Before Doug Henning, magicians wore tailcoats and did tricks in casino lounges. After him, they wore colourful t-shirts, smiled like children on Christmas Eve, and played sold-out theatres. Henning was the man who made magic fun again.
The Canadian student with a dream
Doug Henning was born in 1947 in Winnipeg, Canada. As a psychology student at McMaster University he received a Canadian cultural grant to research how magic as an art form could be renovated. He went to Hollywood, to the Magic Castle, and learned from Dai Vernon himself.
At 27 he wrote with Ivan Reitman 'The Magic Show', a Broadway musical with magic as the lead role. It ran for four years, 1,920 performances — and launched Henning as the 'white knight' who came to save magic.
TV and blockbusters
From 1975 he had his own 'World of Magic' specials on NBC, every year an evening of live magic for the whole country. He reintroduced Houdini's Water Torture Cell to a new generation, and launched the illusion 'Things That Go Bump in the Night' that would later inspire David Copperfield.
His image was unique: no mystique, no authority — only pure wonder. He looked at his own tricks with admiration, as if even he was surprised.
- ✦8 Emmy nominations
- ✦Wrote Broadway musical 'Merlin' (1983)
- ✦Beloved by colleagues for his honesty and generosity
The early end
In 1986 Henning suddenly withdrew from the magic world. He devoted himself to transcendental meditation and planned a spiritual theme park in India that would never be built. He died in 2000 of liver cancer, at age 52. He left an empty seat.
But his influence remained: every modern magician who performs with a smile instead of dramatic seriousness does so in the spirit of Doug Henning.
Henning taught the world that magic doesn't need a pose. A smile and sincere wonder do more than any tailcoat.