10 Facts About Carl Ballantine

Carl Ballantine has been credited with creating comedy magic and has influenced comedians and magicians alike.

Carl Ballantine was born Meyer Kessler in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Israel Kessler and Rose Cohen, both Jewish immigrants from Borshchiv, Ukraine, and Russian Poland.

Carl Ballantine was billed as "The Amazing Mr Ballantine" when he played the New York Capitol in 1950, and "The Great Ballantine" in The Ed Sullivan Show and The Steve Allen Show on television in the 1950s and 1960s.

Carl Ballantine was the first magician to play Las Vegas, appearing on a bill with Harry James, Betty Grable, and Sammy Davis Jr.

Carl Ballantine was a supporting player on the show, working with stars Ernest Borgnine, Joe Flynn, and Tim Conway.

Carl Ballantine guest-starred on The Partridge Family, I Dream of Jeannie as a used car salesman, and on The Monkees episode "The Audition" which aired on January 23,1967.

Carl Ballantine made his only appearance on Broadway as Lycus the slave merchant in the 1972 revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum starring Phil Silvers.

Carl Ballantine died on November 3,2009, at age 92 at his home in Hollywood, California.

Carl Ballantine won the Academy of Magical Arts' Special Fellowship in 1973, Performing Fellowship in 1984, and the "Louie" Award from Tannen's Magic in 1985.

Carl Ballantine's was the most copied act by a host of amateurs and professionals.