Lee Grabel

Lee Grabel was born in Portland, Oregon March 12, 1919. The spark of magic was kindled in his heart when he was a boy; he witnessed a performance of a remarkable conjuror, Professor Turtle.

These early years in the life of a budding magician were the Great Depression years, and the need for money was keen in the mind of everyone. Young Grabel was no exception, and he honestly states that making money motivated him towards making magic. During those years, Lee worked five shows a week for $5.00 a show. It was good money for those times as his father worked ten hours a day, six days a week for only $18.00. For a fifteen-year-old to make $25.00 a week in the 30's was mighty good. The money he earned made a deep impression on a young man that magic was the road to riches.

In 1931 Lee presented his first one-hour program, which The Boy Scouts of America sponsored. In 1936 Lee advanced to win the coveted award for sleight-of-hand presented by the Pacific Coast Association of Magicians at the convention in Seattle. His reputation quickly grew as an accomplished magician.

Success followed success, and in 1940 Grabel was engaged as a performer-lecturer by the University of California. He demonstrated to the student's aspects of the psychology of deception. His appearances on the Berkeley campus lead to an initial touring with his show to other Western Colleges. He also engaged as a featured attraction at the San Francisco World's Fair on Treasure Island during this period.

World War II came, and Grabel was inducted into the army in 1942. His talents as a magician proved a boon to Military Special Services, and he was sent to many bases to entertain. While playing at an army base in Southern California, he met a beautiful librarian. A swift courtship followed, and in 1944 Lee married the lovely lady. She became an indispensable part of Lee's show and became known as Helene.

Following the war years, in 1946, Grabel started in earnest building his show into the theatrical institution it eventually became.

In the 1950s, after Blackstone Sr.'s retirement, he became recognized as America's No. 1 Magician. He toured coast to coast across America with both artistic and financial success with his fantastic show. Variety Magazine described him as one of the theater's outstanding personalities and a master illusionist.

In 1954, Grabel was chosen by the Great Dante as his successor. In 1958, his magician peers commemorating his recognition as America's #1 magician presented Grabel with a gold medallion.

In 1959, at the height of his popularity, Grabel suddenly announced his retirement from professional magic and left the stage for a quiet life on his ranch in California. As he puts it, he wanted to unwind from the grinding life on the road to give Helene, along with their young daughter, Cindy, an opportunity to live an everyday life. A second daughter, Kate, was born to Lee and Helene in 1963. Kate was one of the troupe during the '77 tour. There were also investments derived from the success of the big show that required attention. Lee's "quiet life" soon expanded to include a variety of business endeavors centered on the east side of San Francisco Bay.

The "second career" was the management of the investments he had made from the success of his shows. The illusions that had made the name of Lee Grabel synonymous with the best in show business were dusted off, and what Lee calls "Selections From the Big Show" took a twenty-week tour of the cities of the Far West in 1977. Lee referred to it as his "Farewell Tour" as personal business commitments demanded that he return to the Bay Area.

But, as for a "Farewell Tour," that will never be, for the Master of Magicians, like magic itself, never quit.