Magic blankRichard Valentine Pitchford (November 24, 1895 – November 13, 1973) was a master magician under the name Cardini, whose career spanned almost half a century.
Biography
He was born on November 24, 1895 in the village of Mumbles, in south Wales. Some sources use the incorrect year of 1899.[1] He joined the British Army during World War I where he passed time in the trenches by practicing card manipulations, which is where he honed his ability to perform card manipulations whilst wearing gloves. After being injured in battle, he continued to hone his magic skills in a hospital.
After performing in Australia and then in Canada he entered the United States from British Columbia. While working his way across the U.S. he met Swan Walker in Chicago, who became his wife and lifelong assistant. In New York City, Cardini became an almost immediate success as audiences (and magicians) had never seen such an act. Cardini enhanced his performance by incorporating his magic tricks into a skit. Sleight of hand, gestures, and the appearance and disappearance of objects were all timed precisely and exactly coordinated to music.
He performed at The Palace, Radio City Music Hall, London Palladium, Copacabana and other prominent nightclubs and reviews, and also gave a command performance for the King of England in 1938.
He became president of the Magician's Guild in 1945 at the death of Theodore Hardeen.
In 1957 at the age of 62 he appeared on one of the few magic television shows broadcast at that time, Festival of Magic.
One other film clip of Cardini's hands does exist. In the Walt Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) the mirror sequence, when not shortened, contains a few minutes of Cardini manipulating cards.
He died on November 13, 1973 in Gardiner, New York.
Awards
Among his many acclamations was the New England Magic Society's proclamation of Cardini as the "greatest exponent of pure sleight of hand the world has ever known" (1958). He was honored in 1970 with the title "Master Magician", which was awarded at the Magic Castle, LA, and presented by Tony Curtis. In 1999 he was named one of Magic Magazine's Top Magicians of the 20th Century. He was a three time President of the Society of American Magicians.
