Help to I.D. someone

[Pete Biro]

A message from the daugter of the late Paul Fox asked me to try to identify someone. She only had a date and the person's initials.

The initials are on a medal from: The Academy of the Art of Magic.

W.J.K. Elected 5-7-36. Do either of you know who W.J.K. might be? If not, is the medal worth anything even though the magician is unknown more or less? I believe this WJK medal has always been with my father's medal. Of course they were admitted on the same day.

[Guest]

Warren J. Keane

[Q. Kumber]

Warren Keane's Poker Demonstration is in The Magic of Faucett Ross by Lewis Ganson

[Pete Biro]

Many thanks, Noah, I have forwarded the information and you should hear from Mrs. Fox-Mandel soon.

[Bill Mullins]

He performed with Grace White in vaudeville.

[Jim Maloney_dup1]

I believe his name was actually J. Warren Keane -- may not be the same person we're looking for (initials in the wrong order).

Strange note, though: according to my records (a newspaper article from the time), the Academy of the Art of Magic was formed in mid-late July of 1936 by Leipzig, Cardini, Vernon, and other NY folks. While J. Warren Keane would certainly have been a member of that group, the date on the medal doesn't match up.

-Jim

[Craig Matsuoka]

Keane was one of the twelve founding members:
Al Baker
Cardini
Arthur Finley
Paul Fox
S. Leo Horowitz
G.W. Hunter
J. Warren Keane
Nate Leipzig
Max Malini
Charlie Miller
Garrick M. Spencer
Dai Vernon

[Alexander Crawford]

...the date on the medal doesn't match up

...unless for some reason a European date format was used?

[Jim Maloney_dup1]

Originally posted by Alexander Crawford:
...unless for some reason a European date format was used?

I thought about that, but I couldn't come up with any reason why it might be.

-Jim

[Guest]

What was the standard date format at that time? Was the person ordering the medals an European?
Steve V