Max Holden (magic)
| Max Holden | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
William Holden Maxwell August 20, 1884 Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
| Died | July 3, 1949 (aged 64) Oceanside, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Professional magician |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Maxwell (m. May 3, 1921–July 3, 1949); his death |
| Children | 1 |
William Holden Maxwell (professionally known as Max Holden; August 20, 1884 – July 3, 1949) was a Scottish-born American vaudeville performance artist and magician.
The son of a cabinetmaker, William Holden Maxwell was born on the twentieth of August, 1884 at Glasgow, Scotland. Maxwell had an early interest in magic and while still in his teens placed a classified ad as Max Holden in the publication Magic: The Magicians Monthly Magazine, asking for information on magic tricks and juggling. Around this time Maxwell was learning his craft as an apprentice to British magician David Devant before striking out on his own as a magician and juggler touring the Moss Empires circuit in Great Britain.
In 1905 Maxwell chose to immigrate to America where he took up residence in Boston, Massachusetts. The following year he was joined by his parents, Samuel and Mary along with his brother John May Maxwell (1889–1967). In America Samuel Maxwell was able to apply his trade as a cabinetmaker at a furniture factory in nearby Revere while John eventually became a patternmaker for Hunt-Spiller manufacturing in Boston. In 1915 William Maxwell became a naturalized citizen of the United States of America.
In time Maxwell (as Max Holden) became successful performing his magic act in America on the Keith-Albee-Orpheum and Marcus Loew circuits. He was known for his Shadowgraphy shows that he improved in 1914 with an invention of his own that added an array of colors onto the shadowgraph screen. Maxwell would go on to spend a number of years touring abroad and was said to have crossed the Atlantic some eighty-six times over his near quarter century career.
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