Dante

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Dante was born Harry August Jansen in Copenhagen Denmark in 1883 Jansens first glimpses of magic were a distance from his home in New York in Chicago where from the galleries of the McVickers Theatre he saw the Great Herrmann rival and later friend of Harry Kellar Several illusions were pioneered during Jansens early career including Sawing a woman in half and several of the illusions of his soon to be successors Thurston and Kellar Howard Thurston hired Jansen in 1922 to tour and run Thurstons second unit After many years of performing to average crowds under the name The Great Jansen Thurston suggested to Jansen that he change his name to Dante after the great magician Dante the Great Oscar Eliason who was a very popular magician in the late 1800s In July of 1927 Thurston flew with Dante to Puerto Rico where Thurston told him that he was to be his successor in the Royal Dynastys lineage Although Dante was mainly an illusionist his list of achievements does not end there Jansen was often featured on radio and appeared in several movies including AHaunting We Will Go 1942 featuring Laurel and Hardy and Bunco Squad Dante semiretired in the late 1940s and would eventually pass his mantle to Lee Grabel in 1954 Description above from the Wikipedia article Harry August Jansen licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia