CARTER THE GREAT: THE PUBLICIST CONJURER

Carter The Great

Charles Joseph Carter was born on June 14, 1874, in New Castle, Pennsylvania. From a young age, he was captivated by performance and mystery. By ten, he was already performing as “Master Charles Carter, the Original Boy Magician,” enchanting audiences at museums and lodge halls with sleight of hand and small illusions. As he matured, Carter became determined to dedicate his life to magic, quickly surpassing the crowded American variety circuits. Faced with intense competition and a desire to create increasingly spectacular effects, he set his sights on the global stage, where audiences craved grand theatrical spectacle.

Carter’s career was characterized by ever-expanding scale and imagination. One of his most renowned illusions was his elaborate rendition of the classic sawing a woman in half. Instead of a simple box and blade, Carter The Great presented it as a dramatic surgical spectacle, complete with assistants in nurse’s uniforms and an air of danger and clinical precision. This illusion became a hallmark of his performances, distinguishing his show from other magicians who offered more conventional presentations.

Another feat that gained international attention was his illusion of making a live elephant disappear from the stage. In an era when large animals were seldom used in magic, Carter’s vanishing elephant was a breathtaking spectacle that became a highlight of his programs. He also developed a thrilling illusion called “cheating the gallows,” in which he was bound in a shroud and dropped from a simulated hangman’s noose, only to vanish before impact. This dramatic mix of danger and disappearances showcased Carter’s flair for theatrical storytelling and solidified his reputation as one of the most daring illusionists of his time.

Carter’s life was centered around touring. At the start of the 20th century, he established a base in Chicago with his wife Corrine, whom he married in 1894, and their son Lawrence, born a year later. During this time, he explored other interests, running an entertainment agency, launching a theatrical trade magazine, and later earning a law degree to gain greater control over his business affairs. However, these ventures were merely pauses between tours; Carter’s heart always belonged on the road.

In 1907, he embarked on a world tour, taking his family and a large company of assistants and props across continents. For three years, they traveled through Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Italy, and beyond, introducing audiences on five continents to a style of magic that combined exotic imagery, theatrical pacing, and grand illusions. Carter’s productions were so extensive that his equipment often filled dozens of trunks, at times weighing over thirty tons, so much gear that there was reportedly no space for it on a return voyage aboard the Titanic in 1912.

Carter’s life on the road continued for a decade, with repeated world tours making him one of the most widely recognized magicians of his generation. His shows often evolved in response to public interests and discoveries: he introduced illusions inspired by the archaeological excitement over the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in the 1920s and created sequences reflecting high-profile criminal events, such as John Dillinger’s famous jailbreaks, weaving current culture into his magical narrative.

In 1917, seeking a break from constant international travel, Carter purchased the renowned Martinka Magic Palace in New York City, a legendary shop known among magicians for decades. Carter hoped to expand the Martinka name into a national chain, but the business proved more challenging than anticipated, and after two years, he sold it. Even in the shop, his theatrical instincts were evident; he kept his lion Monty on the premises, its occasional roars startling customers and creating an atmosphere of unpredictability and showmanship.

Despite occasional setbacks, Carter returned to touring as soon as possible. In 1920, he opened a season at the Criterion Theatre in Sydney, Australia, accompanied by the stage psychic Miss Evelyn Maxwell, continuing to attract packed houses. He also ventured into filmmaking, writing, producing, and starring in The Lion’s Bride during a South African tour in 1921, but the project failed to reach audiences and strained his finances. Nonetheless, he resumed international touring in 1924 and again in 1934, each time presenting a show full of illusions refined over decades and performed for audiences worldwide.

On his way to Bombay in 1936, he suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized, where his son Lawrence took over the show. Charles Joseph Carter passed away on February 13, 1936, at the age of sixty-one, and was laid to rest in Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York.

Copyright © 2025 by Sid Quatrine, Author, Editor