Harry Kellar was born on this day in 1849. He became America’s greatest magician of his time. He was never adept at fine sleight of hand, and he started his career using ordinary language. (“When I first done this trick,” he pattered, before a famous critic told him, “When I did, Mr. Kellar!”)
In addition, he may have had a speech impediment. Howard Thurston noted thiss disability after Kellar’s death, and W.W. Durbin recalled that Kellar’s patter was difficult to understand. There’s also an account of a theater director who convinced Kellar to shave his large brush mustache by claiming that his speech would be clearer. (In fact, the director simply thought that the mustache looked ridiculous.) Harry Kellar shaved his facial hair and spent his career working on improvements: magic, presentations, speech. He was nothing if not diligent.
