Neil Foster

Neil Foster (1921 - 1988), was an internationally known lecturer, teacher, inventor and performer of magic.

He began his career when a senior in high school in his home town of Aurora, Illinois. In 1947 he attended the Chavez College of Manual Dexterity and Prestidigitation in Los Angeles, where he remained as an instructor for three years. He then toured the United States and 14 European countries.

In 1953 he performed at the Gala Coronation Convivialities for Queen Elizabeth II and was made a member of England's Inner Magic Circle. In Paris, he became a member of the Association Francaise des Artistes Prestidigitateures. He is also a lifetime member of the All India Magic Circle.

QUICK FACT: Neil Foster and his wife, Jeanne, toured for many years under the sponsorship of the Lecture Bureaus of the Universities of Wisconsin, Minnesota and North and South Dakota.

Foster became known for his trademark presentation of Joe Karson's commercial floating-ball effect, "Zombie," by transforming it from a small-scale trick into a stage-filling dance reminiscent of the routines of Fred Astaire.