REMARKABLE MAGIC

A Fun bit of old-fashioned, and glamorous Cigarette Manipulation.

Who may you ask is Suzy Wandas? Well, I am not really that familiar with her, but I was somewhat familiar with the name. However, I saw this piece of video and fell in love with the really cool cigarette moves. (A style of magic that seems to be dreadfully out of fashion given today’s trends!)

Further study proved quite educational on Ms. Wandas. She was born in 1896 in Belgium and had a really amazing career. She performed her manipulative act extensively throughout Europe and America as “Suzy Wandas, the Lady with the Fairy Fingers.” She won the British Ring contest in 1952 and in 1953, she made her first American appearance at the Abbott Get-together. In 1981 she received a Performing Fellowship from the Academy of Magic Arts. Ms. Wandas passed away in 1986 at the age of 90.

Enjoy this little snippet of her uber-cool cigarette manipulation! Be aware that you will need to really concentrate on her hands to appreciate how cool her work is! The singing gentleman in the clip is Cliff Edwards (better known as Ukulele Ike. Edwards went on to become the voice og Jimminy Cricket. The footage is from a 1935 MGM short called “Starlit days at the Lido.”

My friend and superb magical historian Bernard Reid tells me that there has long been a spirited debate as to whether that Golden Haired smoker is really Wandas. Opinions seem to be divided equally in the magic world as to whether it really is Suzy.

In years gone by I would just have phoned Billy McComb and he would have had an answer (right or wrong! I would still have accepted it…) Does anyone out there have an answer? I would love to know. There are far too few actual mysteries in magic and this is a good one. However, looking at photos, it sure looks like Ms. Wandas and she is performing her patented four cigarette production. If you have any info please do share it!

I got this great response from Raven Tekwe that all but collaborates the authenticity of the footage being Ms.Wandas. (While there are STILL some opposing opinions!) This is what Raven said;

“Yes, it is Suzy Wandas. I was a personal friend of Suzy’s in the 80’s. She told me that she came to America (it was a very quick trip) to perform in a film with a man that played the ukulele. I remember that because I thought it was so unusual, and that when Suzy said “ukulele” in her thick accent, it took a bit of questioning to decipher what she was saying. She said she never knew what happened to the film. I was quite surprised and pleased to see it a few years ago. So let me put the question to rest. It is Suzy Wandas.”

~ by Nick Lewin on August 30, 2018.

Posted in Magic and Magicians
Tags: Bernard Reid, Marion Stephanie, Suzy Wandas