He walked on with white gloves, twirled a cigarette in his mouth — and from nowhere cards began to appear between his fingers. Fans of cards, endless rows, all in a drunken bewildered style. Cardini was the inventor of the modern card manipulation act — and no one has ever equalled him.
From trench to world fame
Born as Richard Valentine Pitchford in 1895 in Wales, he fought in WWI. In the trenches he practised card tricks to keep his fingers warm in the bitter cold. It was that forced training that brought his technique to superhuman finger dexterity.
After the war he worked on cruise ships, learned from Charlie Chaplin the importance of a physical character, and slowly created the 'drunken black-coated monocled' persona that became his trademark.
The act that never aged
His act lasted exactly 13 minutes and consisted of three parts: cards appearing, cards multiplying, and billiard balls appearing between his fingers. He didn't speak a word; only music and his facial expressions told the story.
He played in all the major vaudeville theatres in America, in London for the royal family, on the Ed Sullivan Show, and at every major magic convention. Until his death in 1973 he was the standard against which every manipulator was measured.
- ✦Honorary member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians
- ✦Charlie Chaplin called him 'the English Charlie Chaplin of magic'
- ✦His wife Swan was his constant assistant — a true partnership
The legacy
Almost every modern card manipulator who makes cards appear from nowhere on stage — from Lance Burton to Shin Lim — stands in direct line from Cardini. His technique is still taught in every academy of magic.
His grave in New York has a tombstone with a card on it. Even in death he remained the silent card magician.
Cardini proved that elegance is more powerful than spectacle. One man, a pack of cards, a cigarette — and the world stood still.