Doug Henning

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Illusionist Doug Henning

Douglas James Henning (May 3, 1947 – February 7, 2000) was a Canadian magician, illusionist and escape artist.

He is credited with reviving the magic show as a form of mass entertainment in North America, beginning in the 1970s. Henning changed the image of the stage magician when he rejected such stereotypical costume accessories as the tuxedo, top hat, thin moustache, goatee, and short hair. He opted instead for long hair, a bushy moustache, and bright multicoloured casual clothes, which gave him a distinctively flamboyant image.

Early career

Doug Henning was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and grew up in Oakville, Ontario, attending Oakville-Trafalgar High School.

He performed his first show at the age of 14 at the birthday party of a friend and was inspired by his audience's spellbound reaction. Within a few months of placing an ad in a local newspaper, he launched a series of performances on local television in Toronto, and as an entertainer at parties. He graduated from McMaster University with studies in psychology and perception.

Career as magician

Shortly after college, Henning was awarded a Canada Council for the Arts grant. The terms of the grant required Henning to study magic. He did so, travelling to view firsthand the talents of magic greats like Slydini and Dai Vernon.

With the intention of returning magic to its “glory days”, Henning worked to perfect his craft. Garnering financial support, he developed a live theatrical show: Spellbound, directed by Ivan Reitman, with music by Howard Shore and co-starring actress Jennifer Dale, a musical that combined an intense storyline and Henning's magic tricks. The show opened in Toronto and broke box office ticket records in that city. Henning reworked his show after catching the attention of New York producers, and took it to Broadway as The Magic Show, with songs composed by Stephen Schwartz. Debuting in 1974, the show ran for four and a half years earning Henning a Tony Award nomination.

Following his Broadway success, Henning was approached by NBC to produce a television special. He spent the next eight months reworking his act for television. Debuting in December 1975, Doug Henning's World of Magic captured the attention of more than 50 million viewers. For the following seven years, Doug Henning continued his once-a-year broadcasts, ultimately receiving seven Emmy nominations.

Henning relocated to Los Angeles, California in 1976, and created his own production company. He would later create stage effects for music videos and concerts performed by musicians such as Earth, Wind and Fire and Michael Jackson.

One of Henning's greatest strengths was presentation: His natural exuberance and his colorful costumes and props could make very old illusions seem new, and make simple tricks seem like miracles.

His "Zig Zag" illusion is housed at the American Museum of Magic.

Henning divorced Barbara De Angelis in 1981, and married Debby Douillard in Fairfield, Iowa in December of that year. A talented artist herself, Douillard spent much of her married life accompanying her husband on tour, co-starring on stage, and helping to design sets and costumes.

In 1983, Henning was the producer and star of a short-lived Broadway musical called Merlin, based on the character from Arthurian legend. Henning's role was spoofed in an Animaniacs sketch, "Sir Yaksalot".

He also wrote a biography of Harry Houdini entitled "Houdini: His Legend and His Magic" by Doug Henning and Charles R. Reynolds. (Softcover, Publisher: Ballantine Books (Mm) Date Published: 1978 ISBN 9780446873284 ISBN: 0446873284)

Involvement with TM

Later, he abandoned his performance art in favour of studying Transcendental Meditation which, he claimed, enabled him to levitate. He also ran in the 1993 federal election in Canada as a candidate for the Natural Law Party, which proposed yogic flying as a solution to the problems of the nation. As the party's most famous candidate, he was so prominently featured in their television ads that many voters mistakenly thought he was the party's leader. The party was in fact led by Dr. Neil Paterson.

One of Henning's greatest ambitions was never realized in his lifetime. In the 1990s Henning joined forces with Transcendental Meditation founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to draft plans for a fantastical billion-dollar project called Maharishi Veda Land that was to be situated near Niagara Falls, Ontario and would "combine astonishing, unique visual and sensory effects, state-of-the-art 3D imagery, and ultra high-tech entertainment technology with his best and most original magic illusion secrets". Maharishi Veda Land was conceived as a magical Himalayan setting where visitors would be wowed with theatrical presentations of ancient Vedic stories and “the deepest secrets of the universe", while ingesting organic vegetarian burgers and snacks. Attractions would have included a building seemingly suspended above water without supports, a "magic flying chariot" that took riders inside the molecular structure of a rose, and robots that would fly through the air, performing magic tricks.

Henning's signature parting words from The World of Magic were: "Anything the mind can conceive is possible. Nothing is impossible. All you have to do is look within and you can realize your fondest dreams. I would like to wish each one of you all of life's wonders and a joyful age of enlightenment."

Death

Henning died in Los Angeles in 2000, five months after being diagnosed with liver cancer.

See also

• American Museum of Magic

External links

• Doug Henning's Obituary in the National Post, U.K.
• Doug Henning's bio from his alma mater McMaster University
• Canadian Walk of Fame
• Biography of Doug Henning - Spellbound: The Wonder-filled Life of Doug Henning (includes an Illusionography and complete synopses of The Magic Show and Merlin)
• Doug Henning at IMDb