Long Tack Sam

Long Tack Sam

Long Tack Sam, born in 1885 in Northern China, was a world renowned magician, acrobat, and vaudeville performer. His magnificently dressed troupe played major cities across the globe in the early 1900's. Although largely forgotten as a performer today, he is considered one of the "greatest vaudeville acts of the early 20th century".

His career brought him to the opening act for the Marx Brothers and he even became a mentor to Orson Welles. In 1922 he became a member of Houdini's Magicians Club.

After a great deal of performing and traveling the world, he and his wife Leopoldi (known as Poldi) retired to America. His last performance was at the Roxy Theater in New York in 1958 at the age of 73. He did his famous water bowl trick, in which he does a somersault and ends standing with a goldfish bowl in his left hand.

After a bad car accident he and Poldi went to Linz, Austria, her hometown. Long Tack Sam died in 1961 at the age of 76. Poldi died one year later.

Documentary film

The greatest source of historical information we have of the performer's life comes from a Canadian documentary "The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam". [ [http://www.nfb.ca/trouverunfilm/fichefilm.php?id=51925&v=h&lg=en&exp=${long}%20AND%20${tack} nfb.ca] ] Written, directed, researched and animated by Long Tack Sam's great-granddaughter Ann Marie Fleming, the story is an in-depth research of the man's life. Through six years of research and traveling the world to interview relatives, professional acrobats, and magic historians, Fleming uncovers many missing holes in the historical record of her great grandfather's life.

Graphic novel

In September 2007, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam - an Illustrated Memoir by Ann Marie Fleming was published by Riverhead Books, a division of Penguin Publishing. The book expands on the information in the biographical film, and puts Long Tack Sam's life in a more historical context.

References

External links

* [http://www.longtacksam.com LongTackSam.com] – Bio-documentary produced by Ann Marie Fleming
* [http://www.asiasociety.org/pressroom/rel-long_tak_sam04.html Asiasociety.org] – Press release of biography
* [http://www.metroactive.com/metro-santa-cruz/10.04.06/magical-life-of-long-tack-sam-0640.html MetroActive.com] – Biography Review


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