Harry Albacker’s Magic Touch – Part 2

Harry Albacker posing with some of his assistants in his magic act

Although Harry Albacker of Lorain didn’t get his fifteen minutes of fame locally when his idea was used in the There Oughta Be a Law! comic strip in February 1952, he really didn’t need it.

When it came to fame, he did more than fine on his own.

You see, Harry Albacker enjoyed a long career as a popular professional magician, traveling around the country and the world. He only lived in Lorain, Ohio during the 1950s, but during that time he made sure that it was identified as his home in any newspaper publicity.

At the time of his passing in March 1994, his obituary in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette provided a nice summary of his career.

His obituary noted, "Harry Albacker, a popular magician who performed around the world, including numerous appearances at the White House, died yesterday in Jefferson Center of South Hills Health System. He had suffered a heart attack the previous day while performing at Southwestern Health Center in Pleasant Hills.”

"Information compiled by Paul Ajak, a mortician handling his funeral arrangements, list Mr. Albacker's date of birth as April 20, 1925. Over the years, however, he always told reporters that he was born on Halloween in 1926, three minutes, he claimed, after the celebrated magician Harry Houdini died in a Detroit hospital. 

"He lived most of his life in Aspinwall except during a brief period when he was headquartered in Lorain, Ohio. 

Promotional flyer coutesy of Heinz History Center

“He once told an interviewer that the "whole world is my address," and, to an extent, that was true. For years, he traveled more than 40,000 miles in a van to entertain in nightclubs and theaters across the country, including the Hanna Theater in Cleveland, the Golden Gate Theater in San Francisco, Nellie Bly Amusement Park in Brooklyn, N.Y., and the American Theater in St. Louis. 

"Over the years, he made 42 appearances at the White House for teas and birthday parties during the Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon and Carter administrations. Mr. Albacker used to give away as souvenirs rabbits he would pull of a hat. Recipients included - Eleanor Roosevelt, President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Caroline Kennedy, who received one of his favorite rabbits, Zsa Zsa. 

"He was inducted into the military in 1942 and attached to Army Special Services, entertaining stateside and in the Phiippines, Germany and England, sharing the stage with such headliners as the Andrews Sisters, Horace Heidt and the Musical Knights and the Three Stooges.”

I guess you could say Harry had the magic touch for a rich, full life. He had fun working, and did what he loved right up until the end. And he served his country too.

To learn more about the life of Harry Albacker, as well as his act, visit this link on the Heinz History Center Library website. The article notes that Gertrude wasn’t his only animal that “pulled a disappearance act” but that all of them eventually reappeared.

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I found a few clippings and mentions of Harry online.

One story that hit the wire services involved Harry and his missing python, Gertrude, who was part of his act at the time. Someone stole the suitcase in which Gertrude was traveling! He’s the story, from the Key West Citizen of July 9, 1954 (below). Note Harry was based in Lorain at the time.

Here’s a mention of Harry in the October 30, 1954 issue of Billboard, in which he chides the publication for not helping him promote National Magic Month.

Here’s a wacky item about Harry from the May 12, 1956 Billboard. He had a flair for promotion!

Here’s Harry’s classified ad (the second listing from the top) in the April 13, 1957 Billboard. Note he was still in Lorain at the time.

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Click here to visit Part 3 of this series.