Harry Kellar

Harry Kellar (actually, Heinrich Keller, born July 11, 1849 in Erie, Pennsylvania, † March 10, 1922 ) was from 1896 to 1908 the most famous American magician.

His parents were German to Erie, Pennsylvania, emigrated. Heinrich was experimenting at the age of ten years with chemical mixtures and blew a hole through the floor of the drugstore of his training masters. For fear of his parents, he stole away and became a vagabond.

After he had in New York saw a presentation of the Fakir of Ava ( Isaiah Harris Hughes ), he decided himself to be a magician, was hired as an assistant and traveled aged 12 to 18 having this around. By its first own mind he had great success.

From 1869 to 1873 he was foreman for the Brothers Davenport. He then joined together with their former manager William Fay on as Fay & Keller and toured together with this by Cuba, Mexico, Central and South America. 1875, when at a crossing to Europe during the shipwreck all its utensils were lost, he returned to the U.S. to then two years traveling through Latin America. With a new force then he appeared in the Egyptian Hall, London. After another long journey, he was back in 1876 in the western U.S..

His colleague John Nevil Maskelyne English he stole the secret of the floating man by hiring away its stagehands.

Honors

Kellar has a place in the Hall of Fame of the Society of American Magicians today.

Harry Houdini was inspired by Kellar, so he took from him his first name, while the surname related to Jean Eugène Robert -Houdin.