Does anyone know anything about a magician billed as "Dr. Hess". I just picked up a 1/2 sheet poster of his. He's billed as "Televisions' SUPER MAGICIAN" so I'm assuming he's from the 50's or 60's.

Any information would be appreciated.

Frank

I have some additional information from ephemera that came with the poster. I'm hoping that this might jog someone's memory -

1 On a flyer, he lists and address as: "Larry Hess Studio, Barneveld, NY". It also says that this is his 16th season.
2 On a jumbo dollar bill he lists an address in Utica, NY with a phone number listed as: "PHONE 4-9033
3 On a mimeographed, legal sized page he advertises a lecture for magic clubs. On this he lists 12 years experience at School and Lyceum shows. Part of the lecture consists of a dealer demonstration of exclusive magic items from "Larry Hess Studio and Massey's Original Magic"
4 Finally, there is a separate flyer advertising "Margo Hess' Puppets present Traditional Punch & Judy". His wife possibly?

Does any of this ring a bell with someone? I'm hoping so, as my curiosity is getting the better of me.

Thanks,
Frank

Check Conjuring Arts

Bill,

I already have. At my level (through my Genii subscription) the search resulted in zero hits.

Frank

EBay store "paperdoggy" in Los Angeles currently lists similar Dr. Larry Hess items here:
http://stores.ebay.com/PAPERDOGGY-PAPER-......id=42547

This site also claims to have other items from the "Archive of 1940's Magician Dr. Larry Hess" that they will be listing.

Larry Hess was married to "Lady Frances" Hess - a popular female magician in the 1940's and 50's. Do a search for "Lady Frances" and you should find some information related to Larry.

Dear Dove Daddy,

Thanks so much for the ebay link. I've contacted "paperdoggy" to see if they have any information since it seems that the Hess items they are selling are coming from the estate.

Frank

Dear David,

Thanks so much for the lead on Lady Frances Hess. I'll follow it up.

Do you happen to know how Margo Hess (the Punch & Judy flyer) is related?

Thanks,
Frank

The first mention I could find of Larry Hess was in 1917 and I believe it was the Sphinx and he was a youngster. He worked for the post office for 20+ years and continued to practice and perform for local functions until he decided to go pro. He did a turn in the 40's as Larry Hess and Fran "Magic As You Like It". He owned Superior Magic in New York and did in fact live in Utica. I have one of his products which was a levitator called Ad Here O which was very well received and is, in my opinion, a smart product. With it you could suspend small articles up to and including playing cards. The spread of cards would cling to the hand and on command fall away and the performer ended clean. Craig atlantismagic.com

Dear Craig,

Thanks so much for the information. That's more than I've been able to find anywhere else!

Frank