Tour and Show T-Shirts: Part One
Enjoy this plethora of vintage Henning T-shirt swag courtesy of Michael Whitecar. As you can see, each one truly represents a unique era and phase of Doug’s career. Collect that All!
1982 Cheerleader Cabinet Illusion
This illusion hails from the final “World of Magic” special, and features a variation on Guy Jarret’s original 21 person cabinet illusion. However, it wouldn’t be Doug Henning without some tweaks and flourishes courtesy of cheerleaders and a then Bruce Jenner. So, before the weekend starts, enjoy this very Doug Henning magical moment from 1982….
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…
Current New York Magazine “Magic Show” Article
You can’t say it’s very often these days that there is a new article on “The Magic Show.” Let alone one featured in “The Cut” from New Magazine. So, you can imagine my surprise when friend of the website Brian Lumley passed this onto me. It’s all about writer Christopher Bonanos’s first trip to see…
Doug Henning and Walter B. Gibson
The above image once again hails from the fine auction house of “Potter & Potter.” It’s from their upcoming June 16th David Baldwin auction, and in my opinion is a rare find indeed. The inscription reads: “To Walter Gibson–My favorite magical author. Magically yours, Doug Henning” Doug signed many autographs in his life, but this…
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…
Doug and Transcendental Meditation
This following article is reprinted from the website “India Today,” and was originally posted in 2013. While I don’t know when it was initially released prior to 2013, it’s a fascinating snapshot into Doug at the age of forty and his activities within Transcendental Meditation. (UPDATE: This article was published most likely in Fall of…
Ivan Reitman Spellbound Variety Ad
The above photo comes courtesy of Brian Lumley, but was given to him by Montreal based magician Blair Marshall. A big thank you to both. Some of you may know the fabled story of how Doug and director Ivan Reitman developed what would become “Spellbound” over a long rehearsal and fundraising period. However, when the…
A Doug Henning Prayer Candle???
You can toss this bit of recent merchandising into the “Never Before Seen” bin. Hailing from the “Astounding Magic Co.” of Washington DC,” this tongue and cheek prayer candle is part of a series that pays tribute to some of the greats of magic. Along with Houdini and Eusapia Palladino (a medium not a magician),…
Statue of the Pharaohs Illusion
To commemorate new “King Tut” exhibition that has opened in Los Angeles, I feel it’s more than appropriate to showcase this clip from Doug’s “Magic on Broadway” special. While I certainly can’t vouch for its historical authenticity it sure is fun to watch. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you next week!
Potter & Potter Auction Results
On April 28, 2018 the Chicago auction house “Potter and Potter” held a massive sale of various magic ephemera, apparatus, books, and advertising from the late-1800s to now. While the sale itself wasn’t very Doug-centric this lot managed to squeak by. The official summary went as follows: “460. Henning, Doug. Large Binder of Doug Henning…
Mystery Item!
This last item of the week from Michael Whitecar’s collection is a bit of a conundrum. While Michael believes it may be an early item from Doug’s career that he may have built himself, there is no provenance to prove it. So, lets get on our detective hats on this one. Does anyone here have…
Neil McNally on The Magic Word Podcast
Hello All, I wanted to let you know about a recent interview I did for Scott Wells’s excellent podcast “The Magic Word.” In it, we speak about the website itself, all kinds of Doug history, and the feature length documentary I am currently filming regarding his life and work. Yes that’s right. You heard me….
Rare Items from the Collection of Michael Whitecar
Some months ago, Doug fan and collector Michael Whitecar was generous enough to scan many, many items from his Doug collection for the website. I’ve been parceling them out over the last month or so, however I figured it was high time I devote some more time to them What you will be seeing here…
Genii Online Website Anniversary Article
For all those looking for a fun read to ease you into the weekend visit this timely article on “Genii Online.” In it, Grey Carter profiles the site’s one year anniversary in grand style. Please click on the link below for more: Genii Online Article So, thank you “Genii Online!” As always, your help and…
Happy Birthday Doug!
If you don’t already know, but you probably already do, today would have been Doug’s 71st birthday. While it’s hard to really know what a 21st-century Doug Henning would be up to, it’s not hard to guess that it would be innovative, boundary pushing, and fantastic! So, from “The Doug Henning Project,” Happy Birthday Doug…
Rare Photo Wednesday!
For all those looking to get past the Wednesday doldrums, enjoy these vintage pictures from Doug’s always busy life!
“The Doug Henning Project’s” First Anniversary!
One year ago today I began “The Doug Henning Project” with a post called “Why Doug Henning Matters!”I obviously believe that’s still the case, and the last year has proven that even more to me! It’s because of readers and fans like you that keep this website going. Your words of encouragement, collection pictures, memories,…
The Electric Company Magazine in Full
This June, 1976 “Electric Company Magazine” cover story is memorable for many reasons. Not least of which is Doug’s levitation illusion at the very top of the World Trade Center. A record feat in magic and risk taking no doubt! Now I know I have published the front cover in a previous post. However, Doug…
Doug as Chou Chou the Mime
This rare Canadian article from the early 1970s touches on a relatively unknown time in Doug’s career when he wasn’t known as Doug Henning at all. No, this was the time of Chou Chou, the shoe selling mime. As the article explains, Doug’s purpose in this 15 minute consumer presentation was to perform his various…
Jim Steinmeyer Interview: Part Four (Revisited)
The closing part of our interview with Jim covers an interesting, overlooked, and ultimately bittersweet time in the life of Doug. After retreating from the spotlight for many years, Doug had returned to Los Angeles with a seemingly renewed sense of vigor and love of magic. What this may or may not have lead to…
Jim Steinmeyer Interview: Part Three (Revisited)
What was your reaction the news that he was retiring from magic? It was a really difficult situation…We had wind of it. Doug was spending a lot of time with TM stuff…and we had no idea what would happen to the company…Doug would go “No, no, no I’m really working.” He was kind of sending…
Jim Steinmeyer Interview: Part 2 (Revisited)
What were your impressions of Doug’s as a person? The thing about it was that that was 100% him. He didn’t come offstage and put on a three-piece suit, put his feet up, smoke cigars, and say “Hey, what do you think of this hippy look? What do you think I should be doing?” There…
Jim Steinmeyer Interview: Part One (Revisited)
(To commemorate the website’s upcoming first anniversary, I thought it would be appropriate to dip into the vault and reprint some of the initial interviews that launched everything. So, in that spirit enjoy this interview with Jim Steinmeyer from our second week) For many in the world of magic the name Jim Steinmeyer conjures up fantastical…
The $1,000,000 Illusion
As we close out the week, I wanted to showcase the “1,000,000” illusion from Doug’s penultimate special “Magic on Broadway.” The special itself, shot at the time of “Merlin,” serves as a kind of greatest hits special sprinkled with new takes on old illusions and a myriad of special guests. Reuniting with Doug on stage…
A Moment for Harry Anderson
For the last few days the passing of Harry Anderson has been on my mind, as I’m sure it has with all of you. I had wanted to pay tribute in some way to Anderson’s tremendous influence on magic and comedy. But, I wasn’t sure if a Doug Henning website was the proper venue for that….
Doug Henning Canadian “Beginnings” Article
This article comes by way of reader Karen Kampen. It’s very unique in the sense that it’s more oral history than a straight article. In it, Doug reflects on his childhood growing up in Canada, his sisters, and his father. It’s a great read, and while it’s a mystery to myself and Karen which paper it…
THE DOUG HENNING PROJECT 