2007: Landmark Love Nest Demolished

On Dec. 6, the wrecking crews went to work on one of BC architect Arthur Erickson’s most world-renowned and influential houses, a grand sequence of portals and frames elegantly descending down a Horseshoe Bay cliffside. This 1963 house for David Graham was featured on the pages of Life magazine and leased as a love nest to Warren Beatty and Julie Christie when in town to shoot Robert Altman’s McCabe and Mrs. Miller.

2008: Paderewski's Piano Unveiled

The celebrated Paderewski Grand Piano belonged to Ignacy Jan Paderewski; a famous Polish pianist, composer, and former third Prime Minister of Poland. The piano was built in New York in 1880, and purchased by Paderewski for use on his North American Tour. That tour ended in Vancouver, where in 1910 Paderewski sold the piano to the Marquis of Anglesey (who established the village of Walhachin). For the next 50 years the piano was played during concerts at the Walhachin Community Hall. In 1961, the piano was presented to the UBC school of Music, and in 2007 transferred to new custodians in the form of the Paderewski Heritage Committee, in order that it be preserved and maintained for its significant historical interest and value.
The refurbished piano was unveiled at a special recital of the musician's work at the Polish Embassy in Vancouver, on January 10th, 2008.

1993: Death Defies Mandrake the Magician in Surrey Hospital

Born “on the road” on April 11, 1911, in a small town in Washington State, Leon Mandrake was the son of two vaudeville entertainers. When his parents divorced two years later, his mother brought him to New Westminster to live with his aunt, Mildred Wagner, who worked at the post office and lived nearby at 307 Carnarvon Street in a house designed by Samuel Maclure in 1887 (and still one of the oldest heritage homes in New Westminster).

After his aunt gave him the Mysto Magic Kit, Mandrake practiced in a backyard shed, borrowed books from the library, watched magicians at the local Edison Theatre and attended circus shows at the Pacific National Exhibition. One year he was given the props and costumes of a magician who had left the show. He first performed on stage at the Edison Theatre at age eleven in 1922.

For the next three five years the young illusionist appeared at the PNE as Mandrake the Magician. His mentors included Howard Thurston, Claude Alexander, Doc Verge, Bannister and Ralph Richards “The Wizard” who gave him his first out-of-town work in 1927: a six-month tour that ended in Winnipeg.

Mandrake was twice married to his on-stage assistants; first Narda Mandrake from 1939 to 1946, then Velvet Mandrake or “Miss Velvet.” The latter couple honed a two-hour magic show for nightclubs during the 1940s and 1950s.

Called ‘the best-loved magician who ever sawed a woman in half,’ the tuxedoed illusionist and ventriloquist was the inspiration for an unaffiliated comic strip, Mandrake, that ran for decades. Drawn by cartoonist Phil Davis and written by Lee Falk, this strip was created in 1934, in St. Louis, without Mandrake’s prior consent or knowledge.

According to Mandrake’s son Lon Mandrake, a science teacher in Delta, B.C. who also performs magic tricks, Falk claimed he had invented with name Mandrake the Magician coincidentally. When fact met fiction, Phil Davis drew their character to resemble the real Mandrake. Both parties verbally agreed to cross-promote each other with the result that Mandrake the Magician became recognized throughout North America.

During his long career Mandrake entertained royalty and was compared to Houdini. Other Mandrake spin-offs included a television show, a movie and a novel. The ventriloquist Edgar Bergen made Mandrake three dummies for his stage shows.

Mandrake’s publicity stunts were as notorious as his act. He was known for driving a car while blindfolded, hypnotizing a girl in a department store window, making great escapes from boxes and mind reading on the street. Leon and Velvet Mandrake retired to White Rock, B.C. after they quit performing in 1984, ending a 62-year showbiz career.

Mandrake Incomparable (Hades $27.50) by Sheldon O’Connell is a wandering but appreciative biography that culminates in Leon Mandrake’s death at Surrey Hospital on January 27, 1993. A wake was held at the old Edison Theatre in New Westminster, now the Paramount Theatre, the first place Mandrake worked his magic.
Thanks to Jack Bennest of BC Radio History for this info.

2007: Mandrake the Magician Memorabilia Disappears

A North Delta robbery has reportedly netted a filing cabinet filled with posters, programs and brochures of Mandrake The Magician, the real performer who inspired the comic. This according to SurreyLeader.com.

A son of vaudevillian performers, Mandrake grew up in New Westminster and first performed on stage at New Westminster's Edison Theatre (Now called the Paramount). He gained international fame as a magician. He and his second wife, Velvet, his stage assistant, retired in White Rock after 62 years in show business.

“It’s of no value to anyone but family,” Lon Mandrake said.

“I’m hoping they’ve just dumped them by the side of the road and someone will find them. Or they’ll return it.”

He’s offering a reward, no questions asked. (He can be contacted at 604-591-5839).

Hopefully, the materials get back in the hands of those who treasure them most as soon as possible.

For a full bio on Mandrake, go here.

2007: Historic Imperial Theatre Crumples Under Wrecking Ball

The Imperial Theatre, a once important vaudeville house on Vancouver's Main Street (see here http://bcentertainmenttrivia.blogspot.com/2007/09/frank-william-hart-opened-what-he.html), was demolished. Until it's demise, it had a long stretch as a porn theatre called the Venus.
Rumor has it that two gay men once rented the theatre to watch movies alone in and one was found dead the next morning, tied, gagged and with a curling iron inserted in his anus.

1925: CBC Radio History

CRVC was one of six of BC's first AM radio stations. The CNR became the predecessor of the CBC when in 1925 the railway decided to introduce radio listening aboard the trains in transit. The passengers would sit in a parlour car and listen by earphones or horn speakers. There was an operator provided to control the receiving sets. To ensure the quality of reception, a series of transmitters were located at various cities and towns along the railway line.

Eventually a coast-to-coast radio network was established. The CNR radio stations were identified by their location including CNRV – Vancouver. As a matter of history, the CNR operated the first coast-to-coast radio network in North America. Down south, the NBC and CBS networks went coast-to-coast later in 1928.

The CNR network functioned until 1932, when, during the depression, it was decided by the government to form the Canadian Radio Commission. The call letter system was altered slightly - hence CRCV Vancouver.

In 1935 there was another change - The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In Vancouver, CRCV became CBR then CBU.
In those early years, night-time Canadian radio was completely different from today’s programming. To encourage Canadian talent, the broadcast regulations required that no recordings were to be played after seven-thirty to eleven-thirty at night. So, we listened to all-live talent shows.
There was a wide variety to tune in to - mysteries, commentaries, newscasts, man-in-the-street broadcasts, dramas, musicals, amateur hours, dance-hall remotes, newscasts, variety shows, political discussions, and religious broadcasts. All the radio stations would have on hand a staff pianist. This position was used as a stand-by strategy when, for various reasons, the scheduled program was not available for broadcast.

At the Vcancouver stations, there were some programs where the public was invited to watch the performances directly at the station studios. Very popular musical variety shows were held at downtown theaters such as the Orpheum.

To learn more about early radio in BC, check out Jack Bennest's great site, BC Radio History.

2007: Is There a Tenor in the House?

On October, 18, 2007, during a concert of Gerontius, star tenor, Ben Heppner was forced to leave the Orpheum at intermission with a flu-like illness that rendered him unable to perform. Tenor Peter Butterfield (pictured) who was attending the concert as an audience member, courageously jumped into the role of Gerontius for the second half of the Vancouver Symphony production.