"Call a Taxi—I've Not Walked Two Blocks In My Life"

Radio Record, Volume VII, Issue 10, 15 September 1933, Unnumbered Page

"Call a Taxi—I've Not Walked Two Blocks In My Life"

‘Dante ‘Entertains Interviewers and Amazes_ | : Wellington, Theatre-goers. oe ego and. Timaru the day after, then there’s plenty of time to ie BOL thes props ‘across: to.Dunedin ‘for: the Friday."..... And that : was’ ‘how..the: "Radio Record" representative found Dante, the fam- "= Olts ‘ agician,’ at’ ‘the Hotel St:: Géorge, Wellington. Though he had _.. left7the‘boat ‘only'an hour" before he was already immersed: in the Joes thousand : ‘and one- preparations necegsary for his tour of the. Do- * mintoné:..-

vig ‘the others rose "to . go-*I am afraid’T.am a little tired," he said, "T didn’ tsgo:to:bed: last night." But to" his. interviewer: he: seemed. far from tired, asyhe’told-:with/an animation | peculiar:to-him, stories, grave’and-gay, ." from his, wealth of experience . in all parts of the world. * Just recently Dante has been in Russia,- but .he Has-no-faith in the future of Communism, nor has he faith in the observations of "eye-witnesses"’-"there are’ three hotels in Moscow, one is what might be called the leading hotel-the other two are misleading. This leading hotel is kept especially for visitors to the country-they show them: the .bar and‘leave them there," Still,Dante has no personal complaint — against. the country, for it was in Rus-' sia that'he was given the finest advertising: campaign ‘that. has. been prepared ‘for. him’ ‘anywhere. coe We'went.ion to talk of magicians of the-:past.. Dante had‘a great admiration for -Maskelyne, ' famous a quarter of a century-ago, "He: gave a-beautiful,

smooth, polished performance," he said, "his was a lovely.act." Another fine ‘performer was the American, Howard Thurston. It was he who persuaded ~ the "Great Jansen," as he then was, to change his name to Dante, "It was a good idea,".the magician said, "for ' ‘there. were three other ‘Jansens’ playing at that time, and," he added with a smile, "I have saved hundreds of pounds in electric light costs and printing expenses by the shortness of that name." We prepared to go. "How far is it to the theatre?" he asked. ; "Oh, not far-about two blocks." "Not far?. I’ve never .walked two blocks in my life. Call a taxi," ~ ‘And the mysteries? It is impossible to. find words to describe some of: Dante’s more elaborate tricks... Words like "amazing," "astounding" and "inexplicable" lose their meaning when they are used continuously, but there is no other way to describe the magnificent illusions which Dante creates, and which are drawing crowds to Wel-

lington’s Grand Opera House. The _ trick known as "Squeezing a Lady," for instance, performed in an entirely different manner to that known by. young people the world over, seems absolutely to defy. solution. One of the most popular of the evening’s tricks was that in which Dante, from a barrel shown to be empty, produces an inexhaustible supply of beer, which is passed round among the favoured few. in- front of the audience-the "Radio Record" can vouch for it that it was genuine, and very good beer. ‘The ladies, too; are not forgotten, for, from "nowhere" Dante produces a tray of glasses of wine for their especial benefit. Later in the é¢vening Dante uses a good deal of water, both for his geese to swim in’ and for fh -- |

the most marvellous of all nis demon-strations-‘Fountdnia," in which water is made to gush from the heads of his assistants, from the fldor: ofthe: ‘stage, or anywhere else that takes’ the, magiclan's fancy. . Re,