From the Archives

June 2026

This Month in SAM 35 History — 20 Years Ago - June 2006

Twenty years ago, members of SAM #35 gathered not at the The Milanese Restaurant, but at the Central Hudson Power Company Auditorium on Route 9 in Poughkeepsie for an evening of unforgettable magic.

The featured performer was magician Rudy Hunter, whose lecture and performances left more than two dozen members thoroughly fooled and entertained. Rudy dazzled the assembly with expert card magic, including a stunning color-changing deck routine, an Ambitious Card sequence, and clever variations on classic effects.

One highlight of the evening was Rudy’s discussion of the “Top Change” from the classic text Royal Road to Card Magic. Members were reminded that even the simplest sleights, when expertly performed, can deceive even experienced magicians searching for a more complicated method.

To round out the evening, Rudy also performed a memorable ring-on-string routine and shared detailed explanations of several effects before members eagerly gathered around the dealer table to purchase the latest magical treasures.

It’s a wonderful reminder that while meeting locations may change over the years, the spirit of amazement, fellowship, and shared learning within Assembly 35 continues strong today.

This Month in Al Baker History

Welcome to this month's historical spotlight, where we take a look back at the life and career of the legendary magician, inventor, and humorist, Al Baker. This month, we are highlighting the month of June starting 100 years ago in 1926.

June 1926: Touring the Chautauqua Circuit During the summer months of the 1920s, Al Baker was a headlining star on the Chautauqua circuit, taking his unique blend of magic and ventriloquism to audiences across the country. In June of 1926, Baker was embarking on a three-month summer tour for the Redpath Bureau. His Chautauqua tours were a substantial part of his career after leaving vaudeville, providing him with consistent work and establishing him as a beloved entertainer in communities far and wide.

June 1936: Ten years later, Baker was a leading figure in the New York magic scene and a respected mentor to his peers. At a June 1936 meeting of the S.A.M. Parent Assembly, he delivered an educational talk focused on the proper presentation of magic. He strongly advised magicians against "cluttering the presentation of a trick with so much unimportant detail" and warned against trying to prove too much to the audience. To demonstrate his philosophy of direct, entertaining magic, he performed his flawless diminishing cards and his famous slate trick. Around this same time, the magic world was buzzing about his latest invention, the "Bakerscope". Advertised for $1.25, this ingenious machine allowed a performer to look into it and easily name cards that spectators had shuffled and hidden in their pockets.

June 1946: A Nostalgic Medicine Show Memory - By 1946, Al Baker had been serving as the Dean of the Society of American Magicians for several years. In June of that year, The Sphinx magazine treated its readers to a nostalgic glimpse of his humble beginnings by publishing a rare, early photograph of a young Al Baker standing in front of a make-up tent during his early days trouping with a medicine show. 

Life as a medicine show performer was demanding but provided extraordinary training for a career in entertainment. Performers had to be versatile—often combining magic, comedy, music, juggling, and acting—while constantly changing their acts to keep audiences returning night after night. Beyond entertaining, they also helped sell the show’s medicines and products, set up tents and stages, and traveled from town to town living modestly on the road. Despite the long hours and tough conditions, medicine shows became a legendary “school of showmanship,” teaching performers confidence, improvisation, audience control, and the ability to recover smoothly when things went wrong.