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William Wood (ventriloquist)

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American ventriloquist and stage magician
William Wood
William Wood with his dummies,
between 1900 and 1908
Born1861 or 1862
Shamokin, Pennsylvania, US
Died (aged 46)
Gulf of Mexico
Years active1886–1908
Notable work"Pistol Shot Vanish" illusion
SpouseEdna Kirker (m. 1880s)
Children1 (daughter)

William B. Wood (1861/1862 – January 20, 1908) was an American illusionist and ventriloquist who toured South America and Europe with his own company. Billed professionally as Will B. Wood and sometimes called "The Kellar of South America", in reference to mentor Harry Kellar (1849–1922), he was born in Pennsylvania in 1861 or 1862, and began a career in illusions and ventriloquism in 1886 with his wife. After his wife retired in 1906, Wood continued touring until his death in the Gulf of Mexico on January 20, 1908, which was explored unsuccessfully for foul play.

Early life and marriage

Not much is known about Wood's early life. Following his death, Variety reported that he was born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, and a Miami newspaper said he worked in coal mining as a boy. The Baltimore Sun reported he had a brother, E. A. Wood, who was "a prominent jeweler" in Shamokin.

Wood likely gained interest in ventriloquism as a child, but did not start his professional training until his mid-20s. A short article about "Professor Will B. Wood" appeared in the local paper of New Castle, Pennsylvania, on December 31, 1883, describing him as "the wonderful boy ventriloquist and magician". The article stated he was 17 years old, although his age at death suggests he was actually in his early twenties.

Wood married Edna Kirker (1867–1956) of Butler County, Pennsylvania; the couple had one child, daughter Bertha Mercedes Wood, born circa 1888.

Career and performances

A poster advertising "Edna, the Human Orchid" from the 1900s
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Wood received his stage training under the tutelage of Harry Kellar circa 1886, with whom he traveled until 1890, when he branched out for himself. His wife was the original "Edna, the Human Orchid" as a member of Kellar's company.

1901 advertisement for Wood's "Edna" illusion

Wood was awarded patents, dated November 12, 1889, for the equipment of a levitation illusion he called "Edna" in which a lady would be lifted up in mid-air and stay there, during which she walked, turned around, and turned over, all while in the air. Wood won a $3,200 verdict in December 1890 against another performer for infringing his patents. After Wood's death, the magician Adelaide Herrmann used this illusion under the name of "The Maid of the Moon".

By the start of 1891, Wood was touring as part of "Steen & Wood's World of Mystery and Novelties" with Martha E. Steen, a telepath, and Charles N. Steen, "the world's greatest exposer of spiritualism". Their three-month tour included stops in Vancouver, Los Angeles, and El Paso. Wood and his wife then set out on a multi-year world tour. A notice that Wood placed in a London-area newspaper in October 1895 said they had recently arrived from South American and were about to tour Spain. In February 1896, Wood placed a notice in the same newspaper, mentioning that the group had performed in 20 countries including Nicaragua, Ecuador, Argentina (Santa Fe, Rosario, and Buenos Aires), and Brazil (Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco). He noted that members of his company had endured fever, a cholera scare, and smallpox. He said that he and his wife were in England to rest, and they would next return to the United States for a year off.

An October 1901 newspaper advertisement in Pennsylvania announced Wood's first American tour, which appears to have continued until January 1902. In June 1906, The New York Times ran a half-page article about Hastings Clawson, who served as Wood's tour manager for a three-year tour through South America that began in Mexico City in April 1903. Clawson's narrative mentioned stops in Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, and Brazil, along with corrupt officials, encounters with revolutionaries, and travel at one point by mule train for a month.

During the height of his career, Wood was widely publicized. Edna joined him during his South American trips until 1906, when failing health forced her retirement. Wood brought in a replacement, who was later an assistant in his show. His most famous effect was the "Pistol Shot Vanish", in which he would cause his assistant to vanish with a pistol shot. However, after his wife's retirement, his career began to decline.

Death

In January 1908, Wood, then aged 46, and his 20-year-old daughter were in Mexico on their way from Frontera, Tabasco, to Progreso, Yucatán, on a large tugboat called the Cuneto Bulnes, when the ship foundered. On the night of January 20, a violent tropical storm arose and the ship had a schooner in tow. The tow line was cut and the tug tried to ride the storm out unhampered. Reportedly, when the vessel foundered the captain and crew managed to save themselves while Wood and his daughter, the only passengers aboard, were lost.

One newspaper reported they were killed by pirates, and another reported they were robbed by the crew of the tugboat and then "abandoned to the sharks".

Investigation

In March, it was reported that Hastings Clawson requested assistance from the State Department after being unsatisfied with reports from the U.S consulate and the captain of the tug. Wood's wife claimed that Wood was carrying English bank notes worth $14,000 at the time of his death.

The Magician Monthly reported that the Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) adopted a resolution urging government authorities and President Theodore Roosevelt to investigate Wood's death (although he was not a member of S.A.M.) as there appeared to be ample ground for suspicion of foul play.

A follow-up article in The New York Times in April stated that the captain of the tug denied that any robbery had occurred, and that the U.S consulate was "satisfied that all was done that could be done to save the passengers." Nonetheless, Wood's wife traveled to Vera Cruz to investigate the deaths, arriving in June after passing through Tampa en route to Havana in late April.

Later developments

No trace was ever found of the Woods; however, their luggage was later recovered. One of Wood's theatrical trunks survived and was shipped to his widow, but she was so distraught that she had it shipped to a friend. Wood's trunk consisted of some large ventriloquist figures together with a number of lithographs depicting "Woodita" (a fantastic balance), "La Mariposa" (the human butterfly) "Edna" (the girl from the flames) and a stock portrait of Wood for his proposed Mexican tour (with the legend "The Real Devil" in Spanish beneath his picture).

Hastings Clawson died in Philadelphia in December 1912, aged 32. A January 1913 newspaper article reported that Wood's widow took legal action to dispute the will of Wood's mother.

Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, reportedly has four of Wood's prop dummies, recovered after washing ashore. A 2013 episode of Mysteries at the Museum recounted the circumstances of Wood's death and the dummies at Vent Haven Museum.

Notes

  1. Her full maiden name appears to have been Sarah Edna Kirker.
  2. Edna's replacement may have been the couple's daughter, Bertha, but sources are unclear.
  3. Other reports give Wood's age when he died as 43.
  4. Other sources list the tug's name as Canuto Buines.
  5. Reports are unclear if the luggage washed ashore or had been on the schooner the tug was towing.

Sources

  • Booth, John (February 1980). "Did Anyone Steal the Floating Lady?". Genii.
  • Hatch, Richard (July 2006). "The Nielsen Gallery — Wood, The World's Greatest Ventriloquist". M-U-M. Vol. 96, no. 6. p. 70.

References

  1. ^ "Will B. Wood Drowned". Variety. Vol. 9, no. 13. March 7, 1908. p. 8 – via Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ "Prof. Wood and Daughter Drowned in the Gulf". Miami Morning News-Record. March 11, 1908. p. 1. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  3. "Magicians Perish at Sea". The Baltimore Sun. March 2, 1908. p. 2. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Amusement". The Daily City News. New Castle, Pennsylvania. December 31, 1883. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  5. Pennsylvania Death Certificate Number 70023
  6. "Were Woods Murdered or Drowned?". New Castle News. New Castle, Pennsylvania. March 4, 1908. p. 13. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  7. "Mrs. Edna Kirker Wood". New Castle News. New Castle, Pennsylvania. August 14, 1956. p. 2. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  8. US 415084, Wood, W. B., "Theatrical appliance for optical illusions", published November 12, 1889 
  9. US 415085, Wood, W. B., "Metallic corset for theatrical purposes", published November 12, 1889 
  10. "The Amusement World". New York World. December 19, 1890. p. 10. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  11. Durbin, W. W. (1933). "With the Old Masters". The Linking Ring.
  12. "The Steen-Wood Company". Daily News Advertiser. Vancouver. January 3, 1891. p. 1. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  13. "Steen & Woods' World of Mystery and Novelties". Daily News Advertiser. Vancouver. December 30, 1890. p. 8. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  14. "Steen & Wood's World of Mystery and Novelties". Los Angeles Times. February 11, 1891. p. 1. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  15. "Steen & Woods' World of Mystery and Novelties". El Paso Times. March 19, 1891. p. 6. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  16. "Edna and Wood". The Era. Greater London. November 30, 1895. p. 19. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  17. "Will B. Wood". The Era. Greater London. October 12, 1895. p. 22. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Edna and Wood". The Era. Greater London. February 1, 1896. p. 29. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  19. "Laird Opera House". The Record-Argus. Greenville, Pennsylvania. October 7, 1901. p. 3. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  20. "Will B. Wood". Piqua Daily Call. Piqua, Ohio. January 9, 1902. p. 4. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "'Barnstorming' in Spanish America: A Tale of Woe". The New York Times. June 17, 1906. p. 4 (Part 3). Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  22. "Hard Luck Stories: Adventures of a Theatrical Man in South American Countries". The Buffalo Commercial. Buffalo, New York. July 7, 1906. p. 9. Retrieved March 11, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Mrs. Wood Seeks Bodies of Husband and Daughter". The Tampa Tribune. April 29, 1908. p. 1. Retrieved March 11, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  24. "Devoured by Sharks". The Buffalo Enquirer. Buffalo, New York. March 9, 1908. p. 7. Retrieved March 11, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Went Down with $14,000". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. June 22, 1908. p. 4. Retrieved March 11, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  26. Magician Monthly. April and May 1908.
  27. "Consul reports on Magician's Death". The New York Times. April 12, 1908. p. 6. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  28. "Ask the Doctor". M-U-M. 1975.
  29. "Hal Clawson Dies". Salt Lake Herald-Republican. Salt Lake City. December 25, 1912. p. 2. Retrieved March 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  30. "Claims Will was Altered". Harrisburg Daily Independent. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. January 16, 1913. p. 6. Retrieved March 11, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  31. Trav S.D. (October 24, 2014). "More Creepy Ventriloquists: William Wood". Travalanche. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  32. "The Death William Wood, Hacker Spy, Skunk Ape". IMDb. October 24, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
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