Dick Brooks (magician)

Dick Brooks is considered a magician of renown by Focus Magazine.^[1]

Early years

As a teenager he joined a Department of Parks magic club headed up by the official magician of New York City, Abe Hurwitz (Peter Pan the Magic Man), who was also the father of the soon to be famous Shari Lewis with her puppet "Lamb Chop (puppet)". When Hurwitz left the Peter Pan Magic Club, the members wanted a more mature name after famous magician Carl Ballantine joked to the members, "I love your peanut butter!" Brooks came up with the name F.A.M.E., which stood for Future American Magical Entertainers, and the club lasted for many years thereafter. This laid the foundation for the Society of American Magicians, who at first did not allow youngsters to join, formed the Society of Young Magicians (S.Y.M.) for youngsters in 1984. In 1952 Tootsie Rolls took over sponsorship of The Paul Whiteman Teen Club at WFIL in Philadelphia.^[2] As a teenager he was booked by Skipper Dawes, who would later manage Eddie Fisher (singer), who after a New York audition instead of booking him as a contestant booked him as a regular performer doing commercials for Tootsie Rolls on the Paul Whiteman TV show Teen Club in faraway Philadelphia. Bobby Rydel got his start on the same show as a young drummer, as well as a 12-year-old Leslie Uggams. Without help from his parents, he traveled there weekends, after getting the script by mail. He was replaced by young up and coming 23-year-old announcer, Dick Clark. Clark would later do the Teen Bandstand, probably out of the same studios. In 1972 he appeared on The David Susskind Show about young comedians looking to get a break in Show ^[3] Business. When drafted into the Army he was placed in Special Service, the entertainment branch of the military.

The Magic Towne House

Brooks was founder along with Dorothy Dietrich, of the Magic Towne House ^[4] on the Upper East Side that presented magic in New York City for over 15 years.

According to William Dorflinger's book on magic history, The Magic Catalogue,^[5] "The Towne House is a discovery for magic lovers"... and Ray Carter (aka Dick Brooks (entertainer)) performs a wide range of magic effects also, and is well known for his demonstrations of ESP and mind reading."

Wanting a larger facility and a place to house his collection of Houdini memorabilia he opened The Houdini Museum ^[6] with Dorothy Dietrich in the Scranton- Wilkes-Barre-Pocono Mountain region of northeast Pennsylvania.

Imam would, after several years, break away and form his own competing club downtown in Greenwich Village. Dick Brooks along with partner Dorothy Dietrich resurrected Brother Theodore's career in the 1970s. Dick Brooks searched out Brother Theodore who he had seen perform in Greenwich Village years before, whose career had waned, to do several seasons of midnight shows at The Magic Towne House, and helped to bring him back to prominence that led to Theodore appearing on The Tom Snyder Tomorrow Show and a long series of TV and movie appearances. A picture of the Magic Towne House ad that appeared in local New York CityNewspapers such as the Village Voice and The New York post can be found at Shock Cinema Magazine at http://www.shockcinemamagazine.com/brother.html

Upon the closing of the Magic Towne House, performers who developed there, Michael Chaut and Peter Samelson along with others would later develop "Monday Night Magic" which still runs successfully in New York City.

Author and publisher Hocus Pocus Magazine

While at the Magic Towne House Dick Brooks conceived, edited and wrote a widely distributed 64 page magazine for magicians, "Hocus Pocus Magazine", for three years.

The Houdini Museum

He conceived and founded the Houdini Museum in Scranton, PA which was featured in the recent book The Hollywood Walk of Fame as a fun and mysterious institution. ^[7] It is said to be the only building in the world devoted to Houdini.

The Houdini Grave Site Restoration

On September 27, 2011 Dick Brookz of The Houdini Museum along with Dorothy Dietrich and Steve Moore, who later came to be known by the media as the Houdini Commandos secretly restored the missing statuary bust at Houdini's grave site that was destroyed by vandals in 1975. It was reported worldwide in a half page story in the New York Times.^[8]

Houdini consultant

Both TV and the press have utilized the service of Dick Brooks as consultant not including The Criss Angel show, hop, The Travel Channel,^[9] The New York Times,^[10] The London Times,^[11] Inside Magic^[12] and The New York Daily News.^[13] He appeared on the Travel Channel show Magic Road Trip, which played in the USA and on the CBC as well.^[14]

Magic consultant

He has acted as magic consultant for The New York Shakespeare Festival, Woody Allen's "The Magic Light Bulb" at New York's City Center, and Radio City Music Hall. Because of his reputation he also manages to get exclusive interviews with hard to reach celebrities such as Uri Geller. He is an author and inventor of several books and magical effects.

Appearances

Brooks has appeared in top venues such as Rainbow Grill at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC, The Americana Hotel in Puerto Rico for 3 months, held over, and returned and headlined Number One Fifth Ave in New York City (Barbra Streisand and Woody Allen also headlined there), the El Morocco in Montreal, repeatedly at New York's Living Room with Jack Jones, Lonnie Satin, and others, as well as Three Rivers in Detroit, Casa Seville in Long Island and a series of other top cabarets.

He has appeared on the same bill, usually the opening act, with Jack Jones, Jerry Vale, Lou Monte, George Kirby, Pat Cooper, Neil Sedaka, Bobby Darin, Don Cornell and others.

References