Joseph Dunninger facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joseph Dunninger
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| Born | April 28, 1892 |
| Died | March 9, 1975 (aged 82) |
| Occupation | Magician, escapologist, mentalist. |
Joseph Dunninger (born April 28, 1892 – died March 9, 1975) was a super famous mentalist. He was known as "The Amazing Dunninger." He was one of the first magicians to perform on radio and television. Dunninger also showed how fake psychics did their tricks. He said he could do all "spirit" tricks using clever methods.
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Who Was Joseph Dunninger?
Joseph Dunninger was born in New York City. He became a very popular performer. He was often asked to perform for important people. When he was just 17, he performed for President Theodore Roosevelt. He also performed for the famous inventor Thomas Edison. Both of them really liked Dunninger's shows. Later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt invited Dunninger to the White House many times. He wanted to see Dunninger's amazing mentalist skills.
Exposing Fake Psychics
Dunninger was well-known for showing how fake mediums (people who claim to talk to spirits) tricked others. He said he could do all the same "spirit" tricks himself. He used clever methods, not real magic. He even wrote a book called Inside the Medium's Cabinet in 1935. This book explained how mediums used tricks. He also showed how the famous indian rope trick could be done using camera tricks. In 1935, Dunninger helped prove a medium named Emerson Gilbert was a fraud. His evidence was used in court.
Dunninger offered a lot of money, $10,000, to anyone who could prove he used secret helpers. He also made an offer through Scientific American magazine. He challenged any medium to show a real psychic trick he couldn't explain. No medium ever won his reward. Dunninger always said he could prove that these "spirit" tricks were just clever frauds.
Friends in Magic
Dunninger was good friends with many famous magicians. These included Harry Houdini, Francis Martinka, and Tony Slydini. He was also lifelong friends with Walter B. Gibson. Gibson wrote the popular The Shadow stories. Walter Gibson helped Dunninger write many books about magic and psychic tricks. In 1937, another magician, Max Holden, called Dunninger "the best magician and showman of today." Dunninger even helped with the 1953 movie Houdini. He was a technical adviser for the film.
Dunninger on Radio and TV
Dunninger started performing on radio in the 1920s. He even had his own weekly show in 1943. In 1948, Dunninger appeared on TV with Paul Winchell on NBC. He was often on television in the 1950s and 1960s. His name was so famous that it was used for funny characters. Johnny Carson played "The Amazing Dillinger" in 1955. Soupy Sales had "Gunninger the Mentalist" on his show. In an episode of I Love Lucy, Fred Mertz jokes, "Just call me Dunninger." This happened after he guessed Lucy's reaction. In the TV show "Columbo," a character mentions Dunninger. He says a trick is "an old stand by... Dunninger used it in his act."
Joseph Dunninger passed away from Parkinson's disease. He died at his home in Cliffside Park, New Jersey.
Dunninger's Works
Dunninger published many of his own works. Others were published by inventor Hugo Gernsback. He also wrote articles for many magazines. These included Science and Invention, Mechanix Illustrated, Popular Mechanics, and Fate. Many of these articles were actually written by Walter B. Gibson.
Articles
- Popular Magic. Modern Mechanix (May, 1938)
- Spiritualism A Psychic Investigator Exposes Mediums Frauds. Life (June, 1941)
Books
- Dunninger's Tricks De Luxe (1918)
- Dunninger's Tricks Unique (1918)
- Dunninger's Master Methods of Hypnotism (1923)
- Popular Magic (1926)
- Universal Second Sight Mysteries (1927)
- Houdini's Spirit Exposes and Dunninger's Psychical Investigations (1928)
- Popular Magic Vol. II (1929)
- Popular Magic and Card Tricks (1929)
- Dunninger on Hypnotism (1930s)
- Inside the Medium's Cabinet (1935)
- How to Make a Ghost Walk (1936)
- "Here's fun for young and old! Dunningers magic tricks" (1940)
- What's On Your Mind (1944)
- 100 Houdini Tricks You Can Do (1954)
- The Art of Thought Reading (1956)
- Magic and Mystery: The Incredible Psychic Investigations of Houdini and Dunninger (1967)
- Dunninger's Complete Encyclopedia of Magic (1967)
- Dunninger's Secrets as told to Walter Gibson (1974)
- Dunninger's Monument to Magic (1974)
- Dunninger's Book of Magic (1979)
Images for kids
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A young Dunninger
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Dunninger exposing slate writing trickery
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Dunninger demonstrating a table-tilting trick
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Dunninger with equipment used to duplicate the tricks of spiritualist mediums. A portable wireless set is strapped to his back
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Dunninger making fake "spirit" hand molds
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Dunninger in 1956
