Marvyn Roy (b. 1925)
Profile:
Real Name:
Marvin Levy
Aliases:
Mr. Electric
Occupation:
Magician
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, USA
Abilities:
Roy possessed the ability to magically harness electricity through a variety of lighted objects. Dubbed "Mr. Electric," Roy specializes in the magic of lightbulbs. One of his many signature effects is the capacity to light a 1000 watt lightbulb in his bare hands.
Interesting Fact:
Roy use to keep his ideas for upgrading his act in a little red notebook where he would divide his thoughts into two columns: Themes and Techniques.
Props from Roy's Bulb act are housed in the David Copperfield museum, also known as The International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts.
Bio:
Marvyn Roy was born Marvin Levy on April 21, 1925 in Los Angeles, California.
He learned his first magic trick at the age of seven from a Mysto Magic set, and in his teens developed a trophy-winning act of silk magic called "Marvyn the Silk Merchant."
In 1950, he developed the first version of the act featuring magic with lightbulbs, with input from Alan Wakeling and Ray Muse; he also obtained the rights to some effects featured by British performer, Bobby Voltaire. His new show, entitled "Artistry in Light" was born.
Learning to ice skate at the request of an agent, he presented the act in several ice shows. It was during this time when Roy met his future wife and partner Carol at the Westward Ho Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona.
They married on Labor Day, 1956 and throughout the 1950's, both Marvyn and Carol gained tremendous popularity with their "Mr. Electric and Carol" show. Performing lighted miracles with an array of lights, Roy wowed his audiences with a magical production of a lighted chandelier.
Booked into the Lido show in Paris, the act attracted considerable attention and was quite successful; several appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show followed, along with repeated bookings into the Lido show playing at the Stardust in Las Vegas.
Among the effects in the act are the production of lighted bulbs form the air a la Miser's Dream; the appearance of lighted bulbs from Roy's mouth in an adaptation of the Needle Trick; Carol's appearance inside a giant bulb; and the lighting of a huge bulb in Roy's bare hands.
The "Mr. Electric" act allowed Roy and Carol to travel the world and become international stars. They performed at the Radio City Music Hall, The London Palladium; The Latin Quarter, Gorki Park in Moscow, and many more.
In the United States, Roy became a Las Vegas regular, appearing in Don Arden's "Hallelujah, Hollywood!" and as the opening act for Dean Martin at the MGM Grand.
He's also performed in the Folies Bergere revue at the Tropicana, and for many years on tour across the U.S. and Canada as the opening act for Liberaci, with both the "Mr. Electric act and as "The Diamond Illusionist."
They have also developed two other acts: one features effects with jewelry; the other, billed as "Mr. Puzzle and Carol," uses giant versions of familiar wire puzzles as props for various acts.
He has appeared on television shows and specials, including "The Hollywood Place" (1967), "The David Nixon Show" (1973) and "Heroes of Magic" (2000).
Roy and Carol semi-retired to the southern California desert community of La Quinta in 1996.
There, they appeared in several seasons of Riff Markowitz' production of the Palm Springs Follies and continued to appear and receive accolades from various magical associations worldwide, including the Dragon Award, and the Maters Fellowship and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Academy of Magical Arts.
In 2005, Roy published an autobiography, entitled "Mr. Electric Unplugged: Around the World in Fifty Years aith a lightbulb and a Blonde: a Magician's Story.
In December, 2008, the International Brotherhood of Magicians honored Marvyn Roy as the "Magician of the Year" at the Orleans Hotel and was saluted by top magicians, including Siegfried Fischbacher, Lance Burton, Mac King among others.
Information, courtesy of The Encyclopedia of magic and Magicians, Magic Newswire, Deana Murray.
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Marvyn Roy was born Marvin Levy on April 21, 1925 in Los Angeles, California.
He learned his first magic trick at the age of seven from a Mysto Magic set, and in his teens developed a trophy-winning act of silk magic called "Marvyn the Silk Merchant."
In 1950, he developed the first version of the act featuring magic with lightbulbs, with input from Alan Wakeling and Ray Muse; he also obtained the rights to some effects featured by British performer, Bobby Voltaire. His new show, entitled "Artistry in Light" was born.
Learning to ice skate at the request of an agent, he presented the act in several ice shows. It was during this time when Roy met his future wife and partner Carol at the Westward Ho Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona.
They married on Labor Day, 1956 and throughout the 1950's, both Marvyn and Carol gained tremendous popularity with their "Mr. Electric and Carol" show. Performing lighted miracles with an array of lights, Roy wowed his audiences with a magical production of a lighted chandelier.
Booked into the Lido show in Paris, the act attracted considerable attention and was quite successful; several appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show followed, along with repeated bookings into the Lido show playing at the Stardust in Las Vegas.
Among the effects in the act are the production of lighted bulbs form the air a la Miser's Dream; the appearance of lighted bulbs from Roy's mouth in an adaptation of the Needle Trick; Carol's appearance inside a giant bulb; and the lighting of a huge bulb in Roy's bare hands.
The "Mr. Electric" act allowed Roy and Carol to travel the world and become international stars. They performed at the Radio City Music Hall, The London Palladium; The Latin Quarter, Gorki Park in Moscow, and many more.
In the United States, Roy became a Las Vegas regular, appearing in Don Arden's "Hallelujah, Hollywood!" and as the opening act for Dean Martin at the MGM Grand.
He's also performed in the Folies Bergere revue at the Tropicana, and for many years on tour across the U.S. and Canada as the opening act for Liberaci, with both the "Mr. Electric act and as "The Diamond Illusionist."
They have also developed two other acts: one features effects with jewelry; the other, billed as "Mr. Puzzle and Carol," uses giant versions of familiar wire puzzles as props for various acts.
He has appeared on television shows and specials, including "The Hollywood Place" (1967), "The David Nixon Show" (1973) and "Heroes of Magic" (2000).
Roy and Carol semi-retired to the southern California desert community of La Quinta in 1996.
There, they appeared in several seasons of Riff Markowitz' production of the Palm Springs Follies and continued to appear and receive accolades from various magical associations worldwide, including the Dragon Award, and the Maters Fellowship and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Academy of Magical Arts.
In 2005, Roy published an autobiography, entitled "Mr. Electric Unplugged: Around the World in Fifty Years aith a lightbulb and a Blonde: a Magician's Story.
In December, 2008, the International Brotherhood of Magicians honored Marvyn Roy as the "Magician of the Year" at the Orleans Hotel and was saluted by top magicians, including Siegfried Fischbacher, Lance Burton, Mac King among others.
Information, courtesy of The Encyclopedia of magic and Magicians, Magic Newswire, Deana Murray.
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Marvin Roy
was born on April 1, 1925 in Los Angeles, California, USA as Marvin A. Levy. He is known for his work on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948), The Magic of David Copperfield XI: The Explosive Encounter (1989) and Dinner: Impossible (2007). See full bio »
Born:
Marvin A. Levy
April 1, 1925 in Los Angeles, California, USA
