Arnold Furst
(Chicago, Illinois: 21st June 1918 – Los Angeles: 22nd February 2002)
Stage name of Arnold Furstenberg (since 1939). First interested in magic in 1928. Pro comedy magic and hypnosis since 1939, first with school shows in Los Angeles 1939-42, thence into vaude and night club work, touring world with USO 1943-46 and in USA with a full-evening show 1948-54. World tour manager for Ormond McGill 1955-56. Instructor at the Hypnotherapy, Hypnotism and Psychological Institute of Tokyo, Japan, 1963-72. A teacher of Chuck Vincent, etc. A Mason, he was an officer of the Invisible Lodge.
Invented Fresh Fish (1938). Wrote Famous Magicians of the World (1957); Magic for Monsters (1960, 56pp; repr as Kid Stuff, V.6); Mightier Than the Bullet (1961, 66pp), 2nd ed as How to Get Publicity in Newspapers [and] Other Media (1975, 95pp); and Great Magic Shows (1968). Program reviews in Genii. Also wrote 4 books on hypnosis 1959-82, beginning with Case Studies in Hypnotherapy (1959, 163pp, with Lester T. Kashiwa, MD).
