MARSHALL BRODIEN
TRIBUTE BY MARK HOLSTEIN
Marshall Brodien, magician, sideshow barker, TV personality,
entrepreneur and friend to hundreds of magicians, passed away
on March 8, 2019 at the age of 84.
Brodien became interested in magic at a young age, mastering
his craft doing local shows. At 16, he lied about his age and be-
came a barker and magician at the sideshow in Chicago’s famed
Riverview Park. He would extoll the wonders of the Monkey Girl,
the Rubber Man, the Fat Lady and the other weird and bizarre
acts on display. Following Riverview, Brodien entered the army.
Quickly charming his superiors, he entered Special Services and
spent his time in the Army performing magic, hypnosis and
escapes.
When he left the service, Brodien became a fixture in Chicago
area night clubs and supper clubs, performing magic, hypnosis
and the electric chair. Jay Marshall said that Brodien had the best
hypnosis show he’d ever seen. He went on to work in and later
own several magic bars, as this form of entertainment flourished
in Chicago. During this period, Brodien performed for some of
Chicagoland's most infamous mobsters. Jackie “The Lackey” Ce-
rone gifted him with a bottle of Louis XIII cognac, advising him to
drink it with the people he loves. When Marshall asked Jackie to
sign it, he was advised that “Jackie don’t sign nuthin”. (That bottle
is now with Marshall’s son, Marshall Jr., an accomplished magi-
cian in his own right.) Later, another gangster named Gimpy, and
his girlfriend, visited the Chicago Magic Lounge, which Brodien
owned. He performed the vanishing birdcage and the pretty
young girl was fooled. Gimpy asked the magician where the cage
vanished. “It’s magic!” was the reply. Gimpy pulled out a gun, put
it to Brodien’s forehead, and colorfully demanded the location
of the cage. In a moment of clarity and judgement, the cage was
revealed. Ironically, Gimpy was found several days later, a victim
of 12 gunshot wounds - to be clear, an unrelated event.
In the 60s, a new children’s variety show premiered in Chicago on
WGN TV - Bozo’s Circus. Brodien appeared on the show and the
producers quickly took to his personality and style. He became a
semi regular. After several appearances, Marshall brought to the
studio a wizard costume he obtained at a corporate show and
Wizzo the Wacky Wizard was born. Brodien portrayed the zany
magician along side Don Sandberg, Ray Rayner, Bob Bell and
Roy Brown for over 26 years. The show became one of the most
successful children’s shows in US history and was once filmed
in front of a live audience of over 1 million people on Chicago’s
lakefront. The show came to an end in 2001 after 40 years. I had
the opportunity to appear along side Marshall on that final show
- a day I will never forget. It was national news, and was featured
by David Letterman in his “Top Ten List”.
Brodien was a pioneer in trade show magic, using close up sleight
of hand to attract visitors to trade show booths. He worked hun-
dreds of these shows and helped to open up an new opportunity
for the dozens of magicians that followed his path.
Brodien was a natural optimist - he saw opportunity when others
saw adversity, making him a natural entrepreneur. In the late
60s, while working at WGN, Brodien recognized the power of
television advertising and decided to try to sell magic on TV.
He started by picking a card trick - the Svengali Deck - that he
recalled being sold by pitchman on the grounds at Riverview.
TV Magic Cards became a national success with over 17 mil-
lion decks sold. This ultimately led to a successful line of nearly
100 different magic sets that Brodien designed and sold for
over two decades. He created specialty sets sold by Siegfried
and Roy and Lance Burton. These products provided a start to
an entire generation of magicians lucky enough to start with
these products - he was referred to as the “magician maker.”
Certainly, I started with a TV Magic Set, his second. Little did
I know that years later, he would become one of my closest
friends and confidants.
Marshall and his wife Mary were chosen family to my wife Sue
and I. We traveled together, spent family events together and
performed together. We developed a show called “Marshall
Brodien and Friends”. (World famous magician Dan Sperry was
a member of the cast). Sadly, Marshall was diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s Disease in 2003. Slowly and doggedly, the disease
stole his memory, but could not steal his warm personality
and winning smile In the years leading up to and beyond his
diagnosis with Alzheimer’s, he continued to perform in these
shows, often in support of favorite charities. He even commis-
sioned a new Blade Box illusion which he performed often
with his wife, Mary.
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