What a wonderful surprise to find this letter from Mr. Milbourne Christopher and Mark's reply. I know that Mark and Nani had an on-going friendship with Mr. Christopher. I look forward to finding more of them.
Best Allaka-Magical Wishes,
Greg Wilson (Allaka-Son #2)
When Mark was a teen, his foundation in magic included the important job of being a demonstrator at Douglas Magic Land in Dallas Texas. (We need the full story of his work there, but that's gotta be another article!). This is a very touching message from Mr. and Mrs. Douglas sent at the same time as the premiere episode was broadcast! That officially makes this the very first letter of congratulations. They must have been so proud to see Mark and Nani on Network TV. And such a cute way to congratulate them!
I just called Dad and asked him what Mr. Douglas's first name was, he tole me "Delbert". We discussed the way the telegram is signed, and did not come up with a good answer yet. Drept? Maybe a typo for "Dbert"?
I found this brief history online: "Douglas Magic Land was started by two brothers, Lyle and Delbert Douglas, in 1921 on Commerce Street in downtown. In 1927 it moved to 409 N. Ervay where it stayed for 53 years until 1980 when it moved to Midway Road in North Dallas where it ultimately closed." (Thank you Robert Reitz, http://memorieswithaview.blogspot.com/2013/02/douglas-magic-land.html )
Thank you for reading this, and we hope you enjoy all the other great letters from friends, fans, and more! This is just the beginning.
Best Allaka-Magical Wishes,
Greg Wilson (Allaka-Son #2)
Frank Reno, real name Frank Renard, made the wonderful effort to write this amazing letter to Mark and the Allakazam Team. There's so much content,stories of his life, and praise for the Magic Land of Allakazam, that this letter in particular, needs to be transcribed. It's sad if Frank's writing is completely lost. Time has already taken it's toll on the quality of the paper, ageing it with the yellow brown tone from being folded and stored next to the newspaper clippings.
I scanned the full articles he sent, but they were larger than would fit on one scan. Hope you can read through the overlap of the images. The ink in the letter also bled thru, making it difficult to read. Hopefully someone out there, in our bevy of Allaka-Fans, will take the care to transcribe this historic information for generations to come.
Who knows about Frank? That collection of Houdini Memorabilia is amazing. Does anyone know if it became the Lund collection? Is it at Copperfield's museum now? I'd really like to know more, as I bet many Allaka-Fans would also apprecaite. This is all part of the historic preservation work that the Allakazam Archives is all about!
Also, please do not republish, link to, or share this particular content outside of our Allakazam Archive community and site. Let's respect the authors and their families in the same way we would appreciate being respected ourselves. And in light of that, we will remove your own personal letter if you so request. These postings and comments are monitored and we will do our best to maintain a fun, family friendly site for all to enjoy!Best Allaka-Magical Wishes,
Greg Wilson (Allaka-Son #2)
Does anyone know Gene Pritchard Jr.? Sounds like he really loved magic. I wonder what he means by "taping your show", because there was no home way to videotape it. Perhaps he made an audio recording off the air.
If you have any additional knowledge to add to this story, I'd love to read about it, as I'm sure our other Allaka-Fans would too. A very nice letter and sounds like a nice guy!
Best Allaka-Magical Wishes,
Greg Wilson (Allaka-Son #2)
I'm so glad that David Price of the Egyptian Hall Museum was so patient and persistent to get something from Mark and the gang. I can easily imagine how busy and difficult it was to keep up with the mail at that time. And I know that even now, my folks want people like David to get some really good material for the collection, so he was most likely waiting for a moment when he could find the right things to send.
I can tell that the letter Mark wrote back to Mr. Price, was really from Mark, because of the initials in the bottom left. "MW" being Mark Wilson, and "bi" would be his secretary. Now we just need to ask what those initials stood for.
Mike Cavney has the Egyptian Hall collection, I believe, and he might have the material that Dad sent. I'll have to ask him. Maybe if Mike is reading this, you can pitch in your vast knowledge. Or if someone else out there can tell us more about the Egyptian Hall Museum and David Price, please do! We welcome all contributions.
Best Allaka-Magical Wishes,
Greg Wilson (Allaka-Son #2)
Preston, The Hypnotist sure has a good look! These days he sets the standard for the elegant magician of that time. If anyone out there knows more about Preston, please let us know. Looks like he has an interesting history, and apparently, he had a TV show.
I'll leave the research on this up to you all, the Allaka-Fans. Because you are the real secret behind the success of the Allakazam Archives. Thank you in advance for your contributions.
Best Allaka-Magical Wishes,
Greg Wilson (Allaka-Son #2)
The signs were there from the beginning that Paul Osborne would become a real magician. And his art became a well known feature in Genii Magazine for many years. I spoke with Paul a few weeks before his untimely passing, and he was telling me about his memories of Mark Wilson performing at his Birthday Party when he was a little boy. Apparently Mark was quite an influence on young Paul, as we can see by his prolific career performing and inventing magic. Paul is missed, and I wish he could see that we found his early letter and art.
If you have any stories to add about Paul, please submit them below in the comments box. We will share them with the rest of the Allaka-Fans. Any way that you can help, with research, time, or other contributions, we welcome your thoughtfulness. Finding hidden treasures like this letter are wonderful discoveries. But maintaining the collection, organizing it, digitizing, and taking care of Mr. Landlord, are all big responsibilities. So, in advance, I want to thank you for being an Allaka-Fan, spreading the word about this project, and telling us your magic story... we need all of you, Allaka-Fans!
Best Allaka-Magical Wishes,
Greg Wilson (Allaka-Son #2)
Fred and Vida Haenchen were Haenchen Magic, the builders of some very nice magical equipment. I remember Mom and Dad telling me how difficult it was to save up the big money needed to buy their first Illusion, the Haenchen Doll House! It cost a whopping $100!!! Wow!
Check out Episode #1 of Allakazam, the premiere show on Oct. 1st 1960 to see the illusion.
There's plenty more to come, and a lot more stories to tell. But this note was important to share. Hope you like it.
Best Allaka-Magical Wishes,
Greg Wilson (Allaka-Son #2)
Arnold Furst became a good friend of the family in the years to come. I remember seeing him many times at the Magic Castle when I could go as a kid, for brunch or the swap meets. It's fun to see how kind Mr. Furst was from the very first letter. He had quite a career in Magic, and if anyone would like to help contribute details about him, it would be wonderful for the rest of our Allaka-Fans.
Part of the importance of this project is to preserve the analog history of magic from the 50's to the Milinum. It's a period of time that might be lost to future generations if we dont record it now. I really appreciate all the helpful contributions of all types that all of you, our friends, near and far, are doing to keep this project alive.
There's so much more to explore, and discover. Keep your eyes on this site and the newsletters for each new "find!"
Best Allaka-Magical Wishes,
Greg Wilson (Allaka-Son #2)