June 6th is known as “Magic Day” in Winnipeg, Canada. It’s also a date the commemorates the founding of the International Brotherhood of Magicians in 1922. How does Doug connect to all of this? Well, on June 6, 1986 Doug participated in an appropriately flashy dedication of a plaque at the Brotherhood’s old Winnipeg headquarters…
Category: Appearances
Winnipeg Illusion and Reality Ad-Sept 1977
The above ad was when Doug took his “Illusion & Reality” tour to his hometown of Winnipeg, Canada for a September 16, 1977 appearance. The venue itself was the famed Winnipeg Convention Center. Built in 1975, a massive 180 million dollar expansion has since doubled the size of the building and rebranded it the RBC…
Doug Performance Photos- Pittsburgh May, 1981
These phenomenal pictures come from the collection of magician Tom Interval. They were taken by him at Pittsburgh’s Stanley Theater on May 5, 1981, and really give you a sense of the drama and artistry that went in to all of Doug’s performances. While all of us have seen these two illusions on television before….
1985 Fox Theater St. Louis Dancing Handkerchief Photo
There’s a lot to love in this photo of Doug and Debbie performing the always fun “Dancing Handkerchief” routine. This was taken at St. Louis’s Fox Theater circa 1985, and really shows the fun the two were having performing this famous illusion. A dancing handkerchief, or a picture, really does speak a thousand words! Special…
1985 Doug Henning/Tom Jones Playbill
Special Thanks to Ken McCreedy
Pantages Retrospective: Part 5
Well, the lights have turned on, the show is over, and it’s time to leave the theater doors, and venture back out into the dreaded real world. I can only imagine this is how audiences must have felt at the end of each Pantages “World of Magic” show, but what a high they must have…
Pantages Retrospective: Part 4
As promised, here are more newspaper interviews with Doug that served to barrage the Los Angeles public that, yes, he was indeed in town. The 1981 shows were, obviously, a real event and something of a hot ticket. People’s memories and newspaper articles only do so much, and seeing film footage of the show would…
Pantages Retrospective: Part 3
While at the Pantages Doug sat down with Danielle Roter of the “Los Angeles Herald Examiner.” This interview originally appeared on October 16, 1981, and includes a review of the show at the end. It also has the distinction of being one of the most serious and non-smiling expressions on Doug’s face that I’ve ever…
Pantages Performances Retrospective
Over the past four years I’ve had the pleasure of featuring items from Doug’s various performances at Hollywood’s famed Pantages Theater. Known for being one of Los Angeles’s premier theatrical venues, it has been home to hundreds of Broadway shows, film premieres, concerts, and the Oscars. So, it goes without saying that in his career…
John Davidson/Doug Henning Show Ads
Special Thanks to Glenn Alai
“Sahara Tahoe” Show Ads
The advertisements below show how popular Doug was at that time within the casino/theater circuit. So much so, that they seemed to have an interchangeable drawing of his head to stick with any additional celebrity performing there that week. The Sahara Tahoe was a sister hotel to its more famous Vegas counterpart, and is now…
Korvettes Ad: “Magic Show” Record Signing with Doug
Special Thanks to Michael Healy
“The Rock N’Fun Magic Show” Advertisement-1975
Get rid of those Monday blues with this vintage 1975 newspaper advertisement for the “Rock N’ Fun Magic Show” on NBC 4 in New York. The show itself was hosted by actor Jeff Mylett, featured sitting next to Doug, who at that time was the understudy for Doug in “The Magic Show.” The special was…
Las Vegas Hilton Showroom Card
Sorry for the long gap in between posts folks. As I mentioned, I’ve been recovering from a pinched nerve in my neck, and today’s been the first day I can sort of type. So, what delights do we have today? Oh, how about this gem of a postcard from the Las Vegas Hilton Showroom? Is…
Orlando Tupperware Auditorium Ad
This ad was recently passed onto me, however I’m not really sure what the year was for it. As we all know, Doug toured almost endlessly in his career, and it’s sometimes hard to peg down when and where performances took place. However, with a name like the “Tupperware Auditorium,” you can guarantee this performance…
Kiel Opera House Advertisement
The above advertisement was printed on June 1, 1980 in the “St. Louis Post-Dispatch.” The Kiel Opera House, now known as the Stifel Theatre, was opened in 1934 and enjoyed a healthy and long life until it was closed under financial disagreements in 1991. Reopening in 2011, the theater seems to be back to its…
Henning “Animaniacs” Appearance
Welcome back from Thanksgiving folks! Did you know that Doug Henning appeared on Steven Spielberg’s beloved 90s cartoon series “Animaniacs?’ Or more to the point, a suspiciously Doug like character named “Merlin!” To be truthful, I haven’t seen this episode before. But, if I were a betting man, I’d say someone on that writing staff…
TV Guide Close Up- World of Magic VI
Special Thanks to Pesci Sutta
1985 All-Stars of Magic Charity Event Photo-Alternative Angle
While this “1985 All-Stars of Magic” photo was featured in an earlier post, this version is of a different angle. Organized by Lance Burton and Fielding West, this one night only event featured a who’s who of magic to raise money for hunger in Africa. Fielding himself can now be seen on the far right hand…
1985 All-Stars of Magic Charity Event Photo
The 1985 picture is certainly one of the more famous pictures in terms of magic all-stars. Organized by Lance Burton and Fielding West, this one night only event featured a who’s who of magic to raise money for hunger in Africa. No one can argue that this photo certainly captured a rare moment in time that…
1986 Providence Performing Arts Ctr. Ad
Recently Michael Whitecar was kind enough to pass on this item from his collection to me. I had been wondering what the year may have been for this appearance, but I suspected it was from Doug’s last and smaller tour. Then I remembered a couple years ago I posted a commercial of a later tour,…
I.B.M. Plaque Unveiling Color Photos
The following photographs come from the collection of Dean Gunnarson, and feature Doug at the 1986 plaque unveiling ceremony commemorating the first location of the I.B.M headquarters in Winnipeg. For those unfamiliar, I.B.M. is the abbreviation for the esteemed organization the “International Brotherhood of Magicians.” While I have featured this event before, never have I…
1970s Hilton Marquee Photo Slide
The above image is from the collection of Michael Whitecar, and shows the famous Las Vegas Hilton and its marquee in its 1970s former glory. What’s that in the second billing? Oh yeah, some guy named Doug Henning. Anyway, the Hilton is legendary in terms of its stature in old Vegas and the level of…
Doug on the Disney Easter Parade
First of all let me say that I know the quality of these clips is well, really lacking, but hey it’s Doug and Debby performing on the Walt Disney World Easter Parade. What choice do I have? There’s some really good stuff to be had here. From the Zombie Ball to Metamorphosis, it’s really a…
Pantages Newspaper Ad
This newspaper ad comes from Hollywood’s famed Pantages theater and highlights Doug’s public performing debut on the West Coast. Doug performed several times at the Pantages over his career, and this ad is unique in the sense in that it highlights the more mysterious aspects of his stage persona. I’m sure we’ve all seen the…
I.B.M. 1986 Plaque Dedication
Well, here we are again. Thanks for your patience while the website was on a two week hiatus. Every now and then, less magical and less interesting “real life” duties sometimes take precedence. Without further ado, let us travel back to June 6, 1986 when Doug unveiled a bronze plaque marking the original location of…
Vintage 1985 Variety Ad
This ad was featured in Variety on October 16, 1985 and, as you can read, thanks Doug for 8 successful shows at the O’Keefe Centre in Toronto. Doug was always a powerhouse touring machine, and this ad proves that well into the 1980s he was still highly in demand. Anyone out there want to tackle how…
Steve Cohen Remembers
Steve Cohen of “Chamber Magic” at “The Lotte New York Palace” reached out to me recently with his fond remembrance of the profound impact Doug had on him at a young age. Take it away Steve! “Hi Neil, I was going through some old files and found an autographed Doug Henning photo from the early…
Another Random Doug Sighting!
This photo hails from Doug fan Jeff Horton and was taken at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, CT in the mid-1980s. I’ll let Jeff elaborate on the events that led up to this: “Doug was unable to say hello to a group of magicians outside of the Bushnell theater in Hartford, CT earlier…
THE DOUG HENNING PROJECT 