Happy Birthday to Comedy Magic Legend Carl Ballantine

 

Today, September 28, we celebrate the birthday of one of the most unique and influential comedy magicians of all time — Carl Ballantine.

Born September 28, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois, Ballantine became famous for doing something wonderfully different: instead of presenting himself as a magician who could accomplish the impossible, he played a magician whose tricks seemed to go hilariously wrong.

Known as “The Great Ballantine,” his character would confidently walk onto the stage ready to amaze his audience, only to have props refuse to cooperate, tricks fall apart and virtually everything go wrong.

Of course, making magic look that disastrously funny required tremendous skill.

Ballantine understood timing, character and audience psychology. Rather than relying on the mystery of how a trick worked, he found comedy in the expectations surrounding magic itself.

His act made him a popular television performer, appearing on programs including The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show and many others. Outside of magic, television audiences also came to know him as Lester Gruber on the popular sitcom McHale's Navy.

Ballantine's influence on comedy magic continued long after his own performances. Generations of magicians discovered that an entertainer didn't necessarily need to present every illusion as a flawless demonstration of supernatural ability. Sometimes pretending everything has gone completely wrong can be even more entertaining.

He was also recognized by the magic community for his remarkable career. The Academy of Magical Arts honored Ballantine with awards including its Performing Fellowship and later its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Fellowship.

Carl Ballantine passed away in 2009 at the age of 92, but “The Great Ballantine” remains an important part of magic history.

Videos of his routines continue to introduce new generations to his wonderfully chaotic style of comedy magic, and his influence can still be seen in performers who combine magic, character and comedy today.

So today, on what would have been his 109th birthday, Magic News Daily remembers a performer who proved you could become one of magic's greats by hilariously pretending you couldn't do magic at all.

Happy Birthday, Carl Ballantine!

September 28, 1917 – November 3, 2009