My parents came out to California from their hometown of Battle Creek Michigan. Those of you old enough will recognize right away that Battle Creek is the home of Kellog's Cereal. My Grandfather (my Mother's Father) was one of the head maintenance/equipment engineers at the factory there. They had performed together since they were high school sweethearts. My father spent two years in the Army during World War Two. He was a paratrooper deployed in the Philippines. During the occupation of Japan, he was in Special Services and performed for the occupying forces. He was perhaps the first American Magician to perform in Japan after the war.
When he returned stateside, he spent several months working in the Harry Blackstone show touring the country. My parents married in July of 1947, and my mother was part of the act permanently. They had these shots taken not long after they got to Southern California, maybe 1949 or 1950. She was the floating lady, the divided lady and a general all around box jumper for most of their career. I'm sure they would have been happy had I been born a girl, my Father's onstage work could have continued longer if we'd had a female assistant at the ready. When my mom got older, it was a little difficult for her to jump out of the substitution trunk every night. By her early fifties she was semi-retired to the role of prop delivery and side kick. When she died in 1994, they had been married 47 years. As you can see, they were an amazing looking couple.
I just watched White Christmas on TV and was reminded of all the glamorous nightclubs that once ruled the entertainment world. The way my folks are dressed in these shots shows how much a part of that post war environment really did exist. Performers dressed in fabulous clothes and worked in some pretty great places as well as some dumps. They always classed up whatever joint they performed in.
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