A magician's assistant is a performer whose role during a magic act is to hold the props that are used by a magician, to transport props onto and off the stage, and to serve as a prop in illusions that involve manipulation of the human body. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Look up magician in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Although magician's assistants appear to play a supporting role and receive a lower billing than the magician who appears to be the source of illusions, the assistant is often the one making the illusions work. Billing is a film term denoting the amount and order in which film credits information is presented in advertising and on the film itself. ...

The glamorous female magician's assistant has become a stereotype or icon in art, popular media and fiction.

History and description

Assistants have been part of magic acts for most of the recorded history of magic as a performance art. Despite their often crucial role in magic acts they, and the work they do, have suffered from negative public perceptions. The assistant's role has often been stereotyped as consisting of menial tasks and having the primary purpose of adding a visually aesthetic element to an act. This is associated with the perception that assistants are usually female and often dressed in revealing costumes. Although there have been plenty of instances of male assistants throughout the history of magic, the glamorous female stereotype has made a particular impact because female assistants were a prominent feature of illusion shows during the 20th century, when magic began to reach huge new audiences, first through the burgeoning of live vaudeville and variety shows and then through television. The glamorous female assistant has become an iconic image that continues in modern media and literature.^[1] 2700BC - The first known performance of a conjuring effect (cups and balls) by the magician Dedi in ancient Egypt 100AD - The Acetabularii performed the Cups and balls in ancient Rome using stones and small vinegar cups (hence the name Acetabularii) 1584 - Reginald Scott publishes The Discoverie of Witchcraft (sic) a... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A variety show is a show with a variety of acts, often including music and comedy skits. ...

A notable feature of the glamorous female assistant iconography is the frequency with which assistants play the role of "victim" in illusions where they are apparently cut with blades, impaled with spikes or otherwise tortured or imperiled.^[2][3] Many of these illusions, together with others that involve appearances, disappearances or escapes, involve assistants being shut in boxes of one sort or another. This has led to the nickname "box jumper" which, although it could be applied to a male assistant, is usually inferred to be a female assistant.^[4][5] One reason that has been given for the predominance of women in this role is that the illusions sometimes require an assistant that can fit into cramped spaces and women have an advantage in that they tend to be smaller and more limber than men.

Feminist critics have taken the above aspects of illusions and performances as evidence to support claims that magic is misogynistic, but this view has been contested by some magicians and assistants. However, a few prominent assistants have gone on record stating that they deserve better recognition for their efforts and achievments (see "Documentaries" below). Feminism is a social theory and political movement primarily informed and motivated by the experience of women. ... Misogyny is an exaggerated pathological aversion towards women. ...

Some modern magic acts have preserved the glamourous elements of the female assistant iconography while attempting to give full recognition to female performers by billing women as equal partners in acts. A notable example is the husband and wife act The Pendragons, for which Charlotte Pendragon has worn very revealing costumes and done traditional "box jumping" roles yet receives equal billing with her husband and has been honoured in her own right as a top professional magician. Another example, although with more modest and conservative costuming, is Kristen Johnson, who receives equal billing with her husband Kevin Ridgeway when they perform together as a magic act and often stars in her own right as an escape artist. Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon are a husband-and-wife team of American illusionists who call their work Physical Grand Illusion. In 1991, Charlotte Pendragon became the first woman to become a Member of the Inner Circle of the British Magic Circle. ... An editor has expressed a concern that the subject of the article does not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ... Harry Houdini, a famous escapologist and magician. ...

Notable assistants

• Gay Blackstone
• Nani Darnell
• Adelaide Herrmann (wife and assistant to Alexander Hermann who later became a magician in her own right following her husband's death)
• Bess Houdini
• Jinger Leigh
• Talma Le Roy (of Le Roy, Talma and Bosco)
• Debbie McGee
• Moi Yo Miller
• Morgan
• Frances Willard

The grave of Bess Houdini in Gate of Heaven Cemetery Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner, known as Bess, was the stage assistant and wife of Harry Houdini. ... Debbie McGee Debbie McGee (b. ... An editor has expressed a concern that the subject of the article does not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ... Frances Willard (born 1940) is an American magician, famous for her performances at The Magic Castle and in Las Vegas. ...

Assistants in art, fiction and movies

• The novel The Magician's Assistant, by Ann Patchett follows the character Sabine who was assistant to her magician husband Parsifal. After Parsifal's death Sabine is left to unravel the secrets of his life.^[6]
• The movie The Prestige (2006) features Scarlett Johansson as an assistant to a magician who is involved in a deadly feud with a competitor. In addition actress Piper Perabo plays the wife and performing partner of another magician.^[7]
• The movie Rough Magic (1995) features as its central character a magician's assistant played by Bridget Fonda.^[8]
• One of the central characters in the movie Leprecaun 3 is a magician's assistant called Tammy Larsen, played by actress Lee Armstrong, who appears in stage costume for much of the duration.^[9]
• The Disappearing Girl Trick (2001) is a short comedy film starring Susan Egan as a television producer who goes undercover as a magician's assistant to expose his method of performing the trick in the title.^[10]
• An episode of season two of the television series Are You Afraid of the Dark? was titled The Tale of the Magician's Assistant. It was first broadcast in September 1993.^[11]

Ann Patchett (born December 2, 1963) is an American author. ... The Prestige is a 2006 period film directed by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan from Christopher Priests award-winning 1995 novel of the same name. ... Scarlett Johansson (born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. ... Piper Lisa Perabo (born October 31, 1976) is an American movie actress. ... Bridget Fonda and Luc Besson at Cannes, 2001 Bridget Jane Fonda (born January 27, 1964) is an American actress. ... // Susan Egan (b. ...

Documentaries

• Box Jumpers (2004) was a two-part radio documentary series about magician's assistants that was made for BBC Radio 4 and presented by Debbie McGee.^[4][5]

• Women in Boxes (2007) is a feature-length documentary film featuring many of the magic world's most famous assistants and planned for theatrical release. It was made by Blaire Baron-Larsen, Harry Pallenberg, Phil Noyes and Dante Larsen.^[1]

Debbie McGee Debbie McGee (b. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Women in Boxes. WIB, LLC. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
2. ^ For examples see Aztec Lady, Devil's Torture Chamber, Radium Girl and, perhaps most famous of all, Sawing a woman in half.
3. ^ The topic of assistants portrayed as victims in violent illusions was featured in "Violent magic" the final episode of the six-part BBC television documentary series Magic in 2004, see UK Magic News. Magicweek.co.uk (20 November 2004). Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
4. ^ ^{a b} "Box Jumpers". Radiolistings.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
5. ^ ^{a b} "Radio Choice". The Times online. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
6. ^ Patchett, Ann (1997), The Magician's Assistant, Harcourt, ISBN 0-15-100263-0
7. ^ The Prestige. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
8. ^ Rough Magic. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
9. ^ Leprecaun 3. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
10. ^ The Disappearing Girl Trick. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
11. ^ Are You Afraid of the Dark? The Tale of the Magician's Assistant. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A performance of The Aztec Lady on British television The Aztec Lady is a stage illusion designed by British magician Robert Harbin. ... // Magician Jeffrey Atkins and Paul Daniels performing The Radium Girl with an assistant called Jackie on The Paul Daniels Magic Show The Radium Girl is a stage illusion of the classic type involving a female assistant in a large box and is probably best categorised as a penetration or restoration... // Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of different stage magic tricks in which a person (traditionally a woman) is apparently sawn in half or divided into two. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 199th day of the year (200th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Target girl

Further reading

• "Women In Magic", an article by Dennis Regling at BellaOnline.

External links

• Official website for Women in Boxes