A Celestial Celebration
NORMA KRIEGER
“A Trip to Mystery Land”
A few female magicians have been part of magical families, such as Adelaide Herrmann, Betty Davenport, Ionia, Ellen Armstrong, and all the wonderful Larsen women. Another to add to that dynastic list is Norma Krieger. She was daughter-in-law to the famous Louis “Pop” Krieger (1851-1934), who charmed upscale New York society audiences with his classic rendition of the cups and balls, among other feats. Norma’s husband, Willie Krieger, was also a magician and Punch puppeteer, and her brother-in-law was the legendary “Coney Island Fakir” Al Flosso (1895-1976). Surrounded by such a crowd of conjurers, Norma could have been forgiven for opting out of magic, but she had a night club act in the ‘40s and ‘50s that won high praise.
Norma Loftman was born into an immigrant Polish family on May 17, 1903 (she would later become a naturalized US citizen in 1946). She completed a couple of years of high school before getting into show business. It’s unknown when she met and married Willie Krieger, but they were together by 1925, appearing in circuses like the Lee Brothers’ Show and the 101 Ranch Wild West Show. Norma and Willie performed magic and puppetry as a team in vaudeville in the 1920s and ‘30s, and they also played Luna Park at Coney Island, featuring, among other things, the Doll House illusion. There’s a great photograph published in The Sphinx (August 1950) showing the couple standing with the rest of the Dreamland Circus Side Show cast.
Life with Willie Krieger could not have been easy. He was a heavy drinker, and his addiction constantly interfered with his performing career. At Luna Park, a stooge who worked the show was so familiar with Willie’s magic act, that whenever the magician passed out before going onstage, he was able to step in and do the act. The young magician, incidentally, was Francis Finneran, who became better known to magic as the card man Francis Carlyle.
Realizing she could do far better on her own, Norma starting working in night clubs as early as 1941, with a routine of familiar but well-done effects: silk dye, paper tear, egg bag, vanishing milk, repeat card trick, and the swallowing of razor blades. Writing in The Jinx, Annemann praised her performance of the aerial fishing, a classic that had been a favorite of Pop Krieger. From other reports we see that Norma was also skilled at close-up with coins. She had several return engagements at Fays Theater in Providence in the ‘40s, where she was billed as the “charming lady magician.”
A Billboard reviewer caught her act at Jack Lynch’s night club in Philadelphia in 1943, where she appeared in a floor show with Roy Rogers. He praised the “blonde Norma Krieger, femme magi, whose bag of tricks is entertaining to the top degree. She catches goldfish out of thin air, finds silver half dollars in the most surprising places, and is generally mystifying.” Yet he also criticized her corny patter: “Her line of patter, which she keeps going through her stint, is a bit off the cob. It’s not on par with her feats of prestidigitation.” All part of the learning curve.
Krieger was occasionally seen on the magic club show circuit. In 1939 she appeared with Dai Vernon, Ed Rickard, Charlie Carrer and others on a SAM Parent Assembly show at the Heckscher Theatre, and in 1943 she was on another Parent Assembly program at the Barbizon Plaza with Johnny Giordmaine, Jack Gywnne, and Sam Horowitz. She played on the Magic’s-a-Poppin’ Show in 1947 with Al Baker, Milbourne Christopher, and Larry Weeks, and she was praised for ending with the seldom-seen coin ladder effect. Apparently, Al Flosso was not the only one in the family to make a comedy hit out of the Miser’s Dream; at a Magicians’ Guild Annual show in 1953, Norma had the audience in stitches with her version of the effect. At the New England Magicians’ Convention in Bridgeport in 1955, she was said to “carry on the traditions of the Krieger family in great style.”
In addition to her club and convention work, Norma Krieger developed an act for children titled “A Trip to Mystery Land.” The last reference I found to her in the magic literature was as a guest to the Salute to Magic at Hunter College in Manhattan in 1972. According to Ancestry.com, she passed away in the Bronx in January 1976 at the age of 72, just a few months before Al Flosso’s death. Her passing was not noted by the magic press.
A version of this article originally appeared in the April 2007 issue of The Linking Ring and is used here by permission.
Stargazing
There’s a pretty long list of other women who could have been featured for this letter. Dates appear when known. From the distant past, Madame Kahn, D’Alvini’s wife Madame Kara, and Kamochi all performed magic or second-sight in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. Madame Konorah (1870-1946) toured the world as a magician with her husband Max Berol. Ann Kenyon (1903-1979) manipulated cards in the 1920s and ‘30s. Notable partners include Erna Kassner (d. 1966) and Eva Kellar (1863-1910), and later, Nancy Keener and Mary Kodell. Princess Karataka (1900-1952) worked with two magician spouses—Prince Vantine and Hugh Johnston. Karadja was a female magician in Sweden during the ‘30s or ‘40s. After assisting David Bamberg in the 1950s, Klelmis did a club magic act in the Near East. Georgia Kondos was an active Long Island-based magician for several decades.
A number of young magicians belong on this list: Jessica “Amazin Jess” Kagan, Ellen Kaplan (daughter of George Kaplan), Phyllis Kaufman, Judy King, Sara Klinger, and Klein-Gitta. One of the most famous child performers was Betty Jane Kolar (1922-2008). She was the daughter of Chicago escape artist Joe Kolar and charmed audiences for a few years in the ‘20s and ‘30s with an act coached by Dorny. Her mother was Hazel Kolar (1890-1968), an escapist and “Queen of Mind Readers.”
Among more recent magicians, the group is international: Solange Kardinaly is a third-generation magician from Portugal and performs a quick-change artist with Spanish magician Arkadio. Katalin (Czekmann) hails from Budapest and has worked on cruise ships and in Vegas. Delia Kamia (1915-1995) taught magic at David Bamberg’s school and was from Argentina, as is Dolly Kent. Kristine from Norway did a Spanish-themed act at FISM in 2006. Maebeya Kyoko is from Japan. Katlyn (Kathleen Miller) had a popular illusion and fire act in the 1980s. Chérie Kay (1961-2012) was an illusionist, hypnotist, and motivational speaker working out of Houston. Debra Kornhauser has performed on Carnival Cruise Lines as Deja, the Diva of Deception. Street magician Billy Kidd, originally from Canada, now lives in the UK and works regularly across Europe. Steffi Kay, another Canadian, is a mentalist and second half of The Sentimentalists with her stage partner Mysterion.
Dayle Krall is a female escapist, billing herself as Lady Houdini. Mistie Knight partners with her husband, Kyle, in their illusion and magic show, and the couple calls Las Vegas home. Jen Kramer from Long Island has headlined her own show in Las Vegas. Cydney Kaplan is based in Los Angeles, and Amy Kimlat has published a wonderful magic book for young girls titled Hocus Pocus Practice Focus. As Magical Katrina, Katrina Kroetch has become a sensation with her virtual shows and her success fooling Penn & Teller. Lea Kyle from Bordeaux, France, is an internationally famous quick-change artist. And who could forget Jinger Kalin, the incredibly talented co-star and business partner of Mark Kalin, stars of Carnival of Wonders, Illusionariaum, Magic Underground, The Illusionists, and other successful ventures.
England has had its fair share of “K” magicians: Kristal Kay (b. 1967) is the daughter of Bob and Valerie Swadling and a skilled performer in her own right. Mary Kinson assisted her husband Jack with a club act and then toured on her own, and her card fans have been highly praised. Nargis Kalyan (d. 1991) was a magician and belly dancer working in Britain. The Australian Konni (Rooklyn, 1928-2007) had a card fan act. Noora Karma is a stage magician from Finland currently based in London. Anna Kazan (b. 1975) was an early female member of The Magic Circle.
Finally, here are three more names. Koringa (1913-1976) wasn’t exactly a magician, but as a fakir and hypnotist with the Bertram Mills Circus, she merits mention here. Frances Rockefeller King (1874-1959) wasn’t a magician, either, but as an agent who managed Leipzig, Dunninger, Vernon, and Cardini, she played a pretty big role in mid-century magic. And since this article originally appeared in The Linking Ring, some readers of that journal will fondly remember longtime IBM Secretary and Treasurer Hazel Miller Krock (1911-2002).