BEVERLY — Cesareo Pelaez, the charismatic
Cuban who escaped his native country and created the world's
longest-running stage magic show in a renovated Beverly theater, died
Saturday of congestive heart failure. He was 79.
Pelaez suffered a stroke in 2005 and stopped performing
his role of Marco the Magi in 2006. Since then, he would appear on
stage at the end of each performance of Le Grand David and His Own
Spectacular Company in his wheelchair, acknowledging the cheers with a
wave of his hands. He made his last appearance Feb. 18 for the company's
35th anniversary show.
Pelaez began receiving hospice care at home in
November. He was taken to the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers on
Wednesday and died there Saturday at 3 a.m., according to David Bull,
who plays Le Grand David in the show.
Bull said he received several messages from magicians
pointing out that Saturday was Houdini's birthday. The magicians called
the timing "Cesareo's final trick."
Pelaez and a group of friends started Le Grand David in
1977 after pooling their money to buy the Cabot Cinema, a 1920
vaudeville theater on Cabot Street, paying $110,000 in cash to owner
E.M. Lowe.
The show featured classic magic tricks, such as a
floating table and doves snatched out of the air, with the troupe
performing in exotic handmade costumes amid the grand arches and ornate
murals of the restored theater.
Over the years, the show drew national and
international attention. The troupe performed at the White House seven
times. Pelaez was named Magician of the Year by the Academy of Magic
Arts in Hollywood, and the entire company performed at the awards
banquet at the Beverly Hills Wilshire Hotel.
Pelaez, who also worked as a psychology professor at
Salem State College for 25 years, oversaw the entire production, from
the custom-made sets to ticket sales to the hot chocolate served in the
balcony.
"It takes a genius to put on a show like that," said
Raymond Goulet, who runs a magic museum and art studio in Watertown.
"Very few people can do everything, but Cesareo could. I considered him a
miracle man. There hasn't been a show in the history of magic that ran
so long and had such a successful run."
With Pelaez's health declining, Le Grand David has been
on hiatus since the 35th anniversary show last month. Bull said the
show will resume April 15 with the first of six previously scheduled
performances, but he is not sure if it will continue beyond that.
"That is really a question that needs to be answered," he said.
Pelaez was born in Santa Clara, Cuba, on Oct. 16, 1932.
As a boy, he attended the traveling magic shows and music revues that
came to town. In high school, he formed his own theatrical company,
using a chicken coop as a stage, according to the 2007 book "There Will
Be Wonderful Surprises" by Avrom Surath, one of Le Grand David's
original cast members.
Pelaez won a scholarship to the University of Kansas
and came to the United States for the first time in 1956. He returned to
Cuba and got a government job with the Ministry of Education,
organizing intelligence tests for public school students. The country
was rising up against dictator Fulgencio Batista's oppressive regime,
and Pelaez worked secretly with the local underground movement to defeat
Batista's army, according to "Wonderful Surprises."
In 1959, Pelaez helped direct traffic as Fidel Castro and his men passed through Santa Clara on a triumphant march to Havana.
Pelaez remained in his government job but soon became
fearful of persecution under Castro's Communist government. According to
"Wonderful Surprises," Pelaez's best friend was shot to death while
standing by his side.
After two failed attempts to escape the country by
boat, Pelaez, disguised as a priest, gained admission to the Colombian
embassy and was flown to Colombia.
Pelaez spent a year teaching psychology at the
University of Bogota before coming to the United States to stay. He
wrote to Abraham Maslow, the famed psychologist who was teaching at
Brandeis University and whom Pelaez had studied in Cuba, and became his
teaching assistant.
In 1968, Pelaez started a "growth center" in Dublin,
N.H., a 95-acre retreat that featured daily tai chi classes and
meditation seminars. When it closed after 18 months, Pelaez traveled to
Europe and studied theater, the circus, puppetry and opera — "every
conceivable form of entertainment," Bull said.
In 1972, Pelaez was hired as a psychology professor at
Salem State. His teaching methods, which encouraged students to think
for themselves, made his classes among the most popular on campus, said
Patricia Markunas, chairwoman of the school's psychology department.
"He had a way of bringing out the best in people, of
getting people in particular to explore their artistic and creative
side," Markunas said. "He had the magician's air of mystery that made
you want to know more about him. The Magi is the wise man, and he was
the wise man. You wanted to be with him whether it was in psychology or
magic or just someone to know."
While running and performing in his magic show and
teaching at Salem State, Pelaez and his company bought another old
Beverly theater four blocks away on Wallis Street and introduced a
second show, "An Anthology of Stage Magic."
"He was just a whirling dervish of energy and
creativity," Bull said. "Shows and designs just poured out of him. This
dream that he had from his childhood, this was the time, this was the
place, and he wasn't going to miss the opportunity."
Markunas credited the restoration of the two theaters with helping improve Beverly's economy and revive its downtown.
Bull said several prominent magicians, including Doug
Henning, David Copperfield and Harry Blackstone Jr., visited Pelaez over
the years and raved about his show.
"Henning said to us, 'You people are doing what I dream about, having your own theater, your own show,'" Bull said.
Bull said that Pelaez, who became an American citizen
in 1967, loved his adopted country. His insisted that his corporation,
White Horse Productions, remain a for-profit business because he did not
want the government having a say in its operations.
"He saw what happened in Cuba where, with the stroke of a pen, Castro could nationalize businesses," Bull said.
Pelaez's sister and father eventually came to the United States from Cuba but have since passed away. Pelaez never married.
Bull said a prominent magician from England and several
of Pelaez's Cuban friends from Florida will fly to Beverly to attend
the services. The wake will be held Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Campbell
Funeral Home, 9 Dane St. The funeral is scheduled for Saturday at 9 a.m.
at St. Mary Star of the Sea Church on Cabot Street.
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Ken Krenzel was born and raised on the Lower East Side of New York. At the age of seven he saw a marionette
show at his school and, in his
words, it started his “ life-long and passionate love of magic and all things
magical” As a youngster, Ken became
a charter member of F.A.M.E.
(Future American Magical Entertainers) run by Dr. Abraham Hurwitz , known as
Peter Pan The Magic Man. This amazing group of young magicians would become
major players in our magic world. *
As Ken grew up he pursued the study of psychology in college and
eventually earned a Ph.D. He was a
Diplomate in the American Board of
Professional Psychology. Ken had served for many years as Psychologist for the
Board of Education in the City
of New York where he eventually became a supervisor
of School Psychologists. He was a
member of the board and vice president of the Executive Committee of the New York Psychotherapy and
Counseling Center before going into private practice.
In his magic, he became well
known as a leading exponent of expert sleight-of-hand with cards. He has published material in various
magic journals: The Gen, Genii, MUM, Hugard’s Magic Monthly, Phoenix,
Hierophant, Kabbala, Epilogue, New Jinx, Apocalypse, and the Minotaur. His art
has been featured in books like “The Card Classics of Ken Krenzel “in 1978.
His ‘Ingenuities” book is much sought
after. He was always recognized as the “magicians’ magician.”
In 1993 Ken was the Parent Assembly # 1 Society of American Magicians
“Magician of the Year” and became its “Dean” in October of 2011. Ken was always a proponent of
keeping the “secrecy” of magic and played a role in combating “exposure” of magic effects. He often mused that; “I never have to worry about falling into a
second childhood. Magic has kept me in my first childhood. “ Long time friend Rabbi Noach
Valley officiated at the funeral where the “broken wand” service was performed by Dean George Schindler
*Ken’s contemporaries were Howard Schwarzman, George Schindler , Albert
Goshman Harry Lorayne, Jack London, Victor Sendax, Sol Stone, Jerry Bergman, George Gilbert,
and Frank
Garcia. He was
also
mentored by Ed Balducci and was befriended by Dai Vernon,
Slydini, Cliff Green,and Charlie Miller.
** A full biography appears in the September 1993 M-U-M
magazine.
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Known as Chazoo the Magician, Charles a member of the S.A.M. for 24 years died May 16 , 2011. In his 80 years he had accomplished a great deal and prided himself on visiting every state in the union,. (except Alaska) After finishing service in the US Navy in 1949 he then spent an additional four years in the Naval Reserve. He earned a BA degree in Public Relations from Utica College of Syracuse University and a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the Catholic University in 1964. During his life he immersed himself in multiple occupations from Fuller Brush salesman to a printer, an ad manager for a newspaper, director of a Chamber of Commerce. Charles was a Real Estate Broker, sold insurance and was best known as a fundraiser for many Catholic Churches. Charley worked as a clown and an advance man for the Billie Martin Circus in New York State . He worked in Baltimore, Washington DC, Wilkes Barre , PA. and Pasadena ,CA and later joined PA#1 in NY . Chazoo was active in every Assemblyin the cities where he worked. He was president of the DC Assembly # 23 in 1993 and in Wilkes Barre # 160. He also belonged to IBM Ring #101 in Utica NY. He joined the Academy of Magical Arts and was a regular at the FFFF convention each year. His true love was always magic. Chazoo was one of the “Magic Kings” who founded the “ Hall of Fame of Famous Unknowns” in 1988 in Herkimer, New York where he purchased an historic farm built in 1776. The old barn was converted to a museum and each year has been the home of “ParlorMagic” one day convention the first weekend of June. On June 4, a broken wand ceremony was performed at the convention by Dean George Schindler.
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