Ted Annemann: The Enigma

A wink and a nod today on behalf of magician and mentalist Theodore “Ted” Annemann (Theodore Squires, 1907-1942).

Like many of his era, Annemann continues to exert an influence upon the world of professional magic by virtue of his large published output. He put out his own magazine The Jinx from 1934 until the time of his death, and wrote about a dozen books full of hints and professional secrets starting in 1929. He had been published as early as age 17 in the form of articles contributed to The Sphinx and The Linking Ring.

Annemann was from East Waverly, New York, very close to the Pennsylvania border, about midway between Elmira and Binghamton. His interest in magic began around age ten, although it was strongly discouraged by his mother, who is said to have burned all of his magic books one day. He later derived a great deal of satisfaction in mailing her a few dozen of his own published works. As a young man, Annemann worked briefly as a railroad clerk before taking the plunge into professional show business. In addition to his sleight of hand skills, he was also a singer. While his repertoire included card tricks and similar ledgerdemain, today he is best remembered for creating, refining, and standardizing many mind reading routines that are still used by professionals to this day.

Annemann was preparing for an upcoming public exhibition of the bullet catch, when without warning or explanation he took his own life by means of gas from a kitchen stove combined with a plastic bag over his head. His reasons for doing so have proved as mysterious as any of his stage illusions. It is known that he drank, was prone to depression and shyness, had argued with his wife, and, again, had a nerve-wracking engagement coming up.

50 years after his death, Max Abrams published the biography Annemann, Life and Times of a Legend. William Lindsay Gresham, creator of Nightmare Alley, included information about him in his 1953 book Monster Midway. Die-hard fans will definitely want Annemann’s Enigma, The Miracle Factory’s costly but complete edition containing all of Annemann’s published works, a new bio, lots of photos, a searchable CD containing every issue of The Jinx, and an introduction by Max Maven. You can also see some footage of him performing the bullet catch on Youtube.

For more on magic, mentalism and the variety arts, please check out No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous.