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In his mid-teens, Larry sees his first magic—a four
ace trick.
At age 16, while in Detroit, Larry joins the United
States Navy. He starts his service on June 29, 1949 and is honorably
discharged on April 22, 1953. He proudly serves aboard
Naval Boat #US 839.
While in the Navy, a fellow sailor shows Larry a
trick. Larry keeps pestering the sailor to teach him the trick and
after a while he relents.
After his discharge, Larry moves to Detroit and
meets a French-Canadian woman named Nina Chauvin. She lives across the
border in Windsor, Ontario with her eleven-year-old daughter, Sheila.
Larry moves to Windsor and the two are married.
In 1956, while in Windsor, Ron Wilson
moves in across the hall from Larry. It is Ron who introduces Larry to
the world of magic. Larry has a unique way of meeting his neighbors.
First, he places his trashcan in front of someone’s door; then he
knocks on the door to ask if the neighbor has taken his trashcan. It is
in this manner that Larry meets Ron. Larry comes over and asks Ron if
he has a deck of cards. He then proceeds to show Ron the trick he had
learned in the Navy. Afterwards, not knowing Ron is a magician, Larry
asks him if he knows any magic. Ron then shows Larry “Out of This
World,” which completely fools him. He asks Ron to teach him the
effect, but Ron resists. Instead, he tells him to think about it. Larry
eventually figures it out and Ron continues to teach him magic,
introducing him to the magic of Edward Marlo and Dai Vernon.
Larry joins the Windsor
Magic Circle.
Larry’s
job as a combustion engineer has him watching a boiler to make sure
that the pressure doesn’t get too high. So, basically he has nothing to
do but practice. He practices the coins through table so much that he
eventually makes a groove in the table.
In the early 1960s, Larry and Ron Wilson meet Dai
Vernon for the first time at a convention in Cleveland. Besides seeing
the Professor perform they also get to spend a little time with him,
sharing a walk back to the hotel.
Larry would walk around the conventions he attends
with a deck of cards in his hands asking, “Are there any cardmen here?”
During the stage shows, Larry would practice faro shuffles.
In 1961 at the Columbus MagiFest, Larry meets a
cardman who shares his interests—Bruce Cervon. They become instant
friends, sharing their knowledge and discussing the works of Marlo and
Vernon. They subsequently meet at the MagiFest for the next two years
and correspond with one another between conventions. At one of these
conventions, Larry sees the card to wallet for the first time.
Performed by Walt Rollins, it completely fools him. After everybody
leaves, Larry picks up the envelope used and checks it for rubber
cement.
In the early 1960s, Larry’s mother dies.
In 1964, Karrell Fox tells Larry about the Magic
Castle. Knowing that Dai Vernon now lives in Hollywood, Larry quits his
job as a combustion engineer and he and Nina move to California. They
live at 2005 Ivar Street, Apt. 7.
In Hollywood, Larry gets a job working for Leo
Behnke’s father in the plumbing repair business.
Larry quickly becomes friends with Dai
Vernon and studies under him.
In September 1964, Larry’s first published ideas,
“A Snappy Lift” and “Lift No. 2,” appear in a letter from Dai Vernon to
The Gen magazine.
During this time,
Larry, Dai Vernon, Charlie Miller, Ron Wilson, and Tony
Giorgio would regularly play poker with the provision that you could
cheat. However, if you got caught you would have to forfeit your pot
and leave the table. At one game, Larry grabs Giorgio’s hand to reveal
a palmed card.
In July 1967, Larry publishes his first set of
lecture notes,
Lecture Notes On Card And Coin Handling. These
notes are written by his wife, Nina. Larry gives this lecture at the
Kansas City Jubilee, traveling there with Dai Vernon and Ron Wilson.
In this same year, a collection of Larry’s magic
appears in Dai Vernon’s Ultimate Secrets Of Card Magic.
In 1969, Larry travels with Dai Vernon on his
lecture tour of Japan. Here he meets Hideo Kato who acts as their
interpreter.
In 1970, a second set of notes are published for a
special lecture Larry gives at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Again,
they are written by his wife, Nina.
Larry’s one-man issue of
Genii is published in May 1970. The effects are
written by Jules Lenier.
In 1970, Hideo Kato comes to America and studies
card magic with Larry. He writes a book on Larry’s card technique
entitled
Larry Jennings-No Card Magic Nyuumon. Written in
Japanese, the book has yet to be translated into English.
Larry and Nina get divorced in the early 1970s.
In the mid-1970s, Larry meets his second wife,
Geri, in Los Angeles. They are married and move to Lake Tahoe, where he
opens up his own plumbing company, Jenco. They are later divorced.
Larry dates a real estate agent named Greta.
In the mid-1970s, Karl Fulves publishes a special
two-part issue of Epilogue featuring Larry’s magic.
Larry meets B.J. in Lake
Tahoe in 1977,
where she works as a blackjack
dealer at a casino Larry frequents.
Larry meets Jeff Busby who releases the effects Stabbed
Coincidence and
The Coin And Beer Can as well as the book
Larry Jennings On Card And Coin Handling (1977).
While in Tahoe, Larry performs after hours in the
Baccarat pits for the pit bosses. He is so popular that he is hired to
do private shows by the high rollers who come into town.
In 1979, Larry is the guest of honor at the annual
Fechter’s Finger Flicking Frolic. He presents a new lecture
for the event.
Following his appearance at Fechter’s, Larry is
invited to lecture in Japan. The
Japan Lecture Notes are produced for the occasion.
These are put together by B.J. and Louis Falanga.
In the early
1980s Larry sells his business in Lake Tahoe and moves to Newport
Beach, CA to work at the Magic Island. Larry is the
resident magician and is placed in charge of booking. He
tries to get higher pay for the magicians and when the management
refuses, he quits.
Larry moves in with James Patton and the two
frequently have sessions. Jim convinces Larry to do another lecture and
in 1982, Larry lectures at the Magic Castle, presenting the material
from
A Visit With Larry
Jennings.
Larry goes
to work for the Los Angeles Unified School District and moves to North
Hollywood.
In the early 1980s, Larry goes to France and shoots
his first magic videos for Pierre Mayer.
In 1986, Larry and Louis Falanga start L&L
Publishing.
In April of 1986, Larry Jennings and Dai Vernon are
invited to perform at the Circulo De Magios Maxicanos IV Convencion De
Magia in Mexico.
In 1986,
The Classic Magic Of Larry Jennings is released. It
is the largest collection of Larry’s magic to date, containing over
eighty effects.
This is quickly followed by the publication of
Neoclassics (1987) and
The Cardwright (1988).
Larry
and B.J. are wed on December 28th, 1990. Michael Skinner
is the best man.
During the 1990s, Larry continues to share his
magic with two new sets of lecture notes and five videotapes.
In 1995, Larry is awarded the
Creative Fellowship by the Academy of Magical Arts.
Larry continues to frequent the Magic Castle,
performing both formally and informally.
Larry and B.J. continue to live in North Hollywood
until his death on October 17, 1997 at age sixty-four.
Since his death, Larry’s magic continues to inspire
with the publication of his effects in various magazines and most
notably in Richard Kaufman’s book,
Jennings
’67.
It is the largest collection of Larry’s magic since The
Classic Magic Of Larry Jennings.
In 1998,
Larry Jennings is one of the topics studied at the Escorial in Spain.
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