Meeting Carl Ballantine

I got to meet Carl Ballantine last night! Yippee!

He gave an interview at the Magic Castle to talk about his career and his life in the field of magic. Do you know Carl Ballantine?

He's a magician (now 89 years old) who never performed any magic onstage. He billed himself as "The World's Greatest Magician," and then proved an utter failure as a magician by failing every trick he attempted to perform. It was the first comedy magic act. (He even pioneered the infamous "rubber chicken"!)

Ballantine was originally a vaudevillian who appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" a number of times, and later made appearances on virtually every variety show on television. He easily segued from doing comedy magic to straight acting.

Carl is best-known for his recurring role on "McHale's Navy." He later went on to play Broadway in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." I don't remember him from that show -- and frankly I don't know WHAT show I remember him from. I just know the name from some distant mists of my childhood, and it was a peculiar thrill to actually get to meet the man. Go figure!