For performers, I think that adaptation and understanding of social trends are an often-overlooked skill. One of the most memorable acts I have ever seen was also one of the worst, and it was not due to a lack of talent. I vividly remember watching a bird manipulator perform his dove act to explicit late-’90s rap music. The moves were flawless, but the performance felt strange and left the audience confused. Perhaps 25 years earlier it could have been a success.
In my last column, I wrote about child star Jackie Merkle, whose act withered and died because of his inability to adapt to social trends. But what about the inverse? Unlike the rap bird act, some performers had a strong instinct for reinvention. One of the most remarkable examples was The Great Maurice. The acquisition of some pages from his own scrapbook revealed to me how truly versatile he had been.
I’d heard of C.S. Maurice even before I’d found the scrapbook pages. I had come across his name many times while researching other performers, but I had really only known him as a card manipulator—one of the most talented of the pre-World War I variety entertainers in Europe. As I learned, he was so much more than that.