Ted Annemann and His Practical Mental Magic
Ted Annemann (1907-1942) is one of the most distinguished figures in the world of mentalism and mental magic.
Along with Tony Corinda, Annemann's work is considered a must-read for anyone wanting to start out in mentalism.
The most popular collections of his many mentalism effects is published as Practical Mental Magic, a book you will find on any serious magician or mentalist's bookshelf.
When you hear Annemann's name spoken by people in the mentalism world you will always hear it twinned with words like 'genius', 'legend', even 'hero'.
Whether or not this is a fair representation of the man is debatable.
Without question, Practical Mental Magic has been, and still is, required reading for anyone interested in performing and creating their own mentalism acts.
But it is fair to say that Annemann, the man, was not without his faults.
Despite creating and publishing (the two don't necessarily always go together) hundreds of awe-inspiring mentalism magic tricks, Annemann had a hard time performing them for large audiences.
He suffered terribly from stage fright and turned to the bottle and drugs to overcome his nerves.
Consequently, most of Annemann's magic tricks are designed to be performed for small groups, such as a dinner party.
The problem for Annemann was that working magicians, who bought original magic tricks, wanted spectacular effects to perform on stage in front of large audiences.
In addition, to earn money Annemann would have to find an agent and get bookings for theatre performances.
This is difficult to do if you don't want to perform on stage! Annemann was prone to depression and his failure to find work and the fame that goes with it took its toll psychologically.
He was once so jealous of the vastly more popular Joseph Dunninger that he called on some press agents Dunninger had performed a publicity trick for and told them all how it was done.
He even brought along the gimmicked chalkboard used in the trick and showed them all how it worked! On another occasion, Annemann was caught putting metal slugs in a New York subway turnstile.
His defense was that the 'coins' were special magic gimmicks he'd mistaken for real money.
It is very difficult to believe this was a genuine mistake as gimmicked coins don't look like metal slugs.
A combination of stage fright, alcoholism, drug abuse and financial worries took their tragic toll on Annemann resulting in him taking his own life in 1942.
Whatever you think of Ted Annemann the man, it is beyond question that his contribution to the art of mentalism was great.
Practical Mental Magic was published posthumously and serves as a tribute to the man to this very day.
If you are serious about getting started in mentalism and mental magic, this book is unquestionably a must-have.
Along with Tony Corinda, Annemann's work is considered a must-read for anyone wanting to start out in mentalism.
The most popular collections of his many mentalism effects is published as Practical Mental Magic, a book you will find on any serious magician or mentalist's bookshelf.
When you hear Annemann's name spoken by people in the mentalism world you will always hear it twinned with words like 'genius', 'legend', even 'hero'.
Whether or not this is a fair representation of the man is debatable.
Without question, Practical Mental Magic has been, and still is, required reading for anyone interested in performing and creating their own mentalism acts.
But it is fair to say that Annemann, the man, was not without his faults.
Despite creating and publishing (the two don't necessarily always go together) hundreds of awe-inspiring mentalism magic tricks, Annemann had a hard time performing them for large audiences.
He suffered terribly from stage fright and turned to the bottle and drugs to overcome his nerves.
Consequently, most of Annemann's magic tricks are designed to be performed for small groups, such as a dinner party.
The problem for Annemann was that working magicians, who bought original magic tricks, wanted spectacular effects to perform on stage in front of large audiences.
In addition, to earn money Annemann would have to find an agent and get bookings for theatre performances.
This is difficult to do if you don't want to perform on stage! Annemann was prone to depression and his failure to find work and the fame that goes with it took its toll psychologically.
He was once so jealous of the vastly more popular Joseph Dunninger that he called on some press agents Dunninger had performed a publicity trick for and told them all how it was done.
He even brought along the gimmicked chalkboard used in the trick and showed them all how it worked! On another occasion, Annemann was caught putting metal slugs in a New York subway turnstile.
His defense was that the 'coins' were special magic gimmicks he'd mistaken for real money.
It is very difficult to believe this was a genuine mistake as gimmicked coins don't look like metal slugs.
A combination of stage fright, alcoholism, drug abuse and financial worries took their tragic toll on Annemann resulting in him taking his own life in 1942.
Whatever you think of Ted Annemann the man, it is beyond question that his contribution to the art of mentalism was great.
Practical Mental Magic was published posthumously and serves as a tribute to the man to this very day.
If you are serious about getting started in mentalism and mental magic, this book is unquestionably a must-have.
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