I had an uncanny out-of-body experience this week. A gentleman from England sent me his uncle’s scrapbooks from the 1930s and 40s, and they were filled with memorabilia of a famous magician who worked for 18 years at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York. The magician’s name? Dr. Sydney Ross PhD.

He entertained aristocrats, dazzled celebrities, and stumped politicians – even several US presidents. For all intents and purposes, he was “The Millionaires’ Magician” of his day, and even worked in the same hotel as me!

Going through his clippings, photos and promotional material felt like I was reading about myself from the future. What a mind-trip!

According to his nephew, Dr Ross jokingly told people that his PhD was in “phinagling.” He must have been very good at it, since he was invited to entertain Franklin D Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt in the White House. More on that in a moment.

Ross’ specialty was close-up card magic, and he entertained tableside – by request only – at the famous Peacock Alley lounge in the Waldorf-Astoria’s main lobby. Here is his business card (note the bottom line that touts his long residency at the Waldorf):

Dr. Ross came to the United States from England in 1928, and found himself in a land of prohibition. He promptly got himself a job entertaining in New York City’s best speakeasies, including the now-famous 21 Club. He went to the Park Lane Hotel for a year when prohibition lifted, and then to the Club Trouville. Lucius Boomer, the famous proprietor of the Waldorf-Astoria was so entranced with Dr Ross’ work that he engaged him to work at the Waldorf.

He later worked for six years at the Rainbow Room in Radio City, Rockefeller Center, but headed back to the Waldorf-Astoria in 1943.

His signed scrapbooks included testimonials from Rockefellers, Fords, Chryslers, Edisons, Whitneys, Pratts, Wideners and Phipps. He was praised in print by Ed Sullivan (“The greatest card entertainer in town”), and lauded by Amelia Earhart (“Performing card tricks is certainly more difficult than flying!”).

Novelist Edna Ferber thought him incredible; Walter Damrosch called him the Paderewski of the Cards. And composer Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote, “Your tricks are marvelous.”

The New York Daily Mirror ran a cartoon titled “At the Waldorf” that included Dr Ross, looking much like a knave in Alice in Wonderland. The illustration was drawn by famed society illustrator Jacques Kapralik.

A dear friend of mine, magician Harry Lorayne, told me that he saw Dr Ross perform at the Waldorf when he was still courting his wife Renée. According to Harry, Ross would greet a couple at their table, wearing a white jacket and red cummerbund. He shook hands with the gentleman, and then kissed the woman’s hand, and continued kissing her, all the way up her arm to her elbow!

According to Ross’ business card, he lived at 800 Riverside Drive in Manhattan. This is a very nice apartment building (I’ve actually been inside, by happenstance) near the George Washington Bridge, at 158th Street.

Geographically, this address ties into a story I remember reading in the New York Times about a magician on the uptown subway in the 1950s. Here’s the story, submitted by an 80 year old reader in 2004:

Visiting New York, I boarded a subway car in Midtown, heading uptown to a technical meeting at Columbia University. I struck up a conversation with a man sitting next to me, and he informed me that he was the official house magician at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. This unusually interesting revelation to an out-of-towner resulted in a lively conversation between us, terminated only many minutes later when he stood up to exit the car at a stop just before mine.

As he approached the door, he suddenly wheeled around and handed me my wallet and wristwatch. I had felt absolutely no physical contact whatsoever during the entire ride, but his warm and wise smile taught me what he must have generously thought I needed to know.

Later in his career (in 1950), Dr Sydney Ross performed informally in the Cascades at the luxurious Hotel Biltmore, now an office building next to Grand Central Station.

And finally, to the Franklin D Roosevelt story I promised at the beginning. On April 6, 1937, Dr Ross and his wife (and assistant) Zara had the honor of entertaining in the East Room of the White House in Washington DC. In addition to Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor, many important guests were present. The trick that most pleased the party on that day was the spirit painting production of the President’s own portrait. It was one of the highlights of a memorable evening.

After that night, Ross was happy to bring home signed photos of the President and his wife, each framed in wood from the hull of the Mayflower, as brass plates attest.

There’s an old saying that all artists stand on the shoulders of the giants who came before us. I feel honored to be carrying on the good work of the good Dr. Sydney Ross.