Alan Wakeling

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Alan Robert Wakeling (1926–2004) was an American magician and inventor who created many famous tricks used by top performers. He worked closely with television magician Mark Wilson on The Magic Land of Allakazam, which aired on CBS starting in 1960 and later moved to ABC.

Early life and start in magic: Wakeling was born in Hollywood, California, and grew up in Winslow, Arizona during the Great Depression. He got interested in magic after seeing traveling magicians and reading Professor Hoffmann in the library. He began performing with improvised props. He moved back to Los Angeles in 1938, studied drama at the University of Southern California, and later pursued magic as a career. He worked as a demonstrator at two LA magic shops and for inventor Merv Taylor. A chance meeting with Roy Benson in the early 1940s sparked his idea for a billiard-ball routine that became one of his signature pieces. He performed with his friend Marvyn Roy (later known as Mr Electric) and built a local reputation in Los Angeles nightclubs with acts like Rhapsody in Blue, Hollywood Cowboy, and the Fan Act, which he developed with his wife Helen.

Behind the scenes in magic: In 1966 Wakeling left performing to become creative director for Mark Wilson, helping turn magic into a popular television format. He contributed to Wilson’s shows, including Magic Circus, as well as live productions in Las Vegas and around the world. He also helped other famous magicians, such as Channing Pollock, John Daniel, Marvyn Roy, Norm Nielsen, Dick Zimmerman, Peter Reveen, and Earl Nelson. Channing Pollock called him “a one-of-a-kind genius.”

Illusions and inventions: Wakeling invented many tricks, including a distinctive version of sawing a woman in half. Some versions of the Wakeling Sawing draw on the original trick by P.T. Selbit, and some sources credit Virgil Harris Mulkey (The Great Virgil) with the idea. A fully attributed Wakeling routine is the Double sawing in half for Pollock. He also created tricks for Mark Wilson, such as Backstage, Girl Through Glass, The Spiker, and Excalibur, and he helped develop Wilson’s Circus Act featuring the Gorilla crush illusion.

Death and legacy: Wakeling died on November 10, 2004, in Westlake Village, California. His memorial was held at The Magic Castle in Hollywood. He received the Academy of Magical Arts Creative Fellowship Award in 1975 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.