Servais Le Roy
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Servais Le Roy (1865-1953) was a Belgian magician, illusion designer and businessman. He is known for the act Le Roy, Talma and Bosco and as the inventor of the classic levitation illusion Asrah the Floating Princess.[1][2]
Le Roy began his career in Belgium but later moved to London, where he established a supply house for illusions and scenery.[2] At one time he performed with German-born illusionist Imro Fox and Frederick Eugene Powell as The Triple Alliance. However he is best known as a performer for the long-running act he developed with his wife Talma and Leon Bosco. Working as "Le Roy - Talma - Bosco" they were sometimes also billed as The Comedians de Mephisto Co. Talma (whose real name was Mary Ford), specialised in sleight of hand and was known as a brilliant manipulator of coins.[2][3] Bosco, who was a rotund man, played a buffoon character.[2] Although the act was very much a partnership to which all three contributed as magicians, Servais Le Roy sometimes received additional headline billing.[1]
Servais Le Roy and Talma first performed the Asrah levitation in London in 1914. In this trick, Talma would lie on a couch and Servais would cover her with a sheet. He would then appear to make her rise into the air, pass a large hoop over her floating body, and finally pull away the sheet to reveal that she had vanished.[2] Le Roy is also credited with developing other respected illusions, including the Modern Cabinet, the Palanquin and the Costume Trunk.[3]
Le Roy later put his own show into storage and accepted a contract from Horace Goldin to front one of several companies that were touring with Goldin's show, featuring the then sensational Sawing a woman in half illusion.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Dawes, Edwin A (1979), The Great Illusionists, Chartwell Books (New Jersey), ISBN 0-89009-240-0
- ^ a b c d e Roy & Andrews (1985), Illusions: Secrets from the world of magic, Methuen, ISBN 0-423-01300-9
- ^ a b Brief Biographies of Magican Inventors. MagicNook.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-12.
- ^ Brown, Gary R. Sawing a Woman in Half. AmericanHeritage.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
