With all
the psuedo Chinese in magic, its refreshing to be
able to
say that De Yip Loo, seen on our cover, is a real
Chinese. He was born in Canton, China, in a small
village where his ancestors had lived for 200
years. He came to the United States at the age of
13, to join his father who had settled in
Minnesota. The rest of his family remained in
China.
Life on the farm and schooldays ended when De Yip
went to Chicago, at 15, and got a job in the
Nankin Restaurant. He was still trying to learn
to be a bus boy when Blackstone, the Magician
stopped in the restaurant between shows. (He was
playing the nearby Oriental Theatre). Blackstone
struck up a conversation with the boy, and asked
him if he wanted a job in show business. The
owner, overhearing it, advised De Yip to take the
job, because he was a mess at handling dishes. By
such a small fluke did our hero enter the new
world of magic.
He worked for Blackstone for a year (at the same
time George Johnstone was with the show). He was
personal valet to Harry, and an assistant on
stage. Then Blackstone was hired to go out with
U.S.O., but had to cut down on his troupe so De
Yip returned to the farm in Minnesota.
How you gonna keep 'em down on the farm, after
they've tasted show bis? Sure enough, De Yip soon
returned to the big city,just in time to catch
Dante's opening with the big show. Dante had just
come up from Mexico and needed an experienced
stage man. De Yip asked for the job and got it.
He stayed with the Dante Show for three seasons,
returning to the farm between tours.
Strangely enough, all this time he never learned
to so much as back palm a card. He was with magic
all the time, part of it,handling it, but did not
get personally involved, Subconsciously, tho, a
lot of magic lore was piling up in his brain.
The draft hit him during one of the farm stays,
and he joined the Quartermaster Corp in Korea,
Japan, the Phillipines, Okinawa
and a general tour of Army Camps. When the war
ended, with true Chinese philosophy, De Yip
decided to be kind to himself and study this
thing out. He took a year's holiday to find
himself. The day of the big shows seemed to be
gone - he couldn't ask for a job of that type
anywhere. He had a lot of experience and he saw
what he should do - be come an act himself.
His Chicago friends helped him, especially Ed
Miller, George Johnstone, John Platt. Being a
Chinese already was a good start. He experimented
with all kinds of magic and haunted magic shops
like Joe Berg's and Ireland's to see what would
be right for him.
Loo threw himself into getting e~perience, first
as a club act,then in night clubs, burlesque,
Harvester Shows. He went as far as Alaska in
those first years with the new act. Later he went
on a number of school show tours, opening the
show with a monologue backed up with magic, but
speaking of Chinese history, Confucian
philosophy, and intermingled with Chinese-English
jokes. At this writing, he just completed a short
Wisconsin school tour. He always makes it a point
to include a white Japanese rooster in the act, a
rooster who lives with him wherever he may be.
De Yip has a number of aspects to his bachelor
life. He is very much interested in fishing, and
has developed his own version of fishing lures,
has been featured in pictures and articles in
magazines like Field & Stream. Several years
ago he saved up his money and took a trip around
the world, stopping in Hong Kong to see some of
the girls his mother had picked out for him. He
came back single and still is.
Currentry, when not playing shows, De Yip works
for us as a mechanic - he's a very good one. He
created the " Bang Revolver"
adverrtised in this issue, an item used by
Marshall Brodien and other pros. Many of the
tricks he used on the IBM Convention this year
are his own design. Watch our ads for more of his
items. go to the top of the
page
1973 The NEW TOPS 1973 COVER PORTRAIT Accidental & Occidental Memories of an
Oriental ... by George Johnstone
"Did the Chinese invent magic?" This
question was posed to me recently by an old
theatrical agent. "You know, as far back as
I can remember, all you magicians, and that goes
for the big fellows too, the illusionists, have
always decorated your props and that brilliant
Chinese them with gold dragons." I was at a
loss to explain this idiosyncrasy of magicians.
Maybe we think the public associates mystery with
the inscrutable Orient. At any rate, the colors
are pretty and the decorations dress up the
stage.
Regular readers of Variety see a small ad that
appears periodically advertising: "De Yip
Loo, No. 1 Chinese Magician -- A half hour later
you want to see this act again." The ad
shows that the magician also has a sense of
humor. If you were a booker and inquired further
you'd receive a brochure chock full of action
photos depicting the entertainer working trade
shows, banquets, fairs and sport shows. His
credits would list the Canadian Calgary Stampede,
the London, Ontario, Western Fair, Chicago's Arie
Crown Theatre and Milwaukee's ultra new
Performing Arts Center and numerous other
prestigious dates. Is he America's No. 1 Chinese
magical worker? Where's he from? Is he here on a
Chinese Cultural Exchange Program? What's his
background?
America's premier illusionist, the late Harry
Blackstone, spoke a few words of Chinese. He
loved to show off this prowess by seeking out the
Chinese restaurants near the theatres he was
working. His table was always surrounded by the
waiters, bus boys and sometimes even the kitchen
help would come out to watch the distinguished,
white thatched Caucasian work his close-up
miracles. Service to other customers was
suspended during this period. .While playing the
State-Lake Theatre in Chicago, Harry hung out at
the Nanking Restaurant. He took a liking to a
broad-faced 15 year old busboy that hovered
worshipfully at his table every lunch hour. When
he asked the manager about the lad he was told
that the kid was so clumsy and had broken so many
dishes that he was due to be fired. Harry hired
the boy on the spot as his valet. Harry needed a
valet like a 70 year old woman would need
birth-control pills. Nevertheless, the boy was
fitted for a uniform and put to work as an
assistant. Since he was low man in the pecking
order he was given all the ICK jobs on the show
that the others wanted to sluff off. Fire laws
prevented people from sleeping in the theatres
but Harry told the managers that he'd been having
trouble with other magicians trying to learn his
illusion secrets and De Yip Loo, known as
"Louie" on the show, was hired as a
watchman. He was allowed to sleep on Harry's
dressing room cot and since he didn't smoke there
was no fire hazard.
Anyone ever connected with the Blackstone show
during that period has his own story about Louie,
"that crazy Chinaman.De Yip came to this
country at age 13 and at 15 was taken out of the
environs of his fellow Orientals and thrown in
amongst a troupe of occidentals, especially a
bunch of oddballs in show business, naturally his
thinking and actions were a bit different. He was
a bright kid and caught on fast, but not fast
enough to talk himself out of a misadventure in
Keokuk, Iowa. . .We had just been drawn into the
war with the Axis, (Germany, Italy& Japan)
and Louis had been with the show possibly six
months. On the opening show, Blackstone's valet
was missing. We all doubled to cover his stage
duties. After the second show and there was no
appearance we began to worry as Louie was not old
enough or travel-wise to shift for himself in
strange cities. We were about to call the police
when they called Harry. . ."We have a
Japanese spy down here that claims he's a member
of your show troupe." Louie had problems
with the English language and garbled it all the
more when he got excited. Harry went down to the
clink and Louie was released. This is an example
of the hysteria that swept the country
during the early days of the war. What would a
Japanese spy be doing walking the streets of
Keokuk, Iowa? We used to kid Louie that Harry
should have left him in the cooler for the
duration. Years later Louie went into the service
and saw action with the Quartermaster Corps in
Japan, Korea and Okinawa.
Louie never practiced sleight of hand or showed
an interest in performing magic but one day Harry
came around to the National Theatre in
Louisville, Ky. about 8:30 A.M. He had to pick up
some small props as he was going to do a morning
show at a children's hospital. The cleaning man
let him in the front door and as he walked down
the aisle towards the stage he stopped short.
There on the stage, dimly lit by a 100 watt
worklight, was Louie. He had
Harry's full dress suit on and he was performing
some of the smaller effects. Harry took a seat as
he couldn't be seen in the dark, and watched the
whole thing. Part of the patter was in English,
part in Chinese. .Harry told the troupe about it
later but didn't let us in on Louie's reaction
when he found out he had a distinguished
audience. Louie became very inscrutable when we
asked and kidded him about it. This was our first
inkling that the inscrutable Chinaman had
performing ambitions. I hope this country never
goes to war with China. . .The Blackstone show
came into Parsons, Kansas, with three days open.
Since there was a large vacant
garage next to the theatre the props were dumped
there and the three days were going to be
utilized repairing crates and repainting
illusions. At that time Betty was in the first
months of pregnancy and wracked with morning
sickness. I used to arrive at the garage tired,
nauseous and in a horrible mood. .And the smell
of fresh paint didn't help. One morning I was
walking across the garage for a tool. Louie was
in my pathway bent over an illusion. "Get
out of my way, you yellow skinned so and
so." and with that I gave him a kick that
landed him inside the illusion on his head. He
crawled out and to the surprise of everyone came
at me with arms
flailing. He caught me off guard and gave me a
good working over for the first few minutes. I
eventually got him onto the floor with a hammer
lock and bending his arm up his back demanded he
"give up." He just groaned and
spitefully refused. Pete, Blackstone's brother,
finally broke us up. As I worked on the props I
was rankled that Louie had came back at me and
more so that I couldn't make him give up.
Finally, I stood it as long as I could and walked
over, tapped him on the back and as he turned I
let him have a haymaker that sent him sprawling
amongst the crates.
He slowly crawled to his feet, fingered his nose
for blood, put his head down and charged at me
like a bull. This time the fellows rolled the
illusions out of the way to give us more room to
"get it over with." After about 15
minutes of toe-to-toe and rolling about the floor
the fellows again stepped in to stop it before
someone was hurt seriously. . .Do you know that
this went on and off all day until we left that
night limping our aching and bruised bodies back
to the hotel. Neither of us showed up too early
the next day to resume work. Today, with both of
us carrying excess weight, aging and balding and
living sedentary lives we kid each other about
that waste of energy, "Man, wouldn't you
like to have it today!"
Blackstone soon had to cut his illusions and
troupe to the bare essentials as he went on the
U.S.O. army camp circuit. I worked the first few
months of U.S.O. then left to show the U.S. how
to win the war as a buck private. Louie, out of a
job, joined the Dante show when he arrived in
Chicago shorthanded due to the army draft. Louie
stayed with the Dante show for three years piling
up knowledge for his own future venture into the
performing end of magic.
When Louie came out of the army he bought a truck
and went out on the school assembly circuit with
an act built with the help of Ed Miller, He
lectured on China, did magic, made bad jokes and
was a hit with the pupils. He slept and cooked in
the truck, and after a season or The NEW TOPS two
had enough money salted away to take a trip
around the world. He visited his mother and
brothers in Hong Kong. In old Chinaman fashion,
Louie's dad operated a small hand laundry in
Argo, a small town outside Chicago. He would take
a certain part of his weekly earnings to
Chinatown, where he gambled a bit with old
cronies and sent the rest of his money to China
for his wife's support. A wife he hadn't seen in
years. With two healthy brothers with good jobs,
the Americanized Louie was out in accord with his
dad sleeping in back of the shop and living on a
meagre diet of rice so he could send money back
to the old country. To help ends meet Louie
occasionally helped the old man out at the shop
but spent most of his off-season time helping Ed
Miller build magic and working as a mechanic at
Magic, Inc. Louie loved hunting and fishing and
was al ways disappearing for a week or so to go
elk hunting or trout fishing in the upper
Midwest. This may end now or at least be
curtailed as he has finally taken a wife.
Louie has developed so much, as a performer, in
the past five years that he no longer finds the
time to "fool around the shops" as a
mechanic. has "caught on" with the
agents. (Chinese magicians are a novelty.) His
engagements now take him all over the
country...We think he has finally reached a goal
he never thought he could, then again, being the
inscrutable one, maybe he did.. .and maybe he
even has loftier goals. Ching Ling Soo, watch out
for your nitch in magical history. go to the top of the page
De Yip ioo, "World's #1 Chinese
Magician", invited me to his home in
northern Illinois for a time of magical
fellowship with his lovely wife Arlene and little
Mai-Ling. The day in September was beautiful, the
Chinese food extremely delicious, and the
illusions and magi c outstanding. 'Loo" as
he is known to all of us, has worked with the
best of the old-timers, both Blackstone and
Dante. How he was brought into magic has been
written about before, but he tells with a twinkle
in his eye the memory of watching Blackstone
doing card tricks in the restaurant where he was
working as a busboy. I asked him where he would
be today if magic had not claimed him and he
replied, "A rich restaurant owner spending
my vacations in Hong Kong.' The restaurant
business lost and magic won a devotee who has
become a professional in every sense of the word!
Most interesting was his association with George
White, who worked with Dante in the early 1940's.
Loo said he was kind of a mystery man. He would
come to the theater before anyone else, and never
leave until after Dante did. He knew every city
where they played, having been there many times
with the Thurston show in years east. When Mr.
White was not working for Dante, Moi Yo Miller
was in charge, but when George was there he was
given that position. The stage manager must know
the show backwards and forwards, both on the
stage and backstage, and George knew the show
inside-out. He always stayed at hotels by
himself, and when the season ended he would take
the train back east where he lived. According to
Louie, the way George moved on the stage made him
seem invisible, in that he did not draw attention
to himself or distract the audience from watching
Oante, reminiscent of the Japanese puppeteer and
his large scale puppets. George was also easy to
work for and with.
We also talked about the Blackstone Light Bulb
Cabinet with which Loo is so well known. It was
Loo who revived this beautiful illusion some
twenty years ago, and he has built them for some
of the best in the business, including Mark
Wilson and Blackstone, jr. Ten of these have been
built by him (and Arlene), each time with
improvements, until the illusion is almost
perfect in its operation and presentation. Each
time he gets one built someone wants to buy it
"right now", and consequently Louie
never has a copy for himself! But currently he is
working an another one, and he showed me some of
the parts. From past demonstration it is obvious
that Louie believes in sharing his magic with his
fellow magi.
Loo knew Okito well. When Robert Parish and Thee
were working on the book,"quality Magic,
Revised Edition", Okito had to ask Loo how
the Kuma Tubes worked, as to the routine. Through
the years he had forgotten just how it went. Of
course George Johnstone and Loo are good friends
from the Blackstone days: experiencing many
things together during those happy days.
Currently Loo is also working on enlarging his
Zig-Zag Illusion constructed for daughter:
Mai-Ling, who is growing (six inches in three
years) and no longer fits into the miniature
model. They put her in the Doll House Illusion
the other day and found that she could not get
her head inside for her concealment. Loo admits
that Mai-Ling is the star of his show, and he
pays her ten percent for every performance.
Arlene, who was a secretary for a big company
before she met and married Loo, has taken to the
magic business like a duck to water, and loves
magic and manages the business. She has become
very knowledgeable on the subject, having one of
the best teachers and performers in the business
as her mentor. His new show is entitled "The
Shang Po Magic Show", Shang for Chinese and
Po for Polish, for his wife Arlene.
While talking about Dante, Loo mentioned that he
had the original Dante Beer Barrel and would I
like to see it? Up in the attic we went and Loo
lovingly took it all apart to show me how
wonderfully made it was. All of copper and
precision in every way. "I love precision
magic," was the way he put it. and he shared
with me many of his building ideas that he does
not want other builders to know about.
Let us list some of the things De Yip Loo has
done for magic. Of course we must start with the
Light Bulb Cabinet mentioned before. A Bird
Vanish with his special touches. The Kuma Tubes
as only he can present them. The Archway Pagoda
Illusion. His version of the Zig-Zag Illusion
with the adorable Mai Ling, and a Microphone
Suspension that will knock your eyes out: In this
Loo uses the same microphone stand he has been
using all evening in the act. He suspends Mai
Ling from it, passes the hoop around her, and
then proceeds to spin her around in a circle, all
around the stand~ Others have written about his
beautiful motor driven Floating Lady, and Loo is
now working on an improved model involving
pillars that could be used on a floor show in Las
Vegas or anywhere. In this you can walk around
the area where the lady will float, and can get
the illusion set up for presentation in a
moment's notice.
I was also impressed with the fine publicity Loo
has put out. When visiting with him he was
working on a new full color brochure featuring
the Microphone Illusion. In there pictures he has
a full stage backdrop of beautiful flying birds
in Oriental design, on each side of a Chinese
Pagoda. His is an act of spectacular illusions,
his costumes are a rainbow of color, everything
is fast paced, and sensational in presentation.
In the illustration from Klondike Days '82, you
will notice that Loo is the feature artist in the
publicity, the show including life-size puppets,
vocals, music and magic. Loo humbly states that
he was not the feature act but that it looks that
way in the publicity. Again, Loo is a full time
professional who has a lovely family, a beautiful
home, and is a credit to magic and what he has
done for it!
aMagazine AMagazine/aOnline feature article:
AFlashback “Magic Man” by Ellyn Pak October/November 2001
"Remember the career of a pioneering
Chinese American performer."
He wasn’t your average magician, pulling
rabbits from a hat or scarves out of his sleeve.
DeYip Loo better known as “Louie,” was
the first Asian American performer to appear on
WGN-TV’s Bozo Circus, where he could be seen
making chickens disappear and reciting “The
Three Little Pigs” in Chinese. This year,
the Chicago based Bozo show-the longest-running
among more than 180 locally produced Bozo shows
around the country - bid a final farrewell. Loo
was one of the first acts to appear after the
show’s debute in 1961 and is remembered as
one of its most frequent performers.
In 1936, at the age of 11, Loo left his family in
Canton, China and immigrated to the U.S. by boat.
While working as a busboy at the Nanking
Restaurant in Chicago, 15-year-old Loo was
charmed by the late magician Harry Blackstone,
and vice versa. After getting canned for breaking
too many dishes, Loo joined Blackstone’s
show troupe in 1942. As Blackstone moved on to
the army camp circuit, Loo joined a touring show
with Dante the magician. He stayed with the show
for three years, gaining experience and preparing
to break out on his own. His venture would have
to wait because soon after becoming a U.S.
citizen in 1945, he was drafted into the army. He
served 18 months and saw action in Japan, Korea
and Okinawa during World War II. After being
discharged from the army, Loo refined his magic
act as part of Red Skelton’s 1949 tour.
Loo’s big break came on September 11, 1961,
when he performed as the fourth act on the debut
of Bozo’s Circus. While donning a Chinese
dragon robe, he captivated the studio audience
with tricks involving vanishing chickens and
pagoda illusions. In 1980, Loo performed on the
Bozo show for the 20th, and last time. In 1985,
Loo launched the Shang Po Magic Show, a family
including his wife and daughter, which traveled
extensively across the country and even South
America. Loo retired from his show after
suffering a stroke in 1998.
Over the course of his 60-year career, Loo has
been credited with inventing, rebuilding, and
improving illusions currently used by magicians
like Harry Blackstone, Jr. and Doug Henning. Loo,
who resides north of Chicago with his family
continues to give inspirational speeches in his
hometown. His advice to aspiring Asian Americans
entertainers is “Whatever your passions are,
go for it, because there aren’t many Asian
people in the entertainment field.”
The last studio taping of Bozo’s Circus,
which featured vintage clips of the show’s
best loved entertainers, including
“Louir”, aired nationally on WGN-TV on
July 14. As Bozo would say to Loo at the end of
every appearance: “Cluck cluck, to you,
Louie.” go to the top of the page
MAGIC magazine
Magic Magazine May 2004 by Mark Holstein “De Yip Loo was a Chinese magician who
created the famous “Shang Po Magic
Show,” not too long after several seasons of
touring the world with the Great Blackstone and,
later, the Great Dante. However, Loo never would
have become a professional magician if he
hadn’t been a lousy busboy.”
De Yip Loo became a successful professional
magician because he was a lousy busboy.
When he came to America as a young teenager from
his native China, he spent the first few year on
a farm in Minnesota. However, it was not long
before he was drawn to the excitement and
employment opportunities of the big city of
Chicago. He got a job at the Nanking Chinese
Restaurant in the Chicago Loop, across the street
from the Oriental Theatre, Louie - that’s
what everyone calls him - remembers that he was a
terrible busboy. He set records breaking more
dishes than any of his co-workers at the Nanking.
He was about to be canned when, a distinguished
looking gentleman with white hair started coming
in for lunch.
The man was Harry Blackstone and he was appearing
at the Oriental. As was Harry’s way, he
would often pause to entertain the
restaurant’s staff and customers.
Apparently, Blackstone knew a little Chinese and
coded the names of cards, making Loo his
impromptu accomplice. Louie was fascinated by
Blackstone. He decided to attend the show.
“It was a beautiful show,” Loo says.
“I remember the Enchanted Garden, the
Dancing Handkerchief, and the Floating Light
Bulb. I wanted to be a part of all that.” He
asked Harry for a job and, to the relief of the
Nanking management, soon hit the road.
De Yip Loo was the junior-most person on the show
of 19 (rather than the “Company of 50 Mostly
Gorgeous Girls,” as proclaimed on
Blackstone’s posters). Because of his age,
Loo was assigned some of the least desirable jobs
on the show. “Harry was concerned about
other magicians sneaking in and stealing the
secrets of his illusions,” Louie remembers,
“so I had to sleep in the theater every
night.” Louie also had to unpack, set-up,
and maintain the many large illusions. It was not
glamorous, but he loved. He was unconsciously
soaking up the details associated with illusion
design. Ad he didn’t know it at the time,
but his knowledge would serve him well in year to
come.
Occasionally, Blackstone requested that Loo help
onstage, but it made him a little anxious.
“With my history of breaking dishes at the
Nanking, I was really nervous that I would drop
something like the Sand Canisters.” He never
did. As the youngest member of the cast, Louie
was the butt of many pranks and jokes played by
other troupers on the show. He was a teenager
learning to be an adult, so he tolerated much of
this. But sometimes he fought back. Fellow cast
member, George Johnstone, was among the most
aggressive pranksters and Loo remembers at least
one backstage knock-down-drag-out fight. There
was permanent damage to either of the tricksters,
and George and Louie remain close friends to this
day. Yet Louie did want to set the record
straight on one of George’s stories. He
says, “George always told people that I
would put on Harry’s tails and walk through
the entire show in the empty theatre. He even
said that I would Blackstone’s patter, half
in English and half in Chinese, and that Harry
sneaked I one night and secretly watched.”
Of this tall tale, which also appeared in an
article about Loo that George Johnstone
contributed to The New Tops in 1973, Loo says,
“It never happened.”
Louie recalls that his Asian descent caused him a
bit of trouble, both on and off the show. There
was o political correctness. He was often picked
on and, once, in Keokuk, Iowa he was arrested as
a Japanese spy. Blackstone bailed him out.
“He was good to everyone he employed.”
But as war clouds brewed and show business
declined, Blackstone was forced to downsize.
After a year with the master, De Yip Loo was
forced to head back to Chicago and his old job at
the Nanking Restaurant.
The timing was perfect. Shortly after Loo’s
return, Dante played the Oriental Theater. So he
went across the street and introduced himself.
The Danish illusionist was having a hard time
finding male assistants, because World War II was
underway. Most of the eligible young men were
being drafted, and in walks a young man who had
magic show experience. Before he could break
another dish, Loo found himself on the road with
the Dante show. This time, the assistant job
lasted four years, and Loo traveled throughout
the United States with another grand master.
While many magicians found Dante to be aloof,
Louie says he does not agree. “Blackstone
liked to socialize with magicians. He would hang
out with them at restaurants and go to the magic
club meetings.” but Dante preferred his
privacy. He was a simple man “who like
saloons with sawdust floors, and his show was his
family.” The show touring the United States
during those war years was a small, tight knit
group - Dante, his wife, two boys , and Moi Yo
Miller.
“Dante was a talker,” Louie says. He
chatted with the audience throughout his show,
and his program consisted of sketches, with the
illusions serving as vehicles for his comedic
stories. Dante’s show would soon become
Loo’s inspiration.
Loo also had more of an onstage role in Dante
production. He participated in several of the
illusions. He recalls the Magician’s
Rehearsal, an elaborate sketch involving two
Modern Cabinets. His favorite effect that he took
part in was an illusion known as Black and White,
where two assistants wrapped in simple cloths
changed places on a bare stage.
Over the years, as Loo took on increasing
responsibility with Dante, he had a job that
today gives him reason to offer a warning to
collectors. One of his between-show duties was
signing Dante’s autograph to stacks of
black-and-white publicity photos. Loo says that
there are fair number of Dante autographed photos
that he signed.
Loo left the Dante show when he was drafted. He
worked as a baker in the quarter-master’s
corps in Korea and the Philippines. He says,
“I did nothing much as far as magic was
concerned while in the army.” He learned
some hypnosis after seeing Chicago amateur
magician, attorney, and collector Gene Bernstein
(who also served four years as IBM President) do
a few stunts. It caused Louie to send away for
some books and learn the fundamentals. He
entertained his army buddies with some hypnotic
demonstrations, but never did it on stage.
After the war ended, Loo returned to Chicago as
an out-of-work veteran. He put together a lecture
on China for schools and universities. Werner
“Dorny” Dornfield chided Loo, saying
that he knew nothing academic about China. Louie
responded to Dorny , saying, “At least I
looked the part.” His authentic demeanor led
to a little bit of work as a model and at least
one television commercial.
It was his friend Frances Ireland Marshall who
suggested he consider a career as a professional
magician. After all, she reasoned, “so many
people believe that China was the birthplace of
magic and De Yip Loo is a real Chinese.”
Frances encouraged him to visit the famed Chicago
Roundtable and get to know magic dealer and prop
builder Ed Miller. Loo took her advice and a
magical career was underway.
From those years on the road with Blackstone and
Dante, Louie knew what he liked as far as tricks
and illusions. He scoured magic catalogs for
other ideas, decided on the effects that fit his
style, and then worked with Miller to build props
for his first act. They built a collection of
smaller tricks and, since Loo wanted a big
finish, they constructed a Blade Box. He knew
that he wanted to do a comedic talking act and he
wanted to wear traditional Chinese costumes.
De Yip Loo signed up with Barnes &
Carrothers, a very prestigious booking agency in
Chicago. When the theatrical agency felt that his
name didn’t sound “Chinese
enough,” he chose the stage name of Chan
Loo. (Chan was his mother’s maiden name; Loo
is his given last name.) He set out on a grueling
schedule of shows for schools - up to 12
performances per week for ten years. A typical
program included classics such as the Egg Bag,
Die Box, Confetti to Goldfish, Head Chopper, and
the Serpent silk (still his favorite trick today,
especially after Jay Marshall showed him how to
“do it right”). After finding a large,
beautiful copper vase in a antique store, Loo
built his own version of the Kuma Tubes. This
classic effect featured the production of an
enormous quantity of silk, followed by the
production and vanish of the huge water-filled
vase. It became the feature of his larger shows.
Some time later, when Okito was writing Okito on
Magic, he admitted that he’d forgotten how
this effect worked. Louie was the one who had to
show him, allowing the secret to be recorded
properly.
He changed his show occasionally, but two
elements remained constant: Loo always performed
in traditional Chinese robes and the show was
filled with humor. He became convinced that
tricks with livestock were audience pleasers.
Influenced by the Mexican dove worker, Cantu, Loo
developed an act that allowed him to produce
doves while wearing traditional Chinese robes.
Performing as Chan Loo, he was likely the first
magician to use colored doves in his act. He got
the idea after working on a show with a trained
bird act that featured a colored pigeon. “I
figured out a way to use detergent colors, and it
got a great audience reaction,” Louie says.
He eventually sold the right to the idea to
Chicago ice-show magician Ron Urban for $25.
Chickens became another trademark for Loo. He was
working a county fair and struck up a
conversation with a poultry vendor. The dealer
encouraged him to use a breed of Chinese chickens
in his act. They were smaller than more common
chickens and, according to Louie, easier to tame
than the traditional rabbit.
After 12 busy years of school shows, Loo found
the constant life on the road very lonely. He
decided to visit family and relative in Hong
Kong. With the help of a creative travel agent,
turned the tip into a six-month, round-the-world
tour. He visited virtually every major city in
Europe, Africa, and the Far East, including
India. Of his visit to Benares, Louie muses,
“It’s funny. They had no Temple
there.”
Upon his return to Chicago he began performing in
a variety of venues. It was the era of club dates
and one-nighters, and Louie performed an act that
today might be considered stand-up comedy. It was
mostly monologue based on his Chinese heritage,
his family, and his travels. He did lots of
magic, but the act was driven by his wit and
personality. It wasn’t long before he part
of another comedy magic act with his
Blackstone-show mate, an act billed as
“George Johnstone & Timothy
O’Rourke.” Louie played the character
of O’Rourke, a Chinese/Celtic conjuror.
Louie has always been a dedicated hunter and
fisherman. His fascination with the outdoors,
which continues even to this day, led him to
develop an act for sports shows and fairs. It was
one of the very few times in his career that his
costume varied from the traditional robes.
Instead, he wore hip waders and fishing vests.
He soon hooked up with Chicago talent agent
Howard Schultz, who kept him extremely busy with
not only club dates, but also corporate events,
private parties, and banquet shows. The
relationship with Schultz led to a booking on
Chicago’s famed Bozo Circus on WGN-TV. Loo
was the first magician to appear on the show.
Marshall Brodien, a star of that show for 34
years, recalls that Louie became one of the
producers’ favorite variety acts, and he was
booked back numerous times during the
program’s 40 years on the air. On the air.
In fact, when the show ended in 2000, Marshall
located a clip of Louie’s first appearance
on the show and it was included in the special,
Bozo! Forty Years of Fun!
Loo had the opportunity to work as the opening
act for the legendary Red Skelton at
Chicago’s posh Chez Paree nightclub. Louie
says, “It was a big-time engagement for me,
but it was also a wonderful experience. Skelton
was a very humble man.” Louie remembers how
Skelton would remove his expensive wristwatch
before going on stage, because he did not want
the audience to perceive him as being
“different.” When the engagement ended
in Chicago, Loo was offered the opening-act spot
with the rest of Skelton’s tour, but he
decided to stay put. He’d had enough of the
road.
Ever since Loo became a fixture in the Chicago
magic community, he continued to be influenced by
Okito. The style and the beauty of the Dutch
master’s act impressed him and, over the
years, they became close friends. When Okito was
thinking about retirement, he decided to sell
some of his robes. “They were
beautiful,” Louie recalls. “They were
originally made for the Peking Opera.” He
wanted to buy one, but could not afford it.
Eventually, Okito presented Loo with one of the
exquisite robes and an embroidered table drape,
which today hangs above the mantle of the his
fireplace.
Jack Gwynne was another of Loo’s friends and
he would often help Gwynne with his larger shows.
He recalls assisting the great showman with a
performance in the center ring of a circus.
Another friend, magician and puppeteer John
Shirley, suggested that Loo returned to his real
name. De Yip Loo took John’s advice - Chan
Loo disappeared.
In the 1960’s and ‘70s, Louie’s
supplemented his income by working for Jay and
Frances Marshall at Magic Inc. He made thousands
- “At least it seemed that many!” he
says - of Magic Inc.’s top-selling Match to
Flower. He also made a very realistic looking
Bang Gun, a prop that is still sought after by
collectors. Louie was far from being a craftsman,
but he quickly picked up a variety of skills
working at Magic, Inc.’s backroom workshop.
This experience, along with the knowledge he
assimilated while on the road with the Blackstone
and Dante shows, eventually made him an in-demand
prop and illusion builder.
It was during his stint as Magic, Inc.’s
prop maker that Louie decided to recreate
Blackstone’s Light Bulb Cabinet, a startling
illusion where two dozen brilliantly lighted
electric light bulbs penetrated the body of a
beautiful assistant. Benefiting from having
virtually rebuilt Harry’s illusion, he
understood its construction and had ideas
regarding improvements using higher-tech
materials. He always thought of the illusion as a
mondernization of Nicola’s Spike Cabinet.
Loo sold the first cabinet he construction to
Peter Reveen for $1,000. “He got a
bargain,” Louie laughs. “I didn’t
know what to charge back then.”
Interestingly, that first cabinet he built for
Reveen recently popped up for sale on an Internet
site for $6,600.
Over the next few years, Louie made seven Light
Bulb Cabinets, and they were mostly built in his
kitchen. The illusion never really became part of
Loo’s show. “I couldn’t hold onto
one long enough.” Some other lucky owners of
his Light Bulb illusion have been Mark Wilson,
Harry Blackstone, Jr., Dick Williams, and Doug
Henning, who bought one for his Spellbound show.
Louie was thrilled when Orson Welles decided to
perform it on a network television special in
1978.
One of Loo’s Light Bulb illusions
facilitated a life-changing event. In April 1971,
he attended a local folk dance with Frances
Marshall’s brother John. There he met a lady
named Arlene, who was a secretary at a large
accounting firm. He introduced himself as Louie
and when she asked his last name, he responded
“Louie.” She and “Louie
Louie” fell for each other. They became
engaged the following Valentine’s Day, and
the money that Mark Wilson paid for his Light
Bult Cabinet paid for the engagement ring.
Jay Marshall warned Arlene that the marriage was
doomed “because Louie was too much of a hot
head.” Notwithstanding Jays advice the
couple married in April of 1972. The ceremony was
at Chicago’s Chapel in the Sky, where
Blackstone married his third wife. The reception
was at the Drake Hotel, because the
Magician’s Rountable met there. “And we
chose the date,” Louie says, “because I
had shows in early April in Niagara Falls. That
way we could always tell people that we took our
Niagara Falls honeymoon before the wedding.”
Arlene says that they still call Jay every year
on their anniversary to tease him about his
admonition.
Unless it was a large show, De Yip Loo seldom
used assistants and usually worked alone. But
shortly after he and Arlene became a couple she
was a regular in the act, which was now known as
the Shang-Po Magic Show (“Shang” for
the first dynasty in China and the “Po”
to celebrate Arlene’s Polish heritage). When
their daughter Frances came along, she quickly
became part of the show, making her first
appearance on stage when she was only ten days
old. With all of this new-found talent, Louie
decided to scheme-up some new illusions, using
techniques he learned from reading Dariel
Fitzkee’s Tricks Brain. “I decided what
I wanted to do and then worked backwards to
figure out how to do it.” He never used
blueprints. When he determined that he wanted to
perform Harbin’s Zig-Zag Lady and also
decided that three-year-old Frances would be
assistant, he built a tiny Zig-Zag. However, his
clever design and construction allowed him to
expand the prop as Frances grew. He built a
miniature Temple of Benares in the same ingenious
way. He also increased the role of his Chinese
chickens in the new show, by building and
incorporating several new livestock production
and vanishes.
Loo built a Microphone Stand suspension, working
only from the aerial Suspension drawings in a
Professor Hoffman book. While he was not trained
as a machinist or metal worker, he experimented
until he was able to fabricate all the necessary
parts and apparatus. Loo felt strongly that the
illusion should not use a broom. “They
belong to the broom closet and not on
stage,” he says of the traditional support
used in the illusion.
Loo reserved the performance of one illusion just
for Arlene. He had been doing the Blade Box since
the very beginning of his career, but now built a
new one Arlene’s specific size. Since
original Blade Box was still in good shape, he
traded it (and he admits, along the with some
case) for Dante’s Beer Barrel illusion,
which was in the collection of his friend,
attorney Gene Bernstein. While Loo still has the
Dante Beer Barrel, the Blade Box ultimately went
to Jay Marshall. Jay performed it for several
years, and today it can be seen in Todd Robbins
off-Broadway show, Carnival Knowledge, where it
still looks and works great.
The Loos spent the next 25 years on the road,
performing at schools and fairs and other venues,
literally doing thousands of shows. Loo built a
customized panel van that transported the show
and had a modest living quarters within. They
drove the van throughout the United States and
even into Canada, where they appeared for four
consecutive years at the prestigious Canadian
National Exhibition. The 500,000 miles on the
odometer of that van gives insight into the busy
schedule they maintained.
There were no signs of slowing down, until in
1998. Louie suffered a stroke that brought their
professional lives to a screeching halt. While
his mind remained sharp, the stroke had a
profound effect on his physical health. With the
unflinching support of Arlene and Frances, Loo is
fighting back. At 78, he is walking and he
continues to improve. The Loos live in a suburb
northwest of Chicago. The walls of their home are
covered with photos and memorabilia related to
his career. Arlene still works at a bank, though
she think that retirement may not be far off.
Frances dedicates herself to taking care of her
father, while also developing her own career as a
performer and composer of original music.
De Yip Loo has not performed since the stroke. He
says that he is too much a perfectionist to do
anything less than perfectly, which might lead
one to conclude that we’ve seen the last of
Louie as a magician. But there is evidence to the
contrary. His props are neatly packed and ready
to go. The panel truck is parked in the driveway.
His coffee table is covered with current catalogs
for Chinese chickens and the supplies necessary
to raise them. And while Louie isn’t saying
anything, Arlene and Frances believe he’s
making plans. Given De Yip Loo’s remarkable
history, I’m convinced they just might be
right.
Mark Holstien, a litigation attorney by day,
is an illusionist who performs regularly in the
Chicago area. Mark has been the stage manager of
Abbott’s Get-Together for 21 years. go to the top of the page
In
the aftermath: Spring Grove stroke victim's
family recovering, too Northwest Herald June 29, 2006
In
a dimly lit living room in Spring Grove, a
television flickers with images of Iowa farm
children amazed at the Chinese magician
performing tricks onstage.
He presents a bouquet of flowers from a blanket.
He makes live chickens appear out of nowhere. He
creates the illusion of cutting his daughter in
half.
But, like the starry-eyed audience in the 1982
video from the Iowa State Fair, the magician,
DeYip "Louie" Loo, can only watch this
younger version of himself wow people.
A stroke on July 29, 1998, robbed Louie, the
first professional magician to perform on
"The Bozo Show," of his ability to do
magic. A World War II veteran and longtime fly
fisherman who once appeared in Field &
Stream, Louie underwent high-risk brain surgery.
He also received more than 10 months of intensive
rehabilitation and today he is cared for by his
daughter, Frances Mai-Ling and his wife, Arlene
Louie.
"I can't do that anymore," said Louie,
80, after his daughter shut off the video.
"I had a stroke."
According to the American Stroke Association,
stroke is the No. 3 killer of Americans behind
heart disease and cancer. About 700,000 people in
the U.S. suffer a stroke each year and the
condition is the leading cause of disability.
Mai-Ling still remembers that summer day when her
dad was working in the yard. He suddenly
collapsed.
"He said 'Frances, I had a stroke. Call
911,'" she said. "It was scary. They
didn't expect him to survive."
While stroke recovery and survival is a painful
and ongoing experience, part of what can ease the
process is family, said Phyllis Wit, head of the
Stroke Survivors Group in Sun City Huntley. The
greatest gift loved ones can give stroke
survivors is hope, she said.
"They have to remember they have had a
stroke," Wit said. "They will not be
the same, but that doesn't mean they can't get
better. The fact that they're alive is one of the
symptoms of getting better."
Hope and encouragement are exactly what Mai-Ling
and her mother work to give Louie each day.
Though he can no longer go on fly-fishing
expeditions, Mai-Ling takes him to beginner
fly-fishing clinics at McHenry County College.
Arlene Louie created a bird habitat for her
husband in the back yard where he used to tend to
Bonsai trees and other plants. Mai-Ling and her
mother also take Louie to flower shows at the
Chicago Botanical Gardens.
"It's affected me and my family
personally," Mai-Ling said. "Just by
learning about [strokes] and knowing about it you
kind of have a better idea of what to expect.
Life changes dramatically. You look at life
differently."
Arlene Louie also works with her husband on his
speech and has him write letters every night.
"The writing helps him go from left to
right," Mai-Ling said. "It processes
what he did during the day."
Healthcare professionals say it is crucial to
remember that after a stroke, the essence of a
loved one remains.
"The person is still the same person they
were before the stroke as far as their
intelligence and emotions," said Rose
Loftin, manager of inpatient rehab services at
Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin. "Some
people think because one side of their body can't
move, they're different. They aren't different.
How they look at life is still the same, even
though they may look and sound different."
Loftin also said that recent advances in stroke
treatment have given doctors the ability to
better treat the condition if it's detected
early.
Louie's family in May received a Heart and Stroke
Heroes Caregiver Award from the American Heart
Association. Mai-Ling, a concert pianist.
includes information on her CDs about stroke
warning signs and risk factors. A portion of her
CD sales go toward the American Stroke
Association, which is a division of the American
Heart Association.
At 30, Mai-Ling also remains at home to help her
mother care for Louie. She said she would give
anything to have her father back to his full
health.
Still, the experience over the last several years
has helped her learn a great deal about the
Chinese immigrant, a man who came to the U.S. as
a child. A man who started his career by being a
magician's assistant to greats like Harry
Blackstone and Dante. A performer and entertainer
who did some modeling when few Asians were used
for advertisements.
"I'm just enjoying being able to be with my
parents and take care of my dad," Mai-Ling
said, standing in a back room completely
decorated with Louie's old photos and mementos
from his career. "When he had a stroke, we
had to clean stuff up because magicians are pack
rats. I never realized how handsome my dad was
until after he had a stroke."
Signs of a stroke
– Sudden numbness or weakness of the face,
arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.
– Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or
understanding.
– Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
– Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of
balance or coordination.
– Sudden, severe headache with no known
cause.
– If you or a loved one experience stroke
symptoms, call 911 right away. Time lost is brain
lost.
– People should be cautious of symptoms no
matter what their age or how healthy. Even
25-year-olds can have strokes.
Source: American Stroke Association, a division
of the American Heart Association/ Provena St.
Joseph Hospital
Information
Candi Bone Stroke Support Group, Gwen Gorman at
Provena
St. Joseph Hospital, Elgin: (847) 695-3200, Ext.
5669
American Stroke Association: 1-888-478-7653.
Stroke information also is available at:
www.strokeassociation.org.
Chinese Magician
De Yip Loo, That’s Who
What Makes Sam Disappear?
By Steve Hilton, Staff Writer, Springfield (MO)
Leader Press
Friday May 3, 1974
De Yip Loo has been producing chickens and
goldfish bowls from the air for, say, 30 years.
And levitating
assistant, passing solid brass rings one through
another, and closing women in cabinets much, much
too small to hold them.
All in a
day’s work for the native of China (near
Canton) who moved to the United States when he
was 11 years old. Hi home is in Monee, Il, a
suburb of Chicago.
“It’s
easier to get booked,” said Loo of his
career in magic, “If you tell the agent
you’re a Chinese magician. You can be a
magician, sure, but it’s easier, maybe, if
you’re a Chinese magician.”
On Saturday, Loo
and magician Neil Foster will stage two shows in
Central High School Auditorium to raise money for
youth work sponsored by the Downtown Kiwanis
Club.
Their
appearances here were arranged by the local
chapters of the International Brotherhood of
Magicians and The Society of American Magicians.
***
The Kiwanis Club
bills the shows as “Fun With Magic.”
The magicians bill them as their “Magical
Maifest.”
Dr. Mel Gardner,
president of the local chapter of the
brotherhood, said the groups plan similar shows
each year, always in the first week of May, in
line with the Maifest theme.
The two shows,
at 1:30 and 8pm, will be different, Loo assured.
***
His co-star,
Foster, is an internationally known magician from
Colon, MI, home of the Great Blackstone. (If you
are magician, Blckstone is to you what Beethoven
is to someone who enjoys classical music.)
Loo, who hoped
to arrange a guest charity appearance today at a
hospital or nursing home, divides his career into
three phases: shows, such as the appearance here
or his upcoming performance at the Calgary
Stampede in Calgary, Alberta; design work, such
as his assitance in the building of a restoration
of the Globe Theatre in Williamsburg, VA; and
magic production work, such as his design of
tricks for the nationally-televised Magic Circus
of Mark Wilson.
***
Acknowledging
Wilson’s show, sponsored by the Pillsbury
Company as the most successful commerical magic
production ever, Loo said, a trace of wonder in
his voice. “In one show, one show, more
people see Mark Wilson than ever saw Houdini
perform, all his career put together.”
Loo’s most
dependable prop is Sam, a 7-year old (no spring
chicken) Cochin breed rooster, with white
feathers that provide a striking constrast to
Loo’s gaudy, patterned silk robes.
It takes quite a chicken, presumably, to put up
with being prestidigitator in and out of
existence, wit Hough raising a squawk.
Photos caption
of DeYip Loo and Sam…
”The prop doesn’t have any squawks
about the show.”
DeYip
Loo video from the late 1960's performing a
routine called "How Shaking Hands Became A
Symbol of Friendship" on Chicago's Bozo
Circus. This is never seen before video,
something that is wouldn't be done in today
standards because its not considered politically
correct. Yet its darn funny! This routine &
material is written and owned by DeYip Loo. If
anyone decided to steal it, I will (mai-ling)
will come after you with my mean voodoo ability.
Mai-Ling THE Magic Brat (WHOO Interview 1983)
The Great Jasper on Wild Chicago segment
Uncle Jay on a
segment of Wild Chicago that aired on WTTW
Chicago, Chanell around 1995. I personally kept
this tape because of these reasons: In this clip
you see the 'little theatre' with the displays of
the Magic Rountable. They zoom in on my dad's
photo because its "unusual" and Jay
performs the Blade Box that was built by my dad
before he sold it to Jay in trade for Dante's
Beer Barrel. That Blade Box is now on Todd
Robbin's Sideshow review in New York.. Plus you
see Ginger and of course the unforgettable Bob
Brown, as well good friends.
» 
