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The spirits do come back, if you stay for the second show. 1915 poster advertising an appearance by the magician Howard Thurston (1869-1936), the "King of Cards." Strobridge Lithography, Cincinnati & New York. View full size.
I came across this site while looking up my biological grandfather, Frank A. Thurston. My biological father was Charles Thurston, a.k.a. Chucky. My brother and I were put into foster care back in the early 80's. Any info regarding my biological family would be great. I have led a very interesting life and would like to know a little more about my bloodlines.
Just to let you know, Howard Thurston the magician had no biological children but adopted Jane as his daughter when he married her mother when she was 5. I am his great-great-great niece; he was my grandpa's grandpa's brother.
My dad, Frank A. Thurston, said that Howard is my great-great-uncle as well, I think he had a lot of groupies. Most of the magic today is his patents. He had 13 train boxcars of tools of his trade. His daughter died in San Diego several years ago.
Thurston is covered quite extensively in the book The Greatest Team Ever. There are even depictions of two of his shows.
I just recently found out that I am the great-grandson of Thurston the Great. I was born in West Virginia and I have some basic information. My father is still alive and knew of Thurston but only as a young boy (Dadr was born in 1924). Thurston had two sons and five daughters according to my family tree.
Feel free to contact me at thereisnospoon AT charter.net (remove the AT and put in the @ )
Larry Thomas
Hi my name is Michelle Thurston and I am a descendant also. He was my great-great-uncle on my father's side. My dad is Frank E. Thurston Jr. I have a magic book of Howard Thurstons. I am 42 years old and have six children. Good luck on your report. We must be related in some way.
Sincerely
Michelle Thurston Morton
I am Kassidy Thurston, a descendant of Thurston the Great, and am doing a presentation on him for my third-grade class. If anyone has information that may be able to help me out with this project I would really appreciate it. Thank you very much,
Kassidy Thurston
P.S. any information can be sent to my mom at kim_thurston@yahoo.com
[There are lots of articles about him the the New York Times archive at nytimes.com. Just search for "Howard Thurston." There's an item about him hypnotizing a goose. - Dave]
There is a very cool breakfast/lunch cafe in Calhoun, Georgia dedicated to Thurston the Magician. This poster, and many, many others decorate the walls, and the bouquets at each table appear to be popping out of a magic wand. They serve great homemade desserts, sandwiches and coffee drinks, and the building has exposed brick walls, the original wooden floors and lots of charm.
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