BOBBY
BAXTER
I first saw Bobby Baxter perform in New York City about 1974 and I was
very impressed. He was very
funny, but also very clever and skillful. His handling of unrehearsed
volunteers
from the audience should
be required study for any magical enthusiast.
Mickey Hades fine book "101 Great Magic Acts" lists
"Bobby
Baxter,
Master
of Mirth" at the Odeon Theatre...back
in the 1940's!
At the tender age of ten, Bobby became apprenticed to a
Florida illusionist named Oliver B. Hart.
By age 15, Bobby was hired as a carnival magician,
replacing stage conjurer Rajah Raboid
(the successor to master illusionist Howard
Thurston) in a road show. During his varied career,
Bobby has headlined in dime museums, sideshows,
Broadway theaters, cruise ships, and nightclubs.
Bobby has astonished audiences at Madison Square Garden, the Village
Gate, the Latin Quarter,
Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe and the Hotel Pierre, and has appeared
on bills with stars like
Mae West, Jack Lemmon, Harry Richmond, Martha Ray
and Bert Wheeler.
In 1949, Bobby
made the jump to television, doing his magic act on Ed Sullivan's
"Toast of the
Town." Other television credits include "The Merv Griffin Show," "The
Comedy Shop,"
"The Twin Toni Time Show" and "The Gary Moore Show."
It was (and is) my privilege to get to know Bobby. He is a very bright,
gentle and sensitive soul who has
survived a tough childhood and young life that would have defeated a
lesser
man. And gone on to great success
both here and abroad.
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