magic and comedy had perhaps been done before, but he truly defined it and made it his own."^[1]

• Carl Ballantine atIMDb
• Frank Cullen; Florence Hackman; Donald McNeilly (2007).Vaudeville, Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America. Vol. 1. New York: Routledge. pp. 65–66.ISBN 978-0-415-93853-2.
• The Great Ballantine! onYouTube
• Carl Ballantine. Magician's Hall of Fame. MagicWebChannel
• " Masters of Illusion: Jewish Magicians of the Golden Age". Exhibition atSkirball Cultural Center April 28–September 4, 2011, Press release

• 1917 births
• 2009 deaths
• American male film actors
• American magicians
• American male television actors
• American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
• American people of Polish-Jewish descent
• Jewish American male actors
• Jewish American comedians
• Jewish male comedians
• American vaudeville performers
• 20th-century American male actors
• 20th-century American Jews
• 21st-century American Jews
• Academy of Magical Arts Special Fellowship winners
• American male comedians
• Comedians from Chicago

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