Jay Marshall, 85; Magician, Ventriloquist, Stage Magic Historian
Jay Marshall, 85, a magician-ventriloquist who was dean of the Society of American Magicians, died of a heart attack Tuesday at a Chicago hospital.
Often referring to himself as “one of the better cheaper acts,” Marshall combined card tricks and sleight of hand with ventriloquism and self-deprecating patter.
He made 14 appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” and was an opening act for Milton Berle, Liberace, Frank Sinatra and other entertainers.
Marshall often shared the stage with “Lefty,” his left hand in a white glove with rabbit ears and eyes; the glove is now in the Smithsonian Institution.
Marshall, who sawed Nannette Fabray in half in the 1949 Broadway show “Love Life,” became a noted historian of stage magic.
In the 1950s, he edited New Phoenix, the largest magic magazine at the time.
Marshall also co-wrote books on magic with his second wife, Frances, with whom he owned Magic Inc., a shop for professional magicians in Chicago.
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