S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

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Richard Lane
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S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby Richard Lane » December 21st, 2004, 6:30 pm

I've thrown together a temporary page of frames grabbed from out-takes that never made it into a 1932 newsreel.

Hopefully someone can help me positively I. D. one fellow and if you have any idea who the other folks are, I'd love to hear from you.

Or, if you happen to have easy access to a contemporary M.U.M. covering the event, a list of attendees will make sure I'm not overlooking any notables hovering in the background shots.

http://cityedgefilms.com/convention.html

(The images are large and may take a while to load.)

This was the 5/29/32 S.A.M. convention in Detroit, Werner C. Dornfield the current President.

Primarily, can anyone confirm this is T. Nelson Downs? I may be projecting need over knowledge. He smokes cigars if that's any help!
Image

And for sheer curiosity, who is this card guy on the right of John Mulholland and Nate Leipzig? The camera man asks him, "Is your name Paul?" as the scene ends.
Image


Again, I'd greatly appreciate any help and perhaps you'll also enjoy poring over these frames. If this goes well I may post scenes from some other anonymous clips that need experts eyes, such as an inaugural PCAM meeting.

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Re: S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby Guest » December 21st, 2004, 6:41 pm

The fellow in the middle of the bottom pic is Nate Leipzig.

Kent Blackmore
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Re: S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby Kent Blackmore » December 21st, 2004, 7:27 pm

It sure looks like Downs in the top photo. And behind him is Harlan Tarbell.

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Re: S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby Guest » December 21st, 2004, 7:36 pm

Possible , that in the first photo, the man on the right, with only his lower face,(goatee/mustache?) showing, with the white hat, might be Rajah Raboid.

Richard Lane
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Re: S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby Richard Lane » December 21st, 2004, 7:58 pm

Many thanks everyone.
Diego, I sent you a clearer, full face version.

gfajuri
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Re: S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby gfajuri » December 22nd, 2004, 7:16 am

The magician on the left on your web page (the one holding the dove) was a lawyer and magician from Detroit who performed a silk act. His name was Walter Domzalski. He was well known in the 20's and 30's in Detroit, and wrote for the Sphinx on occasion, I believe (mostly for the Detroit SAM assembly).

In the background of the second photo with Domzalski, you can easily spot Al Saal. His Dumbo-like ears are peeking out from behind one of the kids in front of the magic table. Saal was an undertaker from Toledo, Ohio, an excellent cigarette manipulator, and a hand shadow artist.

It's hard to tell from the profile shot in the last frame on your site, but the magician there appears to be Lester Lake.

How would one go about seeing this footage?

Regards,

Gabe Fajuri

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Glenn Farrington
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Re: S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby Glenn Farrington » December 22nd, 2004, 9:41 am

Gabe is right about the last Frame. It is indeed Lester Lake or professionally known as Marvello: The Worlds Most Mystifying Magician.

I have many items and photos that belonged to Lester, the profile is absolutely his.
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Michael Edwards
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Re: S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby Michael Edwards » December 22nd, 2004, 1:50 pm

I believe the individual wearing glasses shown on the far left of the top photograph may well be Royal Heath, a New York stockbroker who was an expert in mathematics. The gentleman on the right of Mulholland and Leipzig in the lower picture looks to be Paul Noffke, a very talented manipulation artist known for his card flourishes, thimble routine, and handkerchief productions.

As for Gabe's comments about Walter Domzalski, "Dom" played a particularly pivotal role during that convention, hosting an informal show in the little theater at his home before the ceremonies really got underway and opening the main event with his "Fantasy in Silk."

For the record (and for your convenience), here are a few of the most notable individuals who were in attendance at that annual meeting:

Dorny
Tommy Downs
Harry Blackstone
Royal Vilas
Bernard Ernst
Max Holden
Al Saal
Laurie Ireland
Boris Zola
Joe Berg
Al Munroe
Eugene Laurent
EE Sugarman
Nate Leipzig
Herb Leizig (Nate's nephew)
Jimmy Martin
Monk Watson
Johnny Platt
Russ Walsh
Tony Novak
Johnny Jones
Lester Lake
EJ Moore
Amand
CH Larsen
IL Altman
AG Steen
John Mulholland
WR Walsh
Harlen Tarbell
William Endlich
James Brewer
C Elliott Smith
Mary Schwartz
Paul Noffke
Frank Pavlik
Shirley Quimby
Joe Lightner
Elmer Eckham
William McCaffrey
Harry Redan
Eva Silber
Walter Schwartz
AWC Brumfield
Royal Heath
H. Adrian Smith
Bertram Adams
Dariel Fitzkee
Harry Rouclere
Leo Rullman
John Matthews

Hope this helps! :eek:

Jim Maloney_dup1
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Re: S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby Jim Maloney_dup1 » December 22nd, 2004, 2:03 pm

I can't help much with identifying folks, but I'd be interested to know where you got this footage, and if there was any way I could obtain a copy of the video, specifically the parts pertaining to Nate Leipzig.

Thanks,
Jim

Richard Lane
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Re: S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby Richard Lane » December 22nd, 2004, 3:56 pm

The breadth of knowledge on this forum matches the deep generosity of its members. Thank you to all, including Dennis Laub who also identified Walter Domzalski.

Apologies to anyone using Netscape who tried the web site and found a jumble of pictures and texts. How a quickie page ground out using Netscape's Composer program only works properly when browsed via its rival,MS Explorer is a mystery to me.

I received these clips on a screener from a stock footage house. I collated pretty much every pre-1960 magic-esque sequence they had to offer, safe in the knowledge that any unidentified magician would probably have to be pretty good to merit a thirties film crew cranking the shutter.

Among the anonymous magicians traped in the archive vaults:

Fred Kaps in super-super slow motion. Tarbell with a blindfold act. Dunninger out-takes. Blackstone out-takes. A 1930's exposure sequence including a slow-mo demo of the vanishing birdcage. The afore-mentioned PCAM innagural meeting (done for laughs.) Don Alan introducing executives in a ceramics convention film. Thurston pulling a pencil out of Louis B. Mayer's nose. Even Hannusen.

I don't own the footage and the screener is provided as a means to decide how many seconds are needed for a project. For this type of material,the usual starting quote is about $1000 a minute for worldwide rights. I needed the Dunninger shots and luckily, thanks to this forum I found Tommy Downs too.

Much as I'd like to make this footage available the licensee prohibits it. I'd be happy to answer any questions off the forum.

It does make me ponder, that on these pages,and elsewhere, the valid fascination with fictional magicians tends to overshadow the availabilty and concern for vintage clips of genuine masters in action.

I'd also like a DVD of "The Magician." But I'd much prefer a compilation from the early part the last century.

Michael Pascoe
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Re: S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby Michael Pascoe » January 7th, 2021, 5:21 pm

gfajuri wrote:The magician on the left on your web page (the one holding the dove) was a lawyer and magician from Detroit who performed a silk act. His name was Walter Domzalski. He was well known in the 20's and 30's in Detroit, and wrote for the Sphinx on occasion, I believe (mostly for the Detroit SAM assembly).

In the background of the second photo with Domzalski, you can easily spot Al Saal. His Dumbo-like ears are peeking out from behind one of the kids in front of the magic table. Saal was an undertaker from Toledo, Ohio, an excellent cigarette manipulator, and a hand shadow artist.

It's hard to tell from the profile shot in the last frame on your site, but the magician there appears to be Lester Lake.

How would one go about seeing this footage?

Regards,

Gabe Fajuri


I am having trouble pulling up these images because it was so long ago. Do you have any info on Walter Domzalski? Did he do a dove act? I am collecting info on the Modern Dove Act. Anything you can share will help.

Andy Galloway
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Re: S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby Andy Galloway » January 14th, 2021, 7:39 pm

In the early 2000s I was at several Magic Circle Heritage Days and at one John Fisher showed an extract from a newsreel taken at an early American convention where Nate Leipzig performed his Cigars From Purse routine for John Mulholland. It could have been the one at Detroit in 1932.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby Richard Kaufman » January 14th, 2021, 8:53 pm

Andy, I would love to see that footage of Leipzig! Thanks for the information.
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Andy Galloway
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Re: S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby Andy Galloway » January 14th, 2021, 9:34 pm

Richard it was exciting to not only see Leipzig do the trick, but to also hear him talk to John Mulholland who was at a British Ring convention I attended in the 1960s. I have often wondered who else was on that newsreel which may still exist in an archive somewhere.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby Richard Kaufman » January 15th, 2021, 10:47 am

It might have been British Pathe.
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Re: S.A.M. Detroit 1932: Who are these guys?

Postby Andy Galloway » January 21st, 2021, 9:08 pm

Or one of the American companies like Fox Movietone, Paramount or March Of Time. Maybe John Fisher would know.


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