Eric C. Lewis
(Northampton, England: 23rd November 1908 - 6th June 1993)
Inspired at age 11 seeing a busker. Semi-pro to pro magician. Aka "Yung Lu" 1936-39. Operated Magikraft Studios, a small workshop in Northampton making small apparatus 1946-52 when switched to mechanical display work. Aka "The Great Zonzo" 1952-60. Moved to California in 1968. With Jim Simon of Worth Magic Novelty Company in Sun Valley 1968-70; in own workshop 1970-72, as builder for Hollywood Magic, Albo, and Mark Wilson; worked on Robert Albo's apparatus collection in Oakland 1972-73; again with Simon 1973-75; with John Gaughan and Associates in Los Angeles 1975-81 when retired from active public performing. Thence busy as consultant, lecturer, researcher, and writer. SAM Hall of Fame. Father of Martin Lewis.
AMA Best Stage Magician 1970 (shared) and 1975. 1974 AMA Literary Fellowship. 1985 AMA Masters Fellowship. 1985 SAM Hall of Fame. 1989 H. Adrian Smith Literary Award (shared with Peter Warlock).
Invented Fantastic Frame (1940), co-invented (with Cyro) Lighted Bulbs from Mouth (1941), and the Twister illusion (1978). Prolific author (21 books), including Well I Never! (1931), Magical Mentality (1934), Magic As We Do It (1935, 28pp, with Dan Bellman), The Magic of 1936 (1936, with Dan Bellman), The Magic of 1937 (1937, 73pp), Magic for Moderns (1937, 39pp), Studies in Mystery (1941, 35pp), More Studies in Mystery (1941, 41pp), Modus Operandi (1943, 67+142pp), Magic to Entertain (1946, 72pp), Open Sesame (1947, 154pp, with Wilfred Tyler; repr 1968), Opus Thirteen (1951, 110pp; repr 1969), The Oriental Magic of the Bambergs, Vol.1 (1973, 228pp, with Albo and Bamberg), Martin's Miracles (1985), and P.T. Selbit (1989, with Peter Warlock). Edited (with Tony Branson) Personality Patter 1943-46 (30 issues) and The Masque as house organ 1947-48 (2 issues).
Memoir is Fifty Years of Magic (3 vols: 1980, 1981, 1983, 213+254+237pp), informally known from their subtitles as "The Miracles Trilogy". Illustrator of his own books as well as those by others. Wrote over 200 articles for various magazines including Abra, Genii, and Linking Ring.
