Doug Henning

Douglas James Henning was born on May 3, 1947, in the Fort Garry district of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and died on February 7, 2000. A Canadian magician, illusionist, escape artist, and politician, Henning became one of the most recognized figures in stage magic during the 1970s and 1980s, with a Broadway career spanning from 1974 to 1984.

Henning's interest in magic began after he watched the Peruvian magician Richiardi Jr. perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. He practiced early on at Oakenwald School in Fort Garry before his family relocated to Oakville, Ontario, where he graduated from Oakville Trafalgar High School. Adopting the stage name "The Astounding Hendoo," he advertised his act in local newspapers. He later enrolled at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, to study psychology with the intention of pursuing a medical degree. It was there that he met Ivan Reitman, appearing in Reitman's 1968 production of Li'l Abner in the role of Lonesome Polecat. To support himself financially, Henning worked loading and unloading crates at Toronto International Airport before forming a performance partnership with Mars Barrick called Henning and Mars, playing bars and nightclubs across Canada.

On May 19, 1967, Henning's father, an Air Canada pilot, was killed when his DC-8-54 crashed near Ottawa International Airport during a training flight. Henning subsequently applied for and received a $4,000 Canada Council for the Arts grant to study the theatrical dimensions of magic. During that year he studied mime under Adrian Pecknold and dance with a Canadian choreographer, and he visited the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California, where he met resident magician Dai Vernon, known as the Professor. He later studied with Vernon and with another magician, Slydini, whom he came to regard as his primary teacher.

With the goal of returning magic to what he considered its glory days, Henning developed a live theatrical production called Spellbound, written by David Cronenberg and directed by Ivan Reitman, with music by Howard Shore and co-starring actress Jennifer Dale. Henning borrowed money and spent $5,000 designing illusions for the show. After securing a $70,000 investment from a single backer, the production opened at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, where it broke box-office records. New York producers took notice, and Henning reworked the show for Broadway as The Magic Show, with songs by Stephen Schwartz. The production debuted in 1974 and ran for four and a half years. That same year, Henning appeared on the game show To Tell the Truth on May 20, performing The Metamorphosis trick. His work on The Magic Show earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in 1975.

Following his Broadway debut, Henning approached NBC about a television special, ultimately securing a deal by proposing to reproduce Harry Houdini's water-torture escape live for the first time since Houdini himself had performed it. After eight months of preparation, the December 1975 broadcast of Doug Henning's World of Magic, hosted by Bill Cosby and produced by David Susskind, drew more than 50 million viewers. The special aired live in the eastern United States without commercials and was sponsored by Mobil. Henning successfully performed the water-torture illusion, though he did not break Houdini's time record. The broadcast was the first of seven annual World of Magic specials on NBC, which collectively earned Henning seven Emmy Award nominations, including two consecutive nominations in 1976 and 1977.

The subsequent World of Magic specials featured a range of guests and illusions. The second special, in December 1976, was hosted by Michael Landon with guest star Joey Heatherton and included a segment with magician Ricky Jay, as well as Henning making an elephant vanish. The third special, on December 15, 1977, aired live with guests Glen Campbell and Sandy Duncan and featured the illusion of walking through a brick wall. The fourth special, on December 14, 1978, carried the theme "A Magical Journey Through Time" but encountered numerous production problems during the live telecast, making it the last special to be broadcast live. The fifth special aired on February 15, 1979, taped at the Las Vegas Hilton. The sixth, broadcast February 22, 1980, was taped at Osmond Studios in Orem, Utah, and featured Bill Cosby and Marie Osmond; its finale involved an escape and reappearance using a large Rube Goldberg machine. The seventh and final special, World of Magic VII in 1982, featured guest Bruce Jenner and centered on the theme of a magical house with rooms representing magic from the past, present, and future, concluding with Henning creating the illusion of turning a black horse and a white horse into a zebra.

In 1977, Henning co-wrote a biography titled Houdini: His Legend and His Magic. He created illusions for an Earth, Wind and Fire tour in 1979 and for two Michael Jackson concerts, including the 1984 Victory Tour. In 1983, Henning produced and starred in the Broadway musical Merlin, for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Special Effects. The following year, he appeared on Broadway in the solo production Doug Henning and His World of Magic. In 1985, a line of plush toys called Doug and Debby Henning's Wonder Whims was produced by Panosh Place and copyrighted by Marvin Glass and Associates, comprising six characters, each packaged with an animal companion, a personalized story, and a magic kaleidoscope wand.