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'''Leon Giglio''', better known by his stage name '''Leon Mandrake''', was an Italian-American magician, mentalist, illusionist, escapologist, ventriloquist and stunt performer known worldwide as '''Mandrake the Magician'''.
'''Leon Giglio''', better known by his stage name '''Leon Mandrake''', was an Italian-American magician, mentalist, illusionist, escapologist, ventriloquist and stunt performer known worldwide as '''Mandrake the Magician'''.
==Life and career==
===Early life===
John Arthur Leon Giglio was born<ref>Washington, Birth Records, 1870-1935</ref> in San Juan (Washington) on April 11, 1911. He was the only child of Antonio A Giglio and Harriet F Wagner. When Leon was about one years old his parents were divorced<ref name="US-C">Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960 ''(May 25, 1939)''</ref> and his mother brought him to New Westminster, British Columbia on the West Coast of Canada to live with his aunt Mildred<ref name="WP">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Mandrake Wikipedia: Leon Mandrake]</ref><ref>1921 Census of Canada</ref>.


==Early life==
Leon began<ref name="WP">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Mandrake Wikipedia: Leon Mandrake]</ref> his magic career in 1922, giving vaudeville performances in New Westminster (British Columbia), only 11 years old.
Leon was born in Washington state and when he was very young his mother brought him to New Westminster, British Columbia. In 1922 he began his magic career giving vaudeville performances in New Westminster, and by the 1930s he traveled with his own magic show. In 1939 he married his chief on-stage assistant, known for her stage name [[Narda|''Princess Narda'']]. Leon Mandrake was known for his black top hat, black cape, and thin handlebar mustache, and performed in under the name '''Leon Mandrake - the Magician & Co'''.  
 
===Ads for the show===
The vaudeville was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill. The various olio acts were normally introduced by a MC ''(master of ceremonies)'' and could include musical performances by popular and classical musicians, singers, dancers, comedians, trained animals, magicians, strongmen, female and male impersonators, acrobats, illustrated songs, jugglers, one-act plays or scenes from plays, athletes, lecturing celebrities, ventriloquist and on.
 
At age 16 he travelled across North America with the Ralph Richards touring magic show<ref name="WP">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Mandrake Wikipedia: Leon Mandrake]</ref>. According to Magicpedia<ref>[https://geniimagazine.com/wiki/index.php?title=Richards_the_Wizard MagicPedia: Richards the Wizard]</ref> Leon used the stagename "Leon Wagner" in his early career.
 
When the tour ended in 1927 he settled<ref name="US-C">Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960 ''(May 25, 1939)''</ref> in Oak Harbor (Island County, Washington) and continued to give vaudeville performances on the west coast of the US.  According to "The History of Metropolitian Vancouver" <ref>[http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/sunspots_apr.htm Vancouver History]</ref> Leon was billed as "Leon", and later as "Leon ''the Ventriloquist''".
 
In 1941 Leon married<ref>Arizona, County Marriage Records, 1865-1972</ref> the 21 years old Ruby Olive Burleson in Maricopa (Arizona) on August 13. After a short marriage they were divorced and he then married<ref>Washington, Marriage Records, 1854-2013</ref> the 20 years old Lola R Douglas in King (Washington) on 20 October, 1942.
 
===Mandrake the Magician and Princess Narda===
Spring 1943 Leon and Lola were headliners in Oakland (California) with their new stagenames '''Mandrake the Magician''' and '''Princess Narda'''. Leon legally changed<ref>Watson, Patrick, "The Canadians: Biographies of a Nation", Volumer 1-3. McArthur, 2003, 439.</ref> his surname to '''Mandrake''' in 1944, when he prepared a melodrama vaudeville with the road show edition of "The Drunkard"<ref group="footnotes">a famous play which had been running 12 tears in Los Angeles, four years in New York and two years in San Francisco</ref>.
 
In "The Drunkard" Lola  played the role figure Agnes Dowton ''(Mad Agnes)'', she was one of Leon's assisting magis and she had her own act, "Princess Narda and her Doves". The featured act was described<ref>Smith, George Porter, "Magic in Big-Time Style Presented by Mandrake & Company", Freeport Journal-Standard ''(Freeport, Illinois)'', 10 Oct 1946, Page 6.</ref> as:
  "The tiny white birds, nestling on her head and chest, are fluttering on the backs of her hands, do her bidding as she performs several tupes og Egyptian and oriental dances, and they fly out over the audiece and return on cue. Back drops, costly and filled with color, and a system of neon lighting which made the doves dots of brilliant hue, .."
 
When Baldy, a white sacred Javanese dove, died on stage in Tucson Leon said<ref>"Magician's Dove Act Ended After Bird Actor Dies", Arizona Daily Star ''(Tucson, Arizona)'', 31 Oct 1944, p 6.</ref> the dove was the last of seven trained about six years ago when the act was new. He said that the doves seldom breed in captivity so his extra supply of understudies came from the Far East some time ago.
 
Leon headlined his own West Coast tour in 1945 billed as "Mandrake the Magician and his entire Company" and "Mandrake the Magician and his Magic Revue".
 
Although Leon and Lora got their divorce decree<ref>Nevada State Journal (''Reno, Nevada)'' 23 Apr 1946, Page 3.</ref><ref>Reno Gazette-Journal ''(Reno, Nevada)'' 24 Apr 1946, Page 8.</ref> in April  both Mandrake and Narda were headlined in their "Gremlin Gambols of 1946" tour, billed in larger cities in states such as Utha, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota and Iowa.
 
Lola continued to perform with her dove dance as "Princess Narda" in the following years, sometimes in the same bill as Leon, up to 1955. In December 1948 she married the magician Roy Benson (born Edward Emerson Ford McQuaid). The marriage was short-lived and they were divorced 1952.
 
====Ads for the show====
<gallery>
<gallery>
Image:Leon_Mandrake-44-ad.jpg|''ad 1944''
Image:Leon_Mandrake-44-ad.jpg|''ad 1944''
Line 19: Line 44:
Image:Leon_Mandrake-46-ad.jpg|''ad 1946''
Image:Leon_Mandrake-46-ad.jpg|''ad 1946''
</gallery>
</gallery>
{stub}


==Note==
==Note==
[[Lee Falk|Falk]] said he got the name for his character from John Donne: "Goe, and catche a falling starre... Get with child a mandrake root." But in fact, Leon Mandrake had been performing well over ten years before Lee Falk introduced the comic strip character. So, consciously or unconsciously, it is possible that Falk could have "borrowed" the name of Leon for his new comic strip character. There is also uncertainties related to when Leon Mandrake started to use ''the Magician'' connected to his stage names. There has been no written sources that he used ''the Magician'' about 1934, but several in the 40s.
<references group="footnotes" />
 
==References==
Many sources assert that the comic strip character also was drawn to resemble Leon. What is known is while Leon was touring with his stage act, he met [[Phil Davis]] in St. Louis, and they became friends and corresponded for years. What is less certain is when this meeting should have happened.
<references />
 
Leon Mandrake was married to his first wife, ''Narda'', from 1939 to 1947. Narda appears first time in the daily strips "[[The Hawk (Mandrake Meets Narda)]]" from 1934-1935. So here it is Leon who have borrowed the name from the newspaper strips, probably from the 1939 story "[[Mandrake in Cockaigne]]". Probably it was at this time that Leon Mandrake started to use ''the Magician'' in his stage name.


Anyway, a huge promotional opportunity loomed, and Falk/Davis and Leon Mandrake ended up with a kind of verbal agreement at that point. The comic strip character and the real magician cross-promote each other with the result that Mandrake the Magician became recognized throughout North America.
==External links==


[[Category: People|Mandrake, Leon]]
[[Category: People|Mandrake, Leon]]

Revision as of 15:06, 17 March 2018

Leon Mandrake
Leon Mandrake-50.jpg
Biographical information
Born: April 11, 1911
Died: January 27, 1993
Nationality: Mini usa.gif American
Occupation: Stage Magician
Website: http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/mandrake/mandrake.html


Leon Giglio, better known by his stage name Leon Mandrake, was an Italian-American magician, mentalist, illusionist, escapologist, ventriloquist and stunt performer known worldwide as Mandrake the Magician.

Life and career

Early life

John Arthur Leon Giglio was born[1] in San Juan (Washington) on April 11, 1911. He was the only child of Antonio A Giglio and Harriet F Wagner. When Leon was about one years old his parents were divorced[2] and his mother brought him to New Westminster, British Columbia on the West Coast of Canada to live with his aunt Mildred[3][4].

Leon began[3] his magic career in 1922, giving vaudeville performances in New Westminster (British Columbia), only 11 years old.

The vaudeville was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill. The various olio acts were normally introduced by a MC (master of ceremonies) and could include musical performances by popular and classical musicians, singers, dancers, comedians, trained animals, magicians, strongmen, female and male impersonators, acrobats, illustrated songs, jugglers, one-act plays or scenes from plays, athletes, lecturing celebrities, ventriloquist and on.

At age 16 he travelled across North America with the Ralph Richards touring magic show[3]. According to Magicpedia[5] Leon used the stagename "Leon Wagner" in his early career.

When the tour ended in 1927 he settled[2] in Oak Harbor (Island County, Washington) and continued to give vaudeville performances on the west coast of the US. According to "The History of Metropolitian Vancouver" [6] Leon was billed as "Leon", and later as "Leon the Ventriloquist".

In 1941 Leon married[7] the 21 years old Ruby Olive Burleson in Maricopa (Arizona) on August 13. After a short marriage they were divorced and he then married[8] the 20 years old Lola R Douglas in King (Washington) on 20 October, 1942.

Mandrake the Magician and Princess Narda

Spring 1943 Leon and Lola were headliners in Oakland (California) with their new stagenames Mandrake the Magician and Princess Narda. Leon legally changed[9] his surname to Mandrake in 1944, when he prepared a melodrama vaudeville with the road show edition of "The Drunkard"[footnotes 1].

In "The Drunkard" Lola played the role figure Agnes Dowton (Mad Agnes), she was one of Leon's assisting magis and she had her own act, "Princess Narda and her Doves". The featured act was described[10] as: 

 "The tiny white birds, nestling on her head and chest, are fluttering on the backs of her hands, do her bidding as she performs several tupes og Egyptian and oriental dances, and they fly out over the audiece and return on cue. Back drops, costly and filled with color, and a system of neon lighting which made the doves dots of brilliant hue, .."

When Baldy, a white sacred Javanese dove, died on stage in Tucson Leon said[11] the dove was the last of seven trained about six years ago when the act was new. He said that the doves seldom breed in captivity so his extra supply of understudies came from the Far East some time ago.

Leon headlined his own West Coast tour in 1945 billed as "Mandrake the Magician and his entire Company" and "Mandrake the Magician and his Magic Revue".

Although Leon and Lora got their divorce decree[12][13] in April both Mandrake and Narda were headlined in their "Gremlin Gambols of 1946" tour, billed in larger cities in states such as Utha, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota and Iowa.

Lola continued to perform with her dove dance as "Princess Narda" in the following years, sometimes in the same bill as Leon, up to 1955. In December 1948 she married the magician Roy Benson (born Edward Emerson Ford McQuaid). The marriage was short-lived and they were divorced 1952.

Ads for the show

  • ad 1944

  • ad 1945

  • ad 1946

{stub}


Note

  1. ↑ a famous play which had been running 12 tears in Los Angeles, four years in New York and two years in San Francisco

References

  1. ↑ Washington, Birth Records, 1870-1935
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960 (May 25, 1939)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wikipedia: Leon Mandrake
  4. ↑ 1921 Census of Canada
  5. ↑ MagicPedia: Richards the Wizard
  6. ↑ Vancouver History
  7. ↑ Arizona, County Marriage Records, 1865-1972
  8. ↑ Washington, Marriage Records, 1854-2013
  9. ↑ Watson, Patrick, "The Canadians: Biographies of a Nation", Volumer 1-3. McArthur, 2003, 439.
  10. ↑ Smith, George Porter, "Magic in Big-Time Style Presented by Mandrake & Company", Freeport Journal-Standard (Freeport, Illinois), 10 Oct 1946, Page 6.
  11. ↑ "Magician's Dove Act Ended After Bird Actor Dies", Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, Arizona), 31 Oct 1944, p 6.
  12. ↑ Nevada State Journal (Reno, Nevada) 23 Apr 1946, Page 3.
  13. ↑ Reno Gazette-Journal (Reno, Nevada) 24 Apr 1946, Page 8.

External links

Retrieved from "http://www.mandrakewiki.org/index.php?title=Leon_Mandrake&oldid=56942"