Sid Lorraine was, among other things, a magician, artist, filmmaker, historian, and humorist.
Born Sidney Johnson in St. Neots, Huntingdonshire, England in 1905, he immigrated to Toronto, Canada with his family in 1914.
Sid was not only a professional entertainer, acting as a comedic magician and master of ceremonies in variety theatre and private concerts in and around Toronto, but he was also a dedicated amateur, passionate about magic and a fixture at magic conventions and magic societies. Because he straddled both camps, the professional and the amateur—and two continents, Europe and North America—Sid was the hub of the wheel for much magic of the twentieth century. He passed away on October 15, 1989.
In 2007, David Ben, Artistic Director of Magicana, acquired the bulk of Sid’s magic collection from Sid’s wife, Rene Johnson. David found, hidden with many other buried treasures, Sid’s handwritten memoirs. Magicana is pleased to share these memories—augmented with images and ephemera from various archives—as his blog: The Magical Chatterbox.
