Liverpool Ireland

Evening Express

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 1937

There is, at the Empire this week, a veritable galaxy of stars. The is elsie Carlisle, the great British radio and vaudeville entertainer; Molly Picon, America's amazing versatile dramatic actress and singer, Cardini, the famous card manipulator; Ted Tay, Liverpool's own son, who has made a name for himself as a jolly fiddling fellow, chock-full of snappy back-chat; John Daly, the Irish tenor, and a host of others.

I sat in the audience and I watched Cardini do bewildering feats with cards. He produced them by the hundred from "thin air." He transformed them by a sweep of his hand into the most amazing fashions-and all with a pair of kid gloves on. This, of course makes his skill far more astounding.

Later Cardini told me his extraordinary story. Here it is:

He was in the Army, and while serving in the trenches was practicing card manipulating, partly to while away the time and partly because he had always been interested in it. It was so cold that he had mittens on. An officer saw his and stopped to gaze at him. "You know," he said, "that is the first time I have ever seen a man do card tricks with gloves on."

Cardini pondered over this and suddenly realized that if he could perfect his feats with gloves on he would have an unusual act to present when the war was over. Unfortunately, however, he got shell shock and was taken to hospital.

Here, true to his plan, he persisted in practicing card tricks with gloves on. He did not realize that he was being closely watched, and he told me that the doctors came to the conclusion that he was, as Cardini put it, "Nuts."

The outcome was that he was actually sent to an institution at Maghull for treatment. Cardini was not greatly displeased at this because it gave him a splendid opportunity to continue his practice, until he suddenly realized that it might be more difficult to get out of the institution than it was to get in.

One day he was asked what he wanted to be if were discharged, "Oh," he replied, "I will be a magician."

"Still nuts," the apparently decided, for they kept him in.

Meantime his skill improved. He gave an entertainment and was selected as one of the performers at a show to be given before the then Lord Mayor of Liverpool. Unfortunately, when he stepped on to the temporary platform he found that the background consisted entirely of a series of mirrors. When he performed his tricks, therefore, he produced merely roars of laughter, and once more the verdict went around, "Still nuts."

However, Cardini's amazing sense of humour and truly remarkable skill prevailed. There was no denying that he was a magician as far as cards were concerned, and at last, having completely mastered his art, he emerged to give it to the world.