Dante (Harry August Jansen)
| Harry August Jansen | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
October 3, 1883 Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Died | June 15, 1955 (aged 71) Northridge, California, United States |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Residence | Northridge, California, United States |
| Occupation | Magician |
| Spouse(s) | Edna Herr |
| Partner(s) | Howard Thurston |
Harry August Jansen (October 3, 1883 – June 15, 1955) was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and settled in the United States. He traveled the world as a professional magician under the name Dante the Magician.
He was born on October 3, 1883 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Jansen came to St. Paul, Minnesota at the age of 6 with his family.
At the age of 16 Jansen made his stage debut under Charles Wagner. He then set off on a world tour for 5 years as the Great Jansen. In 1922, magician Howard Thurston, realizing Jansen's talent and possible competition to him, engaged Jansen to star in the #2 Thurston show. Thurston gave Jansen the stage name of Dante. The name came from the original Dante, Oscar Eliason (1869–1899), who had been killed in a tragic hunting accident in Australia years earlier. In 1925, Dante the Magician Inc. came into being with Thurston as co-owner. The 2nd unit Thurston show was built and co-produced by Jansen.
Dante was known throughout the world under the name Dante the Magician, working in vaudeville, burlesque, legitimate theatre, films, and in later years, television. Dante and his troupe, consisting of between 25 and 40 performers, made several global trips and appeared in many U.S. theaters. His stage trademark was to utter three nonsense words, "Sim Sala Bim" (taken from the lyrics of a Danish children's song), during his performances to acknowledge applause. He can be seen using these words in the Swedish 1931 feature Dantes mysterier (Dante's Mysteries) and in the 1942 Laurel and Hardy comedy A-Haunting We Will Go.
He also appeared as himself in the 1950 film Bunco Squad, and played a character role in Jean Renoir's The Golden Coach (1952).
In 1940 he produced and starred the Broadway revue Sim Sala Bim on the Morosco Theatre. With television, the public stayed home more often, and the world of variety theatre suffered drastically. As a result, Dante retired to Southern California in the late 1940s.
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