Amedeo
(1890 - 1974)
Stage name of Amedeo Vacca. He was born in Italy and migrated to America where he became a professional magician by the age of 18, performing in Chicago and New York. Debut 1910. Vacca met Houdini in Chicago at August Roterberg's magic shop in 1921. They became close friends and eventually, he ended up working for Houdini. He was his advance man from 1924-26. He was one of the last links with Houdini, traveling ahead and making arrangements for him in total secrecy. After Houdini's death, he performed under the name Amedeo and toured the world.
In 1938 became one of the earliest magicians (and the 1st American citizen) to work cruise ships (for the Canadian-Pacific Line). Featured fire-eating. Invented Phantom Buzzer (1951). Amedeo Vacca's study with a common box of matches spawned a whole generation of animated matchbox effects.
See Frank Garcia and George Schindler, Amedeo's Continental Magic (1974, 115pp) and Charles Kalish, Amedeo, The International Deceptionist: A Lecture.
Coauthors: George Schindler