Charles Cameron (magician)
| Charles W. Cameron | |
|---|---|
| Born |
31 October 1927 Edinburgh |
| Died | 7 January 2001 (aged 73) |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Other names | Daemon, Count Dracula (Stage names) |
Charles Wesley Cameron (31 October 1927 – 7 January 2001) was a professional magician who specialised in a style known as bizarre magic. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has a younger brother.
He was a magician, and commonly dubbed as the Godfather of Bizarre Magic.
Born on Halloween, 31 October 1927, Charles took a keen interest in magic from very early on in his life, and started conducting his own experiments at age seven. He was educated at Edinburgh's Royal High School and served with the Royal Air Force in the Middle East during World War II.
His only leaning to convention was when he became an accountant and worked with different commercial outlets throughout Edinburgh including the Sports Council. His brother George became highly qualified in the insurance field and is a published photographer and cartoonist.
At one stage in Charles' varied career he studied psychology, but this was not completed due to the need to study medicine and the dissections that this route entailed.
In 1947, Charles became one of the founding members of the Edinburgh Magic Circle [2]. Working in tandem with Roy Scott and Harry Burnside, he took part in mentalism, straight magic, close-up magic etc. He has been elected President of the Edinburgh Magic Circle at least three times.
In the early days he performed on the club circuit with his own magic shows, cabaret spots at home and abroad, tarot readings, TV shows, newspaper and magazine features and numerous interviews. He was devastated when his close friend and mentor, Tony Andruzzi, died in tragic circumstances. Charles and Tony shared many likings – Famous Grouse whisky, smoking, and a deep interest in the bizarre to name a few.
Always interested in the weird, supernatural and mysterious, and a keen student of the occult, he had a regular slot on Radio Forth doing daily predictions and ghost stories. His home in Haddington housed his great collection of unusual artefacts and books.
Charles was made Curator of the Edinburgh Wax Museum on Royal Mile in 1976. Here, he really came into his own, bringing in friends and family as supporting artistes. At night, the top floor of the museum was turned into Castle Dracula Theatre and Charles enjoyed some of the happiest days of his life. Working in the museum and entertaining visiting dignitaries and stars of stage and screen by day, Charles took on the mantle of "Count Dracula" – complete with his own coffin and cloak – by night. Performing mind-reading and mock ghostly seances, the theatre ran for almost three years in the mid 1980s.
...
Wikipedia