Dai Vernon A Biography

Dai Vernon: the last great undiscovered artist of the twentieth century. His medium was magic and with it, Vernon turned the clandestine world of conjuring on its ear with virtuoso sleight-of-hand and a dogged pursuit for perfection. Born in 1894 in Ottawa, the son of a Canadian civil servant, Vernon moved to Manhattan in 1915 and never looked back. Miracles flowed from his fingertips effortlessly. The source of his secrets? The underworld, made up of gamblers and hustlers that roamed back-room dens of iniquity, jail cells and city streets of America. Vernon sought them out, befriended them and made their work his. This book traces the first half of the remarkable journey'through Ottawa, Coney Island, Manhattan, Chicago, Havana, Kansas City, Colorado Springs'and the celebrities?Houdini, Billy Rose and Roosevelt'that Vernon encountered along the way. Dai Vernon: A Biography also details the evolution of magic in the twentieth century. From the stages of London and Paris to the backrooms of magic emporiums where secrets were bought and sold, Vernon's life and work escort the reader through vaudeville, Broadway theatres, grand magic spectaculars, New York nightspots and the dawn of television. At last, the cornerstone of the craft has been unveiled for all to see.Ben, David is the author of 'Dai Vernon A Biography', published 2006 under ISBN 9780974468150 and ISBN 0974468150.