Reproduction only with permission from author, Ms S L Jones.
Contact at..sljones@mailbox.syr.edu
I first met Walter Cummings at his office/shop in Utica,. It was a sunny fall afternoon when I arrived, announced, hoping to see this legend of cards. I was worried that he might be busy, teaching one of his many students, but I was in luck. It was a school day and Walter had time on his hands, and allot to say about his life in magic. What follows is an afternoon I spent with Walter Cummings, his comments, his memories of more than 70 years in the magic business. Although many of his memories are now vague recollections, he still had much to say, about his life, his job and his friends in magic. I hope you have as much fun reading this interview as I had a writing it.
If you are ever in Utica , stop by and see Walter Cummings, or make an afternoon of it and see this legend. He is very warm and receptive, and will show you his many stories and pictures from way back then. Last of all, I would like to think Walter for being such a warm host and being such a sport answering all of my questions. I wish him well in all of his future endeavors.
We all remember Tony Curtis as Houdini, in the film "Houdini". But what we might not know, is that the man who taught Tony Curtis his moves was none other than one of the Central New York's very own, Walter Cummings. Walter Cummings, known as "The man with the million dollar fingers", was one of America's best known slight of hand artists. Tricks with cigarettes, cards, billiard balls, coins and thimbles made him one of the best in the business. When asked what type of cards he preferred to use, Cummings replies, "Any ordinary deck of dime store playing cards".
No special decks, special effects or flash, just true talent and genius. His fingers, even today can perform each effect with a "hand is quicker than the eye" gesture. In a flash he could fan out the cards and bring them back, cut the deck with one hand, and deal seconds in a flash. Though today might take him several seconds, he still has all the moves.
Walter started out as an washer in the local theater. When Walter was 15 he saw Paul de Paul one evening, a card manipulator at the Colonial Theater and Walter fell in love with cards. He went to see de Paul back stage and asked him how he could be like him. Paul de Paul told him to the library and get books on manipulation, and study, and then practice, practice, practice. He said to practice at least a half an hour every day.
There was one book at the library on card manipulation. "After I had read it, I asked the library if I could keep the book, if they would sell it to me. The library said no, I would just have to read it and put it back". Every day after his other work, Walter would spend at least half an hour with cards. But it would be many more years before Walter did magic before an audience.
In 1952, he was 24 that he performs his first show in front of an audience. It was a church function and Walter did what most magicians do when they first started out. Just about everything !
Walter worked as a busboy in a lunchroom. He did magic on the side, till he was more sure of himself. I asked Walter if he ever married. His reply, "I never got married. It's one of the best tricks I knew!" Walter also worked as an usher at the Colonial Theater in Utica, and as he progressed in magic, they asked him to do some shows, the "freebies" as Walter calls them. This is a memory that he recalls first.
Walter entered the Army during the war, and that is when he first started doing magic on a regular basis. He was stationed overseas: New Guinea, England, Canada. He was asked to perform for the officers club's everywhere he was stationed. That's where he honed his talent. The men were glad to see a bit of entertainment, and Walter could stretch his imagination, do new things with the cards and balls, without worrying about complaints.
Walter Cummings lived in Los Angeles for 22 years. He worked at the Pirate's Den, dressed as a pirate, doing manipulation for the diners. "We would come in at five o'clock, and they would feed us. We would change into pirate's clothes and work".
Walter took lessons at the Chevez School, then went to work at the Pirate's Den. Mrs. Chevez, came down and liked his act, and asked him to be an instructor at the school. From 1952 to '56 Walter was an instructor at the Chevez School of Magic in California, where he taught many servicemen who were attending the school on the G.I. bill. The school was based in the Dell O'Dell Magic Shop in Hollywood, though officially known as Abbott's. Walter told me how many of his students had injuries to their hands and arms, and were taking card manipulation as a sort of therapy, to help them have better control in their hands. One service man even had a prosthetic device on one arm. He remembers one particular young man that "only had two fingers. He had replaced the three with a device and this young man learned sleight-of-hand as well as anyone. Practice is the key".
The California School graduated almost 200 students every year, after an intensive eight month course. (The school later moved to Colon, Michigan and changed the requirements from eight months to a couple of weeks.)
Walter recalls Channing Pollack as one of his best students. He taught him for quite awhile, and after words Channing went on to the Ed Sullivan show many times, and worked in Las Vegas commanding one thousand dollars a week. (Quite a some in the late fifties.) The Chevez school is no more, and I asked Walter where do aspiring manipulate years ago to learn the trade now? "You can come to me and I'll teach you how to deal seconds. Of course, he remembers the advice he got nearly eight years ago, and repeats it....go to the library for magic books and practice, practice, practice, and then find someone who was already accomplished in the business and learn from them."
"Foster was also one of my best students. I made in instructor out of him. I told the dean, my God, I have 24 students. I need help. He said to pick anyone I liked. I picked Foster. He was a very good manipulator. Benny Chevez gave him a job as an instructor to help me."
Nadini & Nadyne or other students he taught. Nadyne went on to become the Camel
Lady, and she did manipulation while representing Camel, but not card manipulation,
cigarettes! She did the cigarette manipulation both with the hands and her mouth. No
wonder she became the Camel Lady! Robert Gurtler, JFIF
Photoshop 3.0 8BIM 8BIM
x8BIM 8BIM
8BIM'
8BIM H /ff lff /ff 2 Z 5 - 8BIM p 8BIM @ @ 8BIM 8BIM p $ P /@ JFIF H H &File written by Adobe Photoshop 5.0 Adobe d
$ p" ?
3 !1AQa"q2B#$Rb34rC%Scs5&DTdE£t6UeuF'Vfv7GWgw 5 !1AQaq"2B#R3$brCScs4%&5DTdEU6teuFVfv'7GWgw ? >*M2HH0D#]=xl "I,q?bk='V
e&AnL{Upl8;Ԣ
ly<Ԯ^zǫ[/m66ʮfc}'FY@%Ϩ=C೨3.z 5?[ϤY X~}UzHs_M{ײcboKQC\\)4{[v}~E}{v4͕95 (FiqIJQ=Tm4e>}5
}Mm}ew%6vn{ݮaaNr
@ `Η4"ESzOs2mܱJösݵSuu>4kM{5 Ukse/q? z$gSC *A=~}5 w9'FbB%EOE"u*l! )^hk78Y 9gOwWԯ
˚\kg Z+>[s]g_BZ:%.ݘvo
nʲލ1_uV9̶SUY' cv+}m}Lؘmz@sTic2
>LֶK?Y،Z5 ] +,"WKtaC *Ʒc;];?-n ixꬃ$fe!.k H7e
j ,.vX] кp= {mE 6]o ƳvYUۏٝncK[,Ao>UGݑ]LYoe"6nsikw~ӟ.wzyT
hO6 6i;͏s
?k.gё]̖C17=>7쌜X_g^i6s[v-We,`Q*&<6vT]{"Sb+
";pGKam 46ahsksgsk{髝s
ܛNAzΩh?oٻX6^s Qe{is V}6X'PcN5Ϊek6R$o wL붰 PX>c[Tȹh um% g=xn˩vdчht %uw+W-W f n1UP;u~GoXhﯛ3S~=5cķg ;};u9߫5;Y~s ݶg2Tꈬ
Walter, to this day, still does lectures and teaches from his Utica office. He charges $25 an hour. He said he was once scolded by other magicians that he should charge at least $50 an hour. His reply, "You guys are in New York City, I am in Utica! Twenty-five dollars is all I can ask for. I do a lot of lectures in Buffalo.... they said they learn a lot from my lectures because I explain and teach at the same time.
It was an 1957 that Walter was asked to do with a lecturer in London, England. He traveled there on the Queen Elizabeth, working his magic all the way. He was an instant hit in England. They asked him back many times, and he got all sorts of publicity while he was there.
Requests for all sorts of lectures and shows came in, and Walter became known throughout the British Isles as "The man with the million dollar fingers." This moniker was due in part because Walter Cummings insured his fingers with Lloyd's of London. Remember Betty Grable with her million dollar legs?
Walter made quite a good amount of money doing his lectures, and performing. He would make one hundred dollars for a lecture for magicians in the sixties. Quite a good sum of money for those days.
Walter did "escapism", as well. In his office, there is a great picture of him in a pose similar to the pose we always the Houdini in, with chains strapped around his body. Myers, an escape artist taught Walter how to get out of police handcuffs and strait jackets. "Real handcuffs". They went to Florida together to work, but Myers passed away.
I asked Walter who were some of the greats he worked with. His first memory that comes to mind was Cardini. They got together to do some shows in the theaters in Kansas City. "I told him to go on first, I would go on last." When I asked Walter why he said that to the great Cardini, he replied, "Because I didn't want to take his applause away. We were both doing manipulation and I didn't want to make him look bad." He liked Blackstone senior, but didn't like Blackstone Jr.. Blackstone senior would invite Walter to his table to eat when they were working together, or eating at the same restaurant. "He was a normal man, but his son, I never met and don't want to meet." Why? Seems that Walter was told how old self important Blackstone Jr. thought of himself. I asked Walter if he goes to many magic shows. He replied surprisingly, "No, See, I can't get interested in magicians as I teaching that stuff. When we watch magicians on television, I tell my sister, see this is going to happen next. I already know what is going to happen. But most magicians on television do illusions. I do manipulation."
Walter said that Benny Chevez wanted him to do a Floating Lady with a floating chair. "Every conversation with the public, people like the Floating
Lady. I did the Floating Lady a couple of times, but I didn't like it. I used to do it weekend shows while teaching at the Chevez school, I got permission from Benny. A friend of mine who was working at Paramount Pictures would come and get me and we would do a few shows. I would do the Floating Lady. They (the public) liked it. I made a few dollars doing it."
I asked Walter if he has ever written any books. His reply, "No, but plenty have written about what I've said and done. I get written up a lot in the Linking Ring, because people write about what I say to them, or what I show them. There is one book, Symphony In Magic that was printed about my tricks." This was printed in Utica by Top Hat Productions, and features many of Walter Cummings effects and manipulations.
Walter tells about one trick in where he pulls a designated card out of a deck with an 'alligator hair' that he holds in his hand. Walter explains that he never uses his own props. For tricks done with cigarettes, he always a bums one from the audience. "The closer you can be to your audience, the better."
Walter, when asked who is the best manipulator in magic today, had trouble coming up with someone. He mentioned Doug Henning as being pretty good, but as Walter doesn't get around much anymore, he's behind the times. "I enjoyed watching Doug Henning. I've always wondered what happened to Doug. But I do go to some conventions, the last convention I went to was in Syracuse, in the Hotel Syracuse. I go to make new friends."
He likes Syracuse, as he says we "are willing to do things." In Utica, the "guys say let someone else to do it". They don't want to do anything. My club don't want to do anything. It costs too much to get a lecture. "