"Irene Larson" Photograph
5 X 3 1/2 Glossy photograph, not a copy.
Here's Irene Larson, Patrick Paige, Mike Caldwell, Ali Bongo, Tommy Tucker and Karrell Fox doing what they did best; performing for an appreciative audience at a magic convention in the Boston area sometime in the 1970's.
Irene Larsen
The Story Of The Magic Castle Family's Semi-Private Home Theater In Mid-Wilshire
Back in 1942, magician Bill Larsen Sr. swapped his family's home in Pasadena for the Mid-Wilshire residence of Floyd Thayer, a fellow magician who had retired from the business. A decade earlier, Thayer had installed a small theater inside the Spanish-style house—named Brookledge after the natural stream that flows behind it—where for many years, magicians and other entertainers such as Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth would come to hang out and perform for each other. In the early '60s, Larsen's sons, Milt and Bill Jr., along with Bill Jr.'s wife, Irene, opened the Magic Castle, and Brookledge's theater went dark. But a few years ago, Bill and Irene's daughter, Erika Larsen, decided to revive it and thus the Brookledge Follies, a monthly variety show in the vaudeville tradition, was born. Now entering its fifth season, the invitation-only Follies is looking to upgrade its vaudeville-era sound and lighting systems, and to that end has launched the requisite Kickstarter page. As of this writing, potential investors have five days left to get in on the hocus-pocus.
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| Read It |
No |
| Location |
Magic Library (Home) |
| Condition |
Good |
| Owner |
Bryan-Keith Taylor |
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Irene Larsen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Irene Larsen, known affectionately as “Princess Irene” throughout the worldwide community of magicians and illusionists, was a co-founder of the Magic Castle and the Academy of Magical Arts.[1]
She was born Irene Stolz in Germany in 1936.[2] In 1955, American magician John Daniel invited her to come up on stage to assist in a performance. She soon became a permanent part of the act. John Daniel nicknamed her “Princess Irene,” an honorary title she would keep for life, and two years later, they were married.
She divorced John Daniel in 1960 and began working as a magician’s assistant to the brothers Milt Larsen and Bill Larsen. In 1963, the three of them founded the Academy of Magical Arts and the Magic Castle. She was the first member of the AMA. Later that year, she and Bill Larsen were married.
She served as an ambassador for the Magic Castle and for the magical arts in general. While continuing to serve as her husband’s assistant, she also appeared on the Dean Martin Show, assisting Orson Welles with his own illusion act. She was an early and continuing voice advocating the ethical treatment of animals in magical acts.[3] From 1963-1999, she served continuously as either editor or co-editor of Genii: the Conjurer's Magazine, a publication by, for, and about those in the illusionist community.[4]
References
Bryant, Jacob. "Irene Larsen, Co-Founder of the Magic Castle, Dies at 79". Variety Magazine. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
Quinlan, Tim. "Irene Larsen, Co-Founder of the Academy of Magical Arts & the Magic Castle, Dies at 79". Inside Magic. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
"Magic Castle Icon and Activist Dies at 79". Daily News. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
Nichols, Chris. "Irene Larsen, Co-Founder of the Magic Castle, Has Passed Away". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
